Abstract: This study hypothesizes that, in client firms, audit firms or teams go through life-cycle phases—entry, adjustment, and recursion-that give rise to distinct patterns of independence across time. The life cycle paradigm depicts audit firms as facing pressures during entry to adhere strongly to their professional mandate, including strict exercise of independence. The result is tense auditor-client relations and an increased likelihood of auditor turnover during the entry phase. Auditors that gain entry will “loosen up” and adjust their stance on independence due to the reduced entry pressures. As a result, the adjustment phase will witness a decline in auditor-client disagreements and lower likelihood of auditor turnover. Over protracted periods, the audit process becomes tightly structured and recursive; the repetitive nature of the processes leads to audit fatigue, less attention to the independence mandate, and greater reliance on clients. The phenomenon portends even further decline in auditor-client tension and diminished likelihood of auditor turnover. These predictions are tested using auditor turnovers following auditor-client disputes as surrogates for auditor independence. The results confirm the life-cycle phenomena and show that the level of auditor independence peaks during the early years of the auditors’ tenure and declines afterwards.

Abstract: In this paper we present the main historical facts concerning the Saint Petersburg paradox, the principal solutions that have been proposed, and the results of a new experimental evidence and of a simulation of the game that shed light on the solution of this paradox, that along 300 hundred years since it was first formulated has attracted the attention of many of the most important mathematicians and economists, and that has strongly influenced the development of new concepts adopted in economic and social sciences. The main conclusion is that the behavior of the individuals is not paradoxical at all, and the paradox is intrinsic to the game.

Abstract:

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) have been commonly used technique in the global investing community for calculating the required return of a risky asset. This paper investigates whether CAPM is valid model for determining price/return of oil & gas sector companies listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). The purpose of the research is also to identify plausible reasons for deviations from the theories. The conclusions arrived at through data analysis reveal weak correlation between realized excess returns (i.e. actual returns over and above the risk free rate) and the expected return based on CAPM. With respect to model, the study reflects that changes in exchange rate and market return do not serve as valid determinants of returns on oil and gas producing companies stocks.

Abstract: Effective supply chain management is crucial to business sustainability and will only be possible based on environmental concerns and adopting agile and resilient practices to adapt to the unstable environment. The main objective of this study is to examine how companies choose supply chain structure based on collaborative relationships, to pursuit global strategies, now that competition stopped occurring between companies only and begins to be discussed between supply chains also. This qualitative research was supported on a case study applied to five companies in the automotive industry, using data collection instruments: documentary sources, interviews, and a questionnaire survey, complemented by site visits. From this case study the conceptual model was validated. It was concluded that supply chain management scopes are not a sum of a set of firms, with its own objectives and strategies, but the result of a single system of integrated, transversal and interdependent processes, based on a holistic approach. This paper proposes a conceptual model to select the best strategies and structure to manage supply chain based on LARG (Lean, Agile, Resilient and Green) approach.

Abstract: The readability (RDB) of annual reports (AR) plays a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of disclosure of information to interested parties, particularly investors. Given that investors rely on the financial information provided in AR, the chairman's letter serves as a key communication tool and is the most extensively read section of the report. Consequently, companies are under pressure to provide understandable AR that can be easily interpreted by investors. Nevertheless, managers sometimes obscure such disclosures in an attempt to bury negative information and hide their own behavior. Drawing from the “managerial obfuscation hypothesis”, this study investigated how the corporate governance (CG) structures affect the RDB of AR of a sample of 95 banks across seven countries in the MENA region from 2018 to 2022. The findings revealed that board size, frequency of board meetings, and ownership concentration significantly affect the RDB of AR. Additionally, board independence and gender diversity have a significant negative effect on AR RDB. Conversely, the study found that the presence of role duality within the board had an insignificant effect on AR RDB. As a result, this study recommends enhancing the CG structures to enhance the clarity of banks' reports and boost investor trust.

Abstract: The HMB index method is used to measure the green total factor productivity of the sports industry in 31 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) in China from 2013 to 2022, and on this basis, the convergence and kernel density estimation of regional differences are carried out, and the Markov state transition analysis is further carried out. The results show that: (1) the green total factor productivity of China's sports industry shows a wave-like upward trend as a whole; The sports manufacturing industry has increased the control of pollution process, but the investment in pollution control in the sports service industry is low; The GTFPHM index in the eastern region is the highest, with an average annual growth rate of 3.3%, and most of the provinces (cities) in the region are environment-friendly, but the GTFPHM index in the central and western regions is less than 1, and there are few environment-friendly provinces (cities). (2) The highest contribution to the improvement of green total factor productivity of China's sports industry is pure technical efficiency, followed by range productivity and scale efficiency, and the technological progress index does not mention but decreases. However, unlike other regions, the eastern region has an average annual growth rate of 4.1% in the index of technological progress. (3) The differences in green total factor productivity of the sports industry in the four major regions of China generally showed a wave-like upward trend, and the differences mainly came from within the group, and the contribution between the groups was small. From the perspective of the contribution of each region to the total difference, the western and eastern regions contributed more to the total difference, but the contribution of the eastern region showed a wave-like downward trend, while the western region had a gradual upward trend, which was the main source of regional differences in the future. (4) There is a club effect in the transfer of green total factor productivity in the sports industry, and it is relatively difficult to transfer across levels. The higher the productivity level of the neighbors, the more conducive to the improvement of the productivity level of the low-level area. However, when neighboring with high-level areas, the phenomenon of good-neighboring and beggar-thy-neighbor coexists.

Abstract: Through quantitative analysis of three datasets, this study examines the efficacy of synthetic data generation in mitigating demographic bias within artificial intelligence (AI) systems across multiple sectors. It evaluates approaches based on Generative Adversarial Networks for creating demographically balanced synthetic data whilst maintaining data fidelity and model performance. The findings demonstrate significant improvements in fairness metrics, with Demographic Parity scores increasing markedly for both race and gender attributes, whilst maintaining comparable accuracy scores between synthetic and original datasets (0.87 versus 0.88). Kullback-Leibler Divergence values below 0.003 for categorical features indicate successful replication of demographic characteristics. The study reveals that synthetic data can effectively address representational imbalances without compromising predictive performance, particularly in bias-sensitive domains such as healthcare and criminal justice. However, implementation requires rigorous validation protocols and human oversight to ensure quality and fairness. The research contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting synthetic data as a viable solution for developing more equitable AI systems, particularly within regulatory frameworks emphasising fairness and privacy. These findings have significant implications for the advancement of AI development, suggesting the integration of human-in-the-loop systems to enhance synthetic data generation quality and fairness.

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between a leader's self-efficacy, innovative work behavior, striving/commitment/goal generation, and resilience traits in organizational behavior. The results suggest that self-efficacy has a positive impact on organizational behavior, including employees' vocal behavior, and that leader-member exchange (LMX) is essential in promoting a positive relationship between leaders and team members. The study's hypotheses highlight the importance of self-efficacy, LMX, and organizational behavior in achieving positive organizational outcomes. The results may have positive implications at the organizational level in understanding the role of self-efficacy in leadership and its impact on organizational performance.

Abstract:

Exploring the influence of external shocks on the pricing dynamics of the live pig industry chain is essential for effective macroeconomic control. Utilizing monthly data spanning from January 2010 to August 2023, this study employs a Time-Varying Parameter - Stochastic Volatility - Vector Autoregression (TVP-SV-VAR) model to analyze the effects of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) and Live Pig Industry News Uncertainty (INU) on industry pricing. The findings are as follows: Firstly, the impacts of EPU and INU on industry prices exhibit time variability and distinct characteristics. Specifically, the impact strength of EPU ranges between [-0.025, 0.025], and that of INU between [-0.01, 0.01]. These differences in impact strength elicit varied responses from manufacturers and consumers to the indices. Secondly, uncertainty shocks at particular time points show high consistency, suggesting a patterned influence of external shocks on industry pricing that aligns with historical trends. Thirdly, robustness tests with alternative explanat ory variables confirm the reliability of the findings. An uncertainty index, crafted from more comprehensive information sources, more accurately captures the effects of external shocks on industry pricing. Additionally, the volume of live pig slaughters illustrates the potential interaction between external shocks and pricing dynamics. In an era marked by increasingly frequent external shocks, this research offers valuable insights for policymakers to implement macro-control and foster high-quality industrial development.

Abstract: One of the unexpected consequences of interregional integration is the risks of environmental degradation. The barrierlessness for goods, services, and economic resources within area of integration association causes monetary expansion facilitates economic growth. Indeed, the further consequence is the environmental degradation in accordance with Kuznets environmental curve hypothesis. Therefore, the dynamics of trade turnover and GDP of the EAEU countries for 2023, the lack of the environmental empirical studies in the EAEU, the impact of integration processes on environmental quality within the integration association are extremely relevant. The aim of the study is to identify the impact of integration spillover effects on the ecological footprint in 5 EAEU countries between 1992 and 2023. In order to achieve the research objective, the analysis sequence was carried out through the following steps: analyze the stationarity of the variables; check for cross-sectional dependence; evaluates the consistency of an estimator; calculate the Moran's I index; estimate research results using the Spatial Error Model (SEM), Spatial Autoregressive Model (SAR), and Spatial Dubin Model (SDM), or eliminate spatial models; analyse and diagnose the model; correct multicollinearity. According to the results, economic growth and integration processes have a positive and statistically significant impact on ecological footprints. However, financial development does not have a long term statistically significant impact on environmental quality in the EAEU countries. The research contains the recommendations on increasing of the environmental quality in terms of economy, institutional and social framework for the EAEU countries.