Maria Krambia-Kapardis

Corporate social responsibility: the way forward? Maybe not!

Purpose – The paper seeks to consider the findings that emerged from a preliminary study into Cypriot businesses and their attitudes and behaviour towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). The overarching aim of the discussion is to explore whether Cypriot businesses have realized the opportunity of using CSR to build a strong reputation, a practice “embraced” and adopted by many successful and profitable corporations, or whether they ignore their social responsibilities and do it at their peril.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 4,000 questionnaires were given to the Employers Federation in Cyprus to mail to its members. Two issues were addressed: one dealing with philanthropic and the other with the stewardship CSR projects, covering social responsibility not only towards customers and society at large but also towards employees, suppliers, investors, and the environment.Findings – It appears that local corporations primarily emphasize the importance of meeting their responsibilities and obli...

The Implementation of Corporate Governance Principles in an Emerging Economy: A Critique of the Situation in Cyprus

When the Cyprus economy was booming in the 1990s, key issues emanating from sound corporate governance, such as accountability, transparency and effective independent boards were not deemed important. However, largely as a result of the Cyprus stock exchange collapse of 2000, this view changed. In September 2002, due to the collapse, the Cyprus Stock Exchange implemented a Corporate Governance Code predicated largely on Anglo-Saxon principles of corporate governance. Copyright (c) 2006 The Authors; Journal compilation (c) 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Y-ers, X-ers and Boomers: Investigating the multigenerational (mis)perceptions in the hospitality workplace

Today’s hospitality workforce is more diverse than ever with the symbiotic co-existence of three different generations; Generation Y, Generation X and Baby Boomers. This co-existence poses numerous challenges for an industry that strives to achieve inter-generational comfort, thus avoiding conflict, an impediment to the effectiveness of even its most sophisticated organizations. Adopting a quantitative methodology, this article explores the occupational similarities and differences of the three prevailing generations, currently active in the diverse hospitality workplace, as well as investigating how each generation cohort is perceived by its own members in comparison to members of other generations. Findings, which provide invaluable insights of interest to hospitality stakeholders, confirm the vast perceptual inter-generational differences within a plethora of work-related issues.

A fraud detection model: A must for auditors

This paper addresses a fundamental issue in financial regulation ‐ that of the auditor’s ability to detect material irregularities. If an auditor is to detect irregularities he/she must also be cognisant of fraud aetiology by drawing on such other disciplines as psychology, criminology and sociology. The paper first provides a critique of existing fraud aetiology models and then describes the ROP Fraud Risk‐Assessment Model constructed by the author in a study of convicted serious fraud offenders in Australia. The main concern of the paper is with the eclectic fraud detection model (EFD), of which the ROP model is a component. The EFD model is aimed at enhancing the auditor’s fraud detection ability, it has been constructed by the author and its utility successfully tested in Australia in a survey of auditors. Finally, the policy implications for auditors of the findings obtained are also considered.

Hospitality industry in Cyprus: the significance of intangibles

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to provide companies in the hotel and tourism industry with an alternative reporting method to the traditional financial reporting.Design/methodology/approach – ValueReporting™ is a framework developed and tested in 16 other industries by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Its ambition is to codify the information perceived to be critical by CFOs and the investment community for understanding the quality and sustainability of performance of a company in a given industrial sector. Given that the hotel and tourism industry is one on which the economy of Cyprus depends (in 2003 it was 13.9 per cent of GDP) and is one that has been going through a sustainability crisis, it was decided to develop the framework for this sector and to recommend it to executives as a method of mitigating this current lack of confidence. The study was tested on financial statement users (analysts, investors and regulators) and executives.Findings – The findings identified that users wish to understan...

Neural networks: the panacea in fraud detection?

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to test the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) as a tool in fraud detection. Design/methodology/approach - Following a review of the relevant literature on fraud detection by auditors, the authors developed a questionnaire which they distributed to auditors attending a fraud detection seminar. The questionnaire was then used to develop seven ANNs to test the usage of these models in fraud detection. Findings - Utilizing exogenous and endogenous factors as input variables to ANNs and in developing seven different models, an average of 90 per cent accuracy was found in the fraud detection prediction model. It has, therefore, been demonstrated that ANNs can be used by auditors to identify fraud-prone companies. Originality/value - Whilst previous researchers have looked at empirical predictors of fraud, fraud risk assessment methods and mechanically fraud risk assessment methods, no other research has combined both exogenous and endogenous factors in developing ANNs to be used in fraud detection. Thus, auditors can use ANNs as complementary to other techniques at the planning stage of their audit to predict if a particular audit client is likely to have been victimized by a fraudster.

Uncharted Territory: Investigating Individual Business Ethics in Cyprus

The research purpose of the study is to investigate and identify correlates of ethical behaviour and attitudes of individuals currently working or pursuing a business-related graduate degree in Cyprus. Analysis of the quantitative questionnaire revealed that the majority of the respondents had a concept of ethical behaviour, consider ethics important, and hold attitudes that are conducive to ethical behaviour in business. In addition, findings revealed significant differences in three correlates: age, gender and position. Finally, reflecting the findings, the authors suggest specific actions that aim to improve ethical decision making in the Cyprus business environment.

Audit quality attributes of European Union supreme audit institutions

Purpose – To examine the enabling legislation of European Union (EU) member country supreme audit institutions (SAIs) for their accountability to parliament and independence from the executive arm of government.Design/methodology/approach – The sample comprises the SAIs of the 25 EU member countries and the European Court of Auditors. Data were collected on 30 accountability and independence issues directly from the enabling legislation of these SAIs.Findings – Results indicate that apart from a number of instances where the enabling legislation is silent, provisions generally provide for adequate independence of the SAIs from the executive arm of government. On the other hand, the provisions for the accountability of the SAIs to parliament are somewhat weaker.Research limitations/implications – If actual practice or convention does not reflect the literal interpretation and application of the enabling legislation, then SAIs may have more or less independence and/or accountability than suggested by the an...

Investigating incidents of fraud in small economies: the case for Cyprus

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and types of fraud victimization in small economies or specific industries in such economies. In addition, the paper identifies the state of the art in a small economy and considers policy implications.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on an extensive literature review, a questionnaire was developed, pilot tested and administered to individuals working in 600 randomly selected organizations in Cyprus. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the collected data and address the postulated research questions.Findings – It is found that no industry or size of company is immune from fraud. Whilst executives are well aware of fraud, they do not seem to be able to prevent it in their organizations since 85.8 percent are victimized in the last five years. The deterrent impact/effect of both the code of conduct and the audit committee has been investigated. In addition, findings revealed the types of fraud least tolera...

Personal Values of Accountants and Accounting Trainees in Cyprus

Accountants are neither devoid of ethical dilemmas nor are they immune from financial scandals. In order to improve the credibility of the profession, it is important to study the personal values that qualified and trainee accountants consider important. Using Maccobys instrument, which measures head and heart values, qualified accountants (chartered and certified) and trainee accountants were surveyed for the first time in a European Union member country (Cyprus) to ascertain their character ethical traits/personal values. Accountants were found to value head more than heart traits and there were no gender differences. For male respondents, age and years of professional experience were significant correlates of the importance attributed to head traits, while having religious beliefs was associated with valuing heart traits more. Finally, the implications for accounting education and the professional bodies are considered.