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This paper aims to consider the relevance of asset impairments when evaluating stewardship by management.

This paper considers association of earnings (including and excluding asset impairments) with contemporaneous stock returns which are used as a measure of management performance and demonstration of stewardship.

Evidence is provided of earnings including asset impairments (an accounting measure of current measure firm performance) having a higher explanatory power for contemporaneous stock returns (an objective evaluation of current period firm performance) than earnings exclusive of asset impairments. Consistent with this, recognized asset impairments are significantly associated with contemporaneous stock returns. These results occur across firm years generally, as well as for firm years exhibiting indicators of impairment and firm years recognizing asset impairments.

This paper adds to the literature providing evidence of asset impairments not being recognised on a timely basis. Additionally, challenges are identified in evaluating the relevance of accounting information for so-called growth firms.

These findings support continued recognition of asset impairments in the Statement of Profit or Loss if stewardship is accepted as an objective for financial reporting. It also suggests issues with the recognition of asset impairments that might be addressed by enhanced disclosure.

This paper is distinctive in that it considers the relevance of accounting information for evaluating stewardship, as distinct from decision-making. It also considers alternate measure of performance (earnings including and excluding asset impairments) for all firms rather than only those disclosing an alternate measure (i.e. a fair horse race)

The author develops a bilateral Nash bargaining model under value uncertainty and private/asymmetric information, combining ideas from axiomatic and strategic bargaining theory. The solution to the model leads organically to a two-tier stochastic frontier (2TSF) setup with intra-error dependence. The author presents two different statistical specifications to estimate the model, one that accounts for regressor endogeneity using copulas, the other able to identify separately the bargaining power from the private information effects at the individual level. An empirical application using a matched employer–employee data set (MEEDS) from Zambia and a second using another one from Ghana showcase the applied potential of the approach.

Set within the context of International Financial Services (IFS), this research aims to considers the demographic profile of IFS apprenticeship candidates in relation to gender equality and social mobility in Ireland. This study also offers valuable insights as to the gendered nature of these “new” apprenticeships and examine whether these programmes provide opportunities for social mobility.

Implementing a quantitative approach, underpinned by a positivist stance, this study analyses Irish national apprenticeship data relating to IFS programmes (n = 1118). Non-parametric tests were applied in the analysis of the gender dimension, while to analyse social mobility, the socio-economic status and spatial profile of candidates were compiled and analysed using the Pobal HP Deprivation Index (SA).

The findings revealed more women are undertaking non-traditional apprenticeship programmes as compared with traditional craft apprenticeships. Within the IFS context, while female participation was seen to be growing, gender divergence was observed in terms of programme level, with a greater number of men, as compared with women, engaging in higher-level degree apprenticeship programmes. The findings also show that IFS apprentices are primarily from socio-economic areas that are above average. This trend indicates a distinctive candidate who is more aligned with the sectoral profile of IFS than that of traditional apprenticeship programmes. Such findings reveal that the “widening participation” aim of IFS apprenticeships is not yet fully realised with issues of gender inequality and social mobility persistent within the wider IFS sector.

This study provides an important dimension to both academic and practitioner literature concerning apprenticeships. To date, there has been a proliferation of publications concerning the beneficial impact of skills and vocational-led apprenticeships. However, limited attention has been directed to non-traditional apprenticeships and even less still within the setting of IFS. This research initiates the process of addressing that gap within an Irish context. This study also adds to the existing apprenticeship discourse regarding issues of gender and social mobility by examining the gendered nature of IFS apprenticeships and well as assessing whether these apprenticeships aid social mobility.

The objective of this study is to construct a theoretical framework concerning wage determination, grounded in principles and supplemented by conventional theories. It discusses the Islamic perspectives on minimum wage and examines contemporary challenges and intricacies in its application.

This study uses thematic analysis to create the conceptual framework, drawing upon a review of pertinent literature such as academic papers, books and articles published up to 2023.

The framework encompasses various categories, namely, employee characteristics, job characteristics, market factors, compensation practices and Islamic principles. Each category consists of multiple variables. The resulting framework offers a holistic and ethically grounded methodology for wage determination, aligning with both Islamic and conventional perspectives. This study notes the absence of a universally agreed-upon minimum wage. Islamic economics faces challenges due to the unclear application of principles, limited awareness, legal constraints and a lack of empirical evidence on wage systems, along with complexities in their implementation.

The paper’s limited scope focuses solely on the Islamic perspective on wage determination, without comparing it to the conventional viewpoint. This may have implications for future research.

The insights on Islamic principles and wage determination guide scholars and policymakers interested in promoting just and equitable wages.

This study is distinct in its integration of various factors to propose an all-encompassing framework for wage determination, rooted in the Quran and principles, while also reinforcing the framework with conventional theories. Additionally, it adds to the growing body of literature by investigating the Quran’s stance and principles on minimum wage, as well as discusses the challenges involved in implementing an Islamic approach to wage determination, which has received limited attention in Islamic literature.

This paper aims to estimate a statistical model of the country risk determination as represented by the country price earnings ratio (PE) to identify potentially mispriced countries. It uses the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate and a dummy indicator for market-related events (i.e. financial crises), both approximating the business cycle. The model is used to compare a major Asian country’s (i.e. Japan) risk with Western countries’ risk.

The model used finance variables such as the systemic, non-diversifiable, risk and foreign direct investments to characterize any country risk. A random effects model with panel data estimated the effects of macroeconomic and financial variables on PE. The simultaneity problem was checked using two stage least squares and some lagged independent variables.

The results explained to investors the country risk contributing factors: PE was positively correlated with variables that may increase dividends and market risk premia similar to GDP growth rates and total risk and negatively correlated with variables that increase market risk, namely, nominal risk-free interest rates and financial crises. Japan’s PE seemed to exceed most of the Western countries considered here, implying lower risks, lower interest rates and higher growth in the major Asian country Japan.

This paper focuses on the effectiveness of country risk measures in predicting periods of intense instability, similar to financial crises. This study contributes a model to measure market risk premium, using PE (or inversely, the earnings yield) as a proxy variable. Investors can use this risk measure in picking less risky stocks to include in their portfolio, calling for liberalizing Asian countries’ financial markets to improve their stock market capitalization.

This research paper aims to examine the effect of chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics on earnings management.

Research samples are manufacturing firms listed in the Indonesian Stock Exchange 2015–2021. CEO characteristics include narcissism, gender, age, tenure, experience, nationality and founding family status. Data analysis uses random-effect regression.

The result shows that higher narcissism CEOs have aggressive characteristics so they will be more likely to engage in accrual and real earnings management. Female CEOs, foreign CEOs and founding-family CEOs have higher monitoring and business ethics characteristics so they will be less likely to engage in accrual and real earnings management. CEOs with higher education levels have higher thinking complexity so they will be more likely to engage in accrual earnings management with higher regulator and auditor monitoring barriers than real earnings management. CEOs with financial and accounting experience are familiar with accounting standards and auditor monitoring barriers so they will be more likely to engage in accrual earnings management than real earnings management. On the other hand, there are no effects of CEO age and tenure on earnings management.

This research contributes to providing evidence of the effect of CEO characteristics on earnings management in a specific industry such as manufacturing firms and emerging markets such as Indonesia with the majority group firms being family firms.

This chapter focuses on testing optimal capital structure theory: The role of intervening variable debt to equity ratio (DER) on the influence of the financial performance, Ownership Structure of Independent Board of Commissioners (IBCO), Audit Committee (ACO), and Institutional Ownership on Firm Value. The research design was explanatory research using path analysis. Using purposive sampling, 61 manufacturing companies, observation period from 2014 to 2018 with 286 N samples. The research novelty empirically can prove the role of intervening variable DER on the effect of return on assets (ROA) on firm value and shows the market response to the ROA is fully reflected by DER, indicating the existence of an optimal capital structure. The role of DER on the effect of ROE and IBCO on firm value is a partial mediation with the inverse direction. This phenomenon shows that the mechanism of forming a balance between the responses of investors and creditors relates to debt financing.

This paper attempts to investigate the effect of corruption on the real and accrual earnings management of target firms in the process of mergers and acquisitions.

The sample includes target firms from the European area that participate in mergers or acquisitions announced during 2010–2020. The preliminary empirical part estimates the level of earnings management during the period two years before the deal's announcement to identify whether the sample follows the manipulation behavior that the literature suggests for target firms. The primary empirical analysis focuses on the impact of corruption on real and accrual-based earnings management proxies, employing regression models and two alternative proxies for corruption. The existing literature points out that the combination of low levels of corruption and an integrated legal system reduces earnings manipulation.

The findings provide strong evidence for systematic downwards accounting manipulation practices, whereas the findings for real earnings management are not significant. The findings of the main empirical part show that corruption is positively associated with accrual-based manipulation and negatively related to real earnings management. In essence, in economies with a high level of transparency, managers adopt the manipulation of operating activities as a less detectable practice of earnings management instead of engaging in accounting procedures.

This study contributes to the literature highlighting the diversification of these firms' manipulation strategies according to the national level's corruption status.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the required disclosure and the high frequency of key audit matters (KAMs) are likely to moderate the effect of higher credit risk on earnings quality.

This study uses 15,106 Taiwanese firm-year observations to explore the relationship between earnings quality and credit risk during the 2011 to 2020 period. We use the two-stage least squares method to test whether the presence of KAM disclosures moderated the association between earnings quality and credit risk and also to examine whether higher KAM frequency moderates the association between earnings quality and credit risk.

Our results provide evidence that the presence of a KAM disclosure requirement moderates the impact of firms with higher credit risk on earnings quality. In addition, there is significant evidence that the higher the frequency of KAM disclosures the greater the moderation impact that is found.

This research investigates whether the disclosure and high frequency of KAMs moderates the effect of credit riskiness on earnings quality. This study improves our understanding of whether more KAMs disclosures would improve earnings quality of firms with higher credit risk. In addition, we also use Beneish M-SCORE, as an alternative earnings quality proxy, to reinforce our empirical results. This markedly differentiates this paper from other studies.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of family control on the association between related party transactions (RPTs) and different forms of accrual-based earnings management (AEM) and real earnings management (REM), analyzing the effect of board characteristics on the possible association.

This paper studies a sample of Italian non-financial listed firms over the 2014–2019 period, by GLS regression models, controlling for the fixed effects of the company's sector of operation and the year.

Results indicate a different association between RPTs and earnings management (EM) in family and non-family firms. They point out that family firms use RPTs in association with downward AEM and REM perpetrated by abnormal discretionary expenses as well as a substitute of REM via abnormal production costs. For non-family firms, findings indicate only a substitution effect between RPTs and AEM. Furthermore, CEO duality, board gender diversity and the presence of the family on the board positively moderate the association between RPTs and, respectively, REM implemented through sales manipulations, downward AEM and upward AEM.

This study suggests that the socioemotional wealth (SEW) differently affects the relationship between RPTs and EM, according to the form of the latter. It also points out family firms' heterogeneity in earnings manipulations, by providing evidence of the moderating role of board characteristics on the association between RPTs and the various forms of EM.