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The presence of women is lower than that of men in positions of responsibility in economic management in public administration, although there has been a more significant increase in local administration. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the application and development of the internal control system in local governments improves through the presence of women in positions of management and responsibility in these institutions.

The authors use a multivariate model that allows them to verify the predictive capability of their previously defined explanatory variable gender in 1,527 Spanish local governments. They analyze the empirical relation between the gender and internal control system by multivariate regression models.

The authors find that the presence of women in management positions in local governments affects internal control system influences as well as a series of financial and non-financial variables. They conclude that in local governments of more than 50,000 inhabitants, the presence of women in the management has a positive influence on internal control systems and also promotes transparency and a more effective fight against corruption, thus enhancing internal control systems.

The presence of women in positions of management and responsibility in local government will favor a decrease of corruption in local governments and increase their efficiency and transparency. This study can facilitate women’s access to positions of more economic and financial responsibility in public administration, as well as improve the management and efficiency in these institutions.

This research is novel in that it determines whether the application and development of the internal control system in local governments improves through the presence of women in the position of management and responsibility in these institutions.

The application of new public governance by many countries has led to the creation of new management systems in public administration and the development of an effective accounting structure with efficient internal control to guarantee a proper provision of services that meet citizens’ requirements. The purpose of this paper is to focus on Spanish local government with the intention of determining the impact of the internal control structure on the disclosure of financial information on the internet.

The empirical analysis used combines a descriptive aspect with an explanatory one and seeks to answer the question of whether the internal control system (ICS) influences the disclosure of financial information on the websites of Spanish LGs. The authors use a multivariate model that allows us to verify the predictive capability of the previously defined explanatory variable, internal control, in 1,806 local governments. To test the hypotheses, the authors use two different models.

The authors consider the existence and quality of the financial information disclosure in relation to ICSs, and a series of financial and non-financial variables. The authors conclude that the structure of the ICS influences financial information disclosure and its quality. Also, the socio-political variable gives a better explanation of financial information disclosure than the financial variable.

This research is novel to determine whether the development of ICSs in Spanish municipalities has favored and increased the disclosure of financial information financial through the municipalities’ website transparency portal. These findings will contribute to increase the importance of internal control in the management of public entities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between a firm's internal audit function (IAF) and the quality of its financial reporting. Since regulations on corporate governance were introduced, numerous national and international bodies have emphasized the fundamental role of the IAF in the financial reporting process, especially since it generally leads to higher quality reporting.

The paper uses questionnaires sent to internal audit directors of Spanish banks.

Banks with high quality financial reporting have greater collaboration between internal and external auditors in the annual audit. Greater involvement of internal audit in reviewing financial reporting leads to improved quality financial reporting.

Besides the usual caveats of survey research, there are limitations to this study. First, the problem of response bias may exist. Second, the 66 per cent survey response rate may mean that respondents have larger or better‐developed internal audit functions, affording them more opportunity or motivation to respond to the survey. Hence, the results obtained through the survey may not be generalizable to non‐respondents.

The findings are relevant for bank regulators, management, boards of directors, and investors. In the current discussion on transparency, integrity and quality of financial reporting, these findings help define the issues.

Previous empirical studies analyse the quality of financial reporting with actors in the corporate governance mosaic (board of directors, audit committee and external audit), but they do not do so directly with the IAF. This paper extends prior banking literature that analyses quality financial reporting along with other variables, but not internal audit.

The growing range of EEC Directives and Regulations for food products, some of which have never been subject to statutory control in this country, with compositional standards, and in particular, prescribed methods of analysis — something which has not featured in the food legislative policies here — must be causing enforcement authorities and food processors to think seriously, if as yet not furiously. Some of the prescribed methods of analysis are likely to be less adaptable to modern processing methods of foods and as Directives seem to be requiring more routine testing, there is the matter of cost. Directive requirements are to some extent negotiable — the EEC Commission allow for regional differences, e.g., in milk and bread — but it has to be remembered that EEC Regulations bind Member‐states from the date of notification by the Commission, over‐riding the national law. Although not so frequently used for food legislation, they constitute one of the losses of sovereign power, paraded by the anti‐market lobby. Regulations contain usual clauses that they “shall enter into force on the day following publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities” and that they “shall be binding in their entirety and directly applicable in all Member States”.

Sixteen different vinyl monomers were synthesised, based on 12‐hydroxy stearic acid in high purity. These include allyl, acrylic and methacrylic esters. These monomers were characterised by infra red spectroscopy and their purity was checked by chromatographic techniques. Boiling/melting points, refractive indices and iodine values of the products have been determined.

The nutritional advantages of reducing fat in the diet have been well publicised since the appearance of the NACNE and COMA reports. The major ways of reducing fat in the diet are by recipe changes, producing less fried food and using fat reduced ingredients. However there are others that are not so well known. These include the addition of powders to frying oils which reduce the amount of oil absorbed by the food, the manufacturers claim, by up to 50 %; and the use of modified batters that contain high amylose starch which are claimed to reduce fat absorption. With fried fish, reductions from 18–24% (wheat flour only) to 10–12% (wheat flour plus high amylose starch) have been recorded.

Eleostearic acid is the backbone of tung oil, the manufacturer, uses, potential and chemical structure of which have been reviewed in earlier years. Eleostearic acid is a conjugated, positional isomer of linolenic acid, with three double bonds and is a very reactive acid, even more so than linolenic acid —

The Protection of Consumers (Trade Descriptions) bill which, owing to the General Election, did not quite make the Statute Book in the last Parliament, is, at the moment of writing, passing through its readings, with every likelihood of becoming law in the near future. It has been criticised for the extent of the control to be exercised over general trading and that in “coddling the customer” it will place unreasonable responsibilities upon retailers. In fact, it is impossible to foresee just how far its provisions may extend, but there will be few who will disagree that new and more searching requirements are long overdue.

These are the days of falling standards and sagging morale, nowhere more apparent than in the one‐time efficient public service. The division between management and workers in the field in the large public enterprises has grown wider and wider and we tend to blame the lower strata of the structure for most of the ills which beset us, mainly because its failures are more obvious; here, the falling standards of work and care speak for themselves. The massive reorganization of the National Health Service and local authorities has made evident, especially in the first, that the upper strata of the colossi which dominate our everyday lives have their ills too. Local authorities have been told “The party is over!” and the National Health Service has been told of the urgent need for the strictest economy in administration; that the taking over of personal health services from local authorities was wrongly attributed to “managerial growth” instead of a mere “transfer of functions”, but, nonetheless, new authorities were created, each with fast‐growing administrative organs operating services—doctors, nurses and patients—which had remained unchanged. Very large local authorities, with many functions lost to others, one would have expected to have resulted in economy of administration, has all‐too‐often been the opposite. Hardly surprising that those who pay for it all, distinct from those who receive of its largesse, are being stirred to rebellion, when they have been overtaxed, ill‐used and what is more important, ignored for so long.

In the second half of 1974, sugar became a precious commodity. Domestic and commercial stockpiling increased the weekly sales by 1800 tons compared with sales in 1973. With rising prices and the possible scarcity of sugar in the future, there is renewed interest in artificial sugar substitutes, the so‐called synthetic sweeteners.