Strengthening Auditing and Reporting in the Countries of the Eastern Partnership (STAREP) is a regional program of the Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR).
... See More + The program aims to create a transparent policy environment and effective institutional framework for corporate reporting within the countries that make up the European Union’s Eastern Partnership: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. STAREP’s focus is on the improvement of corporate financial reporting frameworks and their effective implementation. As many countries move towards the adoption of international and regional standards in accounting and auditing, there is a need to ensure high quality, relevant education both for those entering the profession and for ongoing professional development throughout their career. The World Bank’s Accounting and Auditing Education Community of Practice (EduCoP) has enabled shared and peer learning, supporting national efforts to develop accounting and auditing education capacity.
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The case for more women in business leadership seems clear. Research shows that companies with at least one female director have a better share price performance and return on equity, while having a critical mass of at least 30 percent of women in leadership positions has been shown to increase profit margins and improve rates of return on investments.
... See More + The presence of women in business leadership is positively correlated with reduced employee turnover, increased innovation, deeper understanding of customers and markets, improved environmental, social and governance standards, and stronger corporate citizenship. Increasingly, large institutional investors, such as Black Rock, State Street Capital, and Hermes, are prioritizing gender-diverse leadership in their investment decisions, with gender-aware investors controlling billions in institutional investor assets.
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This note focuses on the current debt situation of UZ, the associated risks and ways to manage them. It does not address broader financial sustainability issues and how to finance the investment backlog.
... See More + This is of paramount importance and should be a priority for future work. This note uses an analysis of the available audited financial statements in the January 1, 2014 -June 30, 2018 period to discuss risks and concerns regarding the financial viability of the UZ going forward given the near-critical liquidity situation and widespread solvency concerns in the financial markets. This note suggests some steps for ameliorating the present dire liquidity situation: (i) A clear market opening and corporate restructuring strategy; (ii) detailed review of the asset valuation exercise carried out by reputable asset evaluators; (iii) based on the results of asset revaluation, seek Government consent to sell non-core assets and (iv) seek support in raising substantial investment resources at reasonable cost necessary to carry out the adopted modernization strategy and reach sustainable levels of business operation in the medium-to-longer run (such as increasing the share of current assets by selling non-core fixed assets such as land and buildings). Any sustainable solution going forward, hinges on an open commitment to market opening and deep organizational and management restructuring programs discussed in other policy notes. Given the ownership structure, political and social importance of UZ, and the legal status of the company, this cannot be done without full ownership and support of the government (including the Ministry of Finance). Additionally, given the size of the company and present institutional and governance risks, successful restructuring and changed perception of domestic and international financial markets will critically depend on the credibility of the program.
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While each bank has different approaches and procedures when it comes to issuing loans, there are some practices that are common to most banks.
... See More + The World Bank conducted a survey of commercial banks in Serbia to better understand such practices and found that banks place a very high importance on the quality of the financial information that is provided by companies seeking a loan. Incomplete or low-quality information results in delays, higher costs (meaning higher interest rates and/or fees), or outright rejection. These insights are meant to help SMEs understand how banks make lending decisions, so you can better prepare yourselves for the loan application process and increase your chances of a getting a loan (and at better terms). Keep in mind that small loans with shorter repayment time (called maturity), such as overdrafts, are not likely to require so much information and preparation. But particularly if you want a larger loan, for a longer maturity, these insights could be relevant to you.
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During the 1990s, a new paradigm for power sector organization grew out of the wider Washington Consensus and was spearheaded by the multilateral institutions.
... See More + The actual experience of power sector reform diverged substantially from the theoretical paradigm. The 1990s reform model spread rapidly across both the developed and developing world, yet after 25 years the degree of adoption in developing countries had reached on average about 40 percent versus 80 percent among developed nations. One of the reasons for this divergence is that the original paradigm did not take account of the political dynamics of the reform process. The 1990s reform model drew heavily on economic first principles, with no explicit attention to the political dynamics of the reform process. Regulation has been widely adopted but implementation often falls short; particularly when utilities remain under state ownership. Private sector participation in generation has been relatively successful; despite enduring challenges in terms of planning, procurement, and risk-sharing. Wholesale power markets made a valuable contribution to improving efficiency in the minority of countries that were ready for them; while many others found themselves stuck in the transition. Turning to distribution utilities, good governance practices are found to be strongly associated with better cost recovery and operational efficiency. The 1990s power sector reform model was largely derived from economic principles that were believed to apply universally, independent of context. In practice, numerous preconditions - both economic and political - have emerged as important in shaping the applicability of the approach.
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The board is the most influential decision-making unit of an organization, with responsibilities ranging from making key financial and strategic decisions to choosing the company’s top executive leadership.
... See More + Corporations are increasingly under pressure to ensure diversity within their boardrooms, and many academic research works have reported findings consistent with the view that boards perform better when they include a diverse range of people. Some scholars have described board diversity as a demographic phenomenon entailing age, gender, and ethnicity. There are no specific legal requirements for gender diversity in the Nigerian legal system except for regulations issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the securities and exchange commission (SEC) code of corporate governance, and the 2018 Nigerian code of corporate governance (CCG). This paper focuses on gender diversity more specifically, the dearth of female representation in Nigerian boardrooms.
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