title: Are Attributes of Corporate Governance Related to the Incidence of Fraudulent Financial Reporting

authors: Bourke, Nicola Margaret

subjects: Fraud

abstract: This study investigates whether a relationship exists between fraudulent financial reporting and a variety of corporate governance attributes.  Numerous high profile accounting scandals perpetuated over recent years have brought prominence to the corporate governance structure employed by US public companies.  Many of these scandals involved manipulation of the financial reporting process by high level managers.  It is therefore thought that a lack of effective oversight provided by the governing bodies engaged to monitor the actions of management may be at the heart of the problem.

A review of prior research is used to identify the attributes of corporate governance relevant for inclusion in this study and to provide support for the posing of twenty directional hypotheses.  The selected corporate governance attributes are classified into four broad categories depicting Audit Committee Functionality, Board of Director Composition, Ownership Structure, and External Auditor Factors.  A matched pair research design is utilised to determine whether significant differences exist between the corporate governance attributes employed by fraud and non-fraud companies.  A sample of 76 fraud companies, identified through an examination of Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases issued by the Securities Exchange Commission and drawn from a total of 223 companies examined, are tested along with an industry-size matched sample of non-fraud companies.  The results of univariate paired t-tests and a conditional logistic regression equation find that statistically significant relationships do exist between a number of corporate governance attributes and fraudulent financial reporting.  Specifically, the study finds that the percentage of independent directors on a company's board, the existence of a nominating committee, and the engaging of a Big6 auditor are negatively related to the incidence of fraud.  Whereas, the average number of directorships held by audit committee members, the duality of the CEO and Chairman of the Board positions, and the percentage of company ownership held by outside blockholders are positively related to the incidence of fraudulent financial reporting.

text: Are Attributes of Corporate Governance Related to the Incidence of Fraudulent Financial Reporting This study investigates whether a relationship exists between fraudulent financial reporting and a variety of corporate governance attributes.  Numerous high profile accounting scandals perpetuated over recent years have brought prominence to the corporate governance structure employed by US public companies.  Many of these scandals involved manipulation of the financial reporting process by high level managers.  It is therefore thought that a lack of effective oversight provided by the governing bodies engaged to monitor the actions of management may be at the heart of the problem.

A review of prior research is used to identify the attributes of corporate governance relevant for inclusion in this study and to provide support for the posing of twenty directional hypotheses.  The selected corporate governance attributes are classified into four broad categories depicting Audit Committee Functionality, Board of Director Composition, Ownership Structure, and External Auditor Factors.  A matched pair research design is utilised to determine whether significant differences exist between the corporate governance attributes employed by fraud and non-fraud companies.  A sample of 76 fraud companies, identified through an examination of Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases issued by the Securities Exchange Commission and drawn from a total of 223 companies examined, are tested along with an industry-size matched sample of non-fraud companies.  The results of univariate paired t-tests and a conditional logistic regression equation find that statistically significant relationships do exist between a number of corporate governance attributes and fraudulent financial reporting.  Specifically, the study finds that the percentage of independent directors on a company's board, the existence of a nominating committee, and the engaging of a Big6 auditor are negatively related to the incidence of fraud.  Whereas, the average number of directorships held by audit committee members, the duality of the CEO and Chairman of the Board positions, and the percentage of company ownership held by outside blockholders are positively related to the incidence of fraudulent financial reporting.

year: 2007

title: Living at the cutting edge: Women's experiences of protection orders. Volume 1: The women's stories

authors: Robertson, Neville

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: This report examines the experiences of 43 Māori, Pakeha, Pasifika and other ethnic minority women who were victims of male partner violence, the impact of the violence on them and their children, and their experiences of the justice system when they reached out for protection. The objectives of the project were to:
a.identify and describe the experiences of a sample of women in obtaining protection orders, the impact of protection orders and the response to breaches of protection orders;
b.identify those aspects that are working well (that is, positive experiences of protection orders); and
c.identify areas for improvement including barriers that prevent women from applying for and obtaining protection orders.

text: Living at the cutting edge: Women's experiences of protection orders. Volume 1: The women's stories This report examines the experiences of 43 Māori, Pakeha, Pasifika and other ethnic minority women who were victims of male partner violence, the impact of the violence on them and their children, and their experiences of the justice system when they reached out for protection. The objectives of the project were to:
a.identify and describe the experiences of a sample of women in obtaining protection orders, the impact of protection orders and the response to breaches of protection orders;
b.identify those aspects that are working well (that is, positive experiences of protection orders); and
c.identify areas for improvement including barriers that prevent women from applying for and obtaining protection orders.

year: 2007-08-01

title: Rock-a-bye Baby: Infant care and parenting around sleep

authors: Jones, Horiana Majorie

subjects: Infant Sleep

abstract: This research is a part of a wider international study which explores infant sleep amongst various ethnicities and cultures. This study has explored infant sleep practices in New Zealand, with a specific focus on Māori child rearing practices. This study aimed to firstly, explore what techniques Māori parents use to get their ppi to sleep (2 months- 2 years of age). Secondly, this study aimed to understand the various factors that influence parents’ decisions to use their particular method e.g. Parent assisted approaches (rocking, co-sleeping, bed sharing breastfeeding to sleep), or self-soothing infant sleep methods (cry it out, controlled comforting). Mixed methods were used to collect the data for this study. Overall, 562 primary caregivers/parents completed the survey component of this study with 11 percent identifying as Māori. A further 10 were taken from the survey sample and participated in face to face interviews.  
The results show that parent assisted techniques such as rocking, lying down with baby, and feeding to sleep were the most practiced approach to infant sleep for Māori whanau across the survey and interview findings. Participants within the interview study that used parent assisted techniques to initiate infant sleep were also more likely to bed-share with their babies. Self- soothing techniques such as controlled comforting and cry it out were practiced by a number of parents within the survey and interview groups The findings from this study suggest that a number of different factors influence parenting style. Survey data found that culture, books, magazines, online material and advice from family were the most influential factors in parenting styles. The interviews findings suggest that the convenience of an approach, whanau influence, being a parent of more than one child, environmental factors, healthcare recommendations, safety and culture all influenced aspects of their approaches to infant sleep.

text: Rock-a-bye Baby: Infant care and parenting around sleep This research is a part of a wider international study which explores infant sleep amongst various ethnicities and cultures. This study has explored infant sleep practices in New Zealand, with a specific focus on Māori child rearing practices. This study aimed to firstly, explore what techniques Māori parents use to get their ppi to sleep (2 months- 2 years of age). Secondly, this study aimed to understand the various factors that influence parents’ decisions to use their particular method e.g. Parent assisted approaches (rocking, co-sleeping, bed sharing breastfeeding to sleep), or self-soothing infant sleep methods (cry it out, controlled comforting). Mixed methods were used to collect the data for this study. Overall, 562 primary caregivers/parents completed the survey component of this study with 11 percent identifying as Māori. A further 10 were taken from the survey sample and participated in face to face interviews.  
The results show that parent assisted techniques such as rocking, lying down with baby, and feeding to sleep were the most practiced approach to infant sleep for Māori whanau across the survey and interview findings. Participants within the interview study that used parent assisted techniques to initiate infant sleep were also more likely to bed-share with their babies. Self- soothing techniques such as controlled comforting and cry it out were practiced by a number of parents within the survey and interview groups The findings from this study suggest that a number of different factors influence parenting style. Survey data found that culture, books, magazines, online material and advice from family were the most influential factors in parenting styles. The interviews findings suggest that the convenience of an approach, whanau influence, being a parent of more than one child, environmental factors, healthcare recommendations, safety and culture all influenced aspects of their approaches to infant sleep.

year: 2017