The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between environmental accounting audit decision and firm's profitability in Nigeria. Specifically, the authors hypothesize that profitability is a determinant...The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between environmental accounting audit decision and firm's profitability in Nigeria. Specifically, the authors hypothesize that profitability is a determinant of company's decision to disclose quantitative environmental information for external audits. The population of this research is made up of both quoted and non-quoted companies. The sample size for this study was selected using the simple random sampling technique. The selected companies included companies from the following sectors: agriculture, automobile and tyre, breweries, building materials, chemical and paints, conglomerates companies, food/beverages and tobacco, construction, healthcare, industrial/domestic products, packaging, printing and publishing, textiles, petroleum marketing companies, banking, insurance, and others. A sample of 160 companies with audited final accounts for 2009 financial year was eventually selected. The binary logit regression technique was utilized as the data analysis method. The finding reveals that profitability is a positive and significant determinant in evaluating the probability that a firm includes environmental information for external audits. The study concludes that finn-specific factors may provide incentives for corporate environmentalism in Nigeria.展开更多
This study examined Japanese patents in terms of the quantitative characteristics of application documents that resulted in the acquisition of rights in order to clarify the relationship between the features and paten...This study examined Japanese patents in terms of the quantitative characteristics of application documents that resulted in the acquisition of rights in order to clarify the relationship between the features and patentability of applications. The groups of approved applications and those that had not been approved were compared for 12 variables: publication time lag; numbers of inventors, classifications, pages, figures, tables, claims, priority claims, countries for priority claims, cited patents, and cited non-patent documents; and median of citation age. Furthermore, the authors carried out the experiments in which patent applications were automatically classified into two groups by the machine learning method, random forests. As a result, statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed for the following variables (p 〈 .001): the numbers of inventors, pages, figures, claims, priority claims, and countries for priority claims were significantly larger in the group of approved applications, while the time lag until publication was smaller. In particular, the publication time lag and the numbers of inventors, pages, and figures were variables representing the features that largely contribute to discriminating approved applications in the classification using random forests, which implies that these have relatively strong relationships with patentability.展开更多
This essay is centred on Nigeria's Freedom of Information Act, with special interest in its relevance in the country's anti-corruption war. The paper reiterates that the law was passed to enable the public to access...This essay is centred on Nigeria's Freedom of Information Act, with special interest in its relevance in the country's anti-corruption war. The paper reiterates that the law was passed to enable the public to access certain government information, in order to ensure transparency and accountability. The FOI Act aims to make public records and information more freely available and to protect public records and information, in accordance with the public interest and protection of personal privacy. It enables citizens to hold the government accountable in the event of the misappropriation of public funds or failure to deliver public services. It also seeks to protect serving public officers against any adverse consequences from the unauthorized disclosure of certain kinds of official information, and to establish procedures for the achievement of these purposes. The Act further regulates conflicts between its provisions and those of other legislations. The paper contends that Freedom of Information is a fundamental indicator of economic development and progress, civic engagement and a properly functional democracy in every economy, describing it as a promising start in ensuring good governance and rule of law in Nigeria. The paper stresses the need for vigorous implementation of the FOI Act if the country is to make any significant breakthrough in the enthronement of good governance, transparency and accountability, adding that a strengthened FOI regime will enhance citizens' demand for accountability and check corruption in Nigeria.展开更多
The paper examined the state of GIS (geographic information systems) knowledge and adoption in Nigeria, identified factors affecting its implementation and finally discussed methods of enhancing its use in Nigeria. ...The paper examined the state of GIS (geographic information systems) knowledge and adoption in Nigeria, identified factors affecting its implementation and finally discussed methods of enhancing its use in Nigeria. Administrative records of some institutions and information obtained from published articles in journals and text books were used for the study. Records indicate that GIS is relatively young in Nigeria and in terms of development, it is at its youthful stage. The adoption and use of GIS is low at both Federal and State Government levels. However, factors such as, lack of political will, shortage of experts to train the professionals, lack of standardization of digital data, database development and management problems, institutional constraints, security implications of digital maps and poor funding have been inhibiting full adoption, implementation and use of GIS in Nigeria. There is the need to develop a GIS vision in the country and government should formulate policy and create enabling environment for the adoption and implementation of the new technology.展开更多
The paper investigates the determinants of capital structure in Nigerian listed insurance firms using data obtained from annual report of the sampled firms for the period of 2001-2010. It used five explanatory variabl...The paper investigates the determinants of capital structure in Nigerian listed insurance firms using data obtained from annual report of the sampled firms for the period of 2001-2010. It used five explanatory variables to measure their effects on debt ratio. Multiple regression is employed as a tool of analysis. The result reveals that all the explanatory variables have statistically and significantly influenced the explained variable. The results approve the prediction of pecking order theory in the case of profitability and trade-off theory in case of tangibility variables. The growth variable supports the agency theory hypothesis whereas size variable confirms to the asymmetry of information theory. It is therefore recommended that the management of listed insurance firms in Nigeria should always consider their positions using these capital structure determinants as important inputs before embarking on debt financing decision.展开更多
This research discusses the role of information security development (ISD) using organizational factors such as information security plans, information security awareness, perceived quality training programs, inform...This research discusses the role of information security development (ISD) using organizational factors such as information security plans, information security awareness, perceived quality training programs, information security policies and procedures, and organizational culture in effective information security management (ISM) implementation in the banks (a Nigerian case). This paper explores the existing literature and a proposed framework that consists of ISD such as information security plans, information security awareness, perceived quality training programs, information security policies and procedures, and organizational culture in ISM implementation. ISD factors are found to be statistically significant, because it motivates an organization to implement effective ISM in the banks. Hence, it could be said that the role of ISD practices in an effective implementation of ISM among banks in Nigeria will be of great value.展开更多
The basic goal of accounting is to provide quality accounting information that will aid reliable decision-making. The quality level of this accounting information comes from the company's governance practices, thereb...The basic goal of accounting is to provide quality accounting information that will aid reliable decision-making. The quality level of this accounting information comes from the company's governance practices, thereby emphasizing the importance of corporate governance in companies. Recently, following the financial crises resulting in accounting scandals, attention has been moving towards internal audit function as an important factor in the structure of corporate governance. This paper therefore examined the extent of the relationship between internal audit function and the quality of accounting information of companies. The study adopted the survey research design. The research instrument employed was questionnaire which was administered to internal auditors of the "Big Four". Linear regression analysis was employed in the analysis of the data collected with the use of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between the internal audit characteristics and the quality of accounting information. It was recommended that in order to provide credibility to the financial statement, there should be a law in place mandating attachment of internal auditors report to the financial statement.展开更多
文摘The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between environmental accounting audit decision and firm's profitability in Nigeria. Specifically, the authors hypothesize that profitability is a determinant of company's decision to disclose quantitative environmental information for external audits. The population of this research is made up of both quoted and non-quoted companies. The sample size for this study was selected using the simple random sampling technique. The selected companies included companies from the following sectors: agriculture, automobile and tyre, breweries, building materials, chemical and paints, conglomerates companies, food/beverages and tobacco, construction, healthcare, industrial/domestic products, packaging, printing and publishing, textiles, petroleum marketing companies, banking, insurance, and others. A sample of 160 companies with audited final accounts for 2009 financial year was eventually selected. The binary logit regression technique was utilized as the data analysis method. The finding reveals that profitability is a positive and significant determinant in evaluating the probability that a firm includes environmental information for external audits. The study concludes that finn-specific factors may provide incentives for corporate environmentalism in Nigeria.
文摘This study examined Japanese patents in terms of the quantitative characteristics of application documents that resulted in the acquisition of rights in order to clarify the relationship between the features and patentability of applications. The groups of approved applications and those that had not been approved were compared for 12 variables: publication time lag; numbers of inventors, classifications, pages, figures, tables, claims, priority claims, countries for priority claims, cited patents, and cited non-patent documents; and median of citation age. Furthermore, the authors carried out the experiments in which patent applications were automatically classified into two groups by the machine learning method, random forests. As a result, statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed for the following variables (p 〈 .001): the numbers of inventors, pages, figures, claims, priority claims, and countries for priority claims were significantly larger in the group of approved applications, while the time lag until publication was smaller. In particular, the publication time lag and the numbers of inventors, pages, and figures were variables representing the features that largely contribute to discriminating approved applications in the classification using random forests, which implies that these have relatively strong relationships with patentability.
文摘This essay is centred on Nigeria's Freedom of Information Act, with special interest in its relevance in the country's anti-corruption war. The paper reiterates that the law was passed to enable the public to access certain government information, in order to ensure transparency and accountability. The FOI Act aims to make public records and information more freely available and to protect public records and information, in accordance with the public interest and protection of personal privacy. It enables citizens to hold the government accountable in the event of the misappropriation of public funds or failure to deliver public services. It also seeks to protect serving public officers against any adverse consequences from the unauthorized disclosure of certain kinds of official information, and to establish procedures for the achievement of these purposes. The Act further regulates conflicts between its provisions and those of other legislations. The paper contends that Freedom of Information is a fundamental indicator of economic development and progress, civic engagement and a properly functional democracy in every economy, describing it as a promising start in ensuring good governance and rule of law in Nigeria. The paper stresses the need for vigorous implementation of the FOI Act if the country is to make any significant breakthrough in the enthronement of good governance, transparency and accountability, adding that a strengthened FOI regime will enhance citizens' demand for accountability and check corruption in Nigeria.
文摘The paper examined the state of GIS (geographic information systems) knowledge and adoption in Nigeria, identified factors affecting its implementation and finally discussed methods of enhancing its use in Nigeria. Administrative records of some institutions and information obtained from published articles in journals and text books were used for the study. Records indicate that GIS is relatively young in Nigeria and in terms of development, it is at its youthful stage. The adoption and use of GIS is low at both Federal and State Government levels. However, factors such as, lack of political will, shortage of experts to train the professionals, lack of standardization of digital data, database development and management problems, institutional constraints, security implications of digital maps and poor funding have been inhibiting full adoption, implementation and use of GIS in Nigeria. There is the need to develop a GIS vision in the country and government should formulate policy and create enabling environment for the adoption and implementation of the new technology.
文摘The paper investigates the determinants of capital structure in Nigerian listed insurance firms using data obtained from annual report of the sampled firms for the period of 2001-2010. It used five explanatory variables to measure their effects on debt ratio. Multiple regression is employed as a tool of analysis. The result reveals that all the explanatory variables have statistically and significantly influenced the explained variable. The results approve the prediction of pecking order theory in the case of profitability and trade-off theory in case of tangibility variables. The growth variable supports the agency theory hypothesis whereas size variable confirms to the asymmetry of information theory. It is therefore recommended that the management of listed insurance firms in Nigeria should always consider their positions using these capital structure determinants as important inputs before embarking on debt financing decision.
文摘This research discusses the role of information security development (ISD) using organizational factors such as information security plans, information security awareness, perceived quality training programs, information security policies and procedures, and organizational culture in effective information security management (ISM) implementation in the banks (a Nigerian case). This paper explores the existing literature and a proposed framework that consists of ISD such as information security plans, information security awareness, perceived quality training programs, information security policies and procedures, and organizational culture in ISM implementation. ISD factors are found to be statistically significant, because it motivates an organization to implement effective ISM in the banks. Hence, it could be said that the role of ISD practices in an effective implementation of ISM among banks in Nigeria will be of great value.
文摘The basic goal of accounting is to provide quality accounting information that will aid reliable decision-making. The quality level of this accounting information comes from the company's governance practices, thereby emphasizing the importance of corporate governance in companies. Recently, following the financial crises resulting in accounting scandals, attention has been moving towards internal audit function as an important factor in the structure of corporate governance. This paper therefore examined the extent of the relationship between internal audit function and the quality of accounting information of companies. The study adopted the survey research design. The research instrument employed was questionnaire which was administered to internal auditors of the "Big Four". Linear regression analysis was employed in the analysis of the data collected with the use of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between the internal audit characteristics and the quality of accounting information. It was recommended that in order to provide credibility to the financial statement, there should be a law in place mandating attachment of internal auditors report to the financial statement.