Factors Influencing the Extent of Corporate Compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards in South Africa

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of company attributes on compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The study used a sample of 46 listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) covering the period from 1993 to 2017. With an average compliance level of 88.21304, it is concluded that South Africa’s listed firms have significantly complied with IFRS 1. Using panel data to analyze the effects of company attributes, size and leverage have a significant positive effect on IFRS 1 compliance. On the other hand, the coefficients of Earnings Per Share (EPS) and Return on Total Assets (ROTA) are negative and significant. This similarly implies that ROTA and EPS are important factors driving the compliance level of the companies in South Africa with the IFRS 1 disclosure. EPS and ROTA also exhibit an inverse relationship with the compliance level. Carrying out a longitudinal study helps to produce more recent evidence on the quality of IFRS financial reports in South Africa. The outcome of the study is beneficial to international literature as it provides enough evidence on the benefits of adopting IFRS adoption.

Changes of Strategic Pricing Policy of Logistics Service Providers in Financial Macroeconomic Instability

This paper aims to examine the influence of macroeconomic instability on the microeconomic environment, especially on financial strategy after the application of strategic pricing policy by providers of logistics services and make recommendations for providers who use pricing as a marketing tool. Special attention is paid to enhancing their competitive position in times of economic crisis. The research is based on an analysis of the situation during the 2008–2009 economic crisis. It is hypothesized that the number of providers who applied a strategic pricing policy after its culmination in 2010 was higher than in 2008 (shortly before the onset of the crisis). The conclusions derived are then transferred to the period of the 2020 coronavirus economic recession under the assumption of the same analogical characteristics of both periods. The paper does not speculate – its purpose is to present a thorough and complex analysis of the situation by employing a wide range of statistical instruments, thereby attaining results of a very high level of statistical reliability. The study has the potential to be a valuable contribution to the literature in its respective field, especially during global anti-Covid measures, which makes the theme of strengthening competitive positions of logistics service providers very topical.

The Nexus Between Attitude, Social Norms, Intention to Comply, Financial Performance, Mental Accounting and Tax Compliance Behavior

This study empirically investigates the effects of attitudes toward tax compliance, descriptive norms, injunctive norms, subjective norms, personal norms, tax compliance intention, financial performance, and mental accounting on tax compliance. The determinant are largely developed based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and social norms. Data collection is carried out through field surveys to obtain a final sample of 209 respondents who are SME owners in 11 regencies/cities in Central Java Province, Indonesia. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that attitudes toward tax compliance, injunctive norms, subjective norms, personal norms, and financial performance positively affect SME owners’ tax compliance intentions. Furthermore, financial performance and tax compliance intentions have a positive effect on tax compliance behavior. However, we do not find empirical evidence that mental accounting has a role in strengthening the effect of tax compliance intentions on tax compliance behavior. This study contributes to the tax compliance literature through a more comprehensive measure of subjective norms and the use of financial performance as an alternative measure of perceived behavioral control.

Analysis of Indonesia's Exports & Imports in the Asian Region: Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Indonesia's export and import activity in the Asian region. Data on exports and imports from February 2019 to March 2020 (before the pandemic) and from April 2020 to May 2021 (during the pandemic) was collected from the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency portal. The results show that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic does not always decrease Indonesia's exports and imports in countries in the Asian region. For exports, out of 51 countries, only 18 decreased significantly, 14 countries decreased insignificantly, and 19 countries increased. On the import side, out of the same 51 countries, only 11 experienced a significant decline, 24 countries experienced an insignificant decrease, and 19 countries experienced an increase. The Indonesian government must implement various policies that can protect and encourage exports by providing fiscal stimulus, diversifying trading partners, deregulation, and industrial downstream, among others. Further research needs to be carried out on how the effects of the pandemic changed import and exports according to product type and how the severity of the pandemic affects within a country affected export and import activities.

Exploring the Impact of Inflation and External Debt on Economic Growth in Morocco: An Empirical Investigation with an ARDL Approach

This article seeks to empirically assess the effect of inflation and external debt on economic growth in Morocco. The estimates cover the period from 1985 to 2019. The results from the ARDL model show that external debt negatively influences the country's growth in the short and long terms. Due to its direct effect, inflation slows down economic activity and leads to lower GDP growth. The econometric estimate indicates that the low level of inflation leads to difficulties in repaying debt and, consequently, reduced economic growth. Low inflation also hurts economic competitiveness among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Although the inflation rate is lower than the interest rates, it reduces the profit margins of companies and leads to lower investment. The negative effect on economic competitiveness leads to decreased sectoral added value, reducing future economic growth rates. Based on the results, two main measures are proposed to mitigate the negative effect of inflation and debt on economic growth. First, we must develop better institutional and governance quality. The latter allows debt funds to be well spent on non-rent-producing sectors capable of reviving the Moroccan economy. Second, we have to look for good inflation, in other words, inflation that stimulates economic activity without creating economic distortions.

The Moderating Effect of Holding Shareholders on Corporate Performance in Institute Spin-Offs from the Perspective of Institutional Logics

Based on the panel data of 577 spin-offs of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) from 2008 to 2017, this paper explores the moderating effect of the different types of holding shareholders on business performance and innovation performance in institute spin-offs from the perspective of institutional logics. The findings indicate that investment in research and development (R&D) has a significant positive impact on the business performance and innovation performance of the institute spin-offs. Corporate legal representative holding shareholders positively moderate the relationship between R&D investment and business performance. Due to the conflict of incentive mechanism, research institute legal representative holding shareholders negatively moderate the relationship between R&D investment and both areas of performance. Scientist natural person holding shareholders positively moderate the relationship between R&D investment and both areas of performance. The research conclusions of this paper enrich the research on institute spin-offs and expand the research on the role of holding shareholders in business operation.

Implementation of Internal Capital Adequacy and Assessment Process in Vietnamese Commercial Banks

The internal capital adequacy and assessment process (ICAAP) was first introduced in the second pillar of Basel II in 2004 to offset the deficiencies of Basel I and capital adequacy regulations in the first pillar of Basel II. This process is aimed at identifying and measuring risks generated in banks’ activities, and then provides the requirements for internal capital levels and methods to raise capital to deal with these risks. In fact, the implementation of Basel II and ICAAP in Vietnamese commercial banks has attained notable achievements, but it also revealed some major weaknesses. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the implementation of ICAAP in Vietnamese commercial banks in eight components of the ICAAP addressed by Basel II using the survey method and then to simulate the implementation of ICAAP in a Vietnamese commercial bank. From the facts and the simulation of the ICAAP framework in this study, the authors offer some suggestions for Vietnamese commercial banks to implement ICAAP effectively in their banking operations.

Stock Returns During Religious Holidays: The Role of Culture and Belief

This research investigates the effects of culture and belief on stock returns in Asia and Europe during religious holidays. Culture was proxied by power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation. Belief was proxied by government regulation, government favoritism, and social regulation. Seventeen stock indices were selected, and the data employed in this research are stock returns during religious holidays commemorated by each country listed in the top world indices from 2016 to 2020. A quantitative method was employed and the data analysis was done using a multiple linear regression method with panel data. This research shows that individualism, government regulation, favoritism, and social regulation positively affect stock returns during religious holidays. This implies that investors recognize stock market characteristics to facilitate investment decision-making. It is recommended that investors maximize positive stock returns found in individualistic countries and countries with high government regulation, favoritism, and social regulation.

Volatility Forecasting Performance of Smooth Transition Exponential Smoothing Method: Evidence from Mutual Fund Indices in Malaysia

This paper aims to empirically compare the performance of the smooth transition exponential smoothing (STES) method against the well-known generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model in one-step-ahead volatility forecasting. While the GARCH model captured most of the stylized facts of the financial time series, threats of outliers in the leptokurtic distributed series remain unresolved. The study compared volatility forecasting performance of a total of 22 models and methods comprising STES, GARCH, and some ad-hoc forecasting. The daily returns of seven mutual fund indices (derived from 57 individual equity mutual funds) under two different economic conditions (sub-periods) were applied across all competing models. Findings revealed that the STES method with error and absolute error as transition variables emerged as the best post-sample volatility forecasting model in both sub-periods with and without financial crisis impact, as verified by model confidence set (MCS) procedure. The implications based on the results are: (1) both the sign and size of yesterday’s news shock have an impact on today’s volatility; (2) the STES method is resilient to outliers, and hence superior to GARCH and other volatility forecasting approaches examined. This study contributes an empirical approach in forecasting the risk of mutual funds investment for investors and fund managers, as well as extending the scope of volatility forecasting literature into the less explored mutual funds.

Access to Finance and Legal Framework in Female Entrepreneurship Development in Bangladesh: The Mediating Role of Self-Leadership

The growing need for entrepreneurship is considered to be a prominent segment of an economy's evolution, especially female entrepreneurs. This study's motivation is to unleash the critical determinants for female entrepreneurs' evolution in the economy of Bangladesh by following institution and self-leadership theory. The study adopted a quantitative method and a structured questionnaire for data collection from female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to explore the causal effects of access to finance and legal framework. The study revealed that women's entrepreneurial activities are immensely influenced by access to finance, legal constraints, and entrepreneurial skills. The mediating effects of self-leadership behavior also influence women's participation in business activities. Based on the results, it is recommended that the government and other institutions should take the initiative in female entrepreneurship that affect women's self-leading behavior and policymakers should consider the financial aspects relating to women’s business activities. This study is also helpful for empowering women financially and helping them to understand their legal rights by formulating a women-centric strategic plan.