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Due to their particular nature, virtual assets (VA) are vulnerable to financial crimes such as money laundering and if the appropriate legal mechanisms are not established, this may result in the financial collapse of various economies. To this effect, best practices and standards have been published by some international organisations such as the Financial Action Task Force and IMF which are now domesticated in the national laws of several countries. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyse the anti-money laundering (AML) legislative framework in the context of VA in three countries, namely, Mauritius, Japan and South Africa.

To achieve the research objective, the Mauritian AML laws in the context of VA were compared with the corresponding laws of some other countries, namely, Japan and South Africa. As such, a qualitative research method was adopted. In particular, the black letter approach was used to examine the relevant laws of these countries. A comparative analysis was conducted concerning the relevance of AML laws for each country when dealing with VA with the view of suggesting recommendations for Mauritian stakeholders to adopt to enhance the existing AML legal and regulatory framework.

The comparative study conducted has revealed that there are both similarities and divergences among the AML framework of the three countries further to which this research recommends that the Mauritian laws must be amended concerning the duration of information storage on VA, the definition of VA, advertisement by VA service providers and the electronic submission of annual reports. The Mauritian regulatory bodies also need to play a more active role in their joint collaboration to monitor suspicious VA transactions to combat money laundering.

At present, this study will be among the first academic writings on the efficiency of AML laws in the context of VA in Mauritius and also, because existing literature is quite scarce on assessing the adequacy of AML legislation in developing countries, this research aims at filling in the gap in literature. This study is carried out with the aim of combining a large amount of empirical, theoretical and factual information that can be of use to various stakeholders and not only to academics.

This paper aims to discuss the effect of Canada’s regulatory framework on the strategies of entrepreneurial businesses during the first phase of legalization of the recreational cannabis industry. Decriminalization of cannabis required a host of regulatory changes at the federal, provincial and municipal levels. Each province developed legal markets independently, differentially impacting entrepreneurial strategies. This paper describes the value chain that emerged in the first phase of the nascent industry, focusing on the actions of the businesses.

The authors develop a qualitative narrative analysis using government publications, press articles (especially from the business press) and personal communications of industry insiders speaking in public settings. The paper includes four short case studies to illustrate the emerging value chain of the nascent industry.

The study’s findings highlight the effect of regulatory frameworks on entrepreneurial strategies. We find that public policies had a significant impact on entrepreneurs and startup strategies. Inter-jurisdictional differences limited expansion into different provinces, with implications for regional economic development. Achieving public policy goals was delayed as a result of regulatory challenges that impacted industry development.

The authors’ findings show enterprises may develop growth strategies that comply with regulations when participating in nascent industries, but they must cope with extra risks, capital costs and uncertainty. The analysis also illustrates the value of engaging in government-industry collaboration to improve emerging regulatory frameworks.

The originality of this research consists of the detailed description of the first phase of Canada’s legalized recreational cannabis industry and the insight gained into the dynamics of nascent industries.

Efforts to prevent and eradicate the crime of money laundering require a strong legal basis to ensure legal certainty. This paper aims to analyse law enforcement on money launderers with juridical review perspectives.

The research method used in this study is the statute approach, which is to examine all laws and regulations related to the crime of money laundering. The writing method used is the normative method, which is a type of research that uses the analysis of certain legislation.

Three new findings were discovered. In assessing the validity or validation of a business ownership or business transaction, there are at least three pieces of evidence that need to be used, namely, presence/absence of company/business registration in an official government database; the presence/absence (including the amount) of tax reported on income tax and VAT; and the presence/absence of other legal documents relating to the existence or general licensing of a business.

The results of this study are also expected to be helpful for the community, government agencies, or institutions, such as the police, to combat corruption, and money laundering. The Prosecutor's Office and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) describe the handling of money laundering crimes originating from money laundering crimes.

This research can provide an overview and input for the broader community as an early warning so as not to commit money laundering crimes.

This is one of the pioneer studies looking into law enforcement on money launderers with comprehensive juridical review.

This paper aims to analyze what Samarco and Brazilian magazines speak and say about Mariana’s environmental crime. Discover their doxa in this subject. Interpret the speakings, sayings and doxas through the theories of the treadmills of production, crime and law.

It is a qualitative and documental research and a narrative analysis. Regarding the documents: 45 were from public authorities, 14 from Samarco Mineração S.A. and 73 from Brazilian magazines. Theoretically, the authors resorted to Bourdieusian sociology (speaking, saying and doxa) and the treadmills of production, crime and law theories.

Samarco: speaking – mission statements; saying – detailed information and economic and financial concerns; doxa – assistance discourse. Brazilian magazines: speaking – external agents; saying – agreements; doxa – attribution, aggravations, historical facts, impacts and protests.

The absence of discussions that addressed this fatality, with its respective consequences, from an agenda that exposed and denounced how it exacerbated race, class and gender inequalities.

Regarding Mariana’s environmental crime: Samarco Mineração S.A. speaks and says through the treadmill of production theory and supports its doxa through the treadmill of crime theory, and Brazilian magazines speak and say through the treadmill of law theory and support their doxa through the treadmill of crime theory.

To provoke reflections on the relationship between the mining companies and the communities where they settle to develop their productive activities.

Concerning environmental crime in perspective, submit it to a theoretical interpretation based on sociological references, approach it in a debate linked to environmental criminology, and describe it through narratives exposed by the guilty company and by Brazilian magazines with high circulation.

This study investigates the progress of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act 2003, and its associated Chartered Accountancy Profession Sector Code. In doing so, we explore why B-BBEE affirmative action has not yet achieved the Code's representational intentions, including systemic subtleties inhibiting this success.

Using semi-structured interviews, we explore the lived experiences of Black aspirant Chartered Accountants (CAs) undertaking articles in global audit firms. The experiences are thematically analysed, embracing a comprehensive theoretical approach that encompasses professional and social closure, as well as boundary work, to adequately understand why affirmative transformational endeavours persistently face uphill tasks. The utilisation of multifaceted theorisation is deemed essential for a more nuanced portrayal of the intricacies inherent in the CA profession in South Africa.

The narratives presented by Black aspiring CAs unveil a complex web of exclusionary practices entrenched in institutionalised historical, professional, and social contexts. The multifaceted nature of closures, symbolised by racial, cultural, and linguistic factors, significantly impacts the experiences of Black trainees. The findings furthermore show that deliberate intervention beyond compliance with the Government’s framework is necessary for meaningful transformation.

The paper brings to the fore the current lived experiences of underrepresented Black CAs in global auditing firms. In doing so, these firms are empowered with incremental knowledge of the prevailing challenges and can thus make tangible improvements towards authentic transformation. Additionally, the results help in tracking the advancements made through affirmative action, acting as a feedback loop for future developments in transformation policy.

Contributing to the critical accounting literature, our study extends scholarship on the barriers faced by CAs and the limitations in their capacity to challenge these obstacles within global audit firms. We offer practical policy-focused recommendations that, if implemented, can address the complex socio-political realities obstructing the success of affirmative action. By sharing first-hand accounts, our study aims to empower auditing firms and other related stakeholders with actionable insights, enabling them to improve genuine inclusivity and foster equitable representation in the accounting profession.

This paper aims to better understand auditing practices as a social phenomenon and management practice through a comparative historical analysis of the emergence of statutory auditing in three European countries, namely, France, Great Britain and Germany between 1844 and 1935.

The authors’ approach is a comparative history relying on a literature review, books pertaining to the period of interest and relevant archives.

The three countries’ trajectories were similar. All featured the promulgation of acts at the second half of the 19th century, the development of the accounting profession and the introduction of new acts to further strengthen statutory auditing around the Great Depression. However, each country took a different path because of the degree of regulation. For instance, the regulation strength and the degree of professionalism differed considerably by country. Business secrecy was also a departure point; it ranged from the rejection of auditors as intruders in France to Germany’s exclusively internal auditing and the UK’s peer auditing. The countries also differed on perceptions of the auditor’s role. Auditors were seen through the lens of a general interest mission in France, as advisors to internal governance bodies in Germany and as shareholders’ agents in Great Britain.

This paper compares three main European countries in the specific context of the introduction of statutory auditing. The findings of this paper are helpful for the international harmonization of auditing standards, as the derived insights provide a better understanding of the differences in the standards’ implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the whistleblowing intentions of external auditors and the factors that influence their intentions.

Using the survey methodology, data was collected from 339 external auditors from licensed private audit firms. The partial least squares structural equation modelling technique was used to analyse the data.

The results indicate that external auditors have a greater propensity to blow the whistle on wrongdoings and they prefer to report wrongdoings using internal channels than external channels. The study further found uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long-term orientation to be good predictors of whistleblowing intentions.

The findings have practical implications for human resource practitioners who seek to foster job synergy and encourage the reporting of wrongdoings. Also, it has useful implications for policymakers who seek to enhance whistleblowing activities.

Theoretically, this study is among the first to provide empirical support for the applicability of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory at the individual level within the whistleblowing discourse from an African perspective.

Unlike well-documented market or behavioral uncertainty, patent uncertainty has been significantly under-explored in the field of international entrepreneurship. Drawing on an institution-based view of strategy, this study investigated Netac, a Chinese knowledge-based international new venture (KINV), which was facing uncertainty over patents in China and the US. The aim was to address two questions: (1) how does patent uncertainty emerge in the context of KINVs? And (2) how can KINVs navigate patent hazards by interacting with national patent institutions?

A longitudinal single-case study approach was adopted as the most appropriate method for exploring novel business phenomena and dynamic processes.

Results suggested that a KINV can adopt strategies to build a unique identity and so better conform to the expectations of institutions that ultimately decide on patent validity. Strategies may involve building institutional awareness, amplifying mass media effects, and strategically managing the intellectual property and socio-emotional tensions between China and the US.

This study introduced the notion of patent uncertainty into research around international new ventures, highlighting how this type of uncertainty in the advanced technology sector can affect the end-product and patent licensing opportunities of KINVs. It also explored the institution-based view of company strategy in the internationalization process by emphasizing interactive institutional mechanisms, and the role of an organization’s identity when interacting with institutions. The study enriches the literature on institutional theory and organizational identity, and also suggests solutions for firms dealing with efforts by competitors to invalidate patents.

The primary objective of this study aims to intensively explore the environment of Indonesian regulations and laws related to the Islamic banking system and micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) and unveil the restrictive laws and regulatory flaws that potentially hinder the Islamic banking institution and MSME industry in achieving financial inclusion and promoting sustainable growth.

This paper implements a qualitative method by implementing a multi-case study research strategy, both from the Islamic banking institutions and the MSME industries. The data were gathered primarily through an interview approach by adopting purposive uncontrolled quota sampling.

The findings of this paper reveal two essential issues: First, the regulatory imbalances and restrictions could demotivate and hinder the efforts of Islamic banks in providing access to finance for the MSME segment, hence, encumbering the achievement of the financial inclusion agenda from the Islamic banking industry. Second, the flaws in MSME registration and taxation might discourage the formal MSMEs from extending their business license and prevent the informal MSME units from registering their business. This issue would potentially lower their chance of accessing external financing from the formal financial institutions and participating in supportive government programmes due to the absence of proper legality.

Since this paper only observed six Islamic banks and 22 MSME units in urban and rural locations in Indonesia using a case study approach, the empirical findings and case discussions were limited to those respective Islamic banks and MSME participants.

By referring to the recommendations as presented in this paper, two critical policy implications could be expected from adopting the proposed recommendations, among others: By addressing the issues of the regulatory imbalance associated with the Islamic banking industry and introduce the deregulatory policies on profit and loss sharing (PLS) scheme implementation, this approach will motivate the Islamic banking industry in serving the MSME sector better and provide greater access to financial services, particularly in using the PLS financing schemes. By resolving the problems on MSME registration and taxation, this strategy will enhance the sustainability of the formal MSMEs’ operation and encourage the informal ones to register, hence, improving their inclusion into the formal financing services and government assistance programmes.

The present study attempts to address the literature shortcomings and helps to fill the gaps – both theoretical and empirical – by incorporating the multi-case study among Indonesian Islamic banks and MSMEs to extensively explore the Indonesia regulatory environment pertaining to the Islamic banking system (supply-side) and MSMEs (demand-side), and thoroughly investigates and reveals the restrictive laws and regulatory flaws that could potentially hinder the Islamic banking institutions and MSME industries in attaining financial inclusion and contributing to sustainable development.

This paper aims to examine the extent to which these reforms address the limitations of Saudi Arabia’s previous investment framework. Long viewed as a hostile environment in which to do business, the Saudi Government has enacted a broad sweep of measures aimed at restoring investor confidence in central aspects of the country’s evolving private law framework.

This paper offers a timely assessment of the raft of foreign investment reforms, both legislative and regulatory, that have been introduced in Saudi Arabia over the last decade.

The paper will proceed by outlining the perceived failings of the old investment regime before going on to reforms.

It will consider the remaining obstacles to the flow of foreign investment in Saudi Arabia in the context of the dual forces that have historically defined the Kingdom’s ambivalent investment law regime.