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Advances in technology and transparency have greatly accelerated the ability of clinicians to remain current with regards to being informed and informing patients about the risk/benefit ratio when considering antidepressant medication. In spite of this, the current climate of pharmaceutical industry influence on medical practice does much to hinder informed consent processes. Recent findings of previously unknown and potentially dangerous adverse effects of the second- and third-generation classes of antidepressants underscore the importance of enhancing the practice of informed consent. After considering the concept of informed consent as it has evolved over time, the authors summarize some of the newer side effects associated with second- and third-generation antidepressants and then move on to describe impediments in the way of achieving adequate informed consent at the clinical encounter. Among these impediments, the authors discuss the impact of industry influence, cognitive bias in decision-making, and time constraints. These obstacles and the notion that modern antidepressants are not as safe as once thought offer an opportunity to revisit the process of informed consent. A dynamic concept of informed consent is proposed with the acknowledgement that a mere listing of side effects or pro forma approach to informed consent is inadequate, and that a mindful and ongoing dialog with patients in which clinicians are responsive to patients' evolving needs as new information becomes available will more likely result in patient empowerment and a strengthening of the therapeutic alliance, thereby allowing patient and doctor to shoulder the burden of uncertainty together and leading to more optimal treatment outcomes.

Parkinson's disease can progressively affect daily function and multidisciplinary teamwork is essential to provide high quality care. The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidelines regarding diagnosis, follow-up, and multidisciplinary care. This quality improvement project sought to measure and improve the compliance of service provision against the guidelines. In total, 3 audit cycles were completed. Each audit involved reviewing notes of patients attending a Parkinson's disease outpatient clinic against the PD NICE guidelines audit criteria. The first and second audits showed compliance was high for the criteria relating to initial diagnosis and referral but poor for those criteria relating to multidisciplinary referral. A pro forma stamp was recommended to be placed in the notes at each regular Parkinson's outpatient review by a specified date (October 2009), with re-audit occurring in June 2011 as part of the official hospital audit plan. Compliance to the NICE criteria improved to 100% on all criteria measured. However, it was evident from the notes that the pro forma that had been recommended by the previous audit had been in use but was not at present. In fact the pro forma had been so successful that the clinicians had made each of the criteria a routine part of their consultations and so did not need to rely on it. Use of a checklist can have a lasting improvement on compliance with NICE guidelines, even if the intervention itself is transient.

Barth et al. (Review of Accounting Studies, this issue, 2012) identify the perfect natural laboratory setting in which they explore important questions related to non-GAAP earnings disclosures. By focusing on a single income statement line item, stock compensation expense, they can directly compare the behavior of managers and analysts in excluding that item from GAAP earnings. Their empirical analyses indicate that managers exclude the expense for opportunistic reasons. They also conclude that analysts are more likely to exclude the expense in order to increase the predictability of current-period earnings for future earnings. I believe their evidence provides a solid contribution to the literature on non-GAAP reporting. Moreover, it provides important evidence regarding the effectiveness of SFAS 123R’s requirement for the recognition of stock compensation expense in providing relevant earnings information to stakeholders. I provide a few comments regarding aspects of the paper that require clarification or that may influence the design of future studies. Overall, I believe this research provides an important contribution to the non-GAAP literature and that it will have a significant influence on the design of future studies.

This article focuses on valuation of biological wastewater treatment (WWT) technology with the application of nano-fi brous carrier. The economic analysis and assessment of this developing technology is based on the data from the technology using Anoxkaldnes ™ carriers. The fi rst part describes the methods of valuation of technol- ogy. The following analyses are presented: cost analysis, depreciation model, model of production chemical agent DPG and cash fl ow model. There are sensitivity analyses exploring the impact on the price of chemical agent DPG, increase of its production, price of applied carriers and accident frequency, and pro forma income statement. Results show that the application of WWT technology with the nano-fi brous carrier is a right choice in compliance with long-term economic and ecological indicators in relation to the sustainable growth of the Nowadays, the evolution of the nanotechnology is having a great impact on most of the industrial branches. This article focuses on the application of nanotechnology in the branch of industrial waste- water treatment. This paper describes the application of nano-fi brous carrier of biomass in biological wastewater treatment facilities. This technology is being tested in a research phase at one of the projects of the Advanced Remediation Technologies and Processes Center of the Technical University in Liberec (Czech Republic). The research is being developed on the basis of diverse disciplines such as chemistry, engineering of natural resources, development of textile materials, and mathematic modeling, among others. The economic valuation of the mentioned technology is based on the comparison with the already applied technology for wastewater treatment using carriers "Anoxkaldnes ™ ". Because of the exist- ence of sensitive data, we decided to keep the company in anonymity and call it "Company A" for the purposes of this work. The aim of this article is to describe the issues and methods concerning valuation of progressive technologies focused on the industrial application of nanotechnology. We also intend to defi ne advantages and disadvantages of the application of the valuation methods in order to make a sug- gestion for further work on research and practical application of nanotechnology at the industrial branch. The whole work was developed under the aid of MS Excel in order to allow actualizations and interconnections among different parts of the model. This might lead to better orientation through the results and will, therefore, ease the decision making process. We selected the methods according to the criteria shown on Table 1.

The disclosure of non-GAAP (pro forma) earnings numbers by managers in the post-SOX era continues to attract attention from regulators, media, and researchers. However, there is limited empirical evidence on how auditors view clients that emphasize pro forma earnings over GAAP earnings. We study the extent to which audit fees and auditor resignations are associated with opportunistic non-GAAP disclosures. We find that during the pre-SOX period, optimistic pro forma differences, measured using either IBES actual earnings or hand-collected pro forma earnings, are associated with higher audit fees and a higher likelihood of auditor resignations. Additional results indicate that auditors seem to be more concerned with non-GAAP earnings disclosures in the post-SOX period.

A pro forma of the caseload of the community palliative care clinical nurse specialists in the Central Lancashire Community Specialist Palliative Care Team was devised to provide a brief overview of each patient's plan of care for use in the multidisciplinary team meetings and as a consequence of preparing for the UK Department of Health's peer review process. The pro forma was also designed to be used in everyday clinical practice in Gold Standards Framework meetings in the community. It has been evaluated by the team and found to be helpful for highlighting key issues in clinical practice, such as symptoms, psychological and emotional needs, and Preferred Priorities of Care. Over the past 2 years, it has also complemented the organisation's drive to become ‘paperless’. This article looks at how the pro forma was developed, how it has evolved over time, and how it works today. Consideration has also been given to its benefits and limitations.

PurposeThis paper seeks to report some of the findings from an evaluation of adult safeguarding in one English local authority. The evaluation was commissioned in the context of concern regarding the number of safeguarding investigations that resulted in inconclusive outcomes.Design/methodology/approachAll adult social care teams in the local authority were asked to complete a short pro forma about the five most recent adult safeguarding alerts that they had managed to completion. Data collected included: characteristics of the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator; details of the professionals involved; whether or not a safeguarding plan meeting/case conference was held; and the outcome of any investigation. Respondents were also asked to comment on factors that they perceived to have helped or hindered the investigation.FindingsFindings suggest that a significant number of variables influence the likelihood of cases resulting in a conclusive outcome. These variables included not only the characteristics of alleged victims, but also elements of safeguarding practice – including inter‐agency co‐operation, social workers' pre‐existing knowledge of the alleged victim, and the convening of safeguarding plan meetings. A failure to actively involve alleged victims in the safeguarding process was also noted.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a relatively small sample from a single local authority.Originality/valueThis is the first study to provide qualitative evidence about the factors which influence the success or otherwise of adult safeguarding practice. The findings are likely to be of value to professionals working in adult safeguarding who are seeking to understand “what works” in managing investigations following safeguarding alerts.

Although models are often assumed to constitute the end product of a research project, it is not unusual for them to be refined after subsequent study or thought. Having presented a model of young people's information behavior in a previous paper elsewhere, the authors here offer a more compact version and explore the possibilities for its application in a teaching context with pupils. Use of models in this way can play an important part in reducing the longstanding gap between information-seeking research and information literacy instruction. Drawing inspiration from earlier work undertaken by Shenton with Masters students at Northumbria University, the authors demonstrate how it is possible to evolve from such models pro formas that can be completed by pupils to help them in relation to their own information-seeking activity. Shenton and Hay-Gibson feature here one such pro forma, intended for use by secondary schoolers. They discuss its value in promoting metacognition and indicate how this type of too...

Taiwan's regulation used to treat employee bonuses as one of after-tax-earnings distributing items. In response to the anti-dumping charges launched by American manufacturers against Taiwanese SRAM firms, Taiwan Securities and Futures Commission issues a new directive on January 30, 2003 which requires the listed companies to disclose pro forma EPS after deducting employee bonuses and director/supervisor compensations, that is, implicitly recognizing employee bonus as an expense item in annual reports. This study examines the valuation implication of mandatory disclosure of employee bonus related information after the issuance of the new directive by examining whether stock price movements can reflect such institutional changes. The empirical findings are in conformity with the expectation: Before the issuance of Directive No. 457, the market tends to overestimate the incentive effect arising from the employee bonuses; after the issuance of Directive No. 457, the market reacts negatively once employee bonuses are recognized implicitly as operating expenses. This study implements several diagnostic checks and demonstrates that our empirical results are robust to various specifications.

While some prior studies suggest that the timing of earnings announcements may reflect management's attempt to better inform investors, other studies suggest that managers opportunistically time their earnings releases in an effort to alter investors’ perceptions of firm performance. However, there is limited empirical evidence on the relation between earnings announcement timing and the manipulation of reported earnings. We extend this research by examining the timing of quarterly earnings announcements that contain an adjusted (‘pro forma’) earnings measure and whether managers’ behavior is more consistent with opportunistic or information-related motives. We find that, on average, managers accelerate the timing of earnings announcements in quarters in which they disclose an adjusted earnings metric within the earnings press release relative to quarters in which they do not. In addition, we find that the acceleration of the earnings announcement increases with the level of managers’ exclusions of recurring expenses and their use of less transparent reconciliation formats. Consistent with managerial opportunism, we find that the recurring item exclusions used to calculate pro forma earnings in accelerated earnings announcements are of relatively lower quality and are more predictive of lower future earnings. We also find that investors fail to fully unravel the low-quality nature of the recurring item exclusions used to calculate pro forma earnings in these accelerated announcements and that this failure is attenuated by managers’ use of less transparent reconciliation formats. Taken together, our results suggest that the acceleration of pro forma earnings news is at least partially attributable to managerial opportunism.

Background Patient histories in electronic health records currently exist mainly in free text format thereby limiting the possibility that decision support technology may contribute to the accuracy and timeliness of clinical diagnoses. Structuring and/or coding make patient histories potentially computable. Methods A systematic review was undertaken of the benefits and risks of structuring and/or coding patient history by searching nine international databases for published and unpublished studies over the period 1990–2010. The focus was on the current patient history, defined as information reported by a patient or the patient's caregiver about the patient's present health situation and health status. Findings were synthesised through a theoretically based textural analysis. Findings Of the 9207 potentially eligible papers identified, 10 studies satisfied the eligibility criteria. There was evidence of a modest number of benefits associated with structuring the current patient history, including obtaining more complete clinical histories, improved accuracy of patient self-documented histories, and better associated decision-making by professionals. However, no studies demonstrated any resulting improvements in patient care or outcomes. When more detailed records were obtained through the use of a structured format no attempt was made to confirm if this additional information was clinically useful. No studies investigated possible risks associated with structuring the patient history. No studies examined coding of the patient history. Conclusions There is an insufficient evidence base for sound policy making on the benefits and risks of structuring and/or coding patient history. The authors suggest this field of enquiry warrants further investigation given the interest in use of decision support technology to aid diagnoses.

This paper examines the effect of mandatory pro forma earnings disclosure on the alignment of CEO share bonuses and firm performance (i.e., annual stock returns). Using 6,583 executive-level observations from 986 non-financial firms in Taiwan over the period 1999–2004, we find a significant shift in the CEO share bonus pay-earnings relation caused by a marked reduction in bonus shares after the new disclosure rule becomes effective. The change in CEO compensation structure in turn leads to a closer link between CEO stock bonuses and annual stock returns. The result suggests that a more transparent earnings disclosure could positively affect board choices regarding compensation arrangements, thus inducing a better convergence of manager and shareholder interests.

The design of concession price is essential to financial viability of Public–Private Partnership (PPP) highway projects. It is one of the most important variables that need to be determined during the negotiation period. However, there are few methods available for calculating the value of this variable. Research described in this paper aims to develop a reliable, objective, and systematic model for determining a rational concession price for PPP highway projects based on pro forma financial statements developed during the feasibility study period. The pricing parameters and price risk factors of PPP highway project were first identified and compiled through a comprehensive literature review. A concession pricing model using System Dynamics technique was then developed based on concession pricing parameters and the effectiveness of the proposed SD-based concession pricing model was verified by a real toll tunnel project located in China. The test result shows that the proposed model is reliable, accurate, and suitable for the application by practitioners for concession price determination. To overcome the effect of risk factors on concession price, a pricing adjustment model using Case-base Reasoning (CBR) technique was proposed to consider the unquantifiable risk factors. It is believed that a rational and practical concession pricing model can create a ‘win–win’ situation for both the private investor and the host government. This research framework can also be used as a reference to study other facilities' pricing models.

This paper reviews a methodical approach to solving multi-step dynamic problem of optimal integrated program management of a product portfolio structure of the enterprise. Any multiproduct manufacturing process depends on many factors, that is why the quality criteria in the economic and mathematical model of the dynamics of the pro duct portfolio structure management of a company is a vector one, and therefore, optimization of the integrated product portfolio structure management of a company is multi-criteria optimization problem. With the help of the method of generalized criterion (method of vector criterion scalarization), a formed multicriteria problem is replaced by a one-criterion optimization problem of complex management program of product portfolio structure with afunctional of quality, which is a convolution of a set (vector) of the objective functions. The transformed problem is formulated and solved as a problem of optimal terminal program control in a class of linear discrete dynamical systems. The method proposed in this paper allows developing management solutions designed to create the optimal structure of an enterprise's product lines, contributing to optimization of profits as well as maintenance of the desired level of profit for a long period of time.

We examine the influence of investor sentiment on managers’ discretionary disclosure of “pro forma” (adjusted) earnings metrics in earnings press releases. We find that managers’ propensity to disclose an adjusted earnings metric (especially one that exceeds the GAAP earnings number) increases with the level of investor sentiment. Furthermore, our analyses suggest that, as investor sentiment increases, managers: (1) exclude higher levels of both recurring and nonrecurring expenses in calculating the pro forma earnings number and (2) emphasize the pro forma figure by placing it more prominently within the earnings press release. Additional analyses indicate that the association between investor sentiment and managers’ pro forma disclosure decisions at least partly reflects opportunistic motives. Finally, we find that managers’ own sentiment-driven expectations also play a role in their pro forma disclosure decisions.

Please cite this paper as: Tang A-W, Sabir N, Comber K, Liebling R, Pollard J, Roberts D. A pro forma and review process for the assessment of standards of care in stillbirths. BJOG 2011;118:1661–1664. Stillbirth rates do not address deficiencies in care. We collected information on stillbirths from 2004 to 2009 using a standardised pro forma. A local panel used the pro forma to grade the level of care received by the Confidential Enquiry into Stillbirths and Deaths in Infancy (CESDI) categorisation. Comparison using kappa scores showed agreement between local and external multidisciplinary panels of similar referral patterns (n = 47, κ = 0.7), and that the categorisation was unaffected by the individual who fills out the pro forma (n = 17, κ = 0.5). There was less agreement between the local panel and adverse event review (n = 100, κ = 0.45). This report represents a validation of the pro forma and the review process for standard use in all units.

As the first systematic attempt to identify the issues involved in the use of large data sets to examine nonprofit surpluses and endowments, this paper provides suggestions for how best to ensure that the data are consistent and useful. We introduce five definitions of nonprofit surplus (the analogue of profit) and identify when researchers should use one in preference to the other. The distinctions are especially important when analyzing endowed organizations because surpluses affect the amount and rate of accumulation of endowment assets. Conversely, an endowment affects how managers and analysts should calculate surplus. Information on IRS 990 reports is incomplete, so we explain how to construct a pro forma endowment portfolio and endowment spending from available data for the purpose of calculating operating surplus of endowed organizations. We argue that researchers doing statistical analyses with large data bases should distinguish between endowed organizations and those without endowments because their financial behavior may differ. To lump them together is likely to distort statistical results. Finally, we discuss practical issues of data cleaning when using data from IRS 990 reports.

Pro forma analysis is often performed with the idea that a firm’s cash flows are cyclic. Yet, after forecasting cash flows following a cyclic pattern, the remaining cash flows are calculated using a constant growth perpetuity calculation as a “terminal value.” Such a calculation for the terminal value is inconsistent with the nature of cyclic cash flows that do not grow at a constant rate. In this article, a method is developed for calculating the terminal value that incorporates the cyclic nature of cash flows into perpetuity. The method is easily incorporated into a “closed-form” valuation technique in Excel that is very amenable to Excel’s data table and “spinner” features, as well as Monte Carlo software packages for extensive sensitivity analysis.

This paper examines the joint effects of corporate governance and regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission on the disclosure of manager-adjusted non-GAAP (or pro forma) earnings numbers in the United States. We provide evidence that prior to Regulation G investors were misled by disclosures of non-GAAP earnings, but only for disclosures made by firms with weaker corporate governance. After the SEC intervention there is no evidence that investors were still being misled. Furthermore, the effect of the intervention applied to both adjustments that are ex ante recurring as well as to adjustments that just meet or beat analysts’ forecasts.

Aim: To determine the rate, causes and risk factors of non-attendance to the paediatric clinic in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia and to determine the efficacy of one telephone call to confirm a new appointment. Methods: For all non-attending patients, during a 2-month period, a pro forma was filled up based on patients' records. During a phone call, additional questions were asked, and a new appointment was offered. Results: Of 1563 patients who had an appointment, 497 (31.8%) were non-attendees. Weather conditions, the sub-specialty and timing (morning or afternoon) had a significant effect on non-attendance. Forgetfulness was the main cause. Only 160 patients could be successfully contacted. Among the contactable patients, 55 already had an appointment, and 10 had reasons not to get a new appointment. Of the 95 remaining patients, 73 (76.8%) attended the new appointment. Conclusion: The non-attendance rate was high. One telephone call had a reasonable efficacy for the contactable patients, but because a high number of patients were not contactable, overall effectiveness was poor.

Background: Psychiatric rehabilitation is an important component in mental health services. The rehabilitation needs of patients with mental illness have been highlighted in various studies. The studies on in-patient referrals to rehabilitation services however are sparse. This study describes the clinical and demographic details and the reasons for referrals to rehabilitation services during the in-patients stay. Materials and Methods: A semi-structured pro forma was used for the assessment of in-patients referred for the psychiatric rehabilitation services. The pro forma included socio-demographic details such as background, family resources, illness related details such as symptom status, risk assessment, medication details. The total number of referrals for a period of 5 months was collected and coded. Results: The total number of referrals for a period of 5 months was 216 and there were 197 forms available for the study. The mean age of the sample was 31.48 ± 10.46 years. Vocational rehabilitation was the commonest reason for referral to the in-patient services. Severe mental disorders were the most common diagnosis of patients refereed to the services. Conclusions: Patients with severe mental illness were most often referred to the in-patient services. This indicates that we need include to rehabilitation in the management plan at the earliest. Vocational rehabilitation is the most common reason for referrals and there is a need to develop services to cater to these needs.

SYNOPSIS: The potential conversion of accounting standards from U.S. GAAP to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) raises the issue of unknown financial reporting consequences. We consider one important accounting issue, namely equity-based compensation, and study how IFRS conversion will affect financial statements and the quality of reported numbers. The difference between the two standards is that IFRS reports tax benefits from equity-based compensation at their intrinsic value each period. This amounts to quasi fair-value accounting under IFRS compared to historic-cost accounting under GAAP. We develop and compare pro forma GAAP and IFRS accounting reports for a broad cross section of U.S. firms. We find that IFRS yields lower deferred tax assets and recognized tax benefits for approximately two-thirds of the option grants in our sample. Moreover, reported tax items will be more volatile under IFRS and these effects will be more pronounced for firms with greater option use and stock price volatility. Importantly, we find that IFRS tax items are better able to predict future cash flows. One conclusion is that IFRS improves the relevance, and thereby, the quality, of at least some reported numbers.

Pharmacogenetic tests are proposed as a means of targeting therapy to patients such that ineffective medicine prescription and adverse events are reduced and overall benefit in terms of improved health outcomes is maximized. However, the true impact of introducing pharmacogenetic tests into clinical practice remains to be confirmed. This commentary presents some of the key requirements in developing a pharmacogenetic clinical practice model in a hospital setting. The analysis considers the need to select carefully which pharmacogenetic tests are best offered, while balancing the cost to the institution given the potential benefits to the patient population base. Drawing on our experience in Taiwan, we recommend that developing a hospital task force for pharmacogenetic testing is a recommended approach to: (1) set quality standards on how best to conduct the test, (2) provide a pro forma for interpreting results, (3) prescribe treatment appropriately according to results, and (4) design an educational program for all relevant health care team members. To further support the implementation of pharmacogenetic testing in the hospital setting, it is necessary to promote audit of clinical practice by building hospital-based registries to facilitate the collection of health care resource use and outcome data that records the clinical uptake of testing. We suggest that well-conducted economic evaluations, relevant to local practice, are essential pieces of information to guide institutional decision making on how best to develop the appropriate use of pharmacogenetic tests in clinical practice. Drug Dev Res 71: 502–506, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

(2010). Making the Case for Advanced Practice Nurses. Oncology Issues: Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 28-31.

This paper examines the prominence of non-GAAP financial measures in press releases, testing whether managers emphasize these adjusted performance measures relative to GAAP numbers in four different settings where their disclosure helps managers reach strategic earnings benchmarks on a pro forma basis when they would otherwise fall short using GAAP numbers. Moreover, this research investigates the information content of disclosures reconciling non-GAAP to GAAP earnings (and other financial statements). The data is hand collected from quarterly earnings press releases of a sample of S&P 500 firms during the 2001–2003 period. In this particular sample, the disclosure of non-GAAP financial measures is frequent. The results suggest that managers strategically give more prominence to non-GAAP measures than to GAAP figures when the GAAP earnings number falls short of a benchmark but the non-GAAP earnings number does not. This disclosure strategy may influence the perception of the firm's financial results. Furthermore, the results suggest that both the reconciliation and the non-GAAP income statement contain information useful for users.

This paper is set against the background of recent regulatory action and standard-setting activities pertaining to the disclosure of so-called ‘pro forma’ earnings. For a sample of large corporations listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange, I individually analyze quarterly earnings announcements published for the fiscal years 2005 and 2006. Given voiced concern about the potential of pro forma metrics to misrepresent firm performance and thus to potentially mislead investors, research questions pertain to the use, the calculation and the presentation of pro forma earnings, and the impact of recent recommendations issued by European securities commissions. The results indicate that firms make extensive use of so-called ‘EB’ (earnings before) metrics and, more importantly, of pure non-GAAP performance measures, both in terms of frequency and reporting emphasis. The transparency of adjustments to GAAP earnings turns out to be low. Year-to-year analysis suggests that recent recommendations by European securiti...

Anderson’s central concern in his ELT Journal article (Vol. 69, No. 3, 2015) is to introduce several helpful changes teachers can make to a regular lesson plan pro forma due to a particular language learning environment and unpredictable events. In introducing these changes, Anderson discusses affordance, learning objectives, and learning opportunities. Affordance is a jargon term, and those who use it should explain and illustrate it in words that everyone can understand. However, Anderson does not explain it very clearly for his readers. Moreover, in Anderson’s entire article, he does not directly tell readers what he means by pro forma plans, also causing difficulties for some readers. What’s more, the logic of changing learning objectives to learning opportunities is questionable. In this paper, the author tries to make the terms “affordance and pro forma” much clearer and give a specific example of lesson pro forma, which aims at helping readers integrate affordance into lesson plan pro forma much better.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between investor perception management through reporting aggressive pro forma (PF) earnings and earnings management through real activities or by manipulating accruals.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of PF earnings announcements over 2001‐2007 was manually collected from Lexis Nexis, consisting of 4,285 firm‐quarter observations; the aggressiveness of PF earnings reporting was measured by the difference between GAAP earnings and PF earnings.Findings – The paper finds that managers report more aggressively calculated PF earnings numbers if they do not meet their earnings targets or they have limited abilities to manage earnings. Also it was found that the gap between the value relevance of GAAP earnings and PF earnings is smaller for firms with relatively low level of discretionary accruals; this gap is decreased in the post‐Sarbanes Oxley Act period.Practical implications – This paper has implications for investors and financial anal...

This article explores whether pro forma earnings, GAAP earnings, and I/B/E/S earnings are value relevant and, more important, which in comparative terms has the greatest value relevance. In addition to using actual pro forma measures contained in earnings press releases of Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 firms, our design employs both traditional price and returns association models and incorporates both current and future measures of earnings. We find for the full period, 2000 through 2004, that all three earnings measures are value relevant. We further find that pro forma earnings are significantly more value relevant than Institutional Broker's Estimate System (I/B/E/S) earnings, which in turn are more value relevant than Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) earnings. These results are robust to several alternate model specifications as well as to controlling for measures of opportunistic reporting.

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the functioning and status of implementation of hemovigilance program of India (HvPI) in the blood banks of southern Kerala.Methods: It was a survey approach to analyze the facilities, working nature, and status of implementation of hemovigilance program by the blood banks located in the three districts of southern Kerala. Both goevrnment and private sector blood banks were subjected to the survey. Standard pro forma was used to collect the data. Collected data were analyzed by percentages and ratios.Results: A total of 40 blood banks were covered in the study. All the blood banks were licensed for handling whole blood. 23 blood banks were licensed for handling blood components. 6 blood banks process 100% blood into components. Majority of blood banks have excellent demand for components. Packed red cells, platelet concentrate, and fresh frozen plasma were the significant components among the prepared components. Majority of the blood banks under the survey had hospital transfusion committee (HTC). 25 blood banks replied as the HvPI is an excellent/good system. However, only 11 blood banks were enrolled in the HvPI. Training programs for the resident doctors and nurses regarding with adverse transfusion reaction and their reporting were not conducted by 17 blood banks.Conclusion: Except very few blood banks, all are need more awareness and training programs. Attention should be given in the area such as underreporting, poor implementation of hemovigilance, only serious reactions reporting, and avoiding minor reactions. Core factor is proper functioning of HTC and awareness programs about hemovigilance system.

In this paper, I examine a simple procedure in the United States House of Representatives, approving the Journal, and its implications for legislative business. In this paper, I examine the hypothesis that such votes are more than simply pro forma motions or dilatory tactics by the minority party. Considering the 102nd–107th Congresses, I show that votes on the Journal’s approval are just as frequently requested by the majority party as by members of the minority party. Furthermore, I find that votes recorded on days on which a vote was also recorded on the House Journal were more likely to be close and more likely to be party-line votes than those recorded on other days.

The practice of reporting manager-adjusted ‘pro forma’ earnings numbers in quarterly earnings press releases has attracted considerable attention in recent years in the United States. Prior research suggests that while some managers report these adjusted numbers to better reflect core earnings, others may use these earnings adjustments to meet strategic earnings targets on a pro forma basis when they fall short based on GAAP reporting standards. Assuming the latter motivation could potentially mislead investors, the difficulty lies in distinguishing the ‘good guys’ from the ‘bad guys.’ Using hand-collected pro forma earnings data, we investigate the extent to which different types of earnings adjustments affect the spread between pro forma earnings and GAAP earnings from continuing operations. Moreover, we investigate which types of adjustments managers use to meet strategic earnings targets. In addition to the exclusion of one-time items like restructuring charges, the results indicate that managers often exclude recurring expenses such as depreciation, research and development, and stock-based compensation to meet these strategic targets. The exclusion of recurring items is especially indicative of aggressive pro forma reporting. Finally, we find that firms that report adjusted earnings numbers only sporadically are more likely than firms that adjust earnings figures on a regular basis to use pro forma reporting to achieve strategic earnings targets by excluding recurring items.

The third wave of democratisation has been accompanied by the spread of new institutions that allow citizens to directly participate in shaping policy outcomes. Leading international organisations, such as the World Bank and UN Habitat, have disseminated ‘best practice’ programmes identified with ‘good government’ policy reform efforts. One of the best known programmes, participatory budgeting (PB), was first adopted by an entrepreneurial government in 1989 as a means to promote social justice, accountability, and transparency. Yet, when these programmes are copied by policy advocates and pro forma adopters, the political pay-offs for government officials are smaller, which leads them to provide weaker support for the adopted policy. This article demonstrates that policy entrepreneurs are more likely to provide greater resources and support to innovative policies than their policy advocates and pro forma adopter counterparts due to the types of political payoffs available to them. The article con...

In a market where imperfect competition occurs as a result of mergers, this study proposes a framework consisting of both efficiency and risk analyses that allow the simulation of pro forma mergers and hence the determination of the optimal number of firms in the industry. This is valuable policy information for regulators concerned with possible intervention in the case of competition and anti-trust violations, and also for business managers seeking acquisition targets. The framework is applied to the banking industry in Taiwan. Results reveal the potential for industrial restructuring in a sector where the optimal number of Bank Holding Companies (BHCs) is between four and six, subject to whether partial control is assumed.

This article explores whether authors can dedicate their copyright to the public domain. Such dedications are becoming increasingly relevant as authors now see the expansion of the public domain as value in itself. This is facilitated by organisations providing pro forma documents for dedicating works to the public domain. However, there has been no real consideration of what, if any, legal effect a dedication to the public might have. This article suggests that such dedications are no more than copyright licences which, in English and US law at least, can be revoked at will. This means that users of such works must rely on estoppel alone to enforce any dedication to the public domain.

Traditional timber houses provide a significant image of the built environment heritage, especially for south-east Asia, which holds more than half of the timber species in the world. It is therefore vital for professionals to ensure that the timber houses are still in good condition. When judging the condition of the building, a comprehensive evaluation is desirable, so that a reliable recommendation can be made within the shortest possible time frame. The priority ranking system developed through this research is appropriate for this purpose. The streamlined methodology uses numerical coding for the survey pro forma. From the priority ranking, the data are used to determine the condition of the house: dilapidated, fair or good. As this is a pilot project, the system was tested on the small-scale traditional timber house called Khmer houses in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We found that the survey effectively reflects the current state of the house.

Transition Therapeutics Inc. (Transition) and Waratah Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Waratah) are two publicly traded biopharmaceutical Canadian companies. In October 2001, Transition and Waratah announced that they had agreed to combine their respective businesses, assets, and operations. The business combination will be effected through an exchange of equity interests. The case unfolds before special shareholders' meetings for approval of the arrangement. Management is preparing the joint management information circular, which should include pro forma consolidated financial statements. However, many issues should be addressed to account for the business combination, and decisions on these issues might affect the accounting treatment as well as pro forma financial information. Note: Teaching Notes for instructional cases are not published in the journal but are made available to full CAAA member subscribers in a password-protected area of the CAAA website. Go to http:www.caaa.caAccountingperspectivesCAPCasesTeachingNotes to log in and access the notes.

Aims and MethodWe describe the development of a pilot personality disorder outreach service. A case series of 13 patients was studied. Data were collected using pro forma, semi-structured interviews and a structured assessment of personality disorder.ResultsAll personality disorder clusters were represented among the 13 patients. Treatment recommendations usually supported the existing approach – the ‘added value’ of the outreach service was that difficult interpersonal dynamics could be considered and thought through with an objective observer. Opinions differed on whether the service was more useful for the assessment and brief treatment or continuing care teams.Clinical ImplicationsPersonality disorder services need to develop expertise in all clusters. There is a need to moderate the harsh self-critical attitudes of the care coordinators. The national framework for personality disorder is useful for service development, but the services need to be tailored to the individual needs of specific teams.

This paper examines two questions that emerged from a viewing of Hotel Pro Forma's contemporary peiformance The Algebra of Place. It questions how and why the viewer's perception altered when observing the convergence oflive and mediatised peiformance, with particular reference to an altered perception oforiginal and copy. It also questions the perception ofspace, time and the performer's identity in the performance. In an endeavour to address these questions two examples from The Algebra of Place are examined. Theoretically the paper applies intermediality as a conceptual framework to assist in the examination of these concerns, Then the paper reviews in more detail theories ofspace and time in contemporary peiformance, and theories of peiformative identity, The result of this theoretical exploration, in conjunction with the examples from The Algebra of Place, is a provisional concept -digital mimesis. By articulating a contemporary repositioning of mimesis beyond imitation, mimesis is proposed in an attempt to articulate the complex power relations between the original and the copy in live and mediatised performance. As such, the paper ventures to provide a lens for theorists and practitioners who examine and create intermedial contemporary peiformance that destabilises the original.

Background In 2002, a paediatric respiratory service in South Wales carried out a study to identify children in local schools who had a diagnosis of severe allergy, requiring them to carry an epipen. This investigation was carried out as a result of three schools seeking advice. Three children were identified as suffering from severe allergy; one child from each of the three schools. It was evident that sufficient education and support was not available for these children, their families and school staff regarding allergy management. This led to further investigation to see if there were others experiencing similar problems. Method To identify school-aged children with a diagnosis of severe allergy, a survey took place of the three schools mentioned above plus a further 111 schools. Sixteen additional children were noted to be carrying epipens in 16 separate schools. An audit pro forma was devised and used to collect relevant data to establish previous allergy management and current allergy status. The 16 children and their families were invited to an assessment clinic where they were interviewed by a respiratory nurse specialist. Results There were deficiencies in allergy management relating to: assessment, diagnosis, medication provision, education, support and ongoing follow up. These deficiencies highlighted the need for the development of a paediatric allergy service and a multi professional collaborative approach to care. Conclusion The findings from the five phases of this study have influenced the development of an allergy clinic. This has led to collaborative working between healthcare professionals, school staff, children, and their families. The findings have promoted practice in terms of conducting thorough nursing and medical assessment, appropriate diagnosis, education and ongoing support for children and their families.

Numerical simulation of several typical risk management strategies using pro forma financial statements from representative U.S. dairy cooperatives shows that combinations of forwards, swaps, and cash marketing strategies for output (cheese), along with various forward contracts offered to cooperative members to manage the variability of milk revenues, have the potential to improve cooperative‐, and ultimately member‐level risk‐return performance. Because most cooperatives have limited access to equity capital, effective use of available risk management tools can increase cooperative value by increasing debt capacity, avoiding bankruptcy costs, and preventing the distortion of capital budgeting decisions. Moreover, the offering of risk management tools to individual members as a service may prove valuable in the retention of these members in the cooperative.

Public participation is widely lauded as a way to make environmental decisions more democratic, to improve their quality, and to enhance their legitimacy. Scholars and citizens around the world repeatedly complain, however, that public participation frequently serves primarily as a pro forma exercise to defend predetermined decisions rather than as a meaningful opportunity for the affected public to influence decision-making. These critiques persist despite considerable research suggesting ways to improve the quality of public participation. This essay explores this problem by analyzing citizen involvement in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes for the Allain Duhangan hydropower project in northern India. It describes how meaningful public involvement was compromised—despite repeated objections by citizens and independent consultants—by four communication practices: (1) failing to provide adequate access to information; (2) predetermining EIA outcomes by controlling the definition of issue...

This paper aims to outline three topics in connection with money in Roman law. Firstly, the traditional concept of money is examined through ancient legal sources, leading to a deeper scrutiny of certain decision-making principles of Roman lawyers, namely that of naturalis ratio and rerum natura . After the evaluation of the related sources, it becomes clear that these principles were used as a kind of canon to separate naturalis and absurdus , and that is why naturalis ratio and rerum natura became the foundation stone of several cases. Finally, the issue of iactus missilium is analysed, focusing mainly on the question whether it is really traditio in incertam personam , or something else. The texts dealing with iactus missilium are on the one hand highly unanimous concerning the terminology, while on the other hand they contain merely pro forma arguments. After a closer examination of these texts as well as their true nature, the iactus missilium seems rather the unity of derelictio and occupatio than t...