Assessing the Perceived Usefulness of Accounting Information in Albania

This study attempts to provide a general overview on the use of accounting information in Albania. An extensive use of accounting information by different stakeholders would be a testimony of the quality and reliability of accounting information, but the opposite would indicate otherwise calling for improvement in the area of financial reporting. Data are collected by means of a questionnaire. All respondents are certified accountants, members of the biggest and most prominent-certified accountants association in Albania. The questionnaire reveals that in general accounting, information is not heavily used neither by entities’ management nor by other users. Surprisingly, users of accounting information that are closest to the entity use it very little or not at all, raising big questions on the quality and trustworthiness of accounting information. The study is just an initial assessment of the perceived usefulness of accounting information in Albania. The questionnaire is addressed to certified accountants who answer on behalf of their client companies. The study investigates the usefulness of accounting information as perceived by various stakeholders in Albania. Even though this is a well-researched topic worldwide, to the knowledge of the authors there are no such studies in Albania.

Influence of VAT Incentives on Financial Performance of Manufacturing Companies in Kenya

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of VAT incentives on financial performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study focused on all manufacturing companies registered under Kenya Association of Manufacturers. The null hypothesis of the study was that there is no statistically significance association between VAT incentives and financial performance of manufacturing companies in Kenya. Descriptive survey research design was adopted where a sample of 211 respondents was selected from a target population of 447 manufacturing firms using stratified random sampling technique. The study collected data for a period covering 10 years, which was from 2009 to 2018. The targeted respondents were the accountants and officers in senior management. The response rate on the questionnaires issued was 73.5%. Both descriptive and inferential data analysis was carried out. The data failed in the test of normality and so the study applied ordinal regression analysis for the determination of the model. The findings of the study revealed that VAT incentives had statistically significant influence on financial performance of manufacturing companies in Kenya; hence, null hypothesis was rejected at 0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that influence of VAT incentives leads to improvement in financial performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. Hence, VAT incentives are key to financial performance of manufacturing companies. The study therefore recommended that the management of manufacturing companies should utilize VAT incentives that are offered by the government, and the government should review the VAT policy so as to widen the gap on VAT incentives.

Perceptions Of Customs Managers And Agents Towards Import Tax Non-Compliance During Goods Clearing In Malawi

Import tax non-compliance is increasing in Malawi. A study was conducted to explore the perceptions of custom managers and agents towards import tax non-compliance with import tax procedures and processes. The design of the study was descriptive and used qualitative data collection and analysis methods. The study was conducted in Malawi’s major border posts of Blantyre and Mwanza in the southern region. A total number of 25 participants were purposively sampled and administered an open-ended data collection tool to collect data using in-depth face-to-face interviews. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. Two themes emerged from the study which were, customs agents' limited knowledge, and corruption. The study results further show that training sessions by the Malawi Revenue Authority created the requisite knowledge to the customs agents which improved import tax compliance. However, corruption needs a long-term solution to change the stakeholders’ mindset. It is recommended that awareness should be created among the stakeholders to change the attitude and perceptions of the Malawian general public towards import tax non-compliance.

AI, a Provenance or Solution for Financial Crime

This article consists a review of the existing literature on artificial intelligence (AI) with respect to financial crimes. The purpose is to notify the unintentional bad impacts and intentional good impacts of AI applications in relation to financial crimes. This article has reinforced the discussions stating AI applications to be considered as a solution for financial crimes instead of being criticized as the cause for financial crime. The public and private sectors both need be alert with the unintentional harm caused by cybercrime. The current behavior of AI is considered as an accelerator or an antidote to financial crimes, specific to cybercrimes. It is advised to apply criminal law to control cybercrimes. However, holding the AI agents responsible is considered to be an inappropriate mechanism. Thus, AI systems are still not deemed to be capable of forming a proper legitimate system in order to curb the financial crimes.

Relationship Between Climate Change and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

The soaring cases of coronavirus pandemic coupled with unpredictable climatic variations posed danger to human lives and food security. This work examined “Relationship between climate change and food security in sub-Saharan Africa.” Using the Generalized Method of Moments technique with preliminary diagnostic tests on panel data across the 17 sub-Sahara African countries, the dependent variable is agricultural output, while the independent variables are temperature, rainfall, government expenditure on agriculture, inflation, exchange rate, gross fixed capital formation, and labor force. The findings revealed that climate change exerts negative impact on food security through temperature variations which degenerated during the period under review. The results also showed positive significant impact of government expenditure which increased during the period. The work recommended that government should embark on massive productive investments to reinvigorate and re-engineer the economy. The government and appropriate agencies should also put in place hybrid technology of high yield crops adaptive to change in climate as well as effective mechanism for food storage to secure food for the future.

The Role of Communication in Employee Retention and Its Effects on Organizational Performance in Mergers in Kenya: A Case of Quick Mart Limited

This research paper investigated the effect of communication on employee retention and its effects on organizational performance in mergers in Kenya. It involved a case study research design. It aimed at providing future merging organization with optimum employee retention strategies that can help in retaining competent, mission-critical, and highly valued employee through the merger process in order to achieve organizational performance after merger. The study's target population included 535 employees of Quick Mart Limited. They included managers, executive staff, supervisors, and subordinate staff of six supermarket branches located in Nairobi. Stratified sampling technique was used in the study. Sample population was 30% of the target population. A total of 161 respondents made up the sample population. Questionnaires were used as the data collection tools. Questionnaires were delivered to the respondent physically at the supermarket branches. The researcher collected qualitative data from the respondents which were analyzed to bring to light the reality of the subject matter. A pilot study was conducted through 10% of the sample population. A total of 16 questionnaires were distributed to a part of the sample population, analyzed, tested for validity and reliability, and then corrected before all the other questionnaires were issued to the sample population. Validity and reliability of this research were realized through eliminating bias and increasing the researcher's trustworthiness using triangulation. Descriptive data analysis was used in this study. Analysis of qualitative data was done through developing and applying codes, identifying themes, patterns, and relationships, and summarizing the data. The findings of the study were clearly presented through narrations, frequency tables, and charts. The researcher provided her conclusions on the study as well as recommendations for future research.

Bridging Management and Financial Accounting Discourses of Auditing Expectation Gap in Brazil

This study examines the experience of auditors in the higher echelons and stakeholders in top management paving the way to answer what are the differences of expectations that exist regarding the responsibilities of the independent auditors in the current business context. Through an interpretive approach, this research contributes to reflexivity. Seven professionals constitute the data corpus, and critical discourse analysis was used to draw upon their lived experiences. The results indicate a clear perception of difference in expectations among respondents who are auditors and the financial controllers, but with different intensities, thereby posing different societal impacts on the understanding of financial statements. The main discourses that surge are: a) discrepancy between the level of intensity by the interested parties; b) non-dissemination and comprehension of the standards that guide the work of the auditors; and c) identification of a possible gap derived from media and financial commentators exaggerating on expectation-gap recklessly. Also, d) Auditor`s mitigation of risks prudently tied to standards, and e) on the side of the controllers is the source of responsibility. This puts forth challenges for the broadening of the understanding and education about the expectation gap.

Supervisor’s Green Commitment as a Predictor of Employee Green Work Behavior

Scant amount of research led to conduct an empirical investigation with the purpose of identifying the effect of supervisor’s green commitment on employee green work behavior. While addressing this gap in the extant literature, the study made a methodological contribution by validating a scale for green work behavior. A sample of 96 machine operators from often ready to wear apparel-manufacturing firms in Katunayake and Pallekele industrial zones in Sri Lanka responded to a survey. The collected data were analyzed with the hierarchical regression analysis. The results reported that the commitment demonstrated by supervisors in terms of their dedication to the environmental sustainability and willingness to engage with pro-environmental behavior fosters employees to engage with green work behavior. The outcomes of the study provide implications to psychological contract theory and the social sustainability theory. In terms of policy implications, the study proposes decision makers to implement green commitment- and green behavior-enhancing human resource management (HRM) practices. The policy makers should introduce green commitment-enhancing HR practices for their employees such as rewards, recognition programs, inclusion of green criteria in performance management, as well as green training. Consequently, managerial and supervisory level employees will commit on achieving environmental sustainability goals and assist other employees to perform their green work. The limitations of the study and directions for future studies are also discussed.

COVID-19 Pandemic Cases and Deaths in Selected Regions: The Need for Policy Recommendations

Despite the indescribable adversity of COVID-19, which raised deaths in most regions, the pandemic came with a number of good lessons that affect certain value metrics (healthcare, education, productive capacity, and price control mechanisms). In this study, we examined the role played by COVID-19 pandemic cases and deaths in selected regions and the need for policy recommendations. Using a mixed research approach, reported laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths between 12 and 17 March 2020 were obtained across six regions – Western Pacific, Europe, South East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, America and Africa. Qualitative results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic predominantly affected Western Pacific and European regions. Besides, an analysis of variance revealed an insignificant difference in reported laboratory-confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19 across the regions during the studied period. These results are, in part, attributable to the homogeneity in the strategies adopted to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in these regions. Thus, there is a need to strengthen certain valuable metrics, particularly in the healthcare sector by means of upgrading medical equipment (for nations in lack) and recruiting more qualified healthcare workers in view of future events of any pandemic.