Computerised Auditing

This article questions predictions about China's democratic potential based on rising incomes in the private sector. For private entrepreneurs to constitute a democratizing force, structural theories expect two causal links: first, class formation; and second, collective action. This article examines national surveys of business owners, proposes a typology of entrepreneurs' political behavior, and concludes that class formation has not occurred among private entrepreneurs. The absence of a common basis for identity and interaction challenges the hypothesis that China's new capitalists might engage in collective action to demand democracy. Entrepreneurs should, thus, be examined at a lower level of abstraction rather than lumped into a catchall capitalist "middle class." Taking into account the employment background, social networks, and local political conditions of people in apparently similarly situated groups is essential for explaining political dynamics in transitional contexts where the identities and interests of new economic actors are mediated by prereform experiences.

This paper analyses the relationship between information technology use (IT) and competitive advantage. Previous empirical research shows that IT improves competitive advantage when it acts together with some human or managerial resources of an intangible nature. In this work we propose a new complementary resource to IT: democratic ownership structure. We empirically analyse whether ownership structure and IT have a positive, combined impact on competitive advantage. Results show that ownership structure is a key element in explaining competitive advantage differences. Nonetheless, we did not find any IT-ownership structure complementary effect.

RESUMEN CAPITULO 3 CCNA SECURITY -A.A.A. 2ºASIR, SEGURIDAD Y ALTA DISPONIBILIDAD, 2014-15 EDUARDO ANDREU MEDIERO 0 Contenido RESUMEN CAPITULO 3 CCNA SECURITY -A.A.A. 2ºASIR, SEGURIDAD Y ALTA DISPONIBILIDAD, 2014-15 EDUARDO ANDREU MEDIERO 20 Una de las opciones que puede ser configurada en un grupo es la autorización de comandos por grupo, que usa el ACS Seguro de Cisco para autorizar qué comandos del router puede ejecutar un usuario que pertenece a un grupo. Por ejemplo, puede permitirse al grupo ejecutar cualquier comando de router salvo show running-config. Paso 1. Haga clic en Group Setup en la barra de navegación. Paso 2. Vaya al grupo a editar, por ejemplo, el grupo Default, y haga clic en Edit Settings. Paso 3. Haga clic en Permit en la opción Unmatched Cisco IOS commands. Paso 4. Marque la casilla Command e ingrese show en la casilla de texto. En la casilla de texto Arguments, ingrese deny running-config. Paso 5. En la opción Unlisted Arguments, haga clic en Permit. Agregar una cuenta de usuario y configurar el acceso del usuario son tareas críticas del ACS Seguro de Cisco: Paso 1. Haga clic en User Setup en la barra de navegación. Paso 2. Ingrese un nombre de usuario en el campo User y haga clic en Add/Edit. Paso 3. En el panel Edit, ingrese datos en los campos para definir la cuenta del usuario. RESUMEN CAPITULO 3 CCNA SECURITY -A.A.A. 2ºASIR, SEGURIDAD Y ALTA DISPONIBILIDAD, 2014-15 EDUARDO ANDREU MEDIERO 21 3.4.4 Configuracion de la Autenticacion en AAA Servidor A diferencia de la autenticación AAA local, AAA basado en servidor debe identificar varios servidores TACACS+ y RADIUS que el servicio AAA debe consultar al autenticar y autorizar usuarios. Paso 1. Habilite AAA globalmente para permitir el uso de todos los elementos AAA. Este paso es un prerequisito de todos los otros comandos AAA. Paso 2. Especifique el ACS Seguro de Cisco que proporcionará servicios AAA al router. Este puede ser un servidor TACACS+ o RADIUS. Paso 3. Configure la clave de cifrado necesaria para cifrar la transferencia de datos entre el servidor de acceso a la red y el ACS Seguro de Cisco. Paso 4. Configure la lista de métodos de autenticación AAA para referirse al servidor TACACS+ o RADIUS. Para redundancia, es posible configurar más de un servidor.

This article presents results from the first statistically significant study of cost escalation in transportation infrastructure projects. Based on a sample of 258 transportation infrastructure projects worth US$90 billion and representing different project types, geographical regions, and historical periods, it is found with overwhelming statistical significance that the cost estimates used to decide whether such projects should be built are highly and systematically misleading. Underestimation cannot be explained by error and is best explained by strategic misrepresentation, that is, lying. The policy implications are clear: legislators, administrators, investors, media representatives, and members of the public who value honest numbers should not trust cost estimates and cost-benefit analyses produced by project promoters and their analysts.

Abstrak Kecurangan atas laporan keuangan membuat kepercayaan masyarakat berkurang terhadap akuntan publik. Berdasarkan permasalahannya,penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan mengenai kualitas audit menurut auditor,presepsi auditor mengenai ATLAS,penerapan ATLAS untuk meningkatkan kualitas audit dan ATLAS menurut auditor yang minim pengalaman. Jenis penelitian ini adalah kualitatif deskriptif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan cara melakukan wawancara. Responden pada penelitian ini yaitu auditor di Kantor Akuntan Publik Jakarta. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa auditor selalu melakukan pertimbangan sebelum menerbitkan laporan audit sehingga menghasilkan kualitas audit yang bagus dan auditor sangat setuju dengan adanya ATLAS karena sangat efisien dan terotomatisasi sehingga dapat meningkatkan kualitas audit. Abstract Financial statement fraud usually makes less of societies trust to public accountant. Based on the matters, this research aim to answer many questions of audit quality according to the auditor experts , perception auditors for the ATLAS, application ATLAS to improve quality of audits and ATLAS according to junior auditors. The type of this research is descriptive qualitative. This research are using interview method for data collection tehnique. Respondences of the researches are the auditors expert of public accounting firm. Based on the results, it can conclude that the auditors always consider accurasy before publishing the audit report to gain the best output of audit quality and the auditors expert agree with the ATLAS to make jobs of auditors efficiently and automatically enhance improve audit quality.

Megaproject Planning and Management: Essential Readings contains the seminal articles from the growing body of research on megaproject planning and management along with an original introduction by the editor, Bent Flyvbjerg. The leading and most cited authority in the field, Flyvbjerg has used crowdsourcing and 25 years of experience to cherry-pick from several hundred articles and books the writings that define the field. This volume will be an indispensable source for those wishing to speak with authority about how megaprojects are prepared, delivered, and fought over. The target audience is students, academics, practitioners, and media pundits alike, as well as communities affected by megaprojects.

Back cover text: Megaprojects and Risk provides the first detailed examination of the phenomenon of megaprojects. It is a fascinating account of how the promoters of multi-billion dollar megaprojects systematically and self-servingly misinform parliaments, the public and the media in order to get projects approved and built. It shows, in unusual depth, how the formula for approval is an unhealthy cocktail of underestimated costs, overestimated revenues, undervalued environmental impacts and overvalued economic development effects. This results in projects that are extremely risky, but where the risk is concealed from MPs, taxpayers and investors. The authors not only explore the problems but also suggest practical solutions drawing on theory, experience and hard, scientific evidence from the several hundred projects in twenty nations and five continents that illustrate the book. Accessibly written, it will be the standard reference for students, scholars, planners, economists, auditors, politicians and interested citizens for many years to come.

The continued sustainability of the firm rests on the troika of effective management of the
present, imaginative vision for the future and adequate funding of opportunities. For the firm's
robustness to become faster, more cost efficient and responsive to current markets, the
requirement for regular assessment of the vision, willingness to adjust or change strategies,
products and markets must be complimented by effective corporate governance. This paper
highlights the role of entrepreneurs, managers and capitalists in value creation. It concludes that
the common attribute of capitalists, managers and entrepreneurs is the entrepreneurial spirit
which propels each and all of them to work for the future, often in uncertain terrain.

The article first describes characteristics of major infrastructure projects. Second, it documents a much neglected topic in economics: that ex ante estimates of costs and benefits are often very different from actual ex post costs and benefits. For large infrastructure projects the consequences are cost overruns, benefit shortfalls, and the systematic underestimation of risks. Third, implications for cost–benefit analysis are described, including that such analysis is not to be trusted for major infrastructure projects. Fourth, the article uncovers the causes of this state of affairs in terms of perverse incentives that encourage promoters to underestimate costs and overestimate benefits in the business cases for their projects. But the projects that are made to look best on paper are the projects that amass the highest cost overruns and benefit shortfalls in reality. The article depicts this situation as ‘survival of the unfittest’. Fifth, the article sets out to explain how the problem may be solved, with a view to arriving at more efficient and more democratic projects, and avoiding the scandals that often accompany major infrastructure investments. Finally, the article identifies current trends in major infrastructure development. It is argued that a rapid increase in stimulus spending, combined with more investments in emerging economies, combined with more spending on information technology is catapulting infrastructure investment from the frying pan into the fire.

CIMA announces the release of its most recent report, Applying Standards: Media Owners and Journalism Ethics, by veteran journalist Eugene L. Meyer. The report examines the inherent conflict of interest many media owners face in placing responsibility for content above their commercial interests and how this affects the practice of journalism in countries where independent news media already face challenges.

Purpose-Generalized audit software (GAS) is the tool use by auditors to automate various audit tasks. As most accounting transactions are now computerized, auditing of accounting data is also expected to be computerized as well. While GAS is the most popular of computer assisted audit tools and techniques (CAATTs), research shows that there is little evidence that GAS has been universally adopted by external auditors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the utilization of GAS by external auditors in the UK. The paper focuses on small and medium-sized audit firms in the UK whereas most other GAS studies have examined "Big 4" firms. Registered statutory auditors have been selected as a sample. Design/methodology/approach-A framework was developed to identify a range of relevant factors which are important when considering the application of GAS. A web-based survey has been used to gather the perceptions based on the responses from 205 statutory auditors across the UK. The questions posed to respondents were mapped against the framework. Findings-The research finds that the utilization of GAS is unusually low among audit firms in the UK. About 73 per cent of external auditors make no use of GAS, due to the perceived limited benefit of using GAS for auditing small clients. While some respondents recognized the advantages of GAS, they were put off by what they believed to be high implementation costs; significant learning curve and adoption process; and lack of ease of use-they showed a preference for using traditional manual auditing methods instead. Research limitations/implications-The paper focuses on small and medium-sized auditors, and as such the results cannot be extrapolated to Big 4 auditors. Consequently, the responses and conclusions are relevant to the use of GAS during audits of smaller and medium-sized companies which make up the client base of such audit firms. Originality/value-This is one of the few studies that have sought to research the utilization of GAS by the external auditor.

As megaprojects have become ubiquitous, their real benefits and costs have come under increased scrutiny. We interviewed Bent Flyvbjerg, who has extensively studied megaproject development. Flyvbjerg has found systematic problems in the development process: by intentionally misrepresenting information and deliberately disregarding risks, proponents instigate projects that result in fewer benefits and higher costs than promised.

The Supplementary Green Book Guidance on Optimism Bias (HM Treasury 2003) with reference to the Review of Large Public Procurement in the UK (Mott MacDonald 2002) notes that there is a demonstrated, systematic, tendency for project appraisers to be overly optimistic and that to redress this tendency appraisers should make explicit, empirically based adjustments to the estimates of a project’s costs, benefits, and duration. HM Treasury recommends that these adjustments be based on data from past projects or similar projects elsewhere, and adjusted for the unique characteristics of the project in hand. In the absence of a more specific evidence base, HM Treasury has encouraged departments to collect data to inform future estimates of optimism, and in the meantime use the best available data. In response to this, the Department for Transport (henceforth DfT), has contracted Bent Flyvbjerg in association with COWI to undertake the consultancy assignment "Procedures for dealing with Optimism Bias in Transport Planning". The present Guidance Document is the result of this assignment.

"Over budget, over time, over and over again" appears to be an appropriate slogan for large, complex infrastructure projects. This article explains why cost, benefits, and time forecasts for such projects are systematically over-optimistic in the planning phase. The underlying reasons for forecasting errors are grouped into three categories: delusions or honest mistakes; deceptions or strategic manipulation of information or processes; or bad luck. Delusion and deception have each been addressed in the management literature before, but here they are jointly considered for the first time. They are specifically applied to infrastructure problems in a manner that allows both academics and practitioners to understand and implement the suggested corrective procedures. The article provides a framework for analyzing the relative explanatory power of delusion and deception. It also suggests a simplified framework for analyzing the complex principal-agent relationships that are involved in the approval and construction of large infrastructure projects, which can be used to improve forecasts. Finally, the article illustrates reference class forecasting, an outside view de-biasing technique that has proven successful in overcoming both delusion and deception in private and public investment decisions.

Pro gradu -tutkielma Turun yliopisto Politiikan tutkimuksen laitos Poliittinen historia Tammikuu 2013 b TURUN YLIOPISTO Yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta, Politiikan tutkimuksen laitos, poliittinen historia KALLIO, MATIAS: Säröjä sinipunaisessa konsensuksessa? Forumin ja Soneran perustaminen ja yksityistäminen Lipposen hallitusten omistajapolitiikassa 1995 -2003

This article presents results from the first statistically significant study of traffic forecasts in transportation infrastructure projects. The sample used is the largest of its kind, covering 210 projects in 14 nations worth U.S.$59 billion. The study shows with very high statistical significance that forecasters generally do a poor job of estimating the demand for transportation infrastructure projects. For 9 out of 10 rail projects, passenger forecasts are overestimated; the average overestimation is 106%. For half of all road projects, the difference between actual and forecasted traffic is more than ±20%. The result is substantial financial risks, which are typically ignored or downplayed by planners and decision makers to the detriment of social and economic welfare. Our data also show that forecasts have not become more accurate over the 30-year period studied, despite claims to the contrary by forecasters. The causes of inaccuracy in forecasts are different for rail and road projects, with political causes playing a larger role for rail than for road. The cure is transparency, accountability, and new forecasting methods. The challenge is to change the governance structures for forecasting and project development. Our article shows how planners may help achieve this.

Do different types of megaprojects have different cost overruns? This apparently simple question is at the heart of research at the University of Oxford aimed at understanding the characteristics of megaprojects, particularly in terms of how they are established, run and concluded. In this study, we set out to investigate cost overruns in the Olympic Games. To do so, we examined the costs of the Games over half a century, including both summer and winter Olympics. We looked at the evolution of final reported costs and compared these to the costs established in the Games bids, submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) up to seven years before the Games occurred. In so doing we established the largest dataset of its kind, and documented for the first time in a consistent fashion the costs and cost overruns for the Olympic Games, from 1960 to 2012. We discovered that the Games stand out in two distinct ways compared to other megaprojects: (1) The Games overrun with 100 per cent consistency. No other type of megaproject is this consistent regarding cost overrun. Other project types are typically on budget from time to time, but not the Olympics. (2) With an average cost overrun in real terms of 179 per cent – and 324 per cent in nominal terms – overruns in the Games have historically been significantly larger than for other types of megaprojects, including infrastructure, construction, ICT, and dams. The data thus show that for a city and nation to decide to host the Olympic Games is to take on one of the most financially risky type of megaproject that exists, something that many cities and nations have learned to their peril. For the London 2012 Games, we find that: (1) With sports-related real costs currently estimated at USD14.8 billion, London is on track to become the most costly Olympics ever. (2) With a projected cost overrun of 101 per cent in real terms, overrun for London is below the historical average for the Games, but not significantly so. (3) The London cost overrun is, however, significantly higher than overruns for recent Games since 1999. London therefore is reversing a positive trend of falling cost overruns for the Games.

As megaprojects have become ubiquitous, their real benefits and costs have come under increased scrutiny. We interviewed Bent Flyvbjerg, who has extensively studied megaproject development. Flyvbjerg has found systematic problems in the development process: by intentionally misrepresenting information and deliberately disregarding risks, proponents instigate projects that result in fewer benefits and higher costs than promised.

This study investigates the impact of internal control system of firms in Nigeria on the effectiveness of audit committees with ten (10) firms collected across the manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy and employing the cross-sectional time-series technique of panel model dichotomized into its short-run analyses and long-run situation fashion and covering the periods 2000-2009. Our findings suggest that, given the short-run condition, none of the features of internal control system of corporate firms really affect the effectiveness of corporate firms in Nigeria while estimates obtained from the long-run situation indicate that board size and management ownership significantly affect the effectiveness of audit committee in Nigeria with board composition, leverage position of firms, profitability and shareholding positively but insignificantly impact (positive influence) on audit committees' effectiveness. Thereby, the effect of internal control system of firms and audit committees' effectiveness can be seen as a long-run phenomenon in Nigeria. Stemming from these outcomes, this study proffers sound corporate governance, good governance, stable macroeconomic policies and appropriate audit committee's composition as necessary policy suggestions.

The board of directors is an important entity in a company, creating a link between shareholders and managers and therefore playing an important role in the governance of a firm. This study focuses on board structure and the extent of the corporate governance statement disclosure. This study found that the size of the corporate board does have some influence on the extent of the corporate governance statement disclosure. It is quite surprising to find that the rest of the variables involving the board structure do not have any association with the extent of corporate governance statement.

Every country has its own business environment, just as every organization has its own set culture and business surroundings. While undertaking a business locally or abroad, the managers or CEOs of the organizations have to account for and consider all the external and internal as well as macro and microeconomic factors, which are likely to contribute to the success or failure of the business. This paper examine the factors that responsible for improving or hampering the competitiveness of business operations with the use of SWOT analysis to judge their vulnerability of success or failure against those factors.

Back cover text: This book aims to enlarge the understanding of decision-making on mega-projects and suggest recommendations for a more effective, efficient and democratic approach. Authors from different scientific disciplines address various aspects of the decision-making process, such as management characteristics and cost-benefit analysis, planning and innovation and competition and institutions. The subject matter is highly diverse, but certain questions remain at the forefront. For example, how do we deal with protracted preparation processes, how do we tackle risks and uncertainties, and how can we best divide the risks and responsibilities among the private and public players throughout the different phases of the project? - Presenting a state-of-the-art overview, based on experiences and visions of authors from Europe and North America, this unique book will be of interest to practitioners of large-scale project management, politicians, public officials and private organisations involved in mega-project decision-making. It will also appeal to researchers, consultants and students dealing with substantial engineering projects, complex systems, project management and transport infrastructure.

This paper focuses on problems and their causes and cures in policy and planning for large infrastructure projects. First, it identifies as the main problem in major infrastructure development pervasive misinformation about the costs, benefits, and risks involved. A consequence of misinformation is massive cost overruns, benefit shortfalls, and waste. Second, the paper explores the causes of misinformation and finds that political-economic explanations best account for the available evidence: planners and promoters deliberately misrepresent costs, benefits, and risks in order to increase the likelihood that it is their projects, and not the competition's, that gain approval and funding. This results in the "survival of the unfittest," where often it is not the best projects that are built, but the most misrepresented ones. Finally, the paper presents measures for reforming policy and planning for large infrastructure projects, with a focus on better planning methods and changed governance structures, the latter being more important.

The studies on ownership structure provides us with several testable hypothesis as well as empirical evidence from different countries. The study describes the main characteristics of ownership identities of the Turkish manufacturing companies listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) and examines the impact of ownership identity on performance. The identity of the owners has implications for their objectives and the way exercise their power, and this is reflected in company strategy. A multinomial logit model has been developed to study the effects of different ownership identities on the selection of performance measurements. The model is then applied to explain the performance of ownership structure in manufacturing companies in Turkey. types of ownership, multinomial logit regression  Kesikli Seçim Modelleri

Risk, including economic risk, is increasingly a concern for public policy and management. The possibility of dealing effectively with risk is hampered, however, by lack of a sound empirical basis for risk assessment and management. This article demonstrates the general point for cost and demand risks in urban rail projects. The article presents empirical evidence that allow valid economic risk assessment and management of urban rail projects, including benchmarking of individual or groups of projects. Benchmarking of the Copenhagen Metro is presented as a case in point. The approach developed is proposed as a model for other types of policies and projects in order to improve economic and financial risk assessment and management in policy and planning.

Out-of-control information technology (IT) projects have ended the careers of top managers, such as EADS CEO Noël Forgeard and Levi Strauss’ CIO David Bergen. Moreover, IT projects have brought down whole companies, like Kmart in the US and Auto Windscreen in the UK. Software and other IT is now such an integral part of most business processes and products that CEOs must know their IT risks, which are typically substantial – and overlooked. The analysis of a sample of 1,471 IT projects showed that the average cost overrun was 27% — but that figure masks a far more alarming “fat tail” risk.  Fully one in six of the projects in the sample was a Black Swan, with a cost overrun of 200%, on average, and a schedule overrun of almost 70%. This highlights the true pitfall of IT change initiatives: It’s not that they’re particularly prone to high cost overruns on average – it is that there are a disproportionate number of Black Swans. By focusing on averages instead of the more damaging outliers, most managers and consultants have been missing the real risk in doing IT. In conclusion, the article outlines ideas as to what can be done to avoid Black Swans.

2008. 352 pp. r150.00 (hardcover). This volume is intended to explain why major investment projects (the so-called mega-projects) often are not completed on time and cost more than originally budgeted. Drawing from experiences of European and North American countries, the book also suggests ways to avoid such failures. Although the topic is rather specific, the book is worth reading for both experts and nonexperts as infrastructure development continues to be a major key to economic expansion across the globe.g row_486 380.. 408 For those who only have a vague idea of what a mega-project is, the book begins by introducing the topic and reviewing the most important recent literature. The first part of the volume, then, provides numerous insights on the complexity of mega-projects, starting from the large number of reasons why mega-projects might fail. For example, the project might be "underdesigned," thus less costly but less robust to unforeseen developments, or it might be "overdesigned," when a large number of weaknesses and possible problems are considered in advance, and solutions are evaluated before the problem actually occurs. Overdesigned projects are more robust, less likely to fail, but are much more costly. The project might involve the use of innovative technologies that have never been applied to a similar context, and that involve more uncertain implementation costs and results. Most projects have an impact on the environment and might face opposition for example from environmentalist groups. If representative of these groups have not been directly involved in the design of the project, they might try to stop it, thus causing delays and increasing costs. Finally, because of incorrect predictions of 380 GROWTH AND CHANGE, JUNE 2009

We investigated the extent to which the personalities of New Zealand Chief Executive Officers (NZ CEOs) are similar to or different from a normal adult working population, whether they were more homogeneous than the norm, and whether there were meaningful differences among CEOs. With a sample (N ϭ 151) of CEOs and CEO aspirants we show that CEOs are significantly and meaningfully different from a normal population on measures of "bright side" style, "dark side" derailers, and "inside" values. Specifically, NZ CEOs are more stable and composed, much more competitive and ambitious, outgoing, and oriented to formal learning. These characteristics are confirmed in measures of derailers and values. We also identified significant homogeneity. Finally, we classified the CEO cohort into three meaningfully distinct "subtribes." Implications for the selection, development, and coaching of CEOs are discussed, along with the study's limitations and suggestions for ongoing research.

This paper focuses on problems and their causes and cures in policy and planning for large-infrastructure projects. First, it identifies as the main problem in major infrastructure developments pervasive misinformation about the costs, benefits, and risks involved. A consequence of misinformation is cost overruns, benefit shortfalls, and waste. Second, it explores the causes of misinformation and finds that political-economic explanations best account for the available evidence: planners and promoters deliberately misrepresent costs, benefits, and risks in order to increase the likelihood that it is their projects, and not those of their competition, that gain approval and funding. This results in the ‘survival of the unfittest’, in which often it is not the best projects that are built, but the most misrepresented ones. Finally, it presents measures for reforming policy and planning for large-infrastructure projects with a focus on better planning methods and changed governance structures, the latter being more important.

A major source of risk in project management is inaccurate forecasts of project costs, demand, and other impacts. The paper presents a promising new approach to mitigating such risk, based on theories of decision making under uncertainty which won the 2002 Nobel prize in economics. First, the paper documents inaccuracy and risk in project management. Second, it explains inaccuracy in terms of optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation. Third, the theoretical basis is presented for a promising new method called "reference class forecasting," which achieves accuracy by basing forecasts on actual performance in a reference class of comparable projects and thereby bypassing both optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation. Fourth, the paper presents the first instance of practical reference class forecasting, which concerns cost forecasts for large transportation infrastructure projects. Finally, potentials for and barriers to reference class forecasting are assessed.

Dan Lovallo and Daniel Kahneman must be commended for their clear identification of causes and cures to the planning fallacy in “Delusions of Success: How Optimism Undermines Executives’ Decisions” (July 2003). Their look at overoptimism, anchoring, competitor neglect, and the outside view in forecasting is highly useful to executives and forecasters. However, Lovallo and Kahneman underrate one source of bias in forecasting—the deliberate “cooking” of forecasts to get ventures started. My colleagues and I call this the Machiavelli factor.

Results from the first statistically significant study of the causes of cost escalation in transport infrastructure projects are presented. The study is based on a sample of 258 rail, bridge, tunnel and road projects worth US$90 billion. The focus is on the dependence of cost escalation on: (1) the length of the project‐implementation phase, (2) the size of the project and (3) the type of project ownership. First, it was found, with very high statistical significance, that cost escalation was strongly dependent on the length of the implementation phase. The policy implications are clear: decision‐makers and planners should be highly concerned about delays and long implementation phases because they translate into risks of substantial cost escalations. Second, projects have grown larger over time, and for bridges and tunnels larger projects have larger percentage cost escalations. Finally, by comparing the cost escalation for three types of project ownership - private, state‐owned enterprise and other public ownership - it was shown that the oft‐seen claim that public ownership is problematic and private ownership effective in curbing cost escalation is an oversimplification. The type of accountability appears to matter more to cost escalation than type of ownership.

This paper explores how theories of the planning fallacy and the outside view may be used to conduct quality control and due diligence in project management. First, a much-neglected issue in project management is identified, namely that the front-end estimates of costs and benefits – used in the business cases, cost-benefit analyses, and social and environmental impact assessments that typically support decisions on projects – are typically significantly different from actual ex post costs and benefits, and are therefore poor predictors of the actual value and viability of projects. Second, it is discussed how Kahneman and Tversky’s theories of the planning fallacy and the outside view may help explain and remedy this situation through quality control of decisions. Third, it is described what quality control and due diligence are in the context of project management, and an eight-step procedure is outlined for due diligence based on the outside view. Fourth, the procedure is tested on a real-life, multibillion-dollar project, organized as a public-private partnership. Finally, Akerlof and Shiller’s recent discussion in economics of “firing the forecaster” is discussed together with its relevance to project management. In sum, the paper demonstrates the need, the theoretical basis, a practical methodology, and a real-life example for how to de-bias project management using quality control and due diligence based on the outside view.

Računovodsko-finančno poslovanje zajema velike količine različnih digitalnih dokumentov, ki bodo obravnavani v tej nalogi. Pozornost bo namenjena potencialnim skritim podatkom (metapodatki), ki jih ti dokumenti nosijo in možna tveganja, ki jih ti podatki prinesejo uporabniku in njegovim avtorjem. Ker je danes poslovanje zelo digitalizirano je to zelo pomembna tematika za celotno organizacijo in predvsem za uporabo finančno-računovodske forenzike, ki je tako ob pomoči računalniške forenzike lahko še bolj učinkovita. Naloga je razdeljena v štiri dele, pregled literature o računalniški forenziki za uporabo v finančno-računovodski forenziki, nadaljevanje z razumevanjem kaj metapodatki so, metapodatki po posameznih oblikah dokumentov, ki se uporabljajo v poslovanju in še zaključek z komentarjem.

Computer Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques (CAATTs) are not new for auditors, and it needs to be adopted to gain the audit efficiency and effectiveness especially in a current era of technology. This paper examined the implementation of CAATTs by internal auditors in the public sector. Accordingly, this research reports the results from 12 interviews made with internal audit departments in public sector in both federal and state level in Malaysia. This research found that the implementation of CAATTs by internal auditors in public sector is still low due to lack of expertise, high implementation and maintenance cost, limited access of auditee's data, and most of them prefer to conduct the audit manually. Furthermore, it is not mandatory for them to use CAATTs. The evidence is a contrast with the encouragement made by the government to improve the IT usage in public sector. The results implied that training for future auditors in CAATTs to ensure the successful implementation is crucial. For CAATTs to be a success, the head of internal audit also must have the awareness about the importance of CAATTs as well as enforcement of its implementation.

The relation between ownership concentration and firm performance has attracted much interest, yet yielded many inconsistent empirical results. It is still not known that whether there exists a common population correlation between ownership concentration and firm performance in countries with similar ownership structures and institutional environments, and what contribute to the conflicting empirical findings. Using meta-analysis, we construct a comprehensive database of 313 correlations and their corresponding study characteristics obtained from 27 primary studies, which investigate the relation between ownership concentration and firm performance in emerging markets. We first assess whether there is a homogeneous ownership concentration-performance correlation, and then use meta-regressions to investigate factors that may moderate the correlation.

This study presents evidence on practicing auditors’ perceptions
of and competencies in applying big data and data
analytics to audit engagements. An electronic questionnaire
distributed to accountants shows that auditors have good
information technology skills and are well-acquainted with
big data and data analytics. However, they lack relevant
technical skills and are unfamiliar with related data analysis
tools, excluding Excel. The results reveal 64.71% of accountants
have not attended any training on big data and data
analytics, while 31.37% plan to enhance related knowledge.
Auditors need to obtain training on substantive audit risk
assessments using big data and data analytics.

Abstract:
Differences in employee overall job satisfaction between public and private sector organizations have long been a topic of organizational academic debate. This study looks at the differences and the relationships between organizational characteristics and employee overall satisfaction between the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and the Non-State-Owned Enterprises (Non-SOEs) in Vietnam. The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to examine the differences in organizational characteristics in 7 components including purposes, structure, leadership, relationships, rewards, helpful mechanisms, and attitude toward change; 2) to examine the differences in employee overall satisfaction; and 3) to explore the relationship between organizational characteristics and employee overall satisfaction between the two sectors. The sample includes 20 SOEs and 20 Non-SOEs with a total of 860 employees. The findings empirically reinforce existing organization behavior literature: employee satisfaction is to some extent shaped by the settings of their organizations. Limitations and future research opportunities are also identified.

Keywords: Organizational characteristics, employee satisfaction, state-owned enterprises, Vietnam

We explore the implications of trade liberalization in economies with State Owned enterprises (SOEs) both theoretically and through simulation analysis. SOEs are modelled as controlled by the members of the enterprise who determine output and effort levels, while facing output prices and wage rates set by government. Enterprise members must collectively meet a budget constraint that the value of sales equals the enterprise wage bill plus an exogenous enterprise commitment to the state budget. Labour can shirk either through low on the job effort (leisure), or through moonlighting to second jobs in the private sector. Three alternative formulations of equilibria in SOE economies are explored, and in these trade liberalization can produce effects opposite from conventional competitive models. In particular, the output of import competing SOEs increases rather than falls, and negative effects on imports can also occur. We also explore the implications of these models using data on Vietnam. Firm empirical estimates are not available for all model parameters, but when calibrated to 1995 data for Vietnam these models suggest quantitatively much larger impacts from trade liberalization than is the case for comparable conventional competitive models. This is because departures from Pareto optimality in SOE economies can be large and trade liberalization acts to discipline shirking associated with these inefficiencies. The implication we draw from our analyses is that to evaluate policy initiatives, such as trade liberalization, in developing and transition economies without explicitly recognizing the role that SOEs can play may be misleading. This is especially the case where SOEs account for a significant fraction of economic activity and shirking occurs.

This paper analyses the relationship between information technology use (IT) and competitive advantage. Previous empirical research shows that IT improves competitive advantage when it acts together with some human or managerial resources of an intangible nature. In this work we propose a new complementary resource to IT: democratic ownership structure. We empirically analyse whether ownership structure and IT have a