Search results for: financial wellbeing
2276 Enhancing Patch Time Series Transformer with Wavelet Transform for Improved Stock Prediction
Authors: Cheng-yu Hsieh, Bo Zhang, Ahmed Hambaba
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Stock market prediction has long been an area of interest for both expert analysts and investors, driven by its complexity and the noisy, volatile conditions it operates under. This research examines the efficacy of combining the Patch Time Series Transformer (PatchTST) with wavelet transforms, specifically focusing on Haar and Daubechies wavelets, in forecasting the adjusted closing price of the S&P 500 index for the following day. By comparing the performance of the augmented PatchTST models with traditional predictive models such as Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, and Transformers, this study highlights significant enhancements in prediction accuracy. The integration of the Daubechies wavelet with PatchTST notably excels, surpassing other configurations and conventional models in terms of Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Squared Error (MSE). The success of the PatchTST model paired with Daubechies wavelet is attributed to its superior capability in extracting detailed signal information and eliminating irrelevant noise, thus proving to be an effective approach for financial time series forecasting.Keywords: deep learning, financial forecasting, stock market prediction, patch time series transformer, wavelet transform
Procedia PDF Downloads 502275 Managing the Transition from Voluntary to Mandatory Climate Reporting: The Role of Carbon Accounting
Authors: Qingliang Tang
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The transition from voluntary to mandatory carbon reporting (also refers to climate reporting) poses serious challenges for accounting professionals aiming to support firms in achieving net-zero goals. The accounting literature addresses the topics that are currently bewildering accounting academics and professional accountants on how to make accounting as a useful tool for the management to achieve a carbon neutral business model. This paper explores the evolving role of carbon accounting within corporate financial reporting systems, emphasizing its integration as a crucial component. Key challenges addressed include data availability, climate risk assessment, defining reporting boundaries, selecting appropriate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting methodologies, and integrating climate-related events into traditional financial statements. A dynamic, integrated carbon accounting framework is proposed to facilitate this transformative process effectively. Furthermore, the paper identifies critical knowledge gaps and sets forth a research agenda aimed at enhancing transparency and relevance in carbon accounting and reporting systems, thereby empowering informed decision-making. The purpose of the paper is to succinctly capture the essence of carbon accounting practice in the transitional period, focusing on the challenges, proposed solutions, and future research directions in the realm of carbon accounting and mandatory climate reporting.Keywords: mandatory carbon reporting, carbon management, net zero target, sustainability, climate risks
Procedia PDF Downloads 182274 Providing a Road Pricing and Toll Allocation Method for Toll Roads
Authors: Ali Babaei
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There is a worldwide growing tendency toward construction of infrastructures with the possibility of private sector participation instead of free exploitation of public infrastructures. The construction and development of roads through private sector participation is performed by different countries because of appropriate results and benefits such as compensation of public budget deficit in road construction and maintenance and responding to traffic growth (demand). Toll is the most definite form of budget provision in road development. There are two issues in the toll rate assignment: A. costing of transport, B. Cost allocation and distribution of cost between different types of vehicles as each vehicle pay its own share. There can be different goals in toll collection and its extent is variable according to the strategy of toll collection. Costing principles in different countries are based on inclusion of the whole transport and not peculiar to the toll roads. For example, fuel tax policy functions where the road network users pay transportation cost (not just users of toll road). Whereas transportation infrastructures in Iran are free, these methods are not applicable. In Iran, different toll freeways have built by public investment and government provides participation in the road construction through encouragement of financial institutions. In this paper, the existing policies about the toll roads are studied and then the appropriate method of costing and cost allocation to different vehicles is introduced.Keywords: toll allocation, road pricing, transportation, financial and industrial systems
Procedia PDF Downloads 3632273 Green Supply Chain Management: A Revolutionary and Robust Innovation in the Field of Efficient Environmental Development and Regulation
Authors: Jinesh Kumar Jain, Faishal Pathan
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The concept of sustainable development and effective environmental regulation has led to the emergence of a new field of study and practise that is the Green Supply Chain Management. GSCM has become a subject of great importance for both the developed and developing countries to achieve the desired and much-awaited goals of the firm within the environmental and sustainable framework. Its merits are comprised of good financial pay off and competitiveness to the firms in a long lasting and sustainable manner. The purpose of the paper is to briefly review the recent literature of the GSCM and also determines the new direction area of this emerging field. A detailed study has helped to enlighten the minute details and develop the research direction of the study. The GSCM has gained popularity with both academic and practitioners. The items for the study were developed based on the extent literature. Here we found that the state of adoption of GSCM practices by Indian Firms was still in its infancy, the awareness of environmental sustainability was quite low among consumers and the regulatory frameworks were also lacking in terms promoting environmental sustainability. The present paper is an attempt to emphasize much attention on the above-mentioned issues and present a conclusive summary to make its use widespread and for reaching.Keywords: environmental management, environmental performance, financial performance, green supply chain management
Procedia PDF Downloads 2152272 Regional Disparities in Microfinance Distribution: Evidence from Indian States
Authors: Sunil Sangwan, Narayan Chandra Nayak
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Over the last few decades, Indian banking system has achieved remarkable growth in its credit volume. However, one of the most disturbing facts about this growth is the uneven distribution of financial services across regions. Having witnessed limited success from all the earlier efforts towards financial inclusion targeting the rural poor and the underprivileged, provision of microfinance, of late, has emerged as a supplementary mechanism. There are two prominent modes of microfinance distribution in India namely Bank-SHG linkage (SBLP) and private Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). Ironically, such efforts also seem to have failed to achieve the desired targets as the microfinance services have witnessed skewed distribution across the states of the country. This study attempts to make a comparative analysis of the geographical skew of the SBLP and MFI in India and examine the factors influencing their regional distribution. The results indicate that microfinance services are largely concentrated in the southern region, accounting for about 50% of all microfinance clients and 49% of all microfinance loan portfolios. This is distantly followed by an eastern region where client outreach is close to 25% only. The north-eastern, northern, central, and western regions lag far behind in microfinance sectors, accounting for only 4%, 4%, 10%, and 7 % client outreach respectively. The penetration of SHGs is equally skewed, with the southern region accounting for 46% of client outreach and 70% of loan portfolios followed by an eastern region with 21% of client outreach and 13% of the loan portfolio. Contrarily, north-eastern, northern, central, western and eastern regions account for 5%, 5%, 10%, and 13% of client outreach and 3%, 3%, 7%, and 4% of loan portfolios respectively. The study examines the impact of literacy rate, rural poverty, population density, primary sector share, non-farm activities, loan default behavior and bank penetration on the microfinance penetration. The study is limited to 17 major states of the country over the period 2008-2014. The results of the GMM estimation indicate the significant positive impact of literacy rate, non-farm activities and population density on microfinance penetration across the states, while the rise in loan default seems to deter it. Rural poverty shows the significant negative impact on the spread of SBLP, while it has a positive impact on MFI penetration, hence indicating the policy of exclusion being adhered to by the formal financial system especially towards the poor. However, MFIs seem to be working as substitute mechanisms to banks to fill the gap. The findings of the study are a pointer towards enhancing financial literacy, non-farm activities, rural bank penetration and containing loan default for achieving greater microfinance prevalence.Keywords: bank penetration, literacy rate, microfinance, primary sector share, rural non-farm activities, rural poverty
Procedia PDF Downloads 2322271 Explicit Numerical Approximations for a Pricing Weather Derivatives Model
Authors: Clarinda V. Nhangumbe, Ercília Sousa
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Weather Derivatives are financial instruments used to cover non-catastrophic weather events and can be expressed in the form of standard or plain vanilla products, structured or exotics products. The underlying asset, in this case, is the weather index, such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind, and snowfall. The complexity of the Weather Derivatives structure shows the weakness of the Black Scholes framework. Therefore, under the risk-neutral probability measure, the option price of a weather contract can be given as a unique solution of a two-dimensional partial differential equation (parabolic in one direction and hyperbolic in other directions), with an initial condition and subjected to adequate boundary conditions. To calculate the price of the option, one can use numerical methods such as the Monte Carlo simulations and implicit finite difference schemes conjugated with Semi-Lagrangian methods. This paper is proposed two explicit methods, namely, first-order upwind in the hyperbolic direction combined with Lax-Wendroff in the parabolic direction and first-order upwind in the hyperbolic direction combined with second-order upwind in the parabolic direction. One of the advantages of these methods is the fact that they take into consideration the boundary conditions obtained from the financial interpretation and deal efficiently with the different choices of the convection coefficients.Keywords: incomplete markets, numerical methods, partial differential equations, stochastic process, weather derivatives
Procedia PDF Downloads 842270 Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Internal Resources and Competences
Authors: Ibrahim Alkandi
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This study aims at understanding how banks can utilize their resources and capabilities to achieve a competitive advantage. The resource-based approach has been applied to assess the resources and capabilities as well as how the management perceives them as sources of competitive advantages. A quantitative approach was implemented using cross-sectional data. The research population consisted of Top managers in financial companies in Saudi Arabia, and the sample comprised 79 managers. The resources were sub divided into tangible and intangible. Among the variables that will be assessed in the research include propriety rights, trademark which is the brand, communication as well as organizational culture. To achieve the objective of the research, Multivariate analysis through multiple regression was used. The research tool used is a questionnaire whose validity is also assessed. According to the results of the study, there is a significant relationship between bank’s performance and the strategic management of propriety rights, trademark, administrative and financial skills as well as bank culture. Therefore, the research assessed four aspects, among the variables in the model, in relation to the strategic performance of these banks. The aspects considered were trademark, communication, administrative and leadership style as well as the company’s culture. Hence, this paper contributes to the body of literature by providing empirical evidence of the resources influencing both banks’ market and economic performance.Keywords: competitive advantage, Saudi banks, strategic management, RBV
Procedia PDF Downloads 752269 Income Inequality and Its Effects on Household Livelihoods in Parker Paint Community, Liberia
Authors: Robertson Freeman
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The prime objective of this research is to examine income inequality and its effects on household livelihoods in Parker Paint. Many researchers failed to address the potential threat of income inequality on diverse household livelihood indicators, including health, food, housing, transport and many others. They examine and generalize the effects of income differentials on household livelihoods by addressing one indicator of livelihood security. This research fills the loopholes of previous research by examining the effects of income inequality and how it affects the livelihoods of households, taking into consideration livelihood indicators including health, food security, and transport. The researcher employed the mixed research method to analyze the distribution of income and solicit opinions of household heads on the effects of their monthly income on their livelihoods. Age and sex structure, household composition, type of employment and educational status influence income inequality. The level of income, Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient was mutually employed to calculate and determine the level of income inequality. One hundred eighty-two representing 96% of household heads are employed while 8, representing 4%, are unemployed. However, out of a total number of 182 employed, representing 96%, 27 people representing 14%, are employed in the formal private sector, while 110, representing 58%, are employed in the private informal sector. Monthly average income, savings, investments and unexpected circumstances affect the livelihood of households. Infrastructural development and wellbeing should be pursued by reducing expenditure earmarked in other sectors and channeling the funds towards the provision of household needs. One of the potent tools for consolidating household livelihoods is to initiate livelihood empowerment programs. Government and private sector agencies should establish more health insurance schemes, providing mosquito nets, immunization services, public transport, as well as embarking on feeding programs, especially in the remote areas of Parker paint. To climax the research findings, self-employment, entrepreneurship and the general private sector employment is a transparent double-edged sword. If employed in the private sector, there is the likelihood to increase one’s income. However, this also induces the income gap between the rich and poor since many people are exploited by affluence, thereby relegating the poor from the wealth hierarchy. Age and sex structure, as well as type of employment, should not be overlooked since they all play fundamental roles in influencing income inequality. Savings and investments seem to play a positive role in reducing income inequality. However, savings and investment in this research affect livelihoods negatively. It behooves mankind to strive and work hard to the best of ability in earning sufficient income and embracing measures to retain his financial strength. In so doing, people will be able to provide basic household needs, celebrate the reduction in unemployment and dependence and finally ensure sustainable livelihoods.Keywords: income, inequality, livelihood, pakerpaint
Procedia PDF Downloads 1242268 Effect of Community Education and Early Intervention and Rehabilitation in Minimising the Impact on Mental Illness
Authors: Akanle Florence Foluso, Richard Oni, Ola Tolulo, Lani Ofie
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Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Society’s attitude to mental health and primary prevention is the key instrument in a better understanding of the mental illness. This paper attempted to investigate the effect of community education and early intervention and rehabilitation in minimizing the impact of mental illness. The study involved 50 adolescents who were randomly selected and assigned to two groups, the control and the experimental. Subjects in the experimental group were exposed to treatment, while those in the control group were not. The subject exposed to treatment had an increased understanding of what mental illness is. Those with mental illness were better understood, less feared, less discriminated against, and tertiary prevention strategies were reported to minimize the impact of mental illness when it occursKeywords: community, health, improve, status
Procedia PDF Downloads 1662267 The Effect of the Construction Contract System by Simulating the Comparative Costs of Capital to the Financial Feasibility of the Construction of Toll Bali Mandara
Authors: Mas Pertiwi I. G. AG Istri, Sri Kristinayanti Wayan, Oka Aryawan I. Gede Made
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Ability of government to meet the needs of infrastructure investment constrained by the size of the budget commitments for other sectors. Another barrier is the complexity of the process of land acquisition. Public Private Partnership can help bridge the investment gap by including the amount of funding from the private sector, shifted the responsibility of financing, construction of the asset, and the operation and post-project design and care to them. In principle, a construction project implementation always requires the investor as a party to provide resources in the form of funding which it must be contained in a successor agreement in the form of a contract. In general, construction contracts consist of contracts which passed in Indonesia and contract International. One source of funding used in the implementation of construction projects comes from funding that comes from the collaboration between the government and the private sector, for example with the system: BLT (Build Lease Transfer), BOT (Build Operate Transfer), BTO (Build Transfer Operate) and BOO (Build Operate Own). And form of payment under a construction contract can be distinguished several ways: monthly payment, payments based on progress and payment after completed projects (Turn Key). One of the tools used to analyze the feasibility of the investment is to use financial models. The financial model describes the relationship between different variables and assumptions used. From a financial model will be known how the cash flow structure of the project, which includes revenues, expenses, liabilities to creditors and the payment of taxes to the government. Net cash flow generated from the project will be used as a basis for analyzing the feasibility of investment source of project financing Public Private Partnership could come from equity or debt. The proportion of funding according to its source is a comparison of a number of investment funds originating from each source of financing for a total investment cost during the construction period by selected the contract system and several alternative financing percentage ratio determined according to sources will generate cash flow structure that is different. Of the various possibilities for the structure of the cash flow generated will be analyzed by software is to test T Paired to compared the contract system used by various alternatives comparison of financing to determine the effect of the contract system and the comparison of such financing for the feasibility of investment toll road construction project for the economic life of 20 (twenty) years. In this use case studies of toll road contruction project Bali Mandara. And in this analysis only covered two systems contracts, namely Build Operate Transfer and Turn Key. Based on the results obtained by analysis of the variable investment feasibility of the NPV, BCR and IRR between the contract system Build Operate Transfer and contract system Turn Key on the interest rate of 9%, 12% and 15%.Keywords: contract system, financing, internal rate of return, net present value
Procedia PDF Downloads 2272266 Voluntary Disclosure Of Sustainability Information In Malaysian Federal-level Statutory Bodies
Authors: Siti Zabedah Saidin, Aidi Ahmi, Azharudin Ali, Wan Norhayati Wan Ahmad
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In today's increasingly complex and interconnected world, the concept of sustainability has transcended mere corporate social responsibility, evolving into a fundamental driver of organizational behaviour and disclosure. This content analysis study delves into the Malaysian federal-level statutory bodies’ annual report for the year 2021, aiming to elucidate the extent of sustainability disclosures within the non-financial sections of these reports. The escalating global emphasis on sustainability has prompted organizations to embrace transparency as a means to demonstrate their commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. Voluntary sustainability disclosure has emerged as a crucial channel through which organizations communicate their efforts, initiatives, and impacts in these areas, thereby fostering trust and accountability with stakeholders. The study aims to identify and examine the types of sustainability information disclosed voluntarily by the federal-level statutory bodies, concentrating on the non-financial sections of the annual reports. To achieve this, the study adopts a simplified disclosure index, a pragmatic tool that quantifies the extent of sustainability reporting in a standardized manner. Using convenience sampling, the study selects a sample of annual reports from the federal-level statutory bodies in Malaysia, as provided on their respective websites. The content analysis is centred on the non-financial sections of these reports, allowing for an in-depth exploration of sustainability disclosures. The findings of the study present the extent to which Malaysian federal-level statutory bodies embrace sustainability reporting. Through thorough content analysis, the study uncovered diverse dimensions of sustainability information, encompassing environmental impact assessments, social engagement endeavours, and governance frameworks. This reveals a deliberate effort by these bodies to encapsulate their holistic organizational contributions and challenges, transcending traditional financial metrics. This research contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into the evolving landscape of sustainability disclosure practices among Malaysian federal-level statutory bodies. The findings underline the proactive nature of these bodies in voluntarily sharing sustainability-related information, reflecting their recognition of the interconnectedness between organizational success and societal well-being. Furthermore, the study underscores the potential influence of regulatory guidelines and societal expectations in shaping the extent and nature of voluntary sustainability disclosures. Organizations are not merely responding to regulatory mandates but are actively aligning with global sustainability goals and stakeholder expectations. As organizations continue to navigate the intricate web of stakeholder expectations and sustainability imperatives, this study enriches the discourse surrounding transparency and sustainability reporting. The analysis emphasizes the important role of non-financial disclosures in portraying a holistic organizational narrative. In an era where stakeholders demand accountability, and the interconnectedness of global challenges necessitates collaborative action, the voluntary disclosure of sustainability information stands as a testament to the commitment of Malaysian federal-level statutory bodies in shaping a more sustainable future.Keywords: voluntary disclosure, sustainability information, annual report, federal-level statutory body
Procedia PDF Downloads 642265 Motivators and Barriers to High-Tech Entrepreneurship in the Israeli-Arab Community
Authors: Vered Holzmann, Ramzi Halabi
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The current research investigates motivators and barriers to high-tech entrepreneurship in the Israeli-Arab Community. With the aim to exploit the capacity of Israel as a 'start-up nation', we identify the most important aspects to promote integration of Israeli-Arab entrepreneurs in high-tech startups and business companies, thus impact the socio-economic status of the Arab community in Israel. We reviewed the literature on the role of high-tech and entrepreneurship in the Israeli economy, the profile of the Israeli-Arab community with regard to education and employability, and the characteristics of minority entrepreneurship to understand entrepreneurs' intentions, their incentives to choose the entrepreneurial route on one hand and the obstacles that they face on the other hand. Based on the literature review, we conducted an integrated study that included a survey among 73 Israeli-Arabs involved in high-tech entrepreneurship and 16 semi-structured interviews with Israeli-Arab and Jewish entrepreneurs and leaders in the high-tech industry. We analyzed the data to explore personal and social motivating factors to entrepreneurship as well as educational and socio-economical barriers for entrepreneurship. Three major elements were found to be the most influential on Arab high-tech entrepreneurship in Israel: education, financial resources, and strategic-institutional support. The relationship between education and employability that is well-known with regard to general education, requires two additional aspects in the field of high-tech entrepreneurship: education of technology and engineering, and education of business and entrepreneurship. The study findings reveal that the main motivation factors for entrepreneurship are development of creative ideas and improvement of the socio-economic status, while financial-related factors and lack of institutional and governmental support are perceived as impediments to entrepreneurial activities. Financing difficulties are mainly derived from discriminating financial environment and lack of professional networking. The relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth seems to be clear and simple; thus it is a national interest to encourage entrepreneurship among the Arab community, and especially high-tech entrepreneurship which has a significant role in the economic growth of Israel.Keywords: high-tech industry, innovation management, Israeli-Arab community, minority entrepreneurship, motivating factors and barriers
Procedia PDF Downloads 2182264 Corporate Social Responsibility of Islamic Banks in Bahrain: Depositors’ Awareness
Authors: Sutan Emir Hidayat, Latifa Hassan Al-Qassab
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The purpose of this study is to examine depositors’ awareness on the pursuit of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) conducted by Islamic retail banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain according to the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) standards. The outcome of the paper is the extent to which the depositors knew about the banks’ CSR activities in promoting the welfare of the society beyond their business objectives. The study covered all Islamic retail banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain where a survey questionnaire was distributed to a total of 200 Islamic banks' depositors. The results of the survey show that the level of depositors’ awareness is limited on the pursuit of corporate social responsibilities by the banks as indicated by the small number of statements in the survey questionnaire which the respondents agreed to or of which they had satisfactory knowledge. The significant statistical difference in the respondents' answers to the survey questionnaire when they are grouped according to their respective banks prove that the level of depositors’ awareness on the pursuit of corporate social responsibilities varies considerably among the six Islamic retail banks in the kingdom. The findings of the study might be used to assist the policy makers in the field of CSR of Islamic financial institutions in formulation of better CSR activities and in delivering better services for the public welfare. The study also might help Islamic banks in the kingdom to set up strategy in order to increase the level of depositors’ awareness on their CSR activities.Keywords: corporate social responsibilities, awareness, Islamic banks, Bahrain
Procedia PDF Downloads 4182263 Audit Quality and Audit Regulation in European Union: A Perspective, Considering Actual and Perception Based Measures
Authors: Daniela Monteiro
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Considering the entry into force of the new EU audit reform regarding statutory auditors, in effect in all member states since 2016, this research aims to identify which audit regulation rules are associated with a high-level audit quality on both its dimensions, i.e., the actual quality and the perceived quality, in relation to public interest entities, within the European Union, and whether those rules have the same impact on both dimensions. Its measurement was based on the following proxies: the quality of financial information through earnings management and the impact of qualified opinions on financial costs. We considered in the research regulation subjects such as auditors’ rotation and provision of services (NAS) and also the level of market concentration. The criteria to include these issues in the research was its contemplation of the new rules. We studied the period before the audit reform (2009-2015) when the regulation measures were less uniform. Besides the consideration of both dimensions of audit quality and several regulation measures, we believe our conclusions configure an important contribution to this research field, considering the involvement of the first 15 member states of the European Union. The results consolidate the assumption that the balance between competence and independence is not the only challenge related to the regulation of the audit profession. The evidence demonstrates that the balance between actual and perceived quality is also a relevant matter. The major conclusion is that the challenge is to keep balanced both actual and perceived audit quality whilst ensuring the independence and competence of auditors. Procedia PDF Downloads 1812262 Management as a Proxy for Firm Quality
Authors: Petar Dobrev
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There is no agreed-upon definition of firm quality. While profitability and stock performance often qualify as popular proxies of quality, in this project, we aim to identify quality without relying on a firm’s financial statements or stock returns as selection criteria. Instead, we use firm-level data on management practices across small to medium-sized U.S. manufacturing firms from the World Management Survey (WMS) to measure firm quality. Each firm in the WMS dataset is assigned a mean management score from 0 to 5, with higher scores identifying better-managed firms. This management score serves as our proxy for firm quality and is the sole criteria we use to separate firms into portfolios comprised of high-quality and low-quality firms. We define high-quality (low-quality) firms as those firms with a management score of one standard deviation above (below) the mean. To study whether this proxy for firm quality can identify better-performing firms, we link this data to Compustat and The Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) to obtain firm-level data on financial performance and monthly stock returns, respectively. We find that from 1999 to 2019 (our sample data period), firms in the high-quality portfolio are consistently more profitable — higher operating profitability and return on equity compared to low-quality firms. In addition, high-quality firms also exhibit a lower risk of bankruptcy — a higher Altman Z-score. Next, we test whether the stocks of the firms in the high-quality portfolio earn superior risk-adjusted excess returns. We regress the monthly excess returns on each portfolio on the Fama-French 3-factor, 4-factor, and 5-factor models, the betting-against-beta factor, and the quality-minus-junk factor. We find no statistically significant differences in excess returns between both portfolios, suggesting that stocks of high-quality (well managed) firms do not earn superior risk-adjusted returns compared to low-quality (poorly managed) firms. In short, our proxy for firm quality, the WMS management score, can identify firms with superior financial performance (higher profitability and reduced risk of bankruptcy). However, our management proxy cannot identify stocks that earn superior risk-adjusted returns, suggesting no statistically significant relationship between managerial quality and stock performance.Keywords: excess stock returns, management, profitability, quality
Procedia PDF Downloads 932261 Bank Liquidity Creation in a Dual Banking System: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Lianne M. Q. Lee, Mohammed Sharaf Shaiban
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The importance of bank liquidity management took center stage as policy makers promoted a more resilient global banking system after the market turmoil of 2007. The growing recognition of Islamic banks’ function of intermediating funds in the economy warrants the need to investigate its balance sheet structure which is distinct from its conventional counterparts. Given that asymmetric risk, transformation is inevitable; Islamic banks need to identify the liquidity risk within their distinctive balance sheet structure. Thus, there is a strong need to quantify and assess the liquidity position to ensure proper functioning of a financial institution. It is vital to measure bank liquidity because liquid banks face less liquidity risk. We examine this issue by using two alternative quantitative measures of liquidity creation “cat fat” and “cat nonfat” constructed by Berger and Bouwman (2009). “Cat fat” measures all on balance sheet items including off balance sheet, whilst the latter measures only on balance sheet items. Liquidity creation is measured over the period 2007-2014 in 14 countries where Islamic and conventional commercial banks coexist. Also, separately by bank size class as empirical studies have shown that liquidity creation varies by bank size. An interesting and important finding shows that all size class of Islamic banks, on average have increased creation of aggregate liquidity in real dollar terms over the years for both liquidity creation measures especially for large banks indicating that Islamic banks actually generates more liquidity to the economy compared to its conventional counterparts, including from off-balance sheet items. The liquidity creation for off-balance sheets by conventional banks may have been affected by the global financial crisis when derivatives markets were severely hit. The results also suggest that Islamic banks have the higher volume of assets and deposits and that borrowing/issues of bonds are less in Islamic banks compared to conventional banks because most products are interest-based. As Islamic banks appear to create more liquidity than conventional banks under both measures, it translates that the development of Islamic banking is significant over the decades since its inception. This finding is encouraging as, despite Islamic banking’s overall size, it represents growth opportunities for these countries.Keywords: financial institution, liquidity creation, liquidity risk, policy and regulation
Procedia PDF Downloads 3502260 Strategic Asset Allocation Optimization: Enhancing Portfolio Performance Through PCA-Driven Multi-Objective Modeling
Authors: Ghita Benayad
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Asset allocation, which affects the long-term profitability of portfolios by distributing assets to fulfill a range of investment objectives, is the cornerstone of investment management in the dynamic and complicated world of financial markets. This paper offers a technique for optimizing strategic asset allocation with the goal of improving portfolio performance by addressing the inherent complexity and uncertainty of the market through the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in a multi-objective modeling framework. The study's first section starts with a critical evaluation of conventional asset allocation techniques, highlighting how poorly they are able to capture the intricate relationships between assets and the volatile nature of the market. In order to overcome these challenges, the project suggests a PCA-driven methodology that isolates important characteristics influencing asset returns by decreasing the dimensionality of the investment universe. This decrease provides a stronger basis for asset allocation decisions by facilitating a clearer understanding of market structures and behaviors. Using a multi-objective optimization model, the project builds on this foundation by taking into account a number of performance metrics at once, including risk minimization, return maximization, and the accomplishment of predetermined investment goals like regulatory compliance or sustainability standards. This model provides a more comprehensive understanding of investor preferences and portfolio performance in comparison to conventional single-objective optimization techniques. While applying the PCA-driven multi-objective optimization model to historical market data, aiming to construct portfolios better under different market situations. As compared to portfolios produced from conventional asset allocation methodologies, the results show that portfolios optimized using the proposed method display improved risk-adjusted returns, more resilience to market downturns, and better alignment with specified investment objectives. The study also looks at the implications of this PCA technique for portfolio management, including the prospect that it might give investors a more advanced framework for navigating financial markets. The findings suggest that by combining PCA with multi-objective optimization, investors may obtain a more strategic and informed asset allocation that is responsive to both market conditions and individual investment preferences. In conclusion, this capstone project improves the field of financial engineering by creating a sophisticated asset allocation optimization model that integrates PCA with multi-objective optimization. In addition to raising concerns about the condition of asset allocation today, the proposed method of portfolio management opens up new avenues for research and application in the area of investment techniques.Keywords: asset allocation, portfolio optimization, principle component analysis, multi-objective modelling, financial market
Procedia PDF Downloads 472259 The Decision-Making Mechanisms of Tax Regulations
Authors: Nino Pailodze, Malkhaz Sulashvili, Vladimer Kekenadze, Tea Khutsishvili, Irma Makharashvili, Aleksandre Kekenadze
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In the nearest future among the important problems which Georgia has solve the most important is economic stability, that bases on fiscal policy and the proper definition of the its directions. The main source of the Budget revenue is the national income. The State uses taxes, loans and emission in order to create national income, were the principal weapon are taxes. As well as fiscal function of the fulfillment of the budget, tax systems successfully implement economic and social development and the regulatory functions of foreign economic relations. A tax is a mandatory, unconditional monetary payment to the budget made by a taxpayer in accordance with this Code, based on the necessary, nonequivalent and gratuitous character of the payment. Taxes shall be national and local. National taxes shall be the taxes provided for under this Code, the payment of which is mandatory across the whole territory of Georgia. Local taxes shall be the taxes provided for under this Code, introduced by normative acts of local self-government representative authorities (within marginal rates), the payment of which is mandatory within the territory of the relevant self-governing unit. National taxes have the leading role in tax systems, but also the local taxes have an importance role in tax systems. Exactly in the means of local taxes, the most part of the budget is formatted. National taxes shall be: income tax, profit tax, value added tax (VAT), excise tax, import duty, property tax shall be a local tax The property tax is one of the significant taxes in Georgia. The paper deals with the taxation mechanism that has been operated in Georgia. The above mention has the great influence in financial accounting. While comparing foreign legislation towards Georgian legislation we discuss the opportunity of using their experience. Also, we suggested recommendations in order to improve the tax system in financial accounting. In addition to accounting, which is regulated according the International Accounting Standards we have tax accounting, which is regulated by the Tax Code, various legal orders / regulations of the Minister of Finance. The rules are controlled by the tax authority, Revenue Service. The tax burden from the tax values are directly related to expenditures of the state from the emergence of the first day. Fiscal policy of the state is as well as expenditure of the state and decisions of taxation. In order to get the best and the most effective mobilization of funds, Government’s primary task is to decide the kind of taxation rules. Tax function is to reveal the substance of the act. Taxes have the following functions: distribution or the fiscal function; Control and regulatory functions. Foreign tax systems evolved in the different economic, political and social conditions influence. The tax systems differ greatly from each other: taxes, their structure, typing means, rates, the different levels of fiscal authority, the tax base, the tax sphere of action, the tax breaks.Keywords: international accounting standards, financial accounting, tax systems, financial obligations
Procedia PDF Downloads 2432258 An Examination of Internal Control System, Executive Duality and Audit Alarm Committee of Listed Nigerian Companies
Authors: Mansur Lubabah Kwanbo
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Existing literatures have demonstrated the importance of executive duality (ED) and audit committee (AC) in the financial growth of companies. To some extent this points to corporate governance mechanism aiming at addressing makers and implementers of company policies to be centered on promoting only company objectives. However, furthering organizational objectives needs an adequate structure of control to realize that. Recent development in the various industries in Nigeria have indicated the internal control system (ICS)has not been able to adequately address most of the activities that results in ills of sustaining growth for these industries. It is from this premise the study has as one of its objective to determine the extent to which ICS significantly relates to ED and AC in listed Nigerian corporation. Data were sourced from 308 financial statements and accounts of the corporations that made the sample of the study. Logistic regression aided the test of the hypothesis formulated for the study. Findings revealed a significant relationship between the study variables. The study concludes that the internal control system (ICS) is effective despite the bifurcation of executive duality (ED) and the presence of the Audit Committee (AC) to the extent of preventing ills that encourage lack of sustainability of company’s growth. Sustaining legitimate policies that translate into huge earnings, and create value to stake holders should be pursued.Keywords: audit committee (AC), executive duality (ED), internal control system (ICS), Nigeria
Procedia PDF Downloads 2952257 Causal Relationship between Macro-Economic Indicators and Fund Unit Price Behaviour: Evidence from Malaysian Equity Unit Trust Fund Industry
Authors: Anwar Hasan Abdullah Othman, Ahamed Kameel, Hasanuddeen Abdul Aziz
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In this study, an attempt has been made to investigate the relationship specifically the causal relation between fund unit prices of Islamic equity unit trust fund which measure by fund NAV and the selected macro-economic variables of Malaysian economy by using VECM causality test and Granger causality test. Monthly data has been used from Jan, 2006 to Dec, 2012 for all the variables. The findings of the study showed that industrial production index, political election and financial crisis are the only variables having unidirectional causal relationship with fund unit price. However, the global oil prices is having bidirectional causality with fund NAV. Thus, it is concluded that the equity unit trust fund industry in Malaysia is an inefficient market with respect to the industrial production index, global oil prices, political election and financial crisis. However, the market is approaching towards informational efficiency at least with respect to four macroeconomic variables, treasury bill rate, money supply, foreign exchange rate and corruption index.Keywords: fund unit price, unit trust industry, Malaysia, macroeconomic variables, causality
Procedia PDF Downloads 4702256 Captive Insurance in Hong Kong and Singapore: A Promising Risk Management Solution for Asian Companies
Authors: Jin Sheng
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This paper addresses a promising area of insurance sector to develop in Asia. Captive insurance, which provides risk-mitigation services for its parent company, has great potentials to develop in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, logistics, catastrophe, and alternative risk transfer (ART), and will greatly affect the framework of insurance industry. However, the Asian captive insurance market only takes a small proportion in the global market. The recent supply chain interruption case of Hanjin Shipping indicates the significance of risk management for an Asian company’s sustainability and resilience. China has substantial needs and great potentials to develop captive insurance, on account of the currency volatility, enterprises’ credit risks, and legal and operational risks of the Belt and Road initiative. Up to date, Mainland Chinese enterprises only have four offshore captives incorporated by CNOOC, Sinopec, Lenovo and CGN Power), three onshore captive insurance companies incorporated by CNPC, China Railway, and COSCO, as well as one industrial captive insurance organization - China Ship-owners Mutual Assurance Association. Its captive market grows slowly with one or two captive insurers licensed yearly after September 2011. As an international financial center, Hong Kong has comparative advantages in taxation, professionals, market access and well-established financial infrastructure to develop a functional captive insurance market. For example, Hong Kong’s income tax for an insurance company is 16.5%; while China's income tax for an insurance company is 25% plus business tax of 5%. Furthermore, restrictions on market entry and operations of China’s onshore captives make establishing offshore captives in international or regional captive insurance centers such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and other overseas jurisdictions to become attractive options. Thus, there are abundant business opportunities in this area. Using methodology of comparative studies and case analysis, this paper discusses the incorporation, regulatory issues, taxation and prospect of captive insurance market in Hong Kong, China and Singapore. Hong Kong and Singapore are both international financial centers with prominent advantages in tax concessions, technology, implementation, professional services, and well-functioning legal system. Singapore, as the domicile of 71 active captives, has been the largest captive insurance hub in Asia, as well as an established reinsurance hub. Hong Kong is an emerging captive insurance hub with 5 to 10 newly licensed captives each year, according to the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council. It is predicted that Hong Kong will become a domicile for 50 captive insurers by 2025. This paper also compares the formation of a captive in Singapore with other jurisdictions such as Bermuda and Vermont.Keywords: Alternative Risk Transfer (ART), captive insurance company, offshore captives, risk management, reinsurance, self-insurance fund
Procedia PDF Downloads 2292255 Locating the Best Place for Earthquake Refugee Camps by OpenSource Software: A Case Study for Tehran, Iran
Authors: Reyhaneh Saeedi
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Iran is one of the regions which are most prone for earthquakes annually having a large number of financial and mortality and financial losses. Every year around the world, a large number of people lose their home and life due to natural disasters such as earthquakes. It is necessary to provide and specify some suitable places for settling the homeless people before the occurrence of the earthquake, one of the most important factors in crisis planning and management. Some of the natural disasters can be Modeling and shown by Geospatial Information System (GIS). By using GIS, it would be possible to manage the spatial data and reach several goals by making use of the analyses existing in it. GIS has a determining role in disaster management because it can determine the best places for temporary resettling after such a disaster. In this research QuantumGIS software is used that It is an OpenSource software so that easy to access codes and It is also free. In this system, AHP method is used as decision model and to locate the best places for temporary resettling, is done based on the related organizations criteria with their weights and buffers. Also in this research are made the buffer layers of criteria and change them to the raster layers. Later on, the raster layers are multiplied on desired weights then, the results are added together. Eventually, there are suitable places for resettling of victims by desired criteria by different colors with their optimum rate in QuantumGIS platform.Keywords: disaster management, temporary resettlement, earthquake, QuantumGIS
Procedia PDF Downloads 3972254 Integrating Islamic Finance Principles with Environmental, Social, and Governance Criteria: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Trends and Impact Within the 2030 Agenda
Authors: Paolo Biancone, Silvana Secinaro, Davide Calandra
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This study explores the integration of Islamic finance principles with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, focusing on the contribution of Islamic financial instruments to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). Through a systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis of 66 documents from 2019 to 2024, the research addresses critical gaps by examining the alignment between Islamic finance and ESG, identifying emerging trends, and assessing operational challenges and opportunities. Findings indicate that Islamic finance, mainly through instruments such as green sukuk and Islamic microfinance, demonstrates substantial alignment with ESG objectives, anchored in its ethical principles of risk-sharing, fairness, and avoidance of harmful investments. Nevertheless, scalability and regulatory structures pose significant challenges to broader ESG adoption within Islamic finance. This study offers theoretical and practical implications, proposing that Islamic finance provides a solid framework to address sustainability shortcomings in conventional finance. Furthermore, it highlights future research directions, emphasizing the need for empirical studies on the long-term impact of Islamic financial products on sustainability outcomes and exploring the role of fintech in ESG integration.Keywords: Islamic finance, ESG, SDGs, bibliometric analysis, Shariah-compliant investments
Procedia PDF Downloads 92253 Psychological Well-Being Among the Freed Kamhalari Girls in Dang
Authors: Jug Maya Chaudhary
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The principal objective of this paper has been to assess the level of psychological well-being (PWB) of freed Kamhalari girls sheltered in a governmental rehabilitation center in the Dang district. All the girls (N=100) have been selected for a quantitative study, including 15 cases of in-depth interviews for qualitative study in 2013. The study results suggest that the level of psychological well-being of freed Kamhalaris has not been found to be high; rather they are moderate, with small incidences of a lower level of psychological well-being. Regarding the qualitative study, a total of six themes was identified: physical pain and fatigue then and now, the lasting experience of anxiety, unfair treatment, low self-esteem, depressed mood, and frustration due to current state and confusion. These themes reflected the unrelenting intrusive nature of painful experiences of those affected. This research will provide empathic insight into their past experience. It will add to the body of research on Psychological Well-being of Freed Kamhalari Girls and may generate ideas for intervention research.Keywords: Kamhalari, Experiences, Tharu, Psychological Wellbeing
Procedia PDF Downloads 562252 Challenges in Developing a World Class Sustainable Food Organization
Authors: Baskar Kotte
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Many organizations are constantly striving to implement numerous techniques for long-term sustainability, for food related organizations it is imperative to conceptualize the critical concepts which constitute food safety sustainability. This presentation provides three critical pillars to develop a sustainable organization. Financial sustainability, regulatory sustainability and excellence standards sustainability are the three components which practiced and implemented effectively with process performance metrics defined objectives and targets lead to sustainable and safe food organizations. The participants take away a well-developed concept diagram with all elements impacting sustainability. Proven disciplined path which worked to achieve desired results is presented for effective implementation. Effective implementation of this proven disciplined path positions organizations to achieve world class status with bottomline improvement. Additionally, this presentation highlights critical terms, principles and implementation difficulties related to using the proven disciplined path. This presentation is beneficial for business leaders, food safety compliance managers, food safety practitioners, financial managers, Lean & Six sigma continual improvement managers, BRC/SQF/ IFS / FSSC 22000 practitioners and food manufacturing personnel.Keywords: food safety, sustainability, regulatory, lean, six sigma, bottom-line improvement disciplined path
Procedia PDF Downloads 2782251 Modeling Environmental, Social, and Governance Financial Assets with Lévy Subordinated Processes and Option Pricing
Authors: Abootaleb Shirvani, Svetlozar Rachev
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ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance and is a non-financial factor that investors use to specify material risks and growth opportunities in their analysis process. ESG ratings provide a quantitative measure of socially responsible investment, and it is essential to incorporate ESG ratings when modeling the dynamics of asset returns. In this article, we propose a triple subordinated Lévy process for incorporating numeric ESG ratings into dynamic asset pricing theory to model the time series properties of the stock returns. The motivation for introducing three layers of subordinator is twofold. The first two layers of subordinator capture the skew and fat-tailed properties of the stock return distribution that cannot be explained well by the existing Lévy subordinated model. The third layer of the subordinator introduces ESG valuation and incorporates numeric ESG ratings into dynamic asset pricing theory and option pricing. We employ the triple subordinator Lévy model for developing the ESG-valued stock return model, derive the implied ESG score surfaces for Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon stock returns, and compare the shape of the ESG implied surface scores for these stocks.Keywords: ESG scores, dynamic asset pricing theory, multiple subordinated modeling, Lévy processes, option pricing
Procedia PDF Downloads 812250 The Capital Expenditure Reputation from Investor Perspective: A Signal of Better Future Performance
Authors: Juniarti, Agus Arianto Toly
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This study aims to examine the effect of capital expenditure on the investors’ responses. The respondents were companies with the best stock performance in each sector in 2017. The observation period is 2017 to 2019. Top 10 companies in each sector with the best stock performance in companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange were selected. The main variables are a growth signal which is proxied by growth in capital spending and capital expenditure, and risk and investor response, which is proxied by CAR. Financial performance as measured by ROA is a control variable in this study. The results showed that the signal of growth as measured by capital expenditures responded positively by the market, the risk moderates this influence, companies with high risk will be responded negatively by investors and vice versa. This finding corrects previous findings that only looked at the signal aspect of growth, without linking it to risk. In addition, these findings reinforce the argument that investors buy the future of the company, not a momentary financial performance. This can be seen from the absence of ROA influence on investor response. This study found that companies need to manage risk appropriately, because the risk aspect of the company is a crucial factor for investors. High risks will eliminate the benefits of strategic decisions in this case in the form of capital expenditures.Keywords: capital expenditure, growth signals, investor response, risk
Procedia PDF Downloads 1412249 Understanding the Basics of Information Security: An Act of Defense
Authors: Sharon Q. Yang, Robert J. Congleton
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Information security is a broad concept that covers any issues and concerns about the proper access and use of information on the Internet, including measures and procedures to protect intellectual property and private data from illegal access and online theft; the act of hacking; and any defensive technologies that contest such cybercrimes. As more research and commercial activities are conducted online, cybercrimes have increased significantly, putting sensitive information at risk. Information security has become critically important for organizations and private citizens alike. Hackers scan for network vulnerabilities on the Internet and steal data whenever they can. Cybercrimes disrupt our daily life, cause financial losses, and instigate fear in the public. Since the start of the pandemic, most data related cybercrimes targets have been either financial or health information from companies and organizations. Libraries also should have a high interest in understanding and adopting information security methods to protect their patron data and copyrighted materials. But according to information security professionals, higher education and cultural organizations, including their libraries, are the least prepared entities for cyberattacks. One recent example is that of Steven’s Institute of Technology in New Jersey in the US, which had its network hacked in 2020, with the hackers demanding a ransom. As a result, the network of the college was down for two months, causing serious financial loss. There are other cases where libraries, colleges, and universities have been targeted for data breaches. In order to build an effective defense, we need to understand the most common types of cybercrimes, including phishing, whaling, social engineering, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, malware and ransomware, and hacker profiles. Our research will focus on each hacking technique and related defense measures; and the social background and reasons/purpose of hacker and hacking. Our research shows that hacking techniques will continue to evolve as new applications, housing information, and data on the Internet continue to be developed. Some cybercrimes can be stopped with effective measures, while others present challenges. It is vital that people understand what they face and the consequences when not prepared.Keywords: cybercrimes, hacking technologies, higher education, information security, libraries
Procedia PDF Downloads 1342248 Islamic Banking Adoption Model from Technology Prospective
Authors: Amer Alzaidi
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Islamic banking is an alternative solution to those people who are worried about Riba (interest) in all forms of transaction while using banking services and products. Today, banks around the world have Islamic banking services and products the in one form or another. The use of Islamic banking is not only restricted to Muslims world but have reached to non-Muslim countries like UK, USA, Australia and Canada as well. Compared to conventional banking, the adoption rate of Islamic banking is low because of unawareness of customers, financial cost, and performance issues. The interest in Islamic banking by financial institutions as well as low adoption rate motivated us to look this matter into detail in order to identify Critical Success Factors, which are positively motivating customers to use Islamic banking services/ products and Critical Risk Factors, which have significantly negative effect on the adoption of Islamic banking. The CSFs and CRFs will be initially identified from the literature using methodology called Systematic Literature Review, followed by the empirical analysis of these factors using survey research method. Later, we will develop Islamic Banking Adoption Model (IBAM) to help banks to assess their Islamic banking strategic positioning and to improve their operational efficiency. The first potential contribution of this research study will be the development of IBAM protocol that will provide us guidelines for conducting our actual SLR. The second major contribution of this research will be the development of Islamic Banking Adoption Model (IBAM), and the third contribution of this research study will be the evaluation of the developed IBMA.Keywords: Islamic banking, adoption model, protocol, technology
Procedia PDF Downloads 2792247 The Risk and Prevention of Peer-To-Peer Network Lending in China
Authors: Zhizhong Yuan, Lili Wang, Chenya Zheng, Wuqi Yang
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How to encourage and support peer-to-peer (P2P) network lending, and effectively monitor the risk of P2P network lending, has become the focus of the Chinese government departments, industrialists, experts and scholars in recent years. The reason is that this convenient online micro-credit service brings a series of credit risks and other issues. Avoiding the risks brought by the P2P network lending model, it can better play a benign role and help China's small and medium-sized private enterprises with vigorous development to solve the capital needs; otherwise, it will bring confusion to the normal financial order. As a form of financial services, P2P network lending has injected new blood into China's non-government finance in the past ten years, and has found a way out for idle funds and made up for the shortage of traditional financial services in China. However, it lacks feasible measures in credit evaluation and government supervision. This paper collects a large amount of data about P2P network lending of China. The data collection comes from the official media of the Chinese government, the public achievements of existing researchers and the analysis and collation of correlation data by the authors. The research content of this paper includes literature review; the current situation of China's P2P network lending development; the risk analysis of P2P network lending in China; the risk prevention strategy of P2P network lending in China. The focus of this paper is to try to find a specific program to strengthen supervision and avoid risks from the perspective of government regulators, operators of P2P network lending platform, investors and users of funds. These main measures include: China needs to develop self-discipline organization of P2P network lending industry and formulate self-discipline norms as soon as possible; establish a regular information disclosure system of P2P network lending platform; establish censorship of credit rating of borrowers; rectify the P2P network lending platform in compliance through the implementation of bank deposition. The results and solutions will benefit all the P2P network lending platforms, creditors, debtors, bankers, independent auditors and government agencies of China and other countries.Keywords: peer-to-peer(P2P), regulation, risk prevention, supervision
Procedia PDF Downloads 166