Search results

Fraud within the procurement process remains a persistent challenge, resulting in substantial financial losses and lack of social justice. This paper underscores the significance of records for the integrity of the procurement practices and proposes using blockchain technology to mitigate records fraud. Analyzing international regulations this paper highlights their emphasis on proper records management for promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity of procurement procedures. This paper aims to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between records management and procurement accountability while addressing blockchain technology's innovative use in mitigating records forgery and omission.

This research involves a comparative analysis of international regulations investigating their directives on the relevance of records in public procurement and a survey of records fraud cases in the Brazilian context to illustrate the significance of the problem and to indicate how blockchain technology can be applied as a solution to ensure accountability and prevent records forgery and omission.

The findings highlight the explicit importance ascribed to proper records management by international regulations, and indicates how blockchain technology can serve as a valuable resource to reduce the records fraud opportunity in public procurement.

The research does not consider context-specific regulations. The survey of frauds is limited to the Brazilian context.

This research introduces a pioneering approach by investigating the use of blockchain technology to combat records forgery or omission in public procurement procedures.

The study aims to determine the impact of perceptual and attitudinal factors on employees’ counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). The study emphasises the verification of the direct, indirect, linear and non-linear effects of several antecedents of CWBs. The moderating role of self-efficacy is also investigated.

Data were collected from 1,215 employees from several industrial companies in Southern Iraq. The study used the hybrid approach to data analysis, based on a dual-stage SEM-ANN, i.e. partial least squares structural equation modelling and artificial neural network approach.

Results indicate that most of the proposed variables predict CWB and that abusive supervision and perceived organisational politics (POP) positively affect job burnout (JB) through job stress. In addition, non-linear relationships, JB, abusive supervision and POP are the most important in predicting CWB. The study confirms that a negative perception of the work environment increases the likelihood of harmful behaviours in the organisation and that self-efficacy can reduce such a perception.

The importance of the current study is summarised in its attempt to verify the antecedents of CWB by relying on a two-step approach to test linear and non-linear relationships. This approach will greatly enhance theories regarding adverse behaviour in the workplace, especially, with a fairly large sample size.

This paper investigates whether China's R&D tax deduction policy triggers firms to manipulate their R&D expenditures upward.

This paper employs the ratio of actual tax savings as a proxy for the benefits of the R&D tax deduction policy based on manually collected and systematically cross-checked data. The relationship between tax benefits and abnormal R&D spending is estimated in a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies for the period 2007–2018.

The findings suggest that tax deductions lead to positive abnormal R&D spending and that this deviation in R&D spending may be attributed to firms' upward R&D manipulation for tax avoidance. The results also indicate that this behavior is more significant for the period after the policy revision, in non-HNTEs (high and new technology enterprises), and in firms with a high ratio of R&D expenses.

It is difficult to establish a sophisticated and unified model to identify the specific strategy of upward R&D manipulation that firms use to obtain tax benefits.

Managers should take into account upward R&D manipulation when designing governance mechanisms. Policymakers in developing countries may further pursue preferential tax policies that cover every stage of innovation activities gradually; the local provincial governments need to leverage their proximity and flexibility advantages to develop a tax collection and administration system.

This study contributes to the understanding of the complex effect of R&D tax incentives and helps more fully illuminate firms' upward R&D manipulation behavior from the perspective of tax planning strategies, which are underexplored in previous research.

Apprenticeships in England, while defined by level and typical duration, are not quantified regarding the number of learning hours required to achieve the outcomes specified, as with other regulated qualifications and accredited programmes. This paper proposes an approach to ascribe credit to apprenticeships recognising both on-and-off-the-job learning to remove some of the existing barriers to accessing higher education (HE) and the professions.

A mixed methodological approach resulting in a total learning hours/credit value was proposed.

There is significant HE-wide confusion regarding the amount of learning/training that is required to complete apprenticeships in England. Whilst sector guidance made it clear that there was no prescribed method to ascribe credit to qualifications, programmes, modules, units or apprenticeships by drawing out the core principles within current practice, a key outcome of this project was the development of a method to ascribe a credit value to apprenticeships.

There is potential to support further research into the recognition of prior learning as a specialised pedagogy and for reflecting on apprenticeship practice in other roles and sectors.

Whilst the project underpinning this paper focused on the healthcare sector, the method used to ascribe credit to the level-3 healthcare support worker apprenticeship was not sector specific and can therefore be applied to apprenticeships within other contexts providing more widespread benefits to workforce development.

Policy makers must ensure that employers and providers are clear that the minimum statutory off-the-job hours constitute an apprentice employment entitlement, which must not be conflated with total apprenticeship learning hours requirements. This recommended policy clarification could assist in simplifying the process required for ascribing credit to apprenticeships and at the same time support a move towards better and more consistent recognition of the value of apprenticeship learning.

It is a first attempt to ascribe a credit value to an apprenticeship in England for the specific purpose of facilitating progression to HE.

This study evaluated the impact of a faculty training program on student assessment using the Kirkpatrick model.

A self-reported survey assessed 111 Saudi and non-Saudi participants' satisfaction. Subjective and objective measures (self-reported measures, assessment literacy inventory and performance-based assessment tasks) gauged participants' learning level. Pre- and post-training data were collected from 2020 to 2022.

A highly significant effect on satisfaction (>80%) and learning levels was observed, as manifested by workplace practices of student assessment (>70%, the cut-off score). Pre- and post-training comparisons of participants' satisfaction and assessment literacy scores showed significant improvements following training. Multiple regression analyses showed no significant effects for gender and educational attainment but a substantial impact of academic cluster on participants' student assessment skills.

Long-term effects of training faculty on assessment practices and student achievement will be studied at the institutional level in future research.

The current study contributes to human capital investment via faculty training on student assessment, helping them comply with assessment best practices. This assures the quality, fairness and consistency of assessment processes across disciplines in higher education institutions, enhances assessment validity and trust in educational services and may support institutional accreditation.

This study provides opportunities for sharing best practices and helps establish a community of practice. It enhances learning outcomes achievement and empowers higher education graduates with attributes necessary to succeed in the labor market. The human capital investment may have a long-term impact on overall higher education quality.

This study contributes to the scarce literature investigating the impact of training faculty from different clusters on student assessment using subjective and objective measures. It provides developing and evaluating a long-term student assessment program following the Kirkpatrick model.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of design for lean six sigma (DFLSS) on operational functions of the innovation management model by appraising an innovation management assessment framework.

An empirical approach for evaluating causal relationships among various constructs in the model phases that identify optimum pathways in achieving commercial success was adopted. A quantitative analysis of survey data were collected from large, medium and small organiations, including incubators in ANZ (Australia, New Zealand) and TMSV (Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam).

The structural equation modelling recursive path analysis results of the model provide empirical evidence and pathways through the various constructs considered in the model. All these pathways lead to delivering optimum commercialization success (CS). Furthermore, DFLSS is confirmed as an enabler and has direct one-to-one and indirect influence on all the operational function constructs of the model including commercial success.

This study had a relatively small sample size of completed responses obtained from the population and a constrained ability to compare commercialization success (CS) between the two regions in the dataset. Future studies could be conducted on a global scale to increase responses.

The research findings enabled the development of important and practical guidelines for managers and innovation practitioners engaged in planning and management of innovation.

This research offers a holistic approach for integrating DFLSS with stage gate phases of innovation management assessment framework, supported by empirical evidence, to aid organizations in effectively managing the innovation process and achieving greater success in commercialization.

The purpose of this study is to explore how the risk of management motives for fraud can be assessed in external audits.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 experienced external auditors to explore their perspectives on the methods they employ to assess the risk of management motives for fraud.

The study identifies six methods external auditors can use to assess management motives for fraud. It emphasises that assessing management motives requires auditors to go beyond understanding these motives and necessitates a sceptical and analytical mindset. Auditors need to identify the accounts most vulnerable to management manipulations, observe management attitudes and assess the credibility of management assertions. The auditors in this study highlight specific accounts frequently manipulated by management. Still, manual year-end journal entries are the most vulnerable to management manipulations as they are subject to fewer controls. They recommend increasing the sample size to 100% and assigning more experienced staff, particularly, those with qualifications in fraud examination or anti-fraud training, to audit these vulnerable accounts thoroughly. They also provided examples of how auditors can identify management motives for fraud, observe management attitudes and assess the credibility of management assertions.

Audit standards (e.g. ISA 240, SAS99) lack explicit guidance on assessing management motives for fraud, but auditors are required to consider it in fraud risk assessment. This study proposes guidance recommendations to improve auditors' ability to assess this risk, which could be integrated into professional audit standards and training materials to improve auditors' professional scepticism, ability to challenge management and skills in fraud risk assessment.

Assessing the risk of management motives for fraud in external audits has received limited attention in the literature. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to address this knowledge gap.

SETARA is a well-known university rating tool in Malaysia. The study aims to enhance the transparency, accuracy, and reliability of SETARA assessment instrument by improving its weighting scheme for the domains, sub-domains, criteria, and indicators.

The study utilized a quantitative research design and collected responses from 29 academic administrators in both public and private higher education institutions in Malaysia. The four steps of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) were employed. An AHP questionnaire was developed, adopting the domains, sub-domains, criteria, and indicators of the SETARA assessment instrument. The “Superdecision” software was used to synthesize the pairwise comparison judgments and compute the consistency ratio for all group pairwise comparison matrices.

The AHP-assigned weights differed significantly from those assigned by the SETARA rating system. For instance, the weight for “Input” increased from 20 to 41.05 out of 100, and the weight for “Output” decreased from 40 to 25.52. The new SETARA rating instrument is expected to be used by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) due to its scientifically justified foundation to ensure transparency, accuracy, and reliability.

The study is limited by small sample size for data collection. Future research could benefit from a larger and more diverse sample, including participants from a number of national-level universities and relevant agencies like Malaysia Qualification Agency (MQA) and MOHE. Additionally, the research focused solely on recalculating weights and did not consider modifying the criteria set. Further investigation is needed to determine if some criteria can be added or removed.

This research offers practical implications for refining the SETARA assessment mechanism and improving the quality of higher education in Malaysia. The modified weights provide guidance to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on where to focus their efforts to ensure quality. The transparent methodology introduced by this study can serve as a model for enhancing educational quality evaluations in Malaysia and potentially in other higher education systems worldwide.

The originality of this study lies in its innovative application of the AHP to the SETARA assessment tool, addressing a crucial gap in the assessment process. By providing a comprehensive and transparent methodology for assigning percentages and weights, this research offers a practical blueprint for enhancing the precision and impact of educational quality evaluations in Malaysia and beyond.

Delay in housing adaptation is a major problem, especially in assessing if homes are suitable for the occupants and in determining if the occupants are qualified for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). This paper describes the development of two self-administered intelligent integrated assessment tools from the DFG Adapt-ABLE system: (1) The Home Suitability Assessment Platform, which is a preventive mechanism that allows assessment of the suitability of homes based on occupants’ mobility status and (2) an indicative assessment platform that determines if the applicants are qualified for the DFG to prevent lengthy delays.

The adopted method aligned with a development study approach: a grounded literature review, a severity measurement approach, two stakeholder engagement workshops, four brainstorming sessions and four focus group exercises. The system development relied on Entity–Relationship Diagram (ERD) technique for data structures and database systems design. It uses DFG context sensitivity with alignment with DFG guidance, interlinkages and interoperability between the assessment tools and other platforms of the integrated Adapt-ABLE system.

The assessment tools are client-level outcomes related to accessibility, usability and activity based on the assessment process. The home suitability platform shows the percentage of the suitability of a home with assessment results that suggest appropriate action plans based on individual mobility status. The indicative assessment combines the function of referral, allocation, assessment and test of resources into an integrated platform. This enables timely assessment, decision-making and case-escalation by Occupational Therapists based on needs criteria and the eligibility threshold.

These assessment tools are useful for understanding occupants’ perception of their physical housing environment in terms of accessibility, suitability and usability based on basic activities of daily living and their mobility status. The indicative self-assessment tool will substantially cut down the application journey. The developed tools have been recommended for use in the CSJ Disability Commission report and the UK government Guidance on DFGs for local authorities in England.

The study aims to critically review the Shariah governance framework for Islamic banking prevailing in Pakistan and provide a comparison with Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

It analyzes 16 circulars issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) since 2002, including three Shariah governance frameworks in 2014, 2015 and 2018. Additionally, the study compares the SBP and AAOIFI Shariah governance standards to evaluate the soundness of the SBP framework against international benchmarks.

Pakistan’s Shariah governance model is centralized, with the SBP’s Shariah board having ultimate authority. The SBP has provided a comprehensive Shariah framework, which includes among others, the criteria for the qualifications and conflict of interests of Shariah members. Both AAOIFI and SBP Shariah governance frameworks have similarities and differences in terms of the tenure of Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) members, reporting line of SSB, number of SSB meetings, minimum experience of SSB members, primary duties of Shariah board, code of ethics and conduct for SSB and management and requirement of publication of SSB report in the annual report of Islamic banks. The frameworks differ in terms of the delegation of SSB powers, assessment and appraisal of SSB effectiveness and outsourcing of Shariah Compliance Department and Internal Shariah Audit Unit.

The study recommends expanding the qualification criteria for Shariah advisors to include additional degrees and qualifications, upholding stringent criteria for conflict of interests and promoting stakeholder consultation through exposure drafts.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first of its kind which critically review and compare the Shariah governance framework prevailing in Pakistan.