Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Gehan A. Mousa Author-X-Name-First: Gehan A. Author-X-Name-Last: Mousa Author-Name: Elsayed A.H. Elamir Author-X-Name-First: Elsayed A.H. Author-X-Name-Last: Elamir Title: Determinants of forward-looking disclosure: evidence from Bahraini capital market Abstract: This study investigates the factors that may affect the extent of corporate forward-looking disclosure. The study has used a forward-looking disclosure index of 56 items and applies the qualitative data analysis miner (QDA miner) as a software package to measure the amount of forward-looking information disclosed by a sample of Bahraini listed companies in the period 2010-2013. QDA miner has used mainly for coding and analysing the collection of text data. The study employs statistical analysis to examine the relationship between corporate forward-looking disclosure and five firm characteristics (firm size, financial leverage, sector type, profitability, and liquidity). The backward regression analyses show that financial leverage and firm size are found to be significant; however, sector type, profitability, and liquidity are found to have insignificant association with the level of corporate forward-looking disclosure. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 1-19 Issue: 1 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: corporate disclosure; annual reports; forward-looking information; Bahrain Bourse. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=89189 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:1:p:1-19 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ritika Jaiswal Author-X-Name-First: Ritika Author-X-Name-Last: Jaiswal Author-Name: Rashmi Uchil Author-X-Name-First: Rashmi Author-X-Name-Last: Uchil Title: An analysis of diversification benefits of commodity futures using Markov regime-switching approach Abstract: This study investigates the hedge and safe haven properties of individual commodity futures against stock market movements using a nonlinear regime-switching framework. Based on the results of Brock, Dechert and Scheinkman (BDS) test and information selection criterion, Markov-switching vector auto-regression (MS-VAR) model is applied with three regimes for gold and silver futures and with two regimes for crude oil, copper and zinc futures. The results demonstrate strong hedge and weak safe haven property of gold and silver futures, while it shows a weak hedge and weak safe haven potential of copper and zinc futures. Conversely, crude oil futures cannot be used as a safe haven against extreme stock market movements. In addition, portfolio analysis confirms that these findings provide significant information to investors for the construction of better risk-adjusted return portfolio. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 20-47 Issue: 1 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: commodity futures; hedge; Markov-switching; Markov-switching vector auto-regression; MS-VAR; nonlinear; regime-switching; diversification; safe haven. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=89193 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:1:p:20-47 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Sachin Mathur Author-X-Name-First: Sachin Author-X-Name-Last: Mathur Author-Name: Anupam Rastogi Author-X-Name-First: Anupam Author-X-Name-Last: Rastogi Title: Investor sentiment and asset returns: the case of Indian stock market Abstract: According to behavioural finance theory, investor sentiment can lead to extreme mispricing of stocks. In this paper we describe the construction of an investor sentiment index for India, an emerging market, to examine the association between sentiment and stock returns. We test whether the sentiment index predicts long-term returns of the stock market, as well as of stock portfolios formed on the basis of size and value characteristics, over the sample period of 2004 to 2016. The sentiment index fails to predict broad market returns, but is inversely associated with the subsequent year's returns of small low-priced stocks, consistent with constrained arbitrage argument of behavioural finance theory and information uncertainty associated with such stocks. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 48-64 Issue: 1 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: investor sentiment; sentiment index; behavioural finance; stock returns; information uncertainty; emerging market; India. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=89198 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:1:p:48-64 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Gee Jung Kwon Author-X-Name-First: Gee Jung Author-X-Name-Last: Kwon Title: Changes in the value relevance of accounting information before and after the adoption of K-IFRS: evidence from Korea Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the value relevance change before and after the mandatory adoption of Korea's international financial reporting standards (K-IFRS) in the listed Korean financial markets. This paper tests the value relevance change by dividing sample data into the periods before (2008-2010) and after (2011-2013) K-IFRS adoption. This study categorises sample data into several subgroups by firm size (large versus small and medium) and applicable financial market (KOSPI versus the KOSDAQ) for revealing further evidence of the value relevance change in Korean companies. The empirical results in this paper suggest that the value relevance of book value, accounting earnings, operating income, cash flows, and operating cash flows significantly changed before and after K-IFRS adoption. This paper's evidence suggests the possibility of a new debate regarding the primary value relevant factor before and after K-IFRS adoption among the companies listed on the Korea Stock Exchange. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 65-84 Issue: 1 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: book value; BV; cash flows; CF; Korea's international financial reporting standards; K-IFRS; net income; operating cash flows; OCF; operating income; OI; value relevance. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=89209 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:1:p:65-84 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Divya Aggarwal Author-X-Name-First: Divya Author-X-Name-Last: Aggarwal Title: Random walk model and asymmetric effect in Korean composite stock price index Abstract: This paper empirically examines the market efficiency and the volatility persistence of weekly stock returns of the Korean composite stock price index (KOSPI) since July 1997 till September 2016. It studies the market efficiency in presence of both linear and nonlinear dependence in the stock price series along with testing for structural breaks. By employing various econometric tests, evidence of weekly series not following a random walk model along with asymmetric volatility effects was found. The results have significant implications for investors and traders as market inefficiency can impact both domestic and foreign flows in an economy. This study is unique as it employs multiple tests for market efficiency along with examining volatility persistence over a wide time frame of almost two decades. Since the results on market efficiency are mixed for the Korean stock market this study aims to offer a more comprehensive picture. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 85-104 Issue: 1 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: Korean composite stock price index; KOSPI; random walk model; RWM; auto regressive conditional heteroscedasticity; volatility; asymmetric. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=89210 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:1:p:85-104 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Burhan Rasheed Author-X-Name-First: Burhan Author-X-Name-Last: Rasheed Author-Name: Noman Arshed Author-X-Name-First: Noman Author-X-Name-Last: Arshed Author-Name: Zohair Farooq Malik Author-X-Name-First: Zohair Farooq Author-X-Name-Last: Malik Author-Name: Mohyuddin Tahir Mahmood Author-X-Name-First: Mohyuddin Tahir Author-X-Name-Last: Mahmood Title: Impact of corporate social responsibility on firm's performance: evidence from non-financial sector of Pakistan Abstract: The objective of this study is to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm's performance (FP). It is based on conceptual aspects of CSR and considers how CSR can be measured in order to investigate the firm's performance. The paper is exploratory in nature because CSR is measured as an investment and disclosure in the Pakistani non-financial sector. The empirical results of this study provide evidence of the positive impact of CSR on FP. It is further concluded that firms investing in CSR have better financial performance. This study is a pioneer in Pakistan regarding CSR as investment and disclosure simultaneously and therefore an addition to existing literature on CSR. This paper provides different new ways to investigate CSR, by encouraging a discussion about the importance of corporate social responsibility. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 105-122 Issue: 2 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; firm's performance; FP; non-financial sector; simultaneous equation model; M40; Pakistan. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=91054 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:105-122 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Zahra Borghei Author-X-Name-First: Zahra Author-X-Name-Last: Borghei Author-Name: Philomena Leung Author-X-Name-First: Philomena Author-X-Name-Last: Leung Author-Name: James Guthrie Author-X-Name-First: James Author-X-Name-Last: Guthrie Title: Does voluntary greenhouse gas emissions disclosure reduce information asymmetry? Australian evidence Abstract: Based on agency theory, this study investigates the consequences of carbon disclosure by non-greenhouse gas registered Australian companies on information asymmetry measures over a period after the introduction of the <i>National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007</i> and before the introduction of the Australian carbon tax. The level of carbon disclosure is scored through the content analysis of the annual reports. The findings support that carbon disclosure is negatively related to information asymmetry measures: the bid-ask spread and stock return volatility, in the year following disclosure. Overall, the research results are consistent with predictions of the agency theory and indicate that companies bear the extra voluntary reporting costs to achieve the perceived benefits of disclosure. The findings should be useful for corporate and stakeholders who are concerned about the value relevance of carbon disclosure in financial markets. For accounting standard setters, it highlights the urgency of carbon reporting guidelines. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 123-147 Issue: 2 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: carbon emission; voluntary disclosure; information asymmetry measures; NGER Act 2007; content analysis; climate change. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=91055 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:123-147 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Pradiptarathi Panda Author-X-Name-First: Pradiptarathi Author-X-Name-Last: Panda Author-Name: M. Thiripalraju Author-X-Name-First: M. Author-X-Name-Last: Thiripalraju Title: Return and volatility spillovers among stock markets: BRICS countries experience Abstract: This study examines the spillovers among stock markets for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). We consider daily data for BRICS countries from 26 June 2002 to 31 July 2014 with 2,866 observations. We first test the stationarity of data series, employ VAR Granger causality test among stock indices to capture return spillover effect and to proceed we employ exponential generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscadasticity (EGARCH) model to capture the volatility spillover effect as well as asymmetric spillover effect. We find the presence of bidirectional and unidirectional return spillover and negative news impacts more on volatility of these countries' stock markets. Further, we find diversification does not give any economic value from India, Russia and Brazil stock markets to China stock market. The knowledge of transformation of information from one market to another market helps to develop hedging strategy, finds diversification opportunities and captures the efficiency of the market. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 148-166 Issue: 2 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: return and volatility spillover; BRICS; EGARCH; Granger causality. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=91057 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:148-166 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Patrick Omoruyi Eke Author-X-Name-First: Patrick Omoruyi Author-X-Name-Last: Eke Author-Name: Kehinde Adekunle Adetiloye Author-X-Name-First: Kehinde Adekunle Author-X-Name-Last: Adetiloye Author-Name: Joseph Niyan Taiwo Author-X-Name-First: Joseph Niyan Author-X-Name-Last: Taiwo Title: Regulatory institutional quality and long-run primary capital market development: the Nigerian case Abstract: The role of the financial regulator is significant in the development of its sector. This paper examines the impact of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the development of the Nigerian primary capital market, using Granger-vector autoregression (VAR) framework for data from 1980 to 2013. The variables considered are market capitalisation, liquidity, financial literacy and regulatory quality. The short-run findings indicate that regulatory quality Granger-causes market capitalisation. Transaction cost also predicts market capitalisation and liquidity. Financial literacy predicts capitalisation and liquidity. Market capitalisation responds negatively to regulatory quality long run impulses, implying that an 'indifferent' regulation could be catastrophic for future primary market development. However, capital issuing responds positively to regulatory quality ten period innovations. Liquidity responds positively to financial literacy's innovation. A priori significant finding is that market capitalisation and liquidity do not drive capital issuing in the long-term. For policies, the paper recommends regulators to increase campaigns to deepen the understanding of issuers through financial literacy of potential issuers, promote the registration of more rating agencies and reduce transaction costs. Regulators should apply 'soft' listing requirements to encourage more firms to seek funds from primary capital market. Government should evolve strong market economy. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 167-189 Issue: 2 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: Securities and Exchange Commission; SEC; primary capital market; impulse response function; financial literacy. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=91064 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:167-189 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Manmeet Kaur Author-X-Name-First: Manmeet Author-X-Name-Last: Kaur Author-Name: Madhu Vij Author-X-Name-First: Madhu Author-X-Name-Last: Vij Title: Corporate governance index and firm performance: empirical evidence from Indian banking Abstract: Owing to globalisation the quality of corporate governance (CG) system has become an important factor for a firm's survival. The problem is more critical when banks are taken into consideration because of their important role in the economy. In this study the corporate governance index (CGI) has been constructed to measure the level of implementation of good governance practices and to verify whether the banks performed better with regard to that. The scores of overall CG indices and sub index are analysed using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test and OLS regression method. The level of compliance is analysed among public and private listed banks in India. The results show that CGI is significantly and positively associated with financial performance of banks measured by return on assets, Tobin's Q and economic value added. Moreover, banks indeed would have a good incentive to voluntarily improve their governance standards as it benefits them in terms of performance. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 190-207 Issue: 2 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: corporate governance index; CGI; bank performance; ownership structure; corporate governance; governance standards. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=91065 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:190-207 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Saeed Rabea Baatwah Author-X-Name-First: Saeed Rabea Author-X-Name-Last: Baatwah Author-Name: Zalailah Salleh Author-X-Name-First: Zalailah Author-X-Name-Last: Salleh Author-Name: Norsiah Ahmad Author-X-Name-First: Norsiah Author-X-Name-Last: Ahmad Title: High-quality auditors vs. high-quality audit: the reality in Oman Abstract: The objective of this study is to explore the unique setting of Oman with respect to audit quality. This study measures the quality of audit by examining whether big-4 audit firms and industry specialist auditors have a role in improving the quality of the audit. We use data from the companies listed on the Oman capital market between 2006-2013. Using a panel data approach and two measures of audit quality for the purpose of this study, we find that the audit quality of big-4 audit firms and industry specialist auditors is low because they do not enhance the quality of discretionary accruals and do not have a propensity to issue going-concern audit opinion. We also document that big-4 audit firms and industry specialist auditors consider that religion and risk factors provide the means for achieving high-quality audit. This paper is different from prior studies because it is the first to comprehensively examine audit quality in a unique setting - the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Furthermore, it extends our understanding of the role of religiosity in audit quality. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 209-236 Issue: 3 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: audit quality; earnings management; going-concern opinion; big-4 audit firms; industry specialist auditors; Oman. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=93462 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:3:p:209-236 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Nishant B. Labhane Author-X-Name-First: Nishant B. Author-X-Name-Last: Labhane Title: Why do firms smooth dividends? Empirical evidence from an emerging economy India Abstract: The present study examines the determinants of dividend smoothing behaviour of 240 sample companies listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) in India, which have continuous data during the period 1994-1995 to 2012-2013. The empirical results show that Indian firms have target payout ratios, adjust to their targets relatively slowly but not as slowly as the firms in the developed markets such as the USA, Germany and France and thus, tend to smooth and stable their dividends and rely on long-term target payout ratios while making the dividend payment decisions. The firms having high investment opportunities, low leveraged, riskier and smaller firms tend to smooth their dividend more. As for the macroeconomic factors, the high dividend distribution taxes imposed by the government tend the firms to smooth their dividends more. Overall, the results support the information asymmetry and agency-based explanations of dividend smoothing. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 237-256 Issue: 3 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: dividends; dividend policy; dividend smoothing; Lintner model; target payout ratio; India. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=93463 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:3:p:237-256 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Aniruddha Durafe Author-X-Name-First: Aniruddha Author-X-Name-Last: Durafe Author-Name: Ankur Jha Author-X-Name-First: Ankur Author-X-Name-Last: Jha Title: Bank capital buffer, bank credit and economic growth: evidence from India Abstract: This paper studies the procyclical behaviour of bank capital and bank credit by investigating the causal relationship among bank capital, bank credit and economic growth in government-owned public sector banks of India. In this study Granger causality test, cross correlation function and Pearson correlation test are applied. Also, augmented Dickey-Fuller test is used to find out the stationarity of time series data. Using bank level data of 322 observations from 23 banks during 2000-2013, the study found that bank capital buffer and tier-1 capital has a tendency to induce procyclicality in bank credit. Further, the study found that there are bi-directional causality and positive correlation between bank credit and economic growth. The result confirms the presence of causal relationship and provides strong evidence to the presence of procyclicality and its associated risk in the economy. The study suggests that banks should maintain adequate bank capital buffer to mitigate the risk associated with the procyclicality. It provides support to the implementation of RBI guidelines on the countercyclical buffer by all banks in India. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 257-270 Issue: 3 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: bank capital; tier-1 capital; bank credit; economic growth rate; procyclicality; causality; countercyclical buffer. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=93464 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:3:p:257-270 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Basil Abeifaa Der Author-X-Name-First: Basil Abeifaa Author-X-Name-Last: Der Author-Name: Masairol Haji Masri Author-X-Name-First: Masairol Haji Author-X-Name-Last: Masri Author-Name: Mohammed Salisu Abubakari Author-X-Name-First: Mohammed Salisu Author-X-Name-Last: Abubakari Title: A comparative study of the value relevance of accounting information between financial and non-financial companies listed on the Ghana stock exchange Abstract: We investigate the value relevance of book value, earnings and dividends among financial and non-financial companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange from 2005 to 2014. For the sample of non-financial companies, book value and earnings are found to be value relevant. Dividends are only value relevant when earnings are split into dividends and retained earnings. For the sample of financial companies, only dividends and earnings are found to be value relevant. Book value is not value relevant. Largely, accounting information has greater value relevance for the sample of non-financial companies than the sample of financial companies. There is no difference in the explanatory power of the Ohlson (1995) model as compared to the two alternative models under investigation. Largely, IFRS adoptions have a significant effect on the value relevance of accounting information. The results have implications for both policy makers and investors. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 271-295 Issue: 3 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: value relevance; accounting information; Ghana Stock Exchange; GSE. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=93466 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:3:p:271-295 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Natasha Khandakar Author-X-Name-First: Natasha Author-X-Name-Last: Khandakar Author-Name: Fethi Saidi Author-X-Name-First: Fethi Author-X-Name-Last: Saidi Author-Name: Bilal Ahmad Elsalem Author-X-Name-First: Bilal Ahmad Author-X-Name-Last: Elsalem Title: An activity-based costing for a university consultancy centre for entrepreneurship Abstract: The motivation to implement activity-based costing (ABC) in services and academia-oriented institutions is identical to other institutions: to assign indirect costs to products and services based on activities. This study presents an attempt to develop an ABC simulation model applicable at the Centre for Entrepreneurship, which is an advisory and consultancy unit at Qatar University. The proposed ABC model is intended to assist the managers computing the operational costs of four operational activities of the centre: research, training, consultation, and incubation. The study relies on a qualitative research method, including data collected from both primary and secondary sources. Secondary data is a based on reviewing literature sources; whereas primary data is based on a survey. The findings confirm the appropriateness of ABC in gaining better insights into the cost structure of the activities of the centre. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 296-316 Issue: 3 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: activity-based costing; ABC; centre for entrepreneurship; traditional costing; cost analysis; Qatar University. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=93469 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:3:p:296-316 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Subhransu Sekhar Mohanty Author-X-Name-First: Subhransu Sekhar Author-X-Name-Last: Mohanty Title: Calendar return seasonality across sectors, sizes and styles - evidence from the Indian equity markets Abstract: As literature shows, market anomalies in their various forms exist in different markets around the globe. Evidence of seasonality of returns in any form, whether based on time period such as over specific days, weeks and months, or over size, such as large, medium or small or over different classifications such style (growth/value/momentum), or across various sectors or triggered by material announcements such as earnings, dividend, etc., are all contradictory to any of the three forms of efficient market hypothesis (EMH). In this paper we have made an attempt to find out calendar seasonality of returns in the Indian stock markets. We find that return seasonality exists in the Indian markets across sectors, sizes and styles during a 'month of the year' and during a 'day of the week'. These findings can be attributed to many behavioural aspects of investors and can be used by them in predicting the future returns, or in defining investment strategies in order to benefit from abnormal returns. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 317-335 Issue: 3 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: calendar return seasonality; market anomalies; month-of-the-year effect; day-of-the-week effect; holiday effect; small-firm-in-January effect; tax-loss selling effect; feedback model; India. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=93481 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:3:p:317-335 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Sriram Author-X-Name-First: M. Author-X-Name-Last: Sriram Title: Board characteristics and firm performance - a study of S%P BSE Sensex in India Abstract: The study empirically examines the influence of board characteristics variables on firms' financial performance of S%P BSE Sensex (an index comprising 30 companies drawn from different sectors) companies during the period 2004-2014. For measuring firms' performance, two variables, namely - return on assets (RoA) which is an accounting-based measure, and Tobin's Q which is a market-based measure, were considered as separate independent variables. Four independent variables viz., board composition (BC), board ownership (BO), board size (BS) and CEO duality (CEOD) were selected for the study. Using the accounting-based measure, the study finds that there is significant negative association between BS and BO with regard to the firms' performance, thereby concluding that a smaller board size and a small ownership of executive and non-executive directors in the equity leads to improved financial performance. The study also finds no evidence of association between the independent variables and the market-based measure, Tobin's Q. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 336-349 Issue: 3 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: return on assets; RoA; Tobin's Q; board size; board composition; board ownership; CEO duality; S%P BSE Sensex; India. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=93482 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:3:p:336-349 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Murat Ocak Author-X-Name-First: Murat Author-X-Name-Last: Ocak Author-Name: Gökberk Can Author-X-Name-First: Gökberk Author-X-Name-Last: Can Title: Engagement partner attributes and earnings quality: evidence from Borsa İstanbul Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of engagement partners' attributes on earnings quality using 725 firm*year observations between 2008 and 2013 from Borsa İstanbul manufacturing industry firms. We use two indicators of earnings quality to test the effects of gender, educational background, experience and certification from among engagement partners' attributes. Our findings emphasise that engagement partners' attributes do not have any impact on real activities-based earnings management but have an impact on accruals-based earnings management. Female engagement partners have a negative effect on the absolute value of discretionary accruals, especially in negative discretionary accruals. On the other hand, we find that engagement partners with longer experience have negative impact on the absolute and negative discretionary accruals. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 351-388 Issue: 4 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: earnings quality; engagement partner; gender; experience; accruals; real activities; Turkey; emerging markets; jel codes: M40; M41. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=95236 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:4:p:351-388 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Krishna Prasad Author-X-Name-First: Krishna Author-X-Name-Last: Prasad Author-Name: K.R. Suprabha Author-X-Name-First: K.R. Author-X-Name-Last: Suprabha Author-Name: Shridev Devji Author-X-Name-First: Shridev Author-X-Name-Last: Devji Title: Influence of financial distress on exchange rate exposure: evidence from India Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between exchange rate exposure and level of financial distress. We argue that the exchange rate movements have a higher effect on the value of the firms with higher level of financial distress. The effect of other firm level variables such as profitability, size of the firm, foreign sales and expenses and liquidity on exchange rate exposure were also studied. We use Merton's (1974) structural default model to estimate firms' distance to default as a proxy for their probability of financial distress. A sample 387 firms listed in National Stock Exchange (NSE) is studied for a period of 2012-2016. We find that the level of firms' exchange rate exposure is significantly positively related to distance to default, indicating that firms that have a greater probability of financial distress are more affected by exchange rate movements. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 389-403 Issue: 4 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: exchange rate exposure; financial distress; distance to default; Merton's model; India. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=95239 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:4:p:389-403 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: John Adebayo Oloyede Author-X-Name-First: John Adebayo Author-X-Name-Last: Oloyede Author-Name: Oladapo Fapetu Author-X-Name-First: Oladapo Author-X-Name-Last: Fapetu Title: Effect of exchange rate volatility on economic growth in Nigeria (1986-2014) Abstract: This study evaluates the effect of exchange rate volatility on economic growth in Nigeria from 1986 to 2014. It determines the extent and manner to which economic growth responds to exchange rate volatility in Nigeria. The empirical analysis of this study is to determine the degree of volatility of real effective exchange rate using the generalised autoregressive heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model and the generalised method of moments is used to determine the effect of real exchange rate volatility on economic growth. The study finds that there is high volatility of real effective exchange rate. It also reveals that real effective exchange rate is negatively and significantly related to economic growth. This finding suggests that exchange rate volatility is harmful to the growth of the Nigerian economy. This study recommends that government should constantly seek to maintain a stable exchange rate, increase its expenditure, particularly capital expenditure and implement sustainable reforms to increase the depth of the financial sector. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 404-412 Issue: 4 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: exchange rate; volatility; generalised autoregressive heteroskedasticity; economic growth and GARCH; Nigeria. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=95243 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:4:p:404-412 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Yeterina Widi Nugrahanti Author-X-Name-First: Yeterina Widi Author-X-Name-Last: Nugrahanti Author-Name: Andriana Puspitasari Author-X-Name-First: Andriana Author-X-Name-Last: Puspitasari Title: Do audit quality, political connection, and institutional ownership increase real earnings management? Evidence from Indonesia Abstract: The objectives of this study are to evaluate the influence of audit quality (auditor size and auditor tenure), political connections, and institutional ownership toward real earnings management. In this research, real earnings management was determined by abnormal cash flow from operations. Purposive sampling was conducted and 83 manufacturing companies registered in Indonesian Stock Exchange during 2010-2014 (415 firm-years) were acquired as the samples. For testing the hypotheses, panel data regression with random effect model was used. The findings showed that auditor size and institutional ownership had a positive influence toward real earnings management, while auditor tenure and political connections did not influence real earnings management. The control variables testing showed that firms' leverage and firms' loss had negative influence toward real earnings management. On the other hand, cash ratio had a positive effect toward real earnings management. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 413-430 Issue: 4 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: real earnings management; audit quality; auditor size; auditor tenure; political connections; institutional ownership; Indonesia. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=95245 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:4:p:413-430 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Azhar Mohamad Author-X-Name-First: Azhar Author-X-Name-Last: Mohamad Author-Name: Muhammad Rizky Prima Sakti Author-X-Name-First: Muhammad Rizky Prima Author-X-Name-Last: Sakti Title: Implied volatility in the individual stocks call options market: evidence from Malaysia Abstract: Among options traders, implied volatility is regarded as one of the most important variables for determining profitability in options trading. Implied volatility implies the future underlying stock volatility, and whilst it cannot predict market direction, it can forecast the stock's potential for large fluctuations in the future. Once the implied volatility has been calculated, the traders can estimate how high or low the stock might swing by the option's expiration, and this estimation helps traders to make informed trading decisions. In this paper, we examine the information content of the implied volatility of individual stocks call options in the Malaysian stock market. We use a daily dataset for 100 trading days for a period between November 2013 and February 2014. Our findings suggest that, for the Malaysian market, although implied volatility does contain some relevant information about future volatility, it is a less accurate predictor than historical volatility. Journal: Afro-Asian J. of Finance and Accounting Pages: 431-456 Issue: 4 Volume: 8 Year: 2018 Keywords: implied volatility; historical volatility; individual stocks call options; Malaysia. File-URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=95246 File-Format: text/html File-Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. Handle: RePEc:ids:afasfa:v:8:y:2018:i:4:p:431-456