Accounting and finance for business 2022: Towards sustainability: 13th international scientific conference
Item type:Publication, conference paper[2022][T1e][S004][1]; Accounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts, November 10th–11th, 2022 = Apskaita ir finansai verslui 2022 : darnumo link : 13-osios tarptautinės mokslinės konferencijos programa ir santraukos, 2022 m. lapkričio 10-11 d., p. 21-21Scandinavia is recognised as a global leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. Morsing and Strand (2013) pointed out that there exists an important research agenda to be further explored: what is Scandinavia doing about CSR and what is CSR doing for Scandinavia? There are many findings around the world on the relationship between CSR and various financial indicators. However, the impact of CSR on the cost of debt capital in Scandinavian public companies is still underexplored. Regression analysis, Fisher, VIF, and Bonferroni tests were applied in the research. Social responsibility scores, cost of debt, and control variables were taken from the Bloomberg database. The data were processed with R programming language. The empirical findings revealed that the average ESG disclosure score of Scandinavian public companies is 43.0, Environment Pillar Score, Social Pillar Score, and Governance Pillar Score – 34.3, 34.5, and 58.1 accordingly (range is 0-100). Moreover, all these CSR scores were increasing over time with the exception of the Social Pillar Score which dropped significantly in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started. The average cost of debt in the companies with CSR disclosure is approximately twice as low (4.69%) as in the companies without CSR disclosure (9.11%). In addition, the standard deviation of the cost of debt is significantly higher in companies without CSR disclosure. We found that ESG disclosure and all its pillar scores have a statistically significant impact on the cost of debt of Scandinavian public companies. The research results do not change with the time lag, i.e., the variables are not lagged, lagged one year or two years. The research revealed that socially responsible companies are more transparent, disclose more information, and reduce asymmetry which makes them more favorable to creditors. In addition, they also transfer part of their CSR obligations to creditors
40 Item type:Publication, conference paper[2022][T1e][S004][1]; Accounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts, November 10th–11th, 2022 = Apskaita ir finansai verslui 2022 : darnumo link : 13-osios tarptautinės mokslinės konferencijos programa ir santraukos, 2022 m. lapkričio 10-11 d, p. 38-38The research problem is based on the increasing global environmental pollution, the reduction of the natural potential of countries, and the importance of exploration of effective measures for the solution of these issues. Scientists identify environmental taxes as one of the most effective means to solve this problem. Agriculture is one of the economic activities that may be influenced by environmental taxes. The literature analysis has suggested that the researchers have different approaches toward the functions of environmental taxes and their opportunities to contribute to solving environmental problems. The research aim is to theoretically substantiate the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and limitations of the application of environmental taxes in agriculture. Based on the analysis conducted, the present research identifies the environmental tax practices by identifying the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and limitations of the application. The following theoretical methods were used in order to substantiate the problem’s relevance: scientific literature analysis, comparative analysis, systemic analysis, generalization analysis, and other common research methods. The research described herein was conducted by Lithuanian and foreign researchers and published in peer-reviewed and international databases, such as WOS, and Scopus, which were analysed. The main opportunities are: environmental taxes in agriculture can contribute to the mitigation of the climate change consequences and to the implementation of the European Green Deal goals, contribute to a fairer tax burden after the environmental tax reform is implemented, create the possibility to reduce the tax burden on the business entities that reduce the environmental pollution. The main limitations are: fair tax burden may become distorted due to the complexity of identification of the impact, and may lead to the relocation of high-polluting businesses to countries with lower environmental tax rates or without any environmental taxes
23 Item type:Publication, [Accounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts]book[2022][K5][S004][40]; ; Kaunas : Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas, 2022211 34 Item type:Publication, conference paper[2022][T1e][S004][1]; Accounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts, November 10th–11th, 2022 = Apskaita ir finansai verslui 2022 : darnumo link : 13-osios tarptautinės mokslinės konferencijos programa ir santraukos, 2022 m. lapkričio 10-11 d, p. 36-36Previous studies into the sustainability assessment of agriculture business suggests different accounting metrics. The accounting metrics differs of the sustainability disclosure purposes. In the large agricultural entities, the main principles of sustainability disclosure towards the interests of investors. The high-quality information of sustainability is necessary for financial decision making. In the case of micro and small agricultural entities, the sustainability information is necessary not only for financial decisions, but also to ensure interests of rural communities and society. New aspects of sustainability disclosure are related with the goals of the European Green Deal. This study was carried out according to a project of the Ministry of Agriculture of Lithuania, where the task is to determine the criteria of sustainability of the agriculture production at the entity level, and to prepare an evaluation and control system. Here is still not clear what accounting metrics is suitable for agriculture entities, as previous studies suggest contradictory accounting metrics. The aim of this study is suggesting the accounting metrics for sustainability disclosure of the agriculture production, which also let to measure the level of sustainability. To address this, the scientific literature and good practices were analysed. The authors find large variation of accounting metrics for sustainability disclosure of the agriculture production. After the examining the details of accounting metrics, the authors suggested the accounting metrics for sustainability disclosure including environment, economic, social and management dimension. In each dimension were suggested three types of accounting metrics for sustainability disclosures – basic, additional, and recommended accounting metrics
17 - conference paper[2022][T1e][S004][1]
; ; Accounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts, November 10th–11th, 2022 = Apskaita ir finansai verslui 2022 : darnumo link : 13-osios tarptautinės mokslinės konferencijos programa ir santraukos, 2022 m. lapkričio 10-11 d, p. 27-27The various activities carried out to provide the services play an important role in the transfer pricing of intra-group services. The level of accuracy and reasonableness of the transfer pricing of services will depend on the correctness of the costs allocated to these activities. One of the most important criteria for allocating costs is time as significant amount of the resources consumed in the provision of accounting services are human resources, for which the demand is influenced by the time required to perform the activities. This study aims to develop a transfer pricing model for the provision of accounting services within companies, which considers the variation in workflows and the changes in the time required to perform accounting procedures. The study was carried out using the methods of analysis, systematization, comparison and generalization of scientific literature and legal acts, as well as the methods of analysis of the company's activity processes, data collection, calculation, comparison, assessment of the time required to perform the provided intra-group accounting services, and data summarization and interview methods. The study found that the implementation of the transfer pricing model based on the TD ABC cost accounting system in an accounting services company makes the price of the services provided more reasonable based on the estimated volumes of work carried out; creates more transparency and objectivity in determination of pricing for different service recipients; and improves the efficiency of the management of the resources by determining their actual use. All of this reduces the risk of losses. Applying the TD ABC cost accounting-based transfer pricing model to the selected company and linking the price of services to the volume of activities performed not only improves the company's financial performance, but also the efficiency and reasonableness of transfer pricing decisions. This study complements previous studies on transfer pricing
19 Item type:Publication, conference paper[2022][T1e][S004][1]Accounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts, November 10th–11th, 2022 = Apskaita ir finansai verslui 2022 : darnumo link : 13-osios tarptautinės mokslinės konferencijos programa ir santraukos, 2022 m. lapkričio 10-11 d, p. 24-24Assessment of family farm characteristics and identification of the type of sustainable economic development is relevant as it enables the identification of the typological parameters that prevail in the farm groups. It can contribute to appropriate decision-making processes in relation to governance in order to support sustainable farming. The aim behind the assessment of family farm characteristics and identification of the type of sustainable economic development is to empirically identify the family farms in Lithuania by the type of sustainable economic development. The types were developed on the basis of the k-means clustering method. The method of descriptive statistics was used to calculate the variables used for establishment of the limits for subsequent determination of the type of family farm. Family farm accounting data for Lithuania were used in the study. The novelty of the study lies in the classification of the nine types of farms by three levels of sustainable economic development and economic efficiency of a farm (FSED-FEE): level I – same FSED-FEE level; level 2 – maximum difference between the FSED-FEE levels; and level 3 – minimal difference between the FSED-FEE levels. They were developed on the basis of the k-means clustering method. The comparative analysis of the three typological groups was conducted with the view towards the identification of the differences between the farm indicators at different level of development – low, medium, or high – of the farms. It also was aimed at identifying the attributes that prevailed at different farm development levels. The conducted empirical study has enabled the identification of the level of sustainability of the farms, comparison of the family farms to each other, and identification of the determinants and reasons thereof. The findings of the study may contribute to improvement of the common agricultural policy as well as the measures for promotion of sustainable development of agriculture
32 - conference paper[2022][T1a][S004][1]
; Accounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts, November 10th–11th, 2022 = Apskaita ir finansai verslui 2022 : darnumo link : 13-osios tarptautinės mokslinės konferencijos programa ir santraukos, 2022 m. lapkričio 10-11 d, p. 35-35This research is dedicated to highlighting the role of green finance in the environmental protection and development of the financial sector. The novelty of the research lies in the developed conceptual framework of the role of green finance in greening the economy. The conceptual framework covers three main elements of the green economy: the real green economy, green finance, and providers of green finance – the green financial sector and public funds. Conceptual framework is developed by applying the methods of content analysis and synthesis, comparison and logical modelling, model as a research design proposed by Jaakkola (2020), system test proposed by Arnold and Wade (2015) and the main features of the conceptual framework presented by Jabareen (2009). The green real economy covers green investment and public policies on greening the economies. The green financial sector and public funds provide financing for the implementation of green investments and the support of public policies. Green finance stands between these two systems. It covers financial tools and instruments that are (i) necessary to finance the green real economy; (ii) supplied by the green financial sector and governments. Matching supply and demand for financing is important for assurance of greening the economy and reaching the main goals related to environmental protection. The conceptual framework not only presents the role of green finance in greening the economy but also reveals the interconnections between the pool of different concepts. In order to achieve environmental protection goals and to reach the target effectiveness of green investments, we have to overcome a lot of challenges, such as the “greenwashing” phenomenon; pricing, forecasting, and modelling of financial instruments and tools; choosing the best (most efficient or effective) financial instrument or tool; making green finance more attractive for investors; changing the behaviour of investors towards more environmentally friendly, etc.
26 - conference paper[2022][T1e][S004][1]Accounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts, November 10th–11th = Apskaita ir finansai verslui 2022 : darnumo link : 13-osios tarptautinės mokslinės konferencijos programa ir santraukos, 2022 m. lapkričio 10-11 d., p. 22-22
Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in projects are increasingly gaining acceptance as an alternative to the traditional approaches of project funding based on public sources. Every investor seeks to identify the financial, economic, social, environmental results of investment project before investment starts. Public and private investors could have different expectations from the investment projects. The scientific problem is how to assess PPP projects and combine the public and private interest in assessment methodology? The need to provide high-performance interaction of PPP determines the importance of clarifying methodological approaches to the economic feasibility of projects implemented based on public private partnership by considering possible risks and benefits and methods of its assessment and management. The main goal of this scientific research is to reveal the differences and peculiarities of public, private and public – private partnership investment projects that influence these projects assessment and present the PPP projects assessment indicators and methods. Methods of information comparison, scheme-descriptive representation, generalization, and generation of conclusions have been used to identify the public and private interest and combine them in PPP projects assessment. The research findings allowed us to highlight the uniqueness of PPP projects and select the PPP projects assessment indicators and methods according to different expectations of investors
26 Item type:Publication, conference paper[2022][T1e][S003][1]Accounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts, November 10th–11th, 2022 = Apskaita ir finansai verslui 2022 : darnumo link : 13-osios tarptautinės mokslinės konferencijos programa ir santraukos, 2022 m. lapkričio 10-11 d, p. 23-23Because of the severe health crisis brought on by COVID-19, political unrest, and sanctions, the world's agriculture and other commodity markets are highly unstable and associated with price shocks and increased return volatility. Along with the pandemic-induced uncertainty, these markets are becoming more vulnerable to the steadily growing speculation on major commodity exchanges. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between financial speculation and commodity return volatility before and after the economic outbreak caused by COVID-19. This study focuses on four agricultural commodities: wheat, corn, soybeans, and oats traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange but also uses two commodities traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange: crude oil and gold. The study employs typical methods for time series analysis and the generalized autoregressive heteroscedasticity (GARCH) approach to model return volatility. To measure speculation, several indicators are employed: the ratio of futures contract trade volume to open interest to measure short-run speculation; and to measure long-run speculation, the ratio of non-commercial positions to commercial positions. Several key findings emerge. First, when analyzing the post-2020 period, the destabilizing effects of speculation can only be observed in the crude oil market. Second, long-run speculation is found to reduce volatility while short-run speculation increases it. Finally, among agricultural markets, the effects of speculation are mostly present in the corn market, but they diminish during the post-2020 timeframe. This has important practical implications. As commodity markets provide tools to hedge against price risks for agricultural and other commodity producers, active measures to limit speculation should be taken cautiously to ensure these markets remain sufficiently liquid
38 Item type:Publication, conference paper[2022][T1e][S004][1]; Punda, AleksanderAccounting and finance for business 2022 : towards sustainability : 13th international scientific conference programme and abstracts, November 10th–11th, 2022 = Apskaita ir finansai verslui 2022 : darnumo link : 13-osios tarptautinės mokslinės konferencijos programa ir santraukos, 2022 m. lapkričio 10-11 d., p. 19-19The aim of the study is to determine in which of the compared countries the conditions of sole proprietorship are most favorable and what are the reasons for this phenomenon, mainly from the point of view of economic and taxation realities. The purpose of this study is to analyze the tax solutions adopted in some European countries in order to determine the most favorable jurisdiction for running a sole proprietorship under the indicated assumptions. The authors decided to analyze sole proprietorship only, as it is the most common form of business activity and, at the same time, the most accessible for business people. On the other hand, sole proprietorship is a flexible form of business. It can combine various taxation options with an employment contract (or other contracts). The choice of countries was dictated by the authors' experience and the similarity of economic and legal conditions found in these jurisdictions. The article has the character of a comprehensive analysis, both in theoretical and practical terms, which will undoubtedly determine its readability and usefulness. The article will use comparative and comparative law approach in relation to the legislations of the analyzed jurisdictions. Preliminary research indicates that the most favorable conditions for sole proprietorship are found in Lithuania, however, in order to draw comprehensive conclusions it is also necessary to refer to other aspects that may deviate from the assumptions made
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