Search Results (110)

The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the world’s first system to impose tariffs on the carbon emissions of imported products, commenced its transition period in October 2023 and is scheduled for full implementation in January 2026. This mechanism exerts a profound impact on the global trade landscape and corporate environmental management practices. Taking the CSI All Share Index constituent companies as a research sample, this paper empirically evaluates the impact of the CBAM transition period on the environmental scores of Chinese export enterprises utilizing the Propensity Score Matching Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DID) method. The results indicate that the CBAM transition period significantly inhibits the short-term environmental performance of regulated enterprises. Mechanism analysis reveals that increased financing constraints serve as a core mediating channel, wherein escalated compliance costs and compressed cash flows crowd out resources for low-carbon investments. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the negative impact is more pronounced among state-owned enterprises, firms with lower audit quality, and firms with a higher proportion of female executives. Accordingly, the study recommends establishing targeted green transition financing mechanisms, accelerating domestic carbon market reforms, and strengthening international technical harmonization to build corporate resilience against global climate governance shocks and promote sustainable growth. Full article

The escalating scale and complexity of cybercrime necessitate standardized digital forensic protocols to ensure the integrity and admissibility of digital evidence. This study empirically assesses the use of ISO/IEC 27037 and ISO/IEC 27041 through three real-world digital forensic case studies conducted in organizational settings. A multi-case methodology was employed, encompassing a multinational corporate criminal investigation, an internal employee misbehaviour probe, and an examination into mobile- and cloud-based data leaks. The effect of synchronized standard implementation was evaluated using audit-based and quantitative indicators that measure forensic process quality as a system attribute. The findings demonstrate that the systematic implementation of ISO/IEC 27037 and ISO/IEC 27041 improves investigative traceability, documentation quality, and evidentiary robustness. In the worldwide case study, documentation completeness increased by 18%, and all digital evidence was deemed admissible in judicial proceedings, surpassing the institutional baseline admissibility rate of 82%. In other instances, evidence gathered within the same framework was acknowledged in organizational or disciplinary review processes, resulting in similar enhancements in documentation quality and procedural consistency, notwithstanding technological and organizational limitations. The paper develops and empirically substantiates an integrated procedural validation model that connects evidence-handling practices with method and instrument validation. The results indicate that the synchronized implementation of ISO/IEC forensic standards improves the transparency, dependability, and auditability of digital forensic investigations. Full article

This study examines the relationship between board composition and integrated reporting quality (IRQ) and tests whether firm performance moderates this relationship. Using content analysis, IRQ is measured through a disclosure index based on the 2021 International Integrated Reporting Framework. The sample comprises 550 integrated annual reports from 110 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange across multiple sectors for the period 2020–2024. Multiple regression analysis reveals that board size and gender diversity are positively and significantly associated with IRQ, suggesting that larger and more gender-diverse boards enhance monitoring effectiveness and stakeholder-oriented transparency. In contrast, board independence and audit committee size show no significant association with IRQ. The findings further indicate that firm performance does not moderate the relationship between board composition and IRQ, implying that reporting quality is driven more by governance structures than by financial outcomes. This study contributes post-2021 Framework evidence from a mandatory integrated reporting context, refines governance theory by highlighting the importance of board heterogeneity over formal independence, and positions IRQ as a governance outcome rather than a financial signalling mechanism. The results offer practical insights for regulators, investors, and policymakers seeking to enhance reporting quality. Full article

The joint influence of digital adoption in corporate governance and its impact on external assurance is a critical and emerging nexus in the literature concerning auditing and technological innovation, especially in volatile markets. Building on agency theory and resource dependence theory, this study investigates the nexus between corporate digital transformation (DT) and audit quality (AQ), while examining the moderating role of AC characteristics—specifically size, gender diversity, expertise, and activity—within the Egyptian context. Utilizing a sample of 120 non-financial firms listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) from 2022 to 2024 (360 firm-year observations), the analysis employs Robust Least Squares (M-estimation) and Panel EGLS to ensure resilience against outliers and heteroscedasticity. The empirical findings provide robust evidence that digital transformation significantly enhances audit quality by constraining discretionary accruals, supporting the premise that technological integration improves monitoring and transparency. Moreover, the results reveal that the audit committee acts as a pivotal positive moderator, strengthening the digitalization-audit quality relationship; this impact is most pronounced in firms with larger, more gender-diverse, and financially expert audit committees. While audit committee activity shows a reactive correlation with accruals, its interaction remains essential for continuous monitoring in digital environments. Ultimately, this study offers novel insights for regulators and firms in emerging economies, highlighting that the benefits of technological adoption in financial reporting are maximized only when complemented by robust internal governance mechanisms, necessitating simultaneous investment in digital infrastructure and the fortification of audit committee attributes to ensure sustained audit market efficiency. Full article

Hybrid railway assets such as workshops and depots combine building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP)/industrial, and linear infrastructure domains, increasing coordination complexity and challenging continuity from the Project Information Model (PIM) to the Asset Information Model (AIM). Although Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR), Asset Information Requirements (AIR), and the BIM Execution Plan (BEP) prescribe deliverables and processes, a persistent gap remains between documentary prescriptions and the auditable evidence needed to support traceable decisions within the Common Data Environment (CDE). This paper proposes an ISO 19650-aligned governance framework that operationalizes the EIR/AIR → BEP → CDE transition by: (i) structuring the asset using Functional Units (FUs) as a stable anchor for PIM → AIM continuity; and (ii) implementing a pre-Published Quality Gate that separates control into three non-substitutable dimensions (spatial, semantic, and data). The approach is implemented as a tool-neutral, reproducible workflow (inputs → checks → outputs → publish) and produces a minimal, persistent evidence package in the CDE (file-level report, package summary, publish/hold decision record, and Nonconformity Report (NCR)/BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) traceability), with explicit roles governing the Shared → Published transition. Across 22 Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), deliverables from two depot cases and multiple delivery states, All Gates Pass ranged from 25.0% to 44.4% depending on Case × State; overall, 14/22 deliverables (63.6%) would be held pending correction under the gate. Although validated on Spanish railway depots, the framework is grounded in ISO/openBIM standards and is designed for transferability to other international contexts and complex asset types where multidisciplinary federation and PIM → AIM continuity pose similar challenges. Full article

This paper set out to investigate how the Big Four auditing firms in Saudi Arabia perceive the impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on financial reporting practices, addressing ongoing debate in the literature regarding whether IFRS adoption consistently enhances reporting practices across different institutional contexts. Further, the study investigates whether audit quality (AQ) mediates the relationship between IFRS adoption and financial reporting quality (FRQ). To address these questions, a structured questionnaire was circulated among auditors and quality assurance auditors working in the Saudi branches of the Big Four. Responses were examined using partial least squares (PLS) analysis. The results showed that IFRS has a clear positive effect on the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting, aligning with evidence from earlier studies. The results also underscored the mediating role played by AQ in reinforcing the benefits of IFRS on reporting practices. The findings carry significant ramifications, specifically for major stakeholders, including regulatory authorities, financiers, board members, senior executives, and investors. Full article

This study investigates how the internal characteristics of audit firms influence the audit quality of financial statements (audit quality) and, in turn, affect Client’s Engagement Intention in the Vietnamese context. Research data were collected using a convenience sampling method, surveying 634 auditors and 283 board members from companies that use financial statement audit services in Vietnam. The results of structural equation modeling indicate that audit quality positively mediates the relationship between internal influencing factors and client’s engagement intention. Among these factors, The Competence of the Auditors exerts the strongest influence on audit quality, whereas The Hierarchy Level of the Audit Firm shows no statistically significant effect. The findings highlight that audit quality has a positive and direct influence on client’s engagement intention. These insights contribute to shaping strategies for improving research quality as well as offering practical implications for audit firms aiming to enhance the audit quality and foster long-term cooperative relationships with clients in Vietnam’s evolving audit environment. Full article

The selection of building materials increasingly prioritizes aesthetic and comfort-related experiences, yet the perceptual pathways linking physical properties to emotional judgments remain underexplored, particularly among Chinese users. This study aimed to clarify how different sensory modalities contribute to the perceptual pathways linking physical properties of wood to emotional judgments under multisensory conditions. Sixty young Chinese adults evaluated wood samples under visual, tactile, auditory, and multisensory conditions. Multivariate modeling approaches were applied to identify perceptual structures, mediating pathways to aesthetic judgments, and associations between subjective impressions and physical parameters. A three-factor perceptual structure was identified, comprising surface qualities, internal qualities, and emotional judgment. Path analyses showed that perceived cleanliness acted as the primary mediator from low-level perceptions to emotional responses, whereas naturalness played a limited role. Multisensory integration was vision-dominant (relative sensory weights from Bayesian weighted regression > 0.50), with touch providing secondary contributions (weights > 0.30) and audition exerting minimal influence. Lightness strongly predicted surface qualities, while density predicted internal qualities, with both achieving conditional and marginal R² values above 0.50. In contrast, higher-order impressions showed strong between-group but weak individual-level explanatory power (marginal R² < 0.30), indicating that physical parameters capture group-level tendencies but offer limited precision for individual emotional responses. These results inform culturally sensitive, multisensory design strategies for wood in biophilic and human-oriented environments and highlight the need to incorporate non-physical factors for precise personalization. Full article

This study aims to establish diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for common pediatric nuclear medicine (NM) procedures performed within the Dubai Health sector. The established DRLs will serve as a benchmark for pediatric NM practice, supporting standardized healthcare delivery and guiding ongoing quality improvement and internal audit activities. Patient dose survey data were collected from the solo NM center within the Dubai Health sector. The study included common scintigraphy procedures using gamma cameras and the hybrid positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT) procedures. Scintigraphy procedures include the dynamic and static renal scans, and ocular eye scans. The hybrid PET/CT procedures entail tumor/infection and neuroendocrine scans. Patient demographics, administered activities, CT doses, and study description were recorded. Both weight bands of <5, 5–<15, 15–<30, 30–<50, and 50–<80 kg, and age bands of <1, 1–<5, 5–<10, and 10–<15 years were considered. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile of the dose distribution. The median value was used to establish the DRLs for the Dubai Health sector. The analyses revealed significant variation in the administered activities across the different pediatric NM procedures. The proposed DRLs for various pediatric NM procedures for the weight band 15–<30 kg are as follows: renal dynamic 98.4 MBq, renal static 96.2 MBq, ocular eyes 18.5 MBq, tumor/infection 155 MBq, and neuroendocrine 80 MBq. This work provides the first pediatric NM DRLs for the Dubai Health sector, offering a key reference for developing the local DRLs for the Emirate of Dubai. The findings indicate that achieving meaningful dose optimization will require systematic revision of existing imaging protocols, with targeted parameter adjustments informed by continuous dose monitoring and benchmarking to enhance patient safety and overall diagnostic quality. Full article

Sustainable business management in the food sector entails the systematic integration of social, environmental, and economic considerations into organizational decision-making, which has direct implications for food safety assurance systems. This study sought to evaluate how the maturity of an organization’s safety culture influences employees’ pro-quality and food-safety-related behaviors. A complementary objective was to examine employees’ understanding of pro-quality awareness in the context of the principles, goals, and operational procedures associated with sustainable management. The research was carried out in three food industry enterprises located in the Greater Poland region. The methodological framework consisted of internal audits assessing compliance with food safety and quality management standards, combined with a structured questionnaire survey. A total of 169 employees from various operational and administrative departments participated. The results indicate that employees’ professional qualifications and organizational roles significantly affect their awareness of how individual actions contribute to food safety and product quality outcomes. Moreover, the implementation of a sustainable, systems-oriented management approach supported a more comprehensive understanding of food production processes where employees recognize their impacts on public health, the socio-economic environment, natural ecosystems, and future generations. At the same time, this approach underscores the interdependence between employee well-being, organizational performance, and consumer protection. Full article

This study investigates how ownership structure conditions the transmission of corporate governance mechanisms into dividend policy within the context of South Korea’s evolving regulatory environment. Using a balanced panel of 5022 firm-year observations from 558 non-financial KOSPI-listed firms over 2011–2019, we analyze governance quality using data from the Korea Corporate Governance Service. We employ both an aggregate score and four constituent dimensions: board effectiveness, shareholder rights protection, audit committee competency, and disclosure transparency. The empirical framework combines firm fixed effects estimation, binary logistic regressions, and a two-step dynamic System GMM approach to account for unobserved heterogeneity, payout persistence, and endogeneity. The results reveal systematic heterogeneity across ownership regimes. Among non-Chaebol firms, higher governance quality across all dimensions is associated with higher dividend payouts, consistent with the governance outcome hypothesis. In contrast, among Chaebol-affiliated firms, the effectiveness of governance mechanisms is selective rather than uniform. While the aggregate governance score and shareholder rights protection retain explanatory power for dividend outcomes, internal oversight mechanisms related to board structure, audit competency, and disclosure do not exert independent influences once ownership structure is taken into account. These findings show that concentrated ownership structures condition which governance mechanisms remain effective in shaping payout policy. Regulators seeking to mitigate valuation discounts in conglomerate-dominated economies should prioritize the substantive empowerment of minority shareholder rights, as these mechanisms retain influence over payout policy even under concentrated ownership structures. Full article

This study proposes a systematic framework for establishing ethical guidelines for GeoAI (Geospatial Artificial Intelligence), which integrates AI with spatial data science, GIS, and remote sensing. While general AI ethics have advanced through the OECD, UNESCO, and the EU AI Act, ethical standards tailored to GeoAI remain underdeveloped. Geospatial information exhibits unique characteristics, spatiality, contextuality, and spatial autocorrelation—and consequently entails distinct risks such as geo-privacy, spatial fairness and bias, data provenance and quality, and misuse prevention related to mapping and surveillance. Following PRISMA 2020, a systematic review of 32 recent international policy documents and peer-reviewed articles was conducted; through content analysis with intercoder reliability verification (Krippendorff’s α ≥ 0.76), GeoAI ethical principles were extracted and normalized. The analysis identified twelve ethical axes—Geo-privacy, Data Provenance and Quality, Spatial Fairness and Bias, Transparency, Accountability and Auditability, Safety (Security and Robustness), Human Oversight and Human-in-the-Loop, Public Benefit and Sustainability, Participation and Stakeholder Engagement, Lifecycle Governance, Misuse Prevention, and Inclusion and Accessibility—each accompanied by an operational guideline. These axes together form a practical framework that integrates universal AI ethics principles with spatially specific risks inherent in GeoAI and specifies actionable assessment points across the GeoAI lifecycle. The framework is intended for direct use as checklists and governance artifacts (e.g., model/data cards) and as procurement and audit criteria in academic, policy, and administrative settings. Full article

Assisted Reproductive Technology Units (ARTUs) constitute a rapidly growing sector in healthcare, where service quality and patient safety are closely intertwined with ethical principles, technological precision, and managerial efficiency. This study aims to explore quality management practices and certification standards—such as ISO 9001, ISO 15189, and ISO 13485—within ARTUs, with the goal of developing a model that enhances patient-centered outcomes. The analysis focuses on the roles of leadership, staff training, and internal auditing mechanisms as key factors for the successful implementation of quality management systems (QMSs). Through a structured literature review and thematic synthesis, this study identifies challenges that ARTUs face in aligning with international standards and highlights strategies that strengthen patient trust, transparency, and continuous improvement. The proposed model connects measurable quality indicators with patient perceptions and experiences, providing a comprehensive framework for sustainable quality development. This article contributes to the academic discourse on healthcare quality governance and offers practical insights for policymakers and administrators seeking to improve patient experience and organizational resilience in reproductive medicine. Full article

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) play a vital role in an economy, providing essential goods and services to citizens. However, they often face governance, transparency, and accountability challenges, leading to poor performance and waste of public resources. Thus, we examine the role of internal auditing in adding value to performance improvement in Ghana’s SOEs. We employ quantitative and cross-sectional survey designs to collect data from 1150 internal auditors across the SOEs and utilize macro-process modeling to analyze the data. We identify four indicators of internal auditing as value addition: internal audit effectiveness, quality, independence and resources; they have strong significant positive relationships with performance improvement (organizational performance and governance and accountability). However, these relationships are negatively moderated by organizational complexity (structural, process and systemic). We provide empirical evidence on the nuanced interplay between internal auditing, organizational complexity, and performance improvement in the context of Ghana’s SOEs, offering actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners to enhance governance and performance in emerging economies. Our findings underscore the need for SOEs to prioritize internal audit effectiveness and manage complexity to maximize performance gains. Full article

Implementing enterprise risk management (ERM) helps organizations identify, assess, and manage emerging risks. As global ecosystems face intensifying environmental, social and governance (ESG) pressures—including climate risks, regulatory demands for sustainability reporting and stakeholder expectations for ecosystem protection —the internal audit function (IAF) plays an increasingly critical role in helping organizations monitor and respond to these risks. Internal auditors’ expertise supports risk identification and assessment, though management maintains responsibility for risk management and control. Using the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations’ (COSO) ERM framework, we review 77 studies across 23 journals published between 2004 and 2024. Prior research primarily examines internal audit’s assurance and consulting roles, with considerably less attention given to activities that compromise independence. While evidence suggests that internal audit quality enhances risk management effectiveness, uncertainty remains about boundaries for consulting activities and technology-enabled assurance. Our synthesis highlights limited empirical insight into internal audit’s strategic partnership role in ERM and identifies future research opportunities for scholars, practitioners and standard setters. Full article