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Byline: Nicolaos Protogeros, Panayiotis Tahinakis, John Mylonakis, Dimitrios Gagalis Supply chain management constitutes a relatively new and promising field of management science, affecting greatly the efficiency of Greek enterprises. The objective of this research is to detect the range of SCM applications in Greece; the trends and views of Greek enterprises in relation to efficiency, difficulties, costs, benefits and necessity, as these were generated from the implementation of one or more SMC applications. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has now proven to be an indispensable backbone for most Greek enterprises. Enterprises on the whole have stated that they have proceeded to a combination of ERP and Best of Bread systems. However, despite the valuable benefits featuring the selection of Application Service Providers - ASP (leasing of SCM applications), it has been found that this solution has not matured yet in the consciousness of Greek companies. The great majority considers it either unattractive or slightly attractive.

Byline: Panayiotis Tahinakis, Dimitrios Ginoglou, Nikolaos Protogeros The growth and expansion of firms into foreign markets have resulted in the aggregation of financial information that includes non-homogeneous elements. This paper seeks to investigate the difficulties of reporting on segments of a business. Emphasis will be laid on analysing the existing accounting recognition and measurement difficulties deriving from reporting research and development (R&D) expenditures in the light of investment decisions by the Greek banking sector. In conclusion, this study indicates that there are accounting and auditing problems of defined, measured and disclosed R&D to users of financial statements. Despite these difficulties, the importance of R&D expenditures will increase, as the capital market grows and there is a constant need to supply reliable accounting information.

Byline: Panayiotis Tahinakis, John Mylonakis, Nicolaos Protogeros The taxation system exerts substantial influence to the economic activity. Taxes, among others, influence work, saving, investments and the undertaking of business activity. This paper constitutes a study with regard to the issue of the e-government and its evolutionary course during the new era of Information Technology (IT) and the internet, and more specifically the role that it plays in the modernisation of the Hellenic taxation system. Moreover, the influence of the e-government to the application of modern information systems that support direct and indirect taxation is examined and the respective tax controls procedures as well. Furthermore, certain proposals are outlined with regard to the technological reform of the taxation system and the transition to the digital era on the basis of the adoption of new methodologies and practices. The easy-to-use operation systems and the low-cost communication channels (internet), the function of electronic tax processes (TAXISnet) and the increased participation of taxpayers will create a socio-economic environment, which is predicted to satisfy both the tax administration and the taxpayers.

Byline: Nicolaos Protogeros, John Mylonakis, Panayiotis Tahinakis, Dimitrios Ginoglou This paper presents a formalised negotiation methodology for distributed sales schedule optimisation. The purpose is to solve the optimisation problem, taking into account constraints such as the salesmen capacity and income increase in a uniform way and the company's turnover increase. In this approach a sales schedule is developed dynamically by all of the concerned participants. The negotiation methodology used allows agents to negotiate with other agents in a certain geographical area based on their sales capacity, commission percentage and the area's sales turnover. A simulation model based on Repast3 has been developed to evaluate the algorithm accuracy and the system's convergence. By executing this prototype with various utility functions, interesting results have been achieved showing a convergence in total company's turnover, salesmen capacity and salesman income.

Byline: Anna Daskopoulou, Panayiotis Tahinakis, John Mylonakis This paper seeks to investigate selection methods of employees in the Greek banking sector with a long-term aim to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods, in terms of validity, fairness and cost. The main objectives of the paper are firstly to find out which of the selection methods, such as interviews, references, assessment centres, tests and biodata, are the most commonly practised in the banking sector and secondly to discover the role of the personnel managers during a selection process within a bank. Research showed that the selection policies of the Hellenic banks are bank/firm-specific and although some of the methods used present some common features, the pattern differs slightly from bank to bank. The 'classic trio' of the selection methods used in the Greek banks is composed of cognitive tests, interviews and application forms or submission of curriculum vitae. Evidence also showed that the formulation of selection policies is centralised and although personnel managers have higher status than they have had in the past, they are not directly involved in the formulation of the selection process. This is not found to be really a strategic policy of the banks' personnel department either in state controlled or in private banks.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the incremental information content of audit opinion while considering opinion determinants, such as auditor and auditee size, or a firm’s financial state. Design/methodology/approach – A market valuation model is employed using US firm data collected over 30 years. The model relates stock returns to earnings and incorporates as additional variables auditors’ opinion types, opinion determinants and their interactions with audit expression. Findings – The findings suggest that audit opinion has a significant market impact. The estimated positive or negative information content of the audit opinion types is associated with certain opinion determinants, such as auditor and auditee size and a firm’s financial state. Research limitations/implications – Additional firm-year observations regarding certain opinion qualifications could benefit future research. Practical implications – This study offers useful insights by demonstrating the importance of auditing profession to the users of financial statements. It examines investors’ perception of each audit opinion type and the conditions under which this expression has the most serious effects. The results demonstrate the role of audit opinion and its cause-effect relationship with various economic events, allowing regulators not only to track the efficiency of various audit policy changes but also act preventively and amend the regulatory framework. Originality/value – This paper empirically supports the significance of the auditing process and audit opinions by examining investor perceptions. It employs a value relevance model, in contrast to market-based research that adopts an event study methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is an information intensive industry and as a service industry, information is the most significant quality factor for the industry. E-tourism is part of electronic trade that includes the fastest developing technologies that assist to the hospitality and tourism strategic planning and management. The aim of this paper is to analyze and compare the quality of 3 Internet sites and detecting their strong and weak points by analyzing quality into its constituent dimensions. Research was carried out by personal interviews and via electronic mails to a sample of 413 persons and internet users, out of which 157 responded. Statistical analysis included simple and multiple comparisons ANOVA and t-tests. Research detected some medium quality ratings, as well as, some more positive evaluations of certain individual factors. The Internet sites that collected the highest ratings are Agrotravel (5.32), Guest inn (5.08) and Ecotourism (4.26). Elements considered important in all three web portals are the lack of interaction facilities and conversation sections and personalized options with user personal accounts. Emphasis must be paid on the design, information, interaction and overall quality of a web site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibilities offered by information technology are being used by all enterprises in all their activities not only internationally but also in Greece. Business internal audit is generally affected by changes owed to the use of information technology. In this article, we will attempt a primary examination of the Greek reality in terms of internal audit and information technology. This examination was carried out using questionnaires. Businesses were asked to answer questions regarding the existence and staffing of an internal audit department, the conditions under which the internal audit is performed due to the use of information technology, as well as regarding information technology effects on internal audit procedures. As a conclusion, internal audit in Greece has been found to exist at a primary stage. On the other hand, information technology is being used by enterprises at increasing rates and its most interesting application is the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. An element that requires further studying is the development rate of internal audit processes in relation to information technology in the Greek business world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing pressures in the environment and the environmental social awareness have produced the need for studying interactions between the sectors of the economy and the environment. For a more comprehensive evaluation of sustainability and growth, the field of financial accounting needs to be expanded in order to comprise the use of natural resources and losses in the production process. The paper examines and proposes the cost–benefit analysis model as a useful estimation method of environmental revenues and costs incurred in Greece. These revenues and costs will appear in the profit and loss account statement. Environmental tax is an important cost for all industries with sustainable growth. Taxes are imposed on the natural units, which have a determined negative effect on the environment. Moreover, this paper examines the inherent interaction between the environment and the economic performance of enterprises by adopting environmental management and information green accounting systems. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]