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Green financing is able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and support long-term economic growth. The paper presents a systematic literature review, evaluating the research on green finance and sustainability from 2005 to 2023. To perform this review, PRISMA technique was followed. A total of 51 papers selected from Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus were reviewed, and the results show that China is a global pioneer in this area, and research on this concept has been gaining momentum. The findings indicate that publications on the direct effect of green finance on sustainability are available in large number, as compared to those on indirect effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a bibliometric analysis of research on Private Equity (PE) and identifies the key contributors, major countries and institutions, and scope for further research. It uses scientific mapping strategy to meet its goals and employs R studio to extract pertinent data. Scopus and Web of Science—two popular databases—were used to extract the data. The study examines 1698 publications from business, management, finance and econometrics journals. The data are analyzed using descriptive statistics. The status of research on PE is represented through graphical and tabular analysis. Since PE first gained popularity in developed nations like US, UK and Japan, these countries boast a majority of studies on the subject. The PE concept is still relatively new in emerging countries, and there is still opportunity for more research. Future research should focus on issues like investment, venture and market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian banks are continuously facing fund scarcity in meeting loan requirements. They have fewer deposits in comparison to the loan demands, which has led to a decrease in the liquidity of banks and nonbanking institutions. To get rid of this problem, banks use several conventional methods, and securitization is one of them. Securitization is known as the construction of security in any financial transaction. The paper seeks to find out whether securitization process can positively impact Indian banking industry, using selected bank performance parameters. The paper first presents the impact of securitization on banks' performance; then it depicts the hurdles to the growth of securitization in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Board size, defined by the number of directors appointed, is regulated by Section 149 of the Companies Act, 2013. This mandates a minimum of three directors for public companies, two for private companies, and one for One Person Companies, with a maximum of 15 directors. The paper examines board size practices in listed Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), selecting 70 SMEs from the BSE SME platform based on data availability for the period 2010-11 to 2019-20. These companies are categorized into different sectors. The study employs mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation for analysis. The statistical analysis reveals a significant trend towards larger boards in Indian SMEs over the decade. The mean board size has increased from 3.59 to 6.16, indicating a move towards larger boards. The decreasing coefficient of variation suggests that board sizes are becoming more uniform across these SMEs. This trend reflects a possible adaptation to corporate governance norms and the need for diversified expertise and oversight within these enterprises, despite additional efforts and costs involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the timeliness of independent auditors’ reports issued on financial statements of Islamic banks and discusses the timeframe for the audit report publication practices of Islamic banks. A statistical analysis of audit report lag of Islamic banks is performed. Statistical values from previous empirical research on audit report delays are used as control. The results show that most audit reports of Islamic banks are published before March. However, audit reports published in Malaysia and Yemen remain the least timely. The paper presents an empirical study and a comparative analysis of the timeliness of audit reports of Islamic banks operating in several countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper evaluates the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on firm performance along with other corporate finance variables. As expected, Covid-19 had a negative impact on firm’s performance, especially on small firms with pronounced leverage. The paper also highlights that firms with higher cash holdings were resilient in the face of the pandemic. Manufacturing firms were the worst hit as their tasks could not be executed remotely; supply chain of raw materials was severely disrupted. Another sector that bore the brunt was travelling and hospitality, where tasks cannot be digitized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender equality has been a top priority in sustainability agenda at global level under the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (UN SSE) Initiative. The paper examines the impact of gender diversity on firm performance in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality. For the analysis, S&P BSE Sensex constituent companies were considered, and data for the period 2015-16 to 2020-21 was examined. The paper employed ADF test to check stationarity and multiple regression analysis-Least squares method to analyze gender diversity impact on firm performance, using Eviews software. The findings show that total gender diversity (TGD) has a positive and significant impact on firm performance (ROA, ROE and ROCE), and board gender diversity (BGD) shows positive and insignificant association with ROA, ROE and ROCE. The study further shows that firm size, firm age and board size have significant association with firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the relationship between accounting conservatism and two key variables of corporate governance, namely, board size and board independence. A sample of 3,648 Indian listed firms from 2011 to 2021 was used for the study. The results of multivariate regression analysis were consistent with Beekes et al. (2004) which reported a positive relationship between accounting conservatism and board independence. The paper also found a negative relationship between accounting conservatism and board size. The study suffers from the limitations of using only one measure of accounting conservatism, choosing only two variables of corporate governance and ignoring the ownership structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accounting literature boasts a long list of studies on the impact of earnings information on stock prices. Recently, this strand of literature has been given a new twist by exploring the dynamics of earnings-returns relation at the aggregate level. The knowledge about this relationship is particularly useful for investors who hold diversified portfolios. The paper tests if the aggregate earnings-returns relationship is different when stocks are grouped according to different characteristics such as size, value, profitability and investment. The results suggest that the relation between aggregate earnings and stock returns is relatively stronger for large-cap and growth stocks as compared to small-cap and value stocks. These findings are valuable for investors and fund managers who use factor-based strategies to manage their investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the extent of corporate disclosure in the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) reports of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. A sample of 55 companies is taken, and based on the disclosure checklist containing 52 information items, the extent of disclosure is measured both at the aggregate level and with respect to different reporting areas of the MD&A report. It is found that average level of aggregate disclosure is 64.8%, which is moderately high. The maximum disclosure score is 90% and minimum 25%. The variation in the extent of disclosure among the sample companies is measured by range and standard deviation, which are 65% and 11.2%, respectively. As far as disclosure in specific areas of the MD&A report is concerned, a few companies have made 100% disclosure in respect of industry structure and development, risk and concern, and segment reporting, while some have made no disclosure about outlook information. The overall results suggest that there exists scope for improving the quality of disclosure in MD&A reports of Indian companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of complex financial products has increased considerably over the years, and at the same time, individuals are increasingly taking charge of their own financial security. However, there is very little or no information about whether these individuals have the financial knowledge and skills to navigate this new, increasingly complex economic scenario where stock markets play a vital role in all dimensions like never before. Many saving instruments are now intrinsically linked to financial markets and the retail investor has to understand the whole picture before taking a decision to buy or sell. The paper enumerates the factors influencing stock market participation. Whether these factors include financial literacy or the free flow of information from the capital market or inflation rate, etc., and whether they have a bearing on better investment decisions is something to be explored. The paper attempts to study these factors impacting investment behavior. To better understand literacy and its relation to financial decision making, the relationship between these variables, i.e., literacy and financial planning, and literacy and saving behavior, has been studied using unsupervised Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. The findings could be helpful to investment advisers in relooking their clients’ data and honing their financial consultancy plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines investor behavior towards systematic investment plan (SIP) in mutual funds (MF) and the factors that encourage investors to invest in the same. Snowball sampling technique was used for collecting data from 200 respondents from Karad city, Maharashtra. The data was analyzed using various statistical tools like Karl Pearson correlation coefficient (r) matrix and regression model. It is found that gender and education show a negative relationship with investment in SIP, indicating that these variables have an insignificant negative correlation. Income has positive relationship with investment in SIP, which means there is a significant positive correlation among the variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's economic growth is closely associated with its energy demand, and the oil and gas industry fulfills this demand. The importance of this industry is such that it influences the decisions of many other sectors of the Indian economy. The volatility of this industry makes it necessary to analyze the liquidity position by assessing the impact of prices on the availability of liquid resources. Liquidity analysis pertains to how quickly the assets of a company can be converted into cash to meet its current obligations so as to ensure financial stability and creditworthiness. Inability of a firm to meet its short-term responsibility is likely to result in bad credit rating as well as a decrease in the goodwill of the firm in the market. Therefore, the present paper analyzes the liquidity position of oil and gas industry by making a comparative study of selected public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private companies in India for the period 2016-17 to 2020-21. The results reveal that Oil India Ltd., ONGC and Vedanta Ltd. (Cairn Oil and Gas) have a better liquidity position than IOCL and Nayara Energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual currency or cryptocurrency has gained ground in the digital era, prominently due to the universal acceptability of blockchain. This paper applied both machine learning (ML) techniques and finance models to analyze the pattern and volatility of cryptocurrencies. The behavior of various cryptocurrencies was comparatively analyzed on various metrics, and it was found that most of them showed a similar pattern under ML techniques. Further, the closing price of the five selected cryptocurrencies showed that Tether surpassed the other cryptocurrencies which also followed the same trend. Financial model GARCH was applied to understand and forecast the volatility of the selected cryptocurrencies. The study also estimated the spillover effect using R studio software to analyze the short- and long-term impacts of Bitcoin and Ethereum on varied cryptocurrencies. Both ML and finance models showed comparable outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the linear relationship between various debts of companies and their capital structure by applying regression model. The sample comprises the balanced dataset of 21 Indian companies registered on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), whose shares were traded most on Sensex during the Global Economic of 2008. Moreover, the study investigates whether the capital structure of companies was affected after the economic crisis. The empirical result supports the existence of short-term, long-term, and total debt. According to well-known capital structure theories, debt affects the capital structure and its determinants. Furthermore, the findings have managerial implications for debts. A high level of debt affects companies' profitability, financial distress and tax rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Profitability is associated with investment decisions made by finance managers and experts of the industry. This paper examines the influence of leverage on the profitability of financial service companies listed on India's Nifty 50. Eleven financial service sector companies with the highest market capitalization were analyzed using secondary data to understand how leverage (debt-equity ratio) impacts profitability (net profit, return on capital employed and return on asset). Based on the results of panel data analysis, leverage was found to have a positive and significant effect on profitability, indicating that leverage is a critical factor in overall profitability. The direct implication for management is trying to achieve higher profitability, growth and expansion through external financing of listed service sector companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian Companies Act, 2013, made corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure mandatory for companies meeting threshold criteria, and outlined certain activities that qualify for the same. This paper investigates the relationship between CSR expenditure and firm value by considering the top 100 nonfinancial companies listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) based on market capitalization as on March 31, 2021. It examines the relationship between the two variables directly and with moderators like firm size, age, and advertisement intensity. Moderators help better understand the relationship between the two variables. The Random Effect Model of panel regression has been employed to analyze the dataset, which covers 11 years (2010-11 to 2020-21) with 1,100 firm-year observations. The findings suggest that CSR expenditure has a favorable impact on firm value. The relationship becomes more robust when it comes to larger, older and more popular firms. The results add to the theoretical and empirical literature on CSR and firm value by reinforcing the stakeholder theory and giving policymakers and managers an insight into CSR management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews the impact of earnings management through discretionary accrual on the Economic Value Added (EVA). The earnings management value was calculated for 52 companies listed on the Dubai Financial Market through Jones Model (1991), Modified Jones Model (1995), and the current model from 2014 to 2018. The results showed that companies practiced earnings management activities in varying proportions. In addition, EVA without adjustments and with additional adjustments for all sample companies were calculated. To test the validity of the hypothesis, regression analysis was used by applying the three empirical models. The results found that there is a positive effect of earnings management through discretionary accrual on EVA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are multiple impacts of climate change on companies, and it has been recognized as a major risk towards their sustainable development. Hence, investors and other stakeholders are increasingly interested to know how the companies are complying with various international and national guidelines for addressing and communicating these risks. The main objective of this paper is to check the quality and transparency of climaterisk reporting practices of the top-listed Indian companies. To meet this objective, we have examined the level of compliance of climate-risk reporting of the NIFTY-50 companies with the recommendations provided by Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), 2017. We have constructed a Climate Compliance Index (CCI) with the help of “Guidance for All Sectors” of TCFD’s final report, 2017 to examine the compliance of climate-risk disclosure by the sample companies. With the help of the CCI scores, we have found that the sample companies under the carbon-intensive industries have more compliance, whereas the sample companies under the Financial Service industry and Pharma industry have comparatively lesser compliance with the TCFD recommendations in climate-risk reporting. Despite some limitations, this is the first paper that has examined the compliance of climate-risk reporting practices following TCFD recommendations among Indian listed companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goods and Services Tax (GST) completed its four years in July 2021. It was expected that by implementing GST in the country, the governments (Central and States) would be able to solve many tax-related problems such as tax evasion, cascading effect, increasing competition among states for inviting investment, and most importantly increasing states' tax revenue, more autonomy and expenditure. Has the imposition of GST in India impacted the tax revenue of states? Has the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic impacted the GST of all the states and union territories? The paper deals with these specific questions constituting a sample of all states and some union territories for the period 2015 to 2021 categorized into pre-GST (2015-2017) and post-GST (2017-2021) period. The secondary data comprises average proportion of own tax revenue of states in their total revenue, and the data has been analyzed to find out whether imposition of GST has impacted the collection of own tax revenue of states, and whether the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the collection of SGST and UTGST of states and union territories. The tools and techniques applied for testing the hypothesis are Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test, paired t-test and Kruskal-Wallis H-test. The findings reveal that imposition of GST has no significant impact on own tax revenue of states, but Covid-19 significantly impacted SGST and UTGST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A company’s share price is expected to move in tandem with its business growth. However, sometimes the share price may not be a true indicator of the firm’s financial performance. The paper considers the case of India Bulls Housing Finance Ltd. (IBHFL), whose shares fell by almost 90% in the last 4 to 5 years. The paper investigates the causes of such a drastic fall and also compares the financial soundness of the firm with its two nearest competitors—Can Fin Homes Ltd. (CFHL) and PNB Housing Finance Ltd. (PNBHFL). The key variables considered are stock prices, Current Ratio (CR), Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Debt-Equity Ratio (DER) and Interest Coverage Ratio (ICR). The financial variables are studied over the last five financial years. It is observed that IBHFL faced several qualitative developments along with financial performance which is responsible for the sharp decline in stock prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper develops a standardized quantitative method to measure corporate reputation in Indian manufacturing sector companies, listed on S&P BSE AllCap Index, as the existing methods are beset with limitations. The quantitative method uses eight measures, namely, price earning ratio (P/E), market-to-book ratio (M-t-B), earnings per share (EPS), market capitalization (MC), firm age (FA), listing age (LA), shareholder return (SHR) and total assets (TA), to measure corporate reputation. Spearman Rank Correlation test and Correlation matrix methods are applied to analyze the level of consistency in reputation maintained by Indian manufacturing sector companies. Reputation rankings using eight proxies show that Indian companies did make efforts to maintain their corporate reputation during the study period 2013-2022. The study is significant because it is the first of its kind to measure quantitative company reputation over a long period in the Indian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the extent of human resource (HR) disclosure in annual reports of 50 companies listed on Indian stock exchanges and the impact of four company-specific factors (determinants) on such disclosure. HR disclosure level was measured using an unweighted disclosure index comprising 76 information items. The study reveals that average level of HR disclosure (54.64%) in India is inadequate. It is evident from range (59%) and standard deviation (11.58%) that there exists a wide variation in the extent of overall HR disclosure of sample companies. The results of multivariate regression show that out of four selected company-specific factors, size of company and company’s age are statistically significant, having positive and negative impact, respectively, on the extent of HR disclosure in India. The remaining two company characteristics, namely, profitability and dominance of independent directors on corporate board, are found to be statistically insignificant. The impact of each factor on HR disclosure level has been analyzed and interpreted. Finally, research implications and policy recommendations of the study have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a standardized language where the information is expressed in the form of tags, resulting in effective exchange of information. Since 2000, 184 XBRL projects have been implemented by 60 different countries around the world. As XBRL is a multifaceted concept, over a period of two decades, diverse research has been carried out worldwide covering various aspects of XBRL. The paper aims at measuring semantic similarity in XBRL documents published over a period of two decades. Using the Dimensions database, 762 publications were obtained. Co-citation analysis based on cited references, cited sources and cited authors was carried out with the help of VOSviewer software. The co-citation network of cited references showed that the most important publications were authored by Debreceny et al. (2000) and Pinsker and Li (2008). The co-citation visualization of sources highlighted International Journal of Accounting Information Systems and The Accounting Review as the most important sources in terms of citations and total link strength. Boritz, No and Pinsker were identified as the most important authors in co-citation network of authors. This study differs from prior research publications on XBRL as it covers a larger period of analysis and presents bibliometric outcomes through co-citation analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient decisions by various stakeholders depend on how business organizations communicate their operational and financial information. Financial reporting is a means to disseminate information on various operational and non-operational affairs of business organization; it is done through financial statements, notes to accounts and narrative section in the annual reports. Due to risks in business environment, stakeholders expect enhanced information on various multidimensional aspects of business. Therefore, business organizations are required to disseminate enhanced information so as to assist in decision making by them. This is possible only with the help of an enhanced business reporting model. Such a model can be successfully implemented through the application of extensible business reporting language (XBRL). The present paper analyzes the impact of XBRL on the quality of financial reporting based on the financial reporting patterns of 23 selected NSE listed companies from 2005 to 2020, using statistical tools such as Tukey test and dummy variable regression analysis. The study finds that XBRL had a significant impact on the quality of financial reporting of the selected companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper employs Probit Regression Model for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to investigate the relationship between ‘access to finance’ and ‘type of innovation’, using firm-level dataset from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, covering 7,165 manufacturing firms from 23 states in India. The study indicates that ‘access to finance’ has a significant effect on the probability of firms’ decision to innovate. It is also significantly associated with the likelihood of firms’ decision to adopt a particular type of innovation, such as Product Innovation, Process Innovation, Organizational Innovation and Marketing Innovation. Several other structural characteristics of the firm are found to have significant effects on the innovation decision. The study would be of help to managers to understand how SMEs conduct their innovation decision process in response to the severity of obstacles to access to finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate governance is a mechanism that safeguards the interests of shareholders. A well-structured corporate governance mechanism keeps a check on the earnings management practices that are detrimental to the interests of the shareholders. The paper evaluates to what extent corporate governance practices restrain the accrual-based earnings management practices and thereby enhance the value of the shareholders depicted through economic value addition (EVA). Independent variables considered are board structure, board size, presence of financial expertise, CEO duality, ownership structure, board activity, audit committee and board busyness. Modified Jones Model was used for calculating the earnings management of 87 nonfinancial Indian companies, and Dynamic Panel Regression technique was used to study the impact of corporate governance practices on financial performance. The Indian companies were found to be indulging in income-increasing and income-decreasing earnings management practices. The main parameters impacting the financial performance of the companies are role of directors and ownership structure. The study contributes to the existing literature in the Indian context, throwing light on the earnings management practices of companies. It is vital for the shareholders to understand how effective corporate governance will create value to the shareholders by reducing earnings management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 crisis provided an opportunity to generate excess returns as stocks were trading below their fair value. The first infection case was reported in November 2019, and a sharp fall in global markets was witnessed soon thereafter. Though markets gradually recovered from their respective lows, its impact was felt across major parts of the globe till early 2021. The paper analyzes the efficiency of 44 world major stock exchanges (Asia-Pacific-17, Europe-16, America-6 and Africa-5) for 15 months (November 2019 to January 2021), and tests whether markets move randomly or whether they are adaptive in nature, i.e., whether Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) or Adaptive Market Hypothesis (AMH) holds good in such conditions. The results of Hurst exponent and Variance Test (VT) ratio prove that markets are adaptive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian companies have participated in the worldwide trend of consolidation through cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). During the last decade, there has been a sharp and consistent increase in the number of M&As in India. The paper explores the impact of cross-border M&A on firm performance and financial distress of selected cases in India from diverse sectors. The motive is to get a clear understanding as to whether the cross-border M&As actually lead to improvement in growth, profitability and efficiency of Indian corporate firms, and also whether it helps in reducing their financial distress. For this purpose, the paper has focused on a sample of nine large cross-border M&As in India from different sectors. It is found that these M&As have been effective in improving the firm performance and financial distress in some cases, whereas it has led to increased distress and reduced performance in others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain technology, also known as distributed ledger technology, has been hailed as a game-changing invention. Blockchain can affect several sectors, including accounting and assurance, as demand for its application is growing. The paper performs an exploratory research on developing a blockchain-based accounting system. The focus is to see how knowledgeable accounting professionals are about the blockchain-based accounting system. Descriptive statistics and ‘Chi-Square test’ were administered for data analysis. A sample segmentation was created to identify a homogeneous group of accounting professionals with different degrees of awareness regarding blockchain technology-based accounting systems. For this purpose, non-hierarchical clustering with K-means cluster analysis was performed to obtain groups, and two schools of thoughts were discovered: (i) Yuji Ijiri Momentum Accounting; and (ii) William McCarthy REA ontology. It is found that work on triple-entry accounting is now done and that McCarthy REA ontology school of thought is used. The results reveal that accounting professionals are aware of blockchain technology. They also feel that new technologies will influence their career, but are unfsure how they will be applied due to lack of technical skills. Academic institutions should provide a platform for professionals to obtain disruptive technology knowledge and abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the different aspects of corporate tax in India. Apart from discussing the historical background and reviewing the relevant literature, efforts have been made to analyze certain significant structural aspects of corporate tax in India. The study involves an extensive review of literature and analysis of secondary data obtained from government records. The findings indicate that corporate tax contributes a significant portion of the total direct tax revenue of the government and even exceeds the share of personal income taxes in recent years. In 2020-21, however, revenue generation from corporate tax was less than the revenue collected from personal income taxes due to the Covid-19 pandemic and reduced corporate tax rates for certain domestic companies. The buoyancy coefficients calculated for corporate tax and personal income tax (in response to changes in GDP) indicated that these coefficients were generally greater for personal income tax than for corporate tax. Therefore, there is ample scope for enhancing corporate tax revenue through further simplification of tax laws and procedures, rationalization of rates and effective check on evasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduced on July 1, 2017, has immensely affected the functioning and financial performance of different manufacturing companies. DuPont analysis model is used in this paper for scrutinizing the essential financial performance of such companies. It is an expedient system for decomposing the different drivers of Return on Equity (ROE) that help investors to focus on the key financial aspects, demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses of different companies. The study empirically analyzes the impact of GST on the financial performance of selected manufacturing companies in India, using five-step DuPont model, whereby the Net Income Margin has been brokendown to demonstrate how tax and interest affect ROE, considering financial performance before and after implementation of GST. Moreover, statistical tools like mean, standard deviation, paired correlation, matrix paired t-test and ANOVA test have been used to analyze the data and justify the objectives of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the impact of variables like cash flow from operating activities, net cash inflow or outflow and earnings per share on share price. The study is conducted on a sample of manufacturing companies. The hypothesis identifies the significance of the impact caused by the financial variables on stock price. The methodology used is unit root test, Johansen cointegration test, Vector Error Correction (VEC) and regression. The results prove that the variables are stationary and do not have a trend. Johansen cointegration indicated no long-term relationship between the variables and VEC tests showed no short-term relationship. The variables were also regressed to find closing price and EPS; net cash flow from operating activities has a significant relationship, but net cash inflow or outflow has no significant relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the effect of eleven Audit Committee (AC) characteristics on Firm Performance (FP). It identifies characteristics that significantly influence FP and develops an index to provide a holistic approach to the relationship between AC effectiveness and FP. It applies cross-sectional time-series FGLS regression and checks robustness using panel-corrected standard error regression after identifying heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation, and cross-sectional dependence of 375 observations. The study finds a significant positive effect of AC expertise, attendance in AC meetings, and the absence of executive directors in AC on both Return on Assets (ROA) and market capitalization of the firms. Gender diversity is exclusively significant for ROA, while shareholding positively impacts firm's market capitalization. This study is the first to use some new individual AC characteristics like the absence of executive directors in AC and AC charter and representation of AC members in board meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accuracy and transparency of financial reporting are compromised under conditions of crises and uncertainty. The disruption caused by Covid-19 presents a challenge to firms, regulators, auditors and investors to make meaningful conclusions about financial data. In the absence of clear guidelines, firms and regulators cannot present financial information with consistency and reliability. The study proposes a revised financial statement structure to address the limitations of financial reporting, particularly in the context of Covid-19. The conceptual paper utilizes secondary data and the researchers' expertise to propose a revised financial statement structure. The study finds a need to maintain the standards of financial reporting as per the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) guidelines, with some changes to the immediate impact of Covid-19. The revised financial statement structure can promote transparency, consistency and reliability in reporting financial information, while keeping these standards. This study is one of the first papers to propose a revised financial statement structure to deal with the current Covid-19 crisis. The suggested modifications can be apportioned to Covid-19 issues, will be beneficial for users in decision making, and can be used to amend current reporting standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public sector passenger road transport services in India have been established with the aim of providing economical, adequate and sustainable services to the commuters. It is a well-known fact that State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTUs) have become nonprofitable and are a heavy burden on government exchequers. In this context, SRTUs cannot be sustained unless they adopt a professional approach through policy initiatives. The paper examines the growth performance of three SRTUs in West Bengal, India. The objective is to identify the factors and investigate their operational implications for service cost and revenue of selected SRTUs. The results reveal that the annual income of the corporations was not sufficient to meet even half of the annual operating costs and that there exists a significant difference in the performance patterns of the selected SRTUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accounting education today not only requires upgradation of curriculum but also trained and qualified teachers, proper facilities to nurture the growth of the students and development of relevant skills. Therefore, gaps in four aspects, namely, the faculty and teaching methods, curriculum, facilities provided in the institutions and skills imparted in the institutions, have been identified exclusively from the students’ point of view. Chi-square anaysis is used to test the association between the type of institution and the perceptions regarding various aspects of accounting education. The paper highlights the highest gap that exists between the perceptions and expectations of students and the skills imparted in institutions. Further, it is found that there is no association between the type of institutions and the gaps in skills. All types of institutions are found to be lacking in providing training or imparting skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on stock returns has recently gained momentum. The stock exchanges are the heart of an economy, because they reflect the financial health of the countries. The stock markets world over crashed due to the instability caused by the pandemic, which reduced the confidence of investors. The paper investigates the impact of Covid-19 on the stock returns of G20 countries, using event study methodology. The study uses 60 days window period and 120 days estimation window period from the official announcement of Covid-19 first case (event). Among the 20 indices tested, only Nifty shows statistically significant negative abnormal returns, and the findings differ from country to country. Some G20 countries show statistically significant positive abnormal returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of blockchain technology by accounting firms and their clients will disrupt the accounting industry by greatly reducing the time and skill needed to perform a quality audit. Blockchain may eliminate the need for financial statement audits altogether. It is a peer-to-peer hosted public ledger that does not require a central authority to support or verify transactions, and is unalterable in future. The paper examines the implications of blockchain technology for auditing profession by reviewing the relevant literature. The study concludes that blockchain would impact some aspects of business operations by the end of the decade. Auditors need, at a minimum, an idea of how the technology operates in order to properly assess internal controls and understand the client's business. This will lend itself to higher quality audits. Auditors and accountants also need to pay close attention to and work with regulation around the technology. This will have an impact on how both auditors and their clients use blockchain, and how influential Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) will be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the impact of auditor's moral courage and Ethical Culture (EC) on audit quality using dysfunctional behaviors as a measure of audit quality. The study is based on a field survey of financial auditors employed by audit firms operating in Tunisia. The results show that Reduced Audit-Quality Practices (RAQP) occur less frequently when auditor's moral courage is strong, and there is no relationship between RAQP and EC. It also indicates that underreporting time has no connection with moral courage and EC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study exploring auditor's moral courage in audit firms, and examining EC in Tunisian audit firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the contribution that a good relationship between the Internal Audit Function (IAF) and the Audit Committee (AC) makes in delivering a robust Corporate Governance (CG) structure within the public sector. The study delves into the level of interaction between Internal Audit (IA) and the AC and assesses the main factors affecting their relationship. Interviews were conducted with internal auditors and AC members from selected Maltese public sector entities. The findings indicate that the entities studied have a satisfactory level of IAF/AC interaction, with communication being the most prominent factor affecting the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper evaluates the effect of Working Capital Management (WCM) on firm profitability of selected textile companies in India. The study is based on secondary data collected by CMIE from the companies’ annual reports for the years 2011-2020. Regression analysis is used on a panel sample of 98 companies from India’s Bombay Stock Exchange. Various financial ratios related to Working Capital (WC) and profitability and panel data techniques like Fixed Effect Model, Random Effect Model and Hausman test, etc. are also used. The results showed that WCM has a significant impact on a firm’s profitability in the textile sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the trade-off between audit efforts and audit risk post implementation of IFRS and its impact on audit fees for selected publicly listed nonfinancial Indian firms. The sample consisted of 750 firm-year observations from the nonfinancial companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange from FY2009-10 through FY2018-19. We used the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) regression model in a panel framework and ensured robustness by introducing observant variables. The study found a significant decrease in the audit fee growth in the post-IFRS period, which was justified by the trade-off between audit efforts and audit risk. Further, the study found that improved disclosure, accounting quality, and auditor rotation negatively impacted audit fees. Auditor expertise was found to significantly increase audit fees. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the association between IFRS and audit fees by critically examining the trade-off between audit efforts and audit risk post FRS implementation in emerging countries. The findings of our study have significant implications not only for the upcoming phases of mandatory IFRS implementation in India but also for emerging and developing economies that intend to mandate IFRS. The firms intending voluntary adoption of IFRS can also use this study to make informed decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the credit risk position of an organization, which is beneficial for the associated stakeholders. Altman Z-Score model provides a reliable method to predict the bankruptcy position of an organization using ratios derived from the balance sheet variables of the company. The study aims at measuring credit risk for five selected Indian Companies listed on National Stock Exchange, viz., Larsen and Toubro, KEI Industries, BHEL, Grindwell Norton and Finolex, based on their market capitalization. Financial data for 10 years, from 2011 to 2020, is used. The study provides substantial material concerning the insolvency/bankruptcy position of each of these companies using Altman’s Z-Score model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investing in index funds provides the investors an opportunity to invest in a bunch of stocks falling under the same umbrella. Investors reap some advantages in investing in an index rather than in individual stocks. With this perspective, BSE took the initiative to provide a platform for investors to invest in a group of listed IPO companies and launched the S & P BSE IPO Index in the year 2009. In this paper, an attempt has been made to understand the differences in returns generated by S&B BSE IPO Index by considering the PE ratios. The difference in returns generated by this Index and the listing-day and longterm returns generated were studied. And also, the difference in terms of the risks of investing in the S&B BSE IPO Index and the listing-day and long-term risks of stocks that issued IPOs have been measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has become a global agenda with the initiation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations. The UN Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) Initiative has set SDGs for stock exchanges. The paper focuses on SDG-8 (target:8.3), SMEs and Sustainable Development. It analyzes the performance of Indian SME stock indices and estimates the long-term relationship with Indian benchmark stock indices. For the analysis, the daily stock returns of S&P BSE SME IPO, Nifty SME Emerge, S&P BSE SENSEX and Nifty 50 indices have been considered from 2015 to 2021. ADF test, GARCH model, Johansen cointegration and VECM have been applied. The findings indicate that a majority of stock exchanges of UN SSE have adopted SME listing initiative; the SME indices generate better returns with slightly high volatility than the benchmark indices; the SME indices have cointegrated with benchmark indices; and the Nifty SME Emerge index has established a long-term relationship with both benchmark indices, i.e., S&P BSE SENSEX and Nifty 50. The findings also reveal that the S&P BSE SENSEX, Nifty 50 and Nifty SME Emerge price movements show significant long-term equilibrium convergence from short-term disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the use of different GARCH type models to capture the impact of normal movement and the impact during a crisis (e.g., Covid pandemic) for capturing the volatility of randomly selected stock markets in European and Asian countries. This case is based on daily data from DAX – Germany, IBEX- Spain, CAC – France, BEL – Belgium, ATX – Austria, SZSE – China, NIKKEI – Japan, KOSPI – South Korea, JKSE – Indonesia, and HANG SENG – Hong Kong. It is found that GARCH is the most robust model to estimate volatility even during a crisis period; EGARCH demonstrates persistence in volatility and capturing leverage effects; EGARCH also remains the best quality model, apart from the symmetric model. Further, the models captured difference in magnitudes of European and Asian stock markets with different volatility movement patterns. Some Asian markets showed more adverse performance than European markets during the same time-period creating differences in asset pricing, risk magnitudes and prospective returns. The study demonstrates the relative effect on asset prices and changes in values of investors and determines the parameter for risk and returns in Europe and Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at developing an integrated model that can confirm the importance of "financial self-efficacy" as a mediating variable in the relationship between financial capability and financial wellbeing of organic farmers in Kerala. Data was collected from 425 organic farmers from Wayanad and Idukki districts of Kerala. A standardized questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale was used to collect data. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) was used to analyze the data. The results reveal that financial self-efficacy is a partial mediator in the relationship between financial capability and financial wellbeing, and therefore plays a significant role. The results also confirm that gender, age, marital status and religion are the factors that influence the financial self-efficacy of organic farmers in Kerala. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raising funds from banks, financial institutions, or any other sources has always been a very typical task, but now entrepreneurs can raise money on digital platforms through crowdfunding. "How can I raise funds on crowdfunding platforms?" is the most common question among entrepreneurs. Searching for the right crowd is a very difficult task for entrepreneurs. The main objective of the paper is to understand the meaning of the right crowd, identify the factors affecting the selection and study the status of crowdfunding in India. The term "selecting the right crowd" refers to approaching an audience that is regarded as appropriate for the project's requirements. For the study, data was collected from 191 respondents and analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software. As per Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the scale consisted of five factors: Technological Knowledge, Perceived Trust, Perceived Risk, Peer Influence and Crowdfunding Experience with 19 items. Discriminant Validity, Convergent Validity and Reliability were checked. Lastly, as per Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), it was understood that the obtained values confirmed the five factors of the scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the impact of Destination Image (DI), Perceived Risk (PR), Tourist Constraints (TC), and Tourist Attitude (TA) on Intention to Travel (IT) during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The respondents are prospective travelers, and the sampling used is purposive. Data was collected through an online questionnaire. A seven-point Likert scale was used ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" with midpoint as "neutral". The study uses the primary data collected through an online questionnaire from 329 valid respondents. Path analysis and bootstrapping procedure are employed to establish the relationship between the variables and to examine the hypotheses, respectively, using Smart PLS version 3.3.3. The results state that the tourists will consider the Physical Risk (PHR) before visiting any destination and TA will play a key role in decision making in terms of traveling to a destination. The relationships between Affective Image (AI) and Cognitive Image (CI) with TA and IT, TC with IT and PHR with TA are positive. Other relationships between PHR, Financial Risk (FR) and PR with IT, FR and PR with TA, and TA with IT are negative. The critical analysis can be useful for tourism service providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]