International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences

9-15

Authors: Slawomir CZARNIEWSKI

In recent years, new business solutions have appeared based on creative ideas and the ability to use multi-channel communication with clients. Social networks are now not only a necessary complement to communication, but also a source of specific value and inspiration for new methods of obtaining market information. Commercial companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of social networking sites. These companies use these sites for marketing and promotional purposes, as well as to build the image of the organization. This paper presents select aspects of creativity in the digital economy. The purpose of this article is to indicate the sources of creativity in social networks, the social impact of these creative solutions and how they affect the functioning of the economy.

27-43

Authors: Luyali Newton CHANZU, Mouni GEKARA

This study investigated the effects of use of derivatives on financial performance of companies listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The objectives were; to determine how risk management, efficiency, price stabilization and price discovery in derivatives affect the financial performance of companies in NSE. This study targeted 11 companies that are listed in the NSE trading in the derivative market. Questionnaire was used to collect data from finance officers of the 11 companies listed and NSE officers. The data collected was analyzed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative responses were analyzed using content analysis. A correlation analysis was carried out to determine the performance of the companies listed in the NSE during the pre- and post- adoption of the financial derivatives by these companies. The findings indicated that apart from price stabilization other variables contributed positively to the financial performance of companies listed in NSE.

60-71

Authors: Nadia Sbei TRABELSI, Mohamed TRABELSI

The objective of this paper is to examine the value relevance of accounting information for the banks listed in the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) for the period 2008 - 2013. Empirical tests are based on the return and the price models. Overall, the results show that accounting information is associated with market valuation. The earnings are positive and significantly related to stock prices and stock returns. Moreover results indicate that value relevance of accounting information has changed since 2008 which might raise the effect of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Finally, the explanatory power of earnings and equity book value are found to decrease during the recovery period 2011-2013.

79-87

Authors: Slawomir CZARNIEWSKI

The purpose of this work is to show mechanisms shaping attitudes, opinions and behaviors of consumers. Paper shows the impact of the system of communicating specified value on the decision-making process of the consumer. Attention was drawn to system interaction and communication in the context of changes in consumer opinion. The communication process aims to create and strengthen attitudes among buyers, leading to a favorable reception of products / services as well as a change of attitude from neutral to positive – creative. The basis for the preparation of the paper was the conduction of an in-depth and comprehensive study on the effectiveness and efficiency of communicating customer value. This included the analysis of available secondary data from various institutions involved in marketing communications, both in scientific and commercial applications. Reflections contained in the paper do not have definite characteristics and should be treated as an opinion in the discussion.

95-103

Authors: Nizar El OUNI, Faouzi MILED, Manelle LAHDHIRI

Although several studies of theoretical and empirical ones converge on the financial dimension in economic growth, they do not actually provide real common response to the problem of the possible interaction between the real economy and the financial. In fact, the interrelationship between financial development and economic growth arises more acutely and becomes increasingly uncertain to know is that the financial activity that stimulates real or vice versa. Who rightly, Schumpeter argues that: "Financial institutions are required to technological innovation underlying growth" or Robinson says, "Where growth leads; finance follows. »The question posed in this article question then is at the intersection of two areas, namely finance and economics. We will be interested throughout this research to the Tunisian context by using a methodology that is first to apply the test cointegration between the rate of return on equity and the rate of growth in economic activity real. While in second place, we will adopt the technique of error correction (VECM) to be considered in order to understand the dynamics between the variables studied in the short and long term. Finally, the causality test will be the third step of our methodology to detect the direction and magnitude of the causal relationship between the two spheres studied.

126-135

Authors: Slawomir CZARNIEWSKI

Lack of knowledge or skills is the cause of the gap of knowledge and skills, or the asymmetry of knowledge between client and vendor (service provider). That gap may be filled to a large extent through the process of communicating specified values and benefits to the customer and/or worker. This process should, however, be effective and efficient. The process of communicating customer value not only provides buyers with awareness of what products and services they can buy, but also of the benefits of the purchase for them. The goal of the study is to find out whether, in fact, the communication methods used by the Polish Post deliver a sufficient amount of information to workers, who are the most important element of the internal environment, respectfully. In this work, analysis was performed on the effectiveness of communication activities undertaken by the company in terms of services provided and image achieved. An important issue is the appropriate, effective process of communicating value for employees. The results of the research and analyses can be used by managers of the audited company, as well as by the management of other enterprises providing services of a similar nature.

143-152

Authors: Muhammad Naveed ASLAM

After 2008 world economic crises, banks and other financial institutes move towards Islamic financing not only in Muslims countries but also in non-Muslim countries of the world. In view of this, some micro financial institutions also introduce Islamic micro financing products in Pakistan. The present study was conducted to analyze the role of Islamic microfinance to alleviate poverty in Pakistan its impacts, people satisfaction level and assess the future of it in Pakistan. An Empirical approach has been adopted due to lack of knowledge to clients about products, technical terms, lack of time, and we come to know the changing improvement in the eyes of those people who directly involve in this system. Questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. The qualitative data was quantified and chi-square test was applied to test the association of attributes by 5% level of significance. Our analysis concluded that Islamic microfinance playing an important role to improve the living standard, per capita income, awareness level (Educational level), ethical values, profitability, sustainability, infrastructure position, employment level in the society, helpful to control the inflation and unequal distribution of wealth. People are more interested due to religious prospective and prohibition of riba in Islam as well as in Christianity but there should be proper regularity authority to control over it in order to get fruitful results through an implementable model.

166-175

Authors: Ileana – Sorina RAKOS, Andreea ANTOHE

The present article intends to highlight the importance of the impact of the economic activities on the environment, and of its integration in the decisional and financial system of the national economic entities. During the last decade, a new challenge has appeared for the professional accountant, namely that of the environmental accounting, meant to maximize life quality. Environmental accounting is a global concept, and, from the perspective of the impact of the economic activity on the environment, the authors consider the environmental cost as the essential instrument providing the information volume and quality necessary to the managers on different hierarchic levels of an economic entity for the assessment, identification, analysis and recording of the impact produced by the economic activity on the environment, and the use of such information in the financial and decisional process of the economic entity. Within this context, we intend to show the effect of the activities carried out by the Romanian economic entities on the environment, by means of the environmental cost. Having as a starting point the stage of the researches carried out in the literature regarding the environmental cost, made by different experts, we intend to prove the opportunity of knowing the current, future and potential environmental costs which, actually, represent the starting point, both in the achievement of the objectives of reducing the environmental expenses, and in the intensification of the processes of recovery and improvement of the financial and environmental performances. Thus, the environmental cost may be considered as the essential instrument in the identification, recording, analysis and assessment of the impact produced by the economic activities on the environment. At the same time, the environmental cost is what warns the manager on the mode of generation of profit or loss from the activity carried out by the economic entity - resulted both from the current activity, and from that of the financial exercise. Also, the environmental cost is the instrument providing us with a clear and real picture on the mode in which the environmental factors influence the activity of the economic entity.

191-204

Authors: Widia ASTUTY

This study aims to test the effect of participatory budgeting and procedural fairness on the manager's commitment and performance either have simultaneous or partial effect. The method of the research used was a survey method that conducted at the pawnshop in North Sumatra with the respondents of the managers in branch offices. The data used is primary data by collecting data through questionnaires. The analysis method used is descriptive-analytical verification. The effect model analyzed by using a structural equation model to analyze the pattern of causal relationships between variables and determine the direct, indirect and total effect of some variables. The results showed that participatory budgeting and procedural fairness simultaneously have a significant and positive effect on the manager’s commitment; participatory budgeting has a significant and positive effect on the manager’s commitment; procedural fairness has a significant and positive effect on the manager’s commitment; participatory budgeting, procedural fairness and manager’s commitment simultaneously has a significant and positive effect on the manager’s performance; the effect of participatory budgeting has a significant and positive effect on the manager’s performance; the procedural fairness has a significant and positive effect on the manager’s performance; the manager’s commitment has a significant and positive effect on the manager’s performance.

210-220

Authors: Gehan A. MOUSA

This research examines the association between accounting conservatism and cash dividends of listed firms in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It has addressed two questions. First, does accounting conservatism actually work? Second, can accounting conservatism influence cash dividends of firms in the Kingdom of Bahrain? The findings of this study support the hypothesis that accounting conservatism plays an important role in reducing cash dividends and managing agency conflicts. It documents a significant negative association between accounting conservatism and cash dividends of Bahraini Firms.

228-248

Authors: Paul Munene MUIRURI

Capital Markets have become an integral part of the Kenyan economy. The manner in which securities are priced in the capital market has attracted the attention of many researchers for long. This study sought to investigate the effects of estimating of Systematic risk in equity stocks of the various sectors of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE. The study will be of benefit to both policy makers and investors to identify the specific factors affecting stock prices. To the investors it will provide useful and adequate information an understanding on the relationship between risk and return as a key piece in building ones investment philosophy. To the market regulators to establish the NSE performance against investors’ perception of risks and returns and hence develop ways of building investors’ confidence, the policy makers to review and strengthening of the legal and regulatory framework. The paper examines the merged 12 sector equity securities of the companies listed at the market into 4sector namely Agricultural; Commercial and Services; Finance and Investment and Manufacturing and Allied sectors. This study Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) of Sharpe (1964) to vis-à-vis the market returns. Monthly basis secondary data from the period January 2009 through December 2012 was used model the study from Stocks of the various sectors of the NSE. A simple regression model approach was used where stock was taken as dependent variable while systematic risk as independent variable and used. The study found out that there were effects market sector betas and returns. Second there is a relationship between systematic risk and stock market return in sectors because systematic risk and stock market return exhibits a strong negative autocorrelation, indicating that the stock market return is a function of more variable than systematic risk. The study rejects the first null hypothesis for all the four sectors and finds that beta is a statistically significant indicator of market risk for those sectors. The study also found out that agricultural sector was most risky sector with the highest volatility while the Finance and Investment sector is the least risky during the study period. Industrial and allied as well as the finance and investment sectors had less volatile returns than the overall NSE. From the findings of sectors studied it can be concluded that the various equity in NSE each of the have unique factors that influence market risk relative to the all the companies listed at the NSE.

263-271

Authors: Basil Senyo DAMANKAH, Olivia ANKU-TSEDE, Albert AMANKWAA

Banks in recent times have changed their focus from depending heavily on interest income to generating revenue from fee generating activities. This paper identifies and discusses some factors common with banks that engage in non-interest earning activities in Ghana. It was found that smaller banks are more involved in non-interest earning activities, relative to their larger counterparts. Higher interest income, customer deposits, exposure to risk and liquidity are also found to be common factors among banks in Ghana that concentrate more non-interest income generation. The Central Bank’s Prime rates also affect banking operations and is positively related to bank’s engagement in nontraditional activities. These results have implications for bank regulators, who must institute regulations toward harmonizing the various sources of bank income as against likely exposures to risk.

280-289

Authors: Shrikant Krupasindhu PANIGRAHI, Yuserrie ZAINUDDIN, Azzlina AZIZAN

This study investigates the importance of economic value added for the shareholders wealth maximization. Economic value added (EVA) is a value based performance measurement tool that inclines the agency conflict issues between managers and shareholders. Using a sample of 28 construction public listed companies in main board of Bursa Malaysia and using panel data with fixed effects during the period of 2003 to 2012, the findings of the study revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between EVA and shareholder’s wealth maximization. The more the managers produce EVA, the more shareholders’ wealth maximization will be created. The finding shows significant support for EVA, but EVA was not reported by the companies and is not been used by investors for their investment decisions. Thus it is recommended for the managers to focus more attention to the criteria of EVA in evaluating shareholder’s value.

297-306

Authors: Zam Zuriyati MOHAMAD, Hatijah Mohamed SALLEH, Nur Diyana ISMAIL, Ibrahim Tamby CHEK

The purpose of this study is to determine the level of quality of Non-Financial Information disclosure in Malaysia. Non-Financial Information disclosure in this study refers to Corporate Social Responsibility disclosure, Intellectual Capital disclosure, Risk Management disclosure and Corporate Governance disclosure. This study also aims to examine the influence of quality of Non-Financial Information on firm’s profitability. It further identifies which Non Financial Information disclosure has the highest influence on firm’s profitability. Data was collected from 100 selected annual reports of Public Listed Companies by using random sampling technique and was analyzed by using Multiple Linear Regression. Two ratios have been used to measure the firms’ profitability. This study reveals mixed finding on the influence of Non-Financial and firms’ profitability. The results show that Corporate Governance disclosure has the highest influence on firm’s profitability. This study provides useful insight to the authorities on the level of quality of Non-Financial Information and this information enables them to focus on areas that need improvement. This study also gives a better understanding to the users of annual reports on the influence of Non-Financial Information disclosure on firm’s profitability.

317-325

Authors: Ghada ABBAS

The majority of empirical literature on random walk behavior has interested on developed and emerging markets. However, few studies have been carried out to test the randomness of returns series on less developed markets. Damascus securities exchange is a young and nascent market in the Middle Eastern, started its operations in 2009; therefore, there is no empirical evidence testing the validity of random walk process. This paper examines whether daily stock returns on Damascus Securities Exchange follow a random walk for the period of 2009 to 2014. This study applies two parametric tests namely serial-correlation test and variance ratio test, and two non -parametric tests, i.e. runs test and BDS test. It is found that daily returns do not confirm to a random walk during the period under examination. This result is consistent in both parametric and nonparametric tests. The broad conclusion emerging from this study is that price returns might be predictable; hence, it is possible for investors to earn higher return than average by using historical successive prices.

333-339

Authors: Bahman Nikkhah BOROUJENI, Mohsen ASGARI

One of the major goals of governments for improving economic conditions is to transfer the ownership of companies to the private sector. Applying Robins questionnaire, this research aimed to investigate the structure of National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO) before and after privatization. The statistical population included directors of National Iranian Copper Company. Components of the company's structure were organizational centralization, formality, and complexity. Also, paired t-test was applied to analyze the data during the pre- and post-privatization periods. The results showed the significant change in the structure of NICICO before and after privatization; these changes had an incremental trend in terms of complexity and centralization; however, formality index was reduced after privatization.