Search Results (28)

The valuation of biological assets represents a crucial component for the generation of accounting information, especially in the context of the agricultural sector, where assets subject to continuous transformation processes predominate. This study aims to analyze, through a systematic review of the literature, how the measurement methods established by International Accounting Standard 41 (IAS 41) affect the quality, accuracy, and usefulness of accounting reports. The results show that the correct valuation of biological assets significantly improves strategic and financial decision-making by providing more reliable and representative data on the economic reality of the sector. Finally, the study highlights the main practical challenges in the application of IAS 41, including fair value volatility, the subjectivity of estimates, the limited availability of reliable data, and the need for more flexible accounting frameworks that consider the cultural, climatic, and productive realities of each environment. Based on these findings, the importance of strengthening transparency and accounting disclosure and adapting measurement methods to the particularities of the agricultural sector in order to improve the quality of information and the confidence of external users is highlighted. Full article

This study investigates whether and how the complexity of derivative use influences the stock price crash risk in China’s capital market, a critical question given the growing use of derivatives in emerging economies where governance structures and disclosure standards vary widely. While prior research has examined the binary effects of derivative usage, limited attention has been paid to the multidimensional complexity of such instruments and its informational consequences. Using a novel hand-collected dataset of annual reports from Chinese A-share-listed firms between 2010 and 2023, we develop and implement new indicators that capture both the economic complexity (diversity and scale) and accounting complexity (reporting dispersion and fair-value hierarchy) of derivative use. Our analysis shows that higher complexity is associated with a significantly lower likelihood of stock price crashes. This effect is especially pronounced in non-state-owned firms and those with weaker internal-control systems, suggesting that derivative complexity can enhance information transparency and serve as a substitute for other governance mechanisms. These findings challenge the conventional view that complexity necessarily increases opacity and highlight the importance of disclosure quality and institutional context in shaping the market consequences of financial innovation. Full article

The deployment of emotion-recognition technologies expands across healthcare education and gaming sectors to improve human–computer interaction. These systems examine facial expressions together with vocal tone and physiological signals, which include pupil size and electroencephalogram (EEG), to detect emotional states and deliver customized responses. The technology provides benefits through accessibility, responsiveness, and adaptability but generates multiple complex ethical issues. The combination of emotional profiling with biased algorithmic interpretations of culturally diverse expressions and affective data collection without meaningful consent presents major ethical concerns. The increased presence of these systems in classrooms, therapy sessions, and personal devices makes the potential for misuse or misinterpretation more critical. The paper integrates findings from literature review and initial emotion-recognition studies to create a conceptual framework that prioritizes data dignity, algorithmic accountability, and user agency and presents a conceptual framework that addresses these risks and includes safeguards for participants’ emotional well-being. The framework introduces structural safeguards which include data minimization, adaptive consent mechanisms, and transparent model logic as a more complete solution than privacy or fairness approaches. The authors present functional recommendations that guide developers to create ethically robust systems that match user principles and regulatory requirements. The development of real-time feedback loops for user awareness should be combined with clear disclosures about data use and participatory design practices. The successful oversight of these systems requires interdisciplinary work between researchers, policymakers, designers, and ethicists. The paper provides practical ethical recommendations for developing affective computing systems that advance the field while maintaining responsible deployment and governance in academic research and industry settings. The findings hold particular importance for high-stakes applications including healthcare, education, and workplace monitoring systems that use emotion-recognition technology. Full article

Genetically modified (GM) foods have existed for decades, and governments internationally have legislated packaging disclosure statement language that typically incorporates the words genetic, modified, and organism. In 2018, the United States implemented the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) and introduced the term Bioengineered (BE) into GM disclosure language to help clarify consumer uncertainty regarding GM foods. Since then, the US consumer attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge of genetically modified foods remain negative, reflecting a contaminated interaction. Current mandated disclosure labels, utilizing engineering and science-based signifiers, are associated with this negative interaction. This research assesses whether food disclosure labels based on the signifier Design, unassociated with current contaminations, can positively impact the consumer perception of GM foods compared to the negatively contaminated science and engineering signifiers currently used. Two online studies of 1931 participants analyzed GM/BE food disclosure labels comparing four existing and six newly created engineering and science-based signifiers against four new design-based signifiers across fifteen attributes, including Price, Purchase Likelihood, Environmental Impact, Fair Trade, Safety, Nutrition, Healthfulness, Quality, Eating Experience, Comforting, Inviting, Frightening, Understandable, Ethical, and Sustainable. Across both studies, design-related labels consistently outperformed traditional engineering/science-based terms in fostering positive perceptions. However, even the best-performing labels did not fully overcome the entrenched skepticism associated with GM foods, underscoring the need for complementary strategies beyond linguistic changes. Full article

This study examines racial and ethnic disparities in mortgage-lending outcomes across different lender types—large banks, fintech lenders, non-bank lenders, small banks, and credit unions—using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data from 2018 to 2023. By analyzing approval rates, rate spreads, and origination charges, we evaluate how borrower outcomes vary by race and ethnicity, controlling for loan characteristics, borrower attributes, and regional factors. Our findings reveal that Black and Hispanic borrowers consistently face less favorable terms than White borrowers, with disparities differing by lender type. Large banks, operating under stringent regulatory oversight, demonstrate relatively equitable pricing but impose higher loan denial rates on minorities. Credit unions, despite offering the lowest rate spreads overall, penalize minority borrowers more severely in pricing than other lender types. Fintech lenders, while charging higher-rate spreads and fees, show smaller credit access disparities for minority borrowers. Non-bank and small banks display mixed results, with inconsistencies in their treatment of minorities across pricing and credit access. These results highlight that neither technological innovations nor alternative lending models alone suffice to eliminate systemic inequities. Achieving equitable mortgage lending requires enhanced regulatory oversight, greater transparency in algorithmic decision-making, and stricter enforcement of fair lending practices. Full article

We use a quasi-exogenous shock to information asymmetry among shareholders to evaluate the effect of information asymmetry on corporate disclosure. In the post-Regulation Fair Disclosure (FD) period, the merger between a shareholder and a lender of the same firm provides a shock to the information asymmetry among equity investors, because Regulation FD applies to shareholders but not lenders. After the merger, the shareholder gains access to the firm-specific private information held by the lender, which produces an asymmetry in the information held by shareholders. We first provide evidence that information asymmetry among shareholders indeed increases after the shareholder–lender mergers. We then use a difference-in-differences research design to show that after shareholder–lender merger transactions, firms issue more quarterly forecasts (including earnings, sales, capital expenditure, earnings before interest, taxes, amortization (EBITDA), and gross margin), and the quarterly earnings forecasts are more precise. This study provides direct empirical evidence that information asymmetry among shareholders affects corporate disclosure. Firms can address increased information asymmetry by providing more disclosures, fostering a more equitable information environment. Additionally, policymakers might consider these results when evaluating the implications of Regulation FD, particularly in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of financial institutions where a shareholder gains access to private information held by a debt holder. Full article

In this study, we identified firms receiving COVID-19-related audit report disclosures through critical audit matter (CAM) mentions of COVID-19 in their audit reports. Through OLS regressions, we then investigated the fundamental accounting and auditing determinants that predict the likelihood of firms to receive these COVID-19-related disclosures, and found that firms with intangibles and goodwill were more likely to have these mentioned in their audit reports. Next, we examined the content of these disclosures and found that auditors’ COVID-19 disclosures focused on significant accounting estimates (e.g., fair value accounting and asset impairment considerations). These results are consistent with the idea that COVID-19-related uncertainty represented a triggering event to firms, who then reassessed the carrying value of these long-term assets. After exploring the spillover effects to outsiders, we found that investors obtained a 7.3 basis point for abnormal returns following COVID-19 report disclosures and that auditors were able to charge these firms USD 452,000 higher audit fees relative to benchmark firms. The results are also consistent in entropy-balanced estimations and two-stage analyses that address endogeneity. Full article

This study explores the relationship between psychological risk, price fairness, and brand trust in consumers of bottled water. We also tested the moderating effect of nutritional disclosure on the impacts of psychological risk and eco-friendly packaging on price fairness. We analyzed the data of 308 participants recruited via the Clickworker platform. Hayes’ PROCESS macro model 7 was employed to test the hypotheses. Price fairness was negatively influenced by psychological risk. Moreover, brand trust was significantly impacted by psychological risk and price fairness, with a significant moderating effect of nutritional disclosure on the relationship between eco-friendly packaging and price fairness. This work adds to the literature by identifying the relationship among four factors relevant to bottled water businesses. Full article

Background/Objectives: Restorative responses to staff involved in incidents are becoming recognized as a rigorous and constructive alternative to retributive forms of ‘just culture’. However, actually achieving restoration in mostly retributive working environments can be quite difficult. The conditions for the fair and successful application of restorative practices have not yet been established. In this article, we explore possible commonalities in the conditions for success across multiple cases and industries. Methods: In an exploratory review we analysed published and unpublished cases to discover enabling conditions. Results: We found eight enabling conditions—leadership response, leadership expectations, perspective of leadership, ‘tough on content, soft on relationships’, public and media attention, regulatory or judicial attention to the incident, second victim acknowledgement, and possible full-disclosure setting—whose absence or presence either hampered or fostered a restorative response. Conclusions: The enabling conditions seemed to coagulate around leadership qualities, media and judicial attention resulting in leadership apprehension or unease linked to their political room for maneuver in the wake of an incident, and the engagement of the ‘second victim’. These three categories can possibly form a frame within which the application of restorative justice can have a sustainable effect. Follow-up research is needed to test this hypothesis. Full article

There are ongoing debates globally regarding excessive executive compensation, the perceived weak link between pay and performance, and the widening inequality gap. The South African corporate governance code King IV’s Principle 14 addresses the need for fair, responsible, and transparent remuneration. At the same time, the newly enacted Companies Amendment Act No. 16 of 2024 in South Africa emphasizes transparency in compensation, shareholder voting, and responding to shareholder feedback. This study conducts a systematic literature review of 30 articles on the transparency of executive remuneration disclosures and their determinants by analyzing Scopus-indexed articles published between 2010 and 2023, selected through specific keyword searches. The findings suggest an increasing focus on research regarding the disclosure of executive compensation, predominantly conducted in the Global North and primarily framed through agency theory. Studies exploring the factors influencing executive remuneration and the relationship between pay and performance are prevalent, with mixed results generally indicating a positive connection. Firm size emerges as a key factor in transparency, and many studies employ binary scoring to evaluate whether executive compensation disclosure is present. This paper provides valuable insights for investors, analysts, and policymakers and adds to the current understanding of executive remuneration transparency. Full article

Focusing on sustainable fashion brands’ effective price promotion, this experimental study developed two sets of stimuli, ‘discount’ and ‘disclosure’ strategies, and tested consumers’ evaluations of price fairness, product attractiveness, quality, and brand trust based on each strategy. Subsequently, this study compared consumers’ evaluations of the discount and disclosure strategies. An analysis of 961 Korean samples revealed that a high discount rate increased price fairness and product attractiveness, and the highly promotion-focused consumers were more likely to perceive product attractiveness and quality when positive framing was presented. In the disclosure strategy, the reference point effect was prominent; when the conventional markup rate was provided, consumers showed greater price fairness, product attractiveness, and brand trust. Furthermore, it was noteworthy that disclosing conventional markup along with the firm’s markup showed the same price fairness perceptions as that of a high markup rate. Built on reference point and regulatory focus fit, this study empirically proved the effectiveness of the price promotions of sustainable fashion brands to whom quality and trustworthiness are greatly important, extending the academic originality of this study. Practically, effective use of price promotion strategies can help fashion management handle inventory problems in a sustainable way without massive investment in technologies. Full article

This paper examines the effects of Korea’s compulsory preliminary earnings announcements on stock prices using individual corporate financial disclosure data. Korea’s compulsory preliminary earnings announcements are similar to the US’s fair disclosures in that they are preliminary settlement disclosures. Disclosure regulation aims to prevent insider trading and resolve information asymmetry among investors by promptly disclosing unconfirmed internal settlement information prior to an external audit. The disclosure of such changes in profit or loss is generally expected to affect stock prices. Many studies have analyzed the relationship between accounting profit disclosure and stock prices, but most have focused on the relationship between net profit disclosure and stock price without considering other disclosure information such as sales and operating profit. In addition, previous studies analyzed the information effect of accounting profits based on annual reports, which are based on analysts’ predicted values and limited datasets. This study investigates the impact of Korea’s compulsory disclosure on stock prices through a multiple regression analysis, considering three types of accounting information, including sales, operating profit, and net profit, based on actual announcement data and daily trading volumes. The effect of corporate financial disclosure might vary with stock market type and industry sector. For this reason, we analyze the relationship between financial disclosure and stock prices for different stock market types and industry sectors. Results show that sales information affected KOSPI-listed companies’ stock prices, and operating profit information affected KOSDAQ-listed companies’ stock prices. In terms of financial market efficiency, the results show weak-form efficiency for both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets in general. However, this implies that there is still information asymmetry in sales information for the KOSPI, which consists of large and valued stocks and is not completely efficient, whereas information asymmetry might occur in operating profit information for the KOSDAQ, which consists of relatively small-to-medium innovative growing companies. In addition, results show that operating profits affect manufacturing industries’ stock prices, and that trading volumes significantly impact stock prices for all markets and industries. Full article

This research paper describes the accounting practices of Jordanian companies engaged in agricultural activities, and identifies the influence of company characteristics on measurement practices related to asset pricing and level of disclosure required by IAS 41. Company characteristics were considered as: size, intensity of biological assets (BA), level of international activities, and audit for the Big Four. Dependent variables were considered measurement practices related to valuing BA as well as resultant harvest and disclosure level, the latter being measured by mandatory and voluntary disclosures. The entire population of companies that include one or more agricultural activities in their purposes and are considered reporting companies formed the research sample, giving a total of 259 companies. The findings revealed that both intensity of BA and level of international activities have a positive impact on measurement practices. Audit for the Big Four was the strongest variable influence, the overall disclosure level prescribed by IAS 41, followed by the level of international activities variable. However, the intensity of the BA variable affects only the overall disclosure level for companies that measure their BA based on the cost method. Firm size was found to have no influence on either measurement practices or disclosure level. The key value of this paper is its examination of the role of company characteristics on measurement practices and level of disclosure required by IAS 41 in the context of Jordanian companies. Through this examination, this study is helpful to standards setters and regulators who obligate and issue the financial regulation and reporting standards at a national or international level, supporting their understanding of measurement and disclosure practices adopted in agricultural companies in the developing country context of Jordan. Full article

Presently, the COVID-19 vaccine is seen as a means to an end in light of other challenges, such as vaccine inequity. Through COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX), an initiative founded to guarantee fair and equitable distribution, vaccine hesitancy remains a critical component that needs to be addressed in sub-Saharan Africa. Utilizing a documentary search strategy and using the keywords and subject headings Utilitarianism and COVID-19 or Vaccine hesitancy and sub-Saharan Africa, this paper identified 67 publications from different databases (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science), which were further screened by title and full text to achieve (n = 6) publications that were analyzed. The reviewed papers demonstrate that vaccine hesitancy occurs against a colonial backdrop of inequities in global health research, social–cultural complexities, poor community involvement and public distrust. All of these factors undermine the confidence that is crucial for sustaining collective immunity in vaccine programs. Even though mass vaccination programs are known to limit personal freedom, the exchange of information between healthcare professionals and citizens must be improved to encourage complete disclosure of vaccine information at the point of delivery. Moreover, addressing components of vaccine hesitancy should involve relying not on coercive public policies but on consistent ethical strategies that go beyond current healthcare ethics toward broader bioethics. Full article

While a large body of research assessed the contribution of mental health stigma on disclosure, treatment seeking, and recovery, limited research exists seeking to identify the relative contribution of stigma beliefs on workers’ compensation claims for psychological injury. Survey data of ambulance, fire and rescue, police, and state emergency service personnel (N = 1855, aged 45–54 years, 66.4% male) was re-examined to assesses the unique and combined associations of self-, personal, and workplace stigma with workers’ compensation claims experiences and recovery. Participants responded to self-report stigma items (predictor variables), perceived stress, fairness, and support perceptions of going through the claims process and its impact on recovery (outcome variables). Multiple regression analyses revealed that the combined stigma dimensions predicted about one fifth of the variance of claims and recovery perceptions. Organisational commitment beliefs and the self-stigma dimension of experiences with others were the two most important, albeit weak, unique predictors across outcomes. Given the small but consistent influences of organisational commitment beliefs and the self-stigma dimension of experiences with others, it seems warranted to apply workplace interventions that are looking to establish positive workplace contact and a supportive organisational culture to alleviate negative effects attributable to mental health stigma. Full article