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The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions, experiences and behaviors of women entrepreneurs and industry professionals in raising finance for women-led businesses and associated problems faced by the women entrepreneurs.

This qualitative research adopts a narrative inquiry strategy. In-depth interviews are used to collect data from women entrepreneurs and women industry professionals in Pakistan. NVivo qualitative data analysis software is used to organize, analyze and find insights in the qualitative data.

This research finds that women entrepreneurs struggle to secure financing for their businesses, and most of them have not been successful in obtaining loans from banks. Women entrepreneurs have relied on various sources of funding, including microfinance banks, grants, personal finance and family members. Some of the barriers to finance attainment for women entrepreneurs include sociocultural inhibitions, lack of awareness and limited information dissemination by financial institutions. Women professionals suggest that entrepreneurs should maintain a bank account, have proper documentation and show dedication to their business to improve their chances of obtaining financing.

This research provides theoretical contributions and methodological advancements in the study of financial inclusion for women-owned businesses in Pakistan. This research raises awareness about the difficulties women entrepreneurs face when trying to obtain credit from banks and other financial institutions and provides policy recommendations to inform the government about financial inclusion policies and financing policies for women entrepreneurs. Overall, this research contributes to the literature on financial access and access to finance for women-owned businesses in developing countries.

Based on the vulnerable group theory and theory of discouraged borrower, this paper has two important theoretical and practical implications. First, the findings of this study reveal that the financial services are indifferent to women, and there is a denial of women being vulnerable in the financial system, hence requiring a major policy shift to not portray women as vulnerable, as they will rationally feel risky and prefer to opt out of the financial system. Second, the findings suggest that the issue of access to finance for women is not in the financial services but in the women's capabilities and awareness. Therefore, a policy shift is suggested from “financial services for women” to “capability and awareness of women” to avail and access the current services.

The paper aims to investigate differences in non-professional and professional stock investors’ trust in and tendency to follow financial analysts’ buy and sell recommendations.

Online experiment conducted in Sweden in March 2022 comparing non-professional private investors (n = 80), professional investors (n = 33), and master students in finance (n = 28). Information was presented about four company stocks listed on the New York stock exchange. Two stocks were buy-recommended and two stocks sell-recommended by financial analysts. For one stock of each type, the recommendation was presented to participants. Dependent variables were predictions of the stock price after three months, ratings of confidence in the predictions and choices of holding, buying or selling the stock. Ratings were also made of the importance of presented stock-related information as well as trust in analysts’ skill and integrity.

More positive return predictions were made of buy-recommended than sell-recommended stocks. Non-professionals and to some degree finance students tended to trust financial analysts more than professional investors did and they were more influenced by the presentation of the buy recommendations. All groups made too optimistic return predictions, but the professionals were less confident in their predictions, more likely to sell the stocks and lost less on their investments.

A new finding is that non-professional stock investors are more likely than professional stock investors to trust financial analysts and follow their recommendations. It suggests that financial analysts’ recommendations influence non-professional investors to take unmotivated investment risks. Non-professionals in the stock market should hence be advised to exercise more caution in following analysts’ recommendations.

This study aims to focus on the five most relevant and discursive emerging technologies in accounting (cloud computing, big data and data analytics, blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics process automation [RPA]). It investigates the adoption and use of these technologies based on data collected from accounting professionals in a technology-developed country – Canada, through a survey.

The study investigates the adoption and use of emerging technologies based on data collected from accounting professionals in a technology-developed country – Canada, through a survey. This study considers the said nature and characteristics of emerging technologies and proposes a model using the factors that have been found to be significant and most commonly investigated by existing prior technology-organization-environment (TOE)-related technology adoption studies. This survey applies the TOE framework and examines the influence of significant and most commonly known factors on Canadian firms’ intention to adopt the said emerging technologies.

Study results indicate that Canadian accounting professionals’ self-assessed knowledge (about these emerging technologies) is more theoretical than operational. Cloud computing is highly used by Canadian firms, while the use of other technologies, particularly blockchain and RPA, is reportedly low. However, firms’ intention about the future adoption of these technologies seems positive. Study results reveal that only the relative advantage and top management commitment are found to be significant considerations influencing the adoption intention.

Study findings confirm some results presented in earlier studies but provide additional insights from a new perspective, that of accounting professionals in Canada. The first limitation relates to the respondents. Although accounting professionals provided valuable insights, their responses are personal views and do not necessarily represent the views of other professionals within the same firm or the official position of their accounting departments or firms. Therefore, the exclusion of diverse viewpoints from the same firm might have negatively impacted the results of this study. Second, this study sample is limited to Canada-based firms, which means that the study reflects only the situation in that country. Third, considering the research method and the limit on the number of questions the authors could ask, respondents were only asked to rate the impact of these five technologies on the accounting field and to clarify which technologies are used.

This study’s findings confirm that the organizational intention to adopt new technology is not primarily based on the characteristics of the technology. In the case of emerging technology adoption, the decision also depends upon other factors related to the internal organization. Furthermore, although this study found no support for the effect of environmental factors, it fills a gap in the literature by including the factor of vendor support, which has received little attention in prior information technology (IT)/ information system (IS) adoption research. Moreover, in contrast to most prior adoption studies, this study elaborates on accounting professionals’ experience and perceptions in investigating the organizational adoption and use of emerging technologies. Thus, the findings of this study are valuable, providing insights from a new perspective, that of professional accountants.

The study findings may serve as a guide for researchers, practitioners, firms and other stakeholders, particularly technology providers, interested in learning about emerging technologies’ adoption and use in Canada and/or in a relevant context. Contrary to most prior adoption studies, this study elaborates on accounting professionals’ experience and perceptions in investigating the organizational adoption and use of emerging technologies. Thus, the findings of this study are valuable, providing insights from a new perspective, that of professional accountants.

The study provides insights into the said technologies’ actual adoption and improves the awareness of firms and stakeholders to the effect of some constructs that influence the adoption of these emerging technologies in accounting.

The cognitive biases exhibited by investors could hinder their capacity for logical reasoning and impact their perception and reaction to information when making financial choices. So, this study was done to identify the behavioral biases that hinder investors' sound decision-making at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

A cross-sectional study was undertaken employing a causal research design approach. Questionnaires were administered to individual investors of the PSX as the data collection methodology. The data were subsequently analyzed through the utilization of the Smart PLS Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique.

The results suggest that information factors and cognitive biases, namely home bias, geographical bias, investor sentiment, salience, and over/under reaction have a positive association with the investors' choices at PSX.

The study’s emphasis is on the impact of behavioral biases on individual investors only, even though such biases also influence the investment decisions of institutional investors.

The study holds implications for scholars engaged in the field of behavioral finance as well as professionals involved in the stock market, particularly those interacting with individual investors and personal finance. Additionally, the current study will take into account investors, financial advisors, practitioners, policymakers, investment experts, stakeholders or target groups, etc. to support various groups in their professional activity and to help them overcome such biases that influence their sound decision-making power.

The innovative aspect of this research is its ability to advance the understanding of the conceptual underpinnings and social structure of behavioral biases by critically analyzing the body of prior research and adding value to the existing body of literature on behavioral finance in Pakistan by investigating the combined impact of never-studied variables, i.e. geographical bias and information variables, understudied behavioral variables, i.e. home bias and salience and studied variables, i.e. investor sentiment and over/under reaction on individual investor investment decisions at PSX.

Introduction: The circular economy is observed as a good sustainability practice that has gained importance recently. The effects of this practice specific to the financial industry are examined in the context of green accounting, finance, and sustainability reporting standards and needs.

Purpose: This chapter aims to analyse the impact of the circular economy on the finance industry based on three research questions: (1) What benefits and challenges does the circular economy bring to the financial industry? (2) What should be the financial industry’s strategic roadmap and business model for transitioning from a linear economy to a circular economy? (3) What are the differentiating aspects of ecosystem accounting and environmental accounting in its structure and use in the financial industry?

Methodology: The method of our work is based on a ‘strategic road map for circular economy’ implementation and a ‘sustainability business model framework’ relevant to the finance industry. Thus, we systematically present the ‘value generation process’ considering the industry trends and dynamics and regulatory challenges regarding ‘green business model’ management with a strategic approach.

Findings: To coordinate the transition to a circular economy based on systematic knowledge about the state of ecosystems and their interactions with society, it is necessary to design monitoring, accounting and reporting systems that adapt to the new business operating environment. This chapter provides recommendations from the perspective of the financial sector.

The purpose of this paper is to garner a deeper understanding of the site of influence of aspects of risk management for tax practitioners.

The research design is twofold. Phase one consisted of a wide-scale international survey with 1,061 tax experts across 59 jurisdictions. In phase two, the authors followed up with 68 semi-structured interviews with tax practitioners working in 11 different countries.

The findings recognise the importance of the firm as a significant “site of influence” for tax practitioners in shaping their risk appetite in their tax work. The firm eclipses other influences of risk such as professional body oversight, public interest and demographic markers such as gender and career stage. The authors show that firm is significant, irrespective of size of firm.

This work has practical implications as the findings highlight the importance of oversight of professional service firms by both the professional accountancy bodies and revenue authorities. The findings may have impact on the ethical training and guidance for trainee accountants in terms of an increased awareness on the employing firm as a site of influence for tax practitioners.

This research is important as it adds to the significant body of work on firm socialisation and highlights the important role that the firm holds in moderating (or exacerbating) the risk appetite of tax practitioners, which has significant implications in terms of pushing the boundaries of tax aggressive behaviours. The work aims to recognise the important role that tax practitioners can have in moderating aggressive tax practice, and, thus, reducing tax inequalities and shaping a better world of “Reduced Inequalities” (SDG10).

This paper investigates the moderating role of institutional quality in the relationship between public education financing and educational quality in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

This paper uses a two-step system generalised method of moments (GMM) to investigate the dynamic relationships among the variables using data from the World Bank covering the periods 2002–2020 for 46 SSA countries.

The results show that institutional quality moderates the effect of public education financing on educational quality at SSA’s primary, secondary and tertiary levels. This finding shows that improved institutional quality enhances the effectiveness of public educational investments.

The findings of this study imply that policymakers seeking to enhance educational quality must not only increase educational investments but also institute measures to improve institutional quality.

Prior studies fail to examine the moderating role of institutional quality in the nexus between public education financing and educational quality. This study analyses the role of institutional quality in the public education financing–educational quality nexus in SSA. The findings of this study contribute to improving the return on public education financing in SSA.

This study examines the need for an accounting curriculum to evolve in response to the changing business landscape. Specifically, this study aims to explore the relationship between various market forces, the shifting dynamics of business, and the importance of adapting accounting education to these changes.

This study is a combination of both quantitative and qualitative research. A structured questionnaire was administered to 320 professionals to gather data, and the study employed descriptive analysis, one-sample t-tests, and structured equation modeling to analyze the relationship between the variables.

The findings reveal a strong correlation between business transformation and the imperative to adapt accounting education. This study emphasizes the significance of modifying accounting curricula to align with the current market trends. Furthermore, this study addresses the pressing concern of sustainability and the triple bottom line (TBL), advocating specialized education in sustainability accounting programs.

Despite its contributions, this study acknowledges a limitation in its focus solely on the perceptions of professionals and academicians regarding the impact of business transformation on accounting education, without directly examining the prevailing accounting education system. Future research should address this limitation by undertaking a qualitative exploration of the actual accounting education landscape and market requirements.

The implications of the study span the theoretical, regulatory, environmental, and social domains, stressing the need for educational institutions, regulatory bodies, and industry to collaborate in shaping competent and future-ready accounting professionals. A systematic approach would validate and extend the findings of this study, providing deeper insights into the transformative processes necessary to enhance accounting education in response to evolving business landscapes and environmental dynamics.

The outcome of the study assists educational institutions and regulatory bodies in framing policies to adapt accounting education to the evolving business landscape by updating the accounting curriculum as per the changes in the market forces to make graduates relevant and competent.