Search results

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the size effect of market reaction to unexpected earnings based on whispers or unofficial individual earnings forecasts.

Using both univariate and multiple regression analysis, this paper attempts to demonstrate that there is a size effect in the market reaction to unexpected earnings based on whispers. The empirical results are based on 13,795 quarterly earnings whispers over 1997‐2006.

The results show that for both abnormal returns (ARs) and trading volume, the market reaction for big firms is less compared to that of small firms.

Given that information for small firms is less available and transparent than for big firms, this paper provides useful evidence that whispers play a larger role in equity pricing for small firms.

Using the most recent observations (2005‐2011) from a sample of UK listed companies, This paper aims to investigate whether Big 4 audit firms exhibit a “fee premium” and, if this is the case, whether the premium is related to the delivery of a better audit service.

Univariate tests, multivariate regressions and two methodologies that control for self‐selection bias are used to answer the proposed research questions. Data are collected from DataStream.

Findings provide consistent evidence about the existence of an “audit fee premium” charged by Big 4 firms while they do not highlight any significant relationship between audit quality and type of auditor with respect to the audit quality proxies investigated.

Evidence from this paper might signal the need for legislative intervention to improve the competitiveness of the audit market on the basis that its concentrated structure is leading to “excessive” fees for Big 4 clients. Findings might also enhance Big 4 client bargaining power. However, as the paper analyses only one country, generalizability of the results might be a limitation.

This study joins two streams of the extant literature that investigate the existence of a “Big 4 audit fee premium” and different levels of audit quality among Big 4 and non‐Big 4 clients. Evidence supports the concerns raised by the UK House of Lords in 2010 that the concentrated structure of the audit market could be the driver of “excessive” fees for Big 4 clients as it does not find differences in audit quality between Big 4 and non‐Big 4 clients.

This study aims to examine whether the industry characteristics of homogeneity, product competition, high auditor competition and accounting standards complexity are associated with auditor changes.

Logistic regressions test for significance of the industry characteristics on resignations, dismissals and directional changes to and from Big 4 and nonBig 4 auditors after controlling for client, auditor and engagement factors.

The authors report a lower likelihood of auditor resignations with greater accounting standards complexity. The authors also report a greater likelihood of auditor dismissals with greater industry homogeneity, greater product competition and greater auditor competition. Results also show that accounting standards complexity is associated with a lower likelihood of changes from Big to nonBig auditors, and industry homogeneity is associated with a greater likelihood of changes from Big to nonBig. Also, greater auditor competition is associated with a lower likelihood of changes from nonBig to Big auditors.

Prior research has established the importance of industry characteristics to the market for audit services (Cairney and Stewart, 2015; Wang and Chui, 2015; Cahan et al., 2011; Bills et al., 2015). The authors report that industry characteristics also impact auditor changes. Second, previous research has used various methods that indicate general industry effects on changes. The paper contributes to this research by specifying industry characteristics. Limitations include the reliance on the self-reporting in 8-Ks to identify auditors resigning and firms dismissing auditors. Also, the paper relies on proxies for industry characteristics that were developed in prior research.

Regulators have expressed concern over the relatively low rates of auditor changes and the problem of lack of auditor choice. By demonstrating a significant effect of industry characteristics on changes, the authors indicate some levers that may be available to influence rates of auditor changes, especially realignments to nonBig.

This is one of the first studies to examine how specific industry characteristics impact auditor changes. The study may be of interest to academics who are interested in how industry factors influence auditor changes. It may also interest policymakers who could lever the characteristics of industries to address concerns about the low rates of auditor changes.

This study aims to provide insight into the operational factors of big data. The operational indicators/factors are categorized into three functional parts, namely synthesis, speed and significance. Based on these factors, the organization enhances its big data analytics (BDA) performance followed by the selection of data quality dimensions to any organization's success.

A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based research methodology has been proposed and utilized to assign the criterion weights and to prioritize the identified speed, synthesis and significance (3S) indicators. Further, the PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment of Evaluations) technique has been used to measure the data quality dimensions considering 3S as criteria.

The effective indicators are identified from the past literature and the model confirmed with industry experts to measure these indicators. The results of this fuzzy AHP model show that the synthesis is recognized as the top positioned and most significant indicator followed by speed and significance are developed as the next level. These operational indicators contribute toward BDA and explore with their sub-categories' priority.

The outcomes of this study will facilitate the businesses that are contemplating this technology as a breakthrough, but it is both a challenge and opportunity for developers and experts. Big data has many risks and challenges related to economic, social, operational and political performance. The understanding of data quality dimensions provides insightful guidance to forecast accurate demand, solve a complex problem and make collaboration in supply chain management performance.

Big data is one of the most popular technology concepts in the market today. People live in a world where every facet of life increasingly depends on big data and data science. This study creates awareness about the role of 3S encountered during big data quality by prioritizing using fuzzy AHP and PROMETHEE.

This paper presents a methodology to nominate and select improvement projects that are perceived as adding value to customers (both internal and external). The structure of the methodology can be explained in three “stages”. First, the methodology suggests a new way of categorizing improvement opportunities, i.e. reactive‐proactive, to “upgrade” the little Q ‐ big Q categorisation. Then, it develops a roadmap that links performance indicators and improvement projects for both reactive and proactive improvements. Finally, it suggests an algorithm to select the improvement project, where the assessment of to what extent the nominated improvement projects add value to customers relies on the comparison between Overall Perceived Benefits (OPB) and Overall Perceived Efforts (OPE). The improvement project perceived as having the largest impact on adding value to customers receives the highest priority.

Summarizes the author’s view that the pressures of our culture serve to make us suppress our feelings, sometimes to the point of numbness. Describes the cultural changes that the author believes need to come about before schools can become truly “health promoting”. Provides an exercise for use with children or adults to help them get in touch with their feelings. Lists children’s books recommended for use in schools which will help teachers tackle these issues.

This essay weds conceptions of justice within Public Administration to the theme of revenge in the Hollywood Western, arguing that the revival of the genre in the 1990s reflects changes in the public conception of due process and equality before the law. The Western genre’s evolution is illustrative of the way definitions of justice are socially, contextually specific. Unforgiven illustrates this shift because the violence in the film symbolizes the vengeance culture so anathema to American notions of procedural justice and explores shifting conceptions of justice through a 19th century allegory of injustice, the heart of which is the treatment of a person as property. This fantasy of the violent resolution of conflict is examined against Public Administration's insistence upon resolving competing conceptions of the good through peaceful, deliberative modalities.

The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on one strategy known as “The Balanced Scorecard”, discussing the growing importance of balanced scorecard performance systems, exploring issues that organizations face in building and implementing scorecard systems, and sharing lessons learned from Australian organizations that have taken the balanced scorecard journey.

The approach taken is the case study methodology to depict the real world examples of organisations that have confidence in the “Balanced scorecard performance system“ so that other organisations can follow suit.

The paper concludes that the balanced scorecard approach may require some substantial changes in culture within the organization.. The balanced scorecard requires understanding, commitment and support from the very top of the business down. The balanced scorecard will evolve. As culture changes and develops to accept the new approach and members of the organisation mature within the new culture, the organisation will find new things to measure, new goals in different areas, to make the balanced scorecard even more balanced and effective in supporting a living, growing, viable organisation. Different organisations have quite different needs, market areas, people, products and services, and will end up with significantly different balanced scorecards.

The outcomes were based on two multinational corporations and may differ with small and medium enterprises.

The balanced scorecard is balanced in another dimension – not just a balance of measures of essential areas of the business, but also a balance of goals versus accountability. If people do not accept accountability for achievement of the balanced measures and goals of the balanced scorecard, there is no balanced scorecard. The people of the organisation are the key to the success of the balanced scorecard system.

The paper specifically looks at the implementation of the “Balanced Score Card Performance Management System” in Australian corporations.

Telemedicine is delivered to patient anywhere during emergency treatment care, and medical information is transferred from one site of patient to another site of specialist doctors by using mobile internet communication. Some rural areas have slow internet speed because of weak internet signal propagation from mobile towers. A good design of antenna is needed to improve mobile internet speed for big medial data transmission in telemedicine application. Hence, this paper aims to propose economically low-cost design of antenna.

Telemedicine recommended to design the satellite frequency modulation dish (SAT FMD) antenna ( where in FM radio antenna, dish antenna are combined ) to improve the internet speed at Telemedicine system and Hospitals for purpose of Telemedicine communication and information for emergency treatment.

In the proposed system, designed SAT FMD satellite-based antenna improved internet speed is achieved at 90.6% accuracy in this research method. Finding latitude and longitude angles to identify the patient location, nearest hospitals location and finding distance, shortest path routing between patient and hospital. Finding elevation, Azimuth, latitude, longitude, skew for alignment dish to focus satellite and mobile cell tower to improve internet speed at telemedicine area and hospitals and reduced transmission delay and nodal delay of big medical data.

The social awareness among people can be shared information of accident patient to communicate Hospital and Ambulance driver by internet mobile app tools and help find nearest hospitals to emergency treatment for accident people.

This paper presents SAT FMD antenna model based on satellite dish antenna consisting of FM radio receiver antenna and dish antenna for telemedicine communication.