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Sustainable development in accounting

Author(s): Marzena Remlein / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The purpose of this chapter is to present and discuss the essence and importance of accounting in the concept of sustainable development. Considerations are particularly focused on reporting CSR issues. The growing importance of the idea of sustainable development and the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility that arose on its basis, gave rise to the need for accounting systems to develop solutions enabling the provision of information on the methods and results of implementing these concepts in entities operating on the market. The interest in accounting with regard to the area of sustainable development has contributed to the development of vocabulary related to measurement, calculation, disclosure, reporting and verification of information on the activities of units for sustainable development. Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is still largely voluntary and non-standardised. However, there are various international organisations that develop frameworks and voluntary standards for non-financial reporting, the so-called Social Reporting Standards. The most important EU legislative initiative in the field of disclosure concerning environmental, social and corporate governance information is Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and Council from 22 October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity in formation by certain large undertakings and groups. The combination of financial information (financial statements) with non-financial information relating to the environment, society and corporate governance is included in the integrated report. In Poland, the requirement to present non-financial information related to CSR was introduced by the Accounting Act. Polish companies should prepare a separate report—“Statement on nonfinancial information”. In 2017, the Polish Standard of Non-Financial Information (SIN, 2017) was published to help enterprises fulfil their obligations under the EU Directive.

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Corporate Responsibility towards employees – Raben Group

Author(s): Natalia Jankowska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Human capital management in an organisation is one of the key areas of company success and its competitive advantage, particularly in a service company such as Raben (Zając, 2014). As an entity operating in the Transport Forwarding Logistics (TFL) sector, its decisions in the area of human resources management depend on industry factors. This is evidenced, among others, by the structure of employees. The aim of this case study is: first, to draw attention to the problems that companies operating in specific sectors may face. The second goal is to identify their ability to implement the concept of a company responsible to employees. The company strives to take the goals set by the United Nations (SDGs) into account. These include taking care of appropriate employment structure, ensuring employee development, ensuring diversity, caring for work-life balance as well as safety in the workplace, and building relations with external stakeholders. The specificity of the industry in which the presented company operates makes it pursue a number of Sustainable Development Goals—both with regard to employees and in terms of environmental protection. Some need to be adapted accordingly.

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Product life-cycle – problems of product planned obsolescence and fast fashion

Author(s): Magdalena Stefańska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an idea according to which enterprises take responsibility for the effects of their activities and undertake actions aimed at reducing negative effects and improving quality of life of a broadly understood group of stakeholders. In turn, marketing is a concept according to which all activities of enterprises are undertaken with the intention of satisfying consumer needs in the best possible way—by creating and modifying products and services. It would seem that they both—CSR and marketing, share the same goal—providing value to consumers in order to improve their quality of life. However, it can be seen that there is a whole scope of activities under the marketing instruments that primarily serve only to intensify sales. This would not raise any major objections if not for the fact that the occurrence of the demand for restitution is accelerated due to the planned shortening of the product life-cycle. This is in contradiction with the idea of CSR and sustainable development as well as sustainable consumption. So why is it a practice that does not cause widespread outrage and resistance from buyers? And how should it be dealt with? Two widely implemented strategies of manufacturers and retailers are described in that chapter: the 1st one is planned product obsolescence, the second—fast fashion. Retail chains follow the fast fashion trend—offering customers short, frequently changing product lines. However, seeing the effects of this type of strategies, it is possible to undertake a number of activities aimed at reducing the negative effects of these actions.

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Social supermarkets as a solution to food waste and issues of poverty

Author(s): Blaženka Knežević / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The main objective of this chapter is to present and discuss a possible solution to food waste as a problem occurring in traditional food supply chains, on the one hand, due to food overproduction, and on the other, poverty as a result of economic and pandemic crisis in Europe. The structure of the chapter covers two areas: 1. Food waste as a problem in food supply chains. 2. Reduction of poverty by implementing social supermarkets as new players in the food supply chain.

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Sustainability in renewable energy businesses

Author(s): Gabriel Grabowski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The sustainable development goal 7 (affordable and clean energy) seeks to ensure that energy is clean, affordable, available and accessible to all (SD Goals, https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators). Replacing fossil fuel-based energy sources with renewable ones, which include: bioenergy, direct solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, wind and ocean energy (tide and wave), would gradually help the world achieve the idea of sustainability. Renewable energy technologies provide an excellent opportunity for mitigation of greenhouse gas emission and reduce global warming through substituting conventional energy sources (Panwar, Kaushik, & Kothari, 2011; Owusu& Asumadu-Sarkodie, 2016). Nevertheless, investment costs, as well as political environment andmarket conditions, have become barriers preventing countries from full utilisation of the potential to improve the quality of air or water. The aim of the chapter is to initiate discussion on the importance of renewable energy as wellas its environmental and society-related health aspects. Two short case studies presented in the text allow to describe projects concerning solar installations. In the first case, it is educational institution investing in thermal solar panel systems to supply heat for domestic hot water. The results of research conducted by Filho et al. (2019) on a small sample of universities from around the world indicate that in more than half of them, only a small share of energy consumption comes from renewable sources, whilst the European Union policy has identified promotion of energy efficiency in buildings, including educational ones, as a key objective of its energy and climate policy (EPBD Recast, 2010). In the second case study, thoughts on photovoltaic systems installed to supply buildings with electricity are contained and the problem of public resource support forms for that purpose are discussed.

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Sustainable agriculture: Development of organic farming. Case study of the Czech Republic

Author(s): Pavel Kotyza,Luboš Smutka / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Sustainability is a crucial topic in today’s agricultural policy discussion. Agriculture faces 2 challenges—feeding increasing number of people, while being sustainable and reducing negative environmental effects. Agriculture will require “structural transformation” to meet goals of global society—the Sustainable Development Goals. Land management, bio-diversity and soil degradation are often correlated with farming practices. Thus, having sustainable agriculture requires transformation of farming practices, and organic farming belongs to potential directions. For over 3 decades, organic farming has gained on importance, market share as well as popularity among consumers, producers and policymakers. Health concerns, public support and market potential convinced farmers to introduce non-conventional farming practices. On the contrary, organic farming is often criticized for lower production potential, higher pricing and labour intensity. In the Czech Republic current organic production is rather extensive (on pastures), and products are not sold as organic due to the market oversaturation. However, slow but increasing trend in crop production, which could lead to improved farm economies is observed. The future of organic farming development as individual by side effects related to organic farming are considered to be of the key significance for long-term sustainability of agricultural activities. Organic farming is not a solution to current society issues, butit could be considered as innovative alternative approach for future generations.

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Innovations on rail freight market

Author(s): Dora Naletina,Mate Damić / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Ten years ago, the European Union recognized the importance of stopping further development of road freight transportation and the need for making rail freight a more prominent branch of industry. Rail transportation used to hold a more relevant position, but because of slow response to changes on the market and no investments in modernization, it now occupies only around 10%of the share in freight transportation in most EU member states. Most members have initiated the implementation of the restructuring and liberalization of rail market, with the aim of establishing a multimodal transportation network and reducing negative impact of road freight on the environment. The Croatian market is no exception, of course. It has liberalized the rail freight market since the Accession to the EU, while the rail passenger traffic is still monopolized by a company owned by the state. The Croatian national carrier HŽ Cargo has decided to face the competition by restructuring the current business and giving a sharper focus on innovation (intermodal terminals, RO-LA, and digitalization of business operations). The above-mentioned topics are analysed in the following chapter.

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Brand as an innovation—The case of Czech wine

Author(s): Jan Zavodny Pospisil / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The Czech Republic is not a typical wine-growing country, yet winemaking and viticulture are among the oldest Czech crafts. Although the situation is slightly improving today, domestic wine production is not very preferred by Czech consumers since more than two-thirds of the wine that Czechs drink each year is imported. In the long term, the worst situation prevailed with the sales of a young wine. The cause was twofold: On the one hand, the market was already penetrated by imported Beaujolais nouveau, which became a synonym for the young wine. On the other, a peculiar Czechs’ taste for young wine was also an obstacle. As a young wine, many Czechs drink partially fermented must from grapevine fruits called “Burčák”. The young wine market was therefore seemingly penetrated with a low possibility of new brands entering it. The proposed case study will describe an ongoing campaign in which a new brand, “Svatomartinské víno”, was created. With this brand, it was possible to change the Czech consumers’ view of immature wines fundamentally. Thanks to the innovative branding approach, the product, which Czech consumers had neglected for many years, became a superior and must-have product for broad consumers. Also, the relationship between the brand and consumers has been established. The new brand has become a potential for many other related events. Last but not least, the consumption of domestic wine increased, which led to the support of local wineries and related regions.

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Storytelling in business—How to increase customer engagement

Author(s): Iwona Olejnik / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Storytelling, as a marketing innovation, is the market communication tool that allows present the facts in a coherent and attractive way so as to stand out from the competition and more effectively influence the consumer’s imagination and engagement. It can be concluded that the history of storytelling itself dates back to the beginnings of mankind, when humans started to transfer knowledge from generation to generation. The chapter indicates that storytelling evokes emotions in customers, and these in turn affect commitment and action. The most important and primary elements of storytelling include superior message, conflict, characters (the archetypes) and plot. Each good story can be based on a few important points, which are well described by the concept proposed by American writer Joseph Campbell. In addition, the chapter also presents examples of sources of inspiration for storytelling. Among them, it is worth mentioning, for example: history of the company’s founder or president, the beginnings of the company, employees’ stories or milestones (successes or failures). The last part presents two case studies of the use of storytelling by enterprises. These are examples from the Polish market regarding the use of storytelling in employee recruitment and customer engagement.

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Audyt podatkowy jako zewnętrzny mechanizm nadzorczy

Author(s): Edyta Małecka-Ziembińska / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Purpose: The purpose of the chapter is to identify, characterize and compare types of tax audit and their location in the structure of the internal tax supervision framework. In addition, the role of tax advisory companies, audit companies, tax advisers and statutory auditors in this processwas highlighted. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the purpose, an analysis of legal acts was used, including in particular the Tax Ordinance, as well as the documents of the National Revenue Administration (KAS) operationalizing the shape of the Cooperation Programme and its components. Initial data on the number of cooperation agreements and entities submitting applications for such agreements were also collected and analysed. Findings: In the light of the presented analyses and statistics, the tax audit institution is at the initial stage of development. In the case of an audit carried out by the Head of KAS, only pre-audit procedures are developed and verified, which is aimed at checking the taxpayer’s settlements in terms of potential risks related to the fulfillment of tax obligations and allows to determine whether the taxpayer has not only the willingness, but also the ability to effectively supervise tax function. There is no—so far—practice of monitoring audits aimed at ensuring that the Head of KAS can exercise effective and efficient supervision over the correct implementation of the cooperation agreement. There is a strong feedback loop between the latter type of audit and the audit of the tax function. The higher the level of effectiveness and adequacy of internal tax supervision, and the higher the level of tax function audit, the lower will be the scope and form of supervision carried out by the Head of KAS, especially in the form of a monitoring audit. Taking into account the complexity, high dynamics, as well as interpretative divergences and ambiguous jurisprudence of tax law, the development of the tax audit service can be expectedin the near future—not only within the framework of the cooperation agreement, but also outside such an agreement.

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Wpływ pandemii COVID-19 na rynek i efektywność ubezpieczeń na życie z ubezpieczeniowymi funduszami kapitałowymi

Author(s): Anna Ostrowska-Dankiewicz / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Insurance performs a variety of functions in the economy. Their basic task is to provide the insured with protection in case of occurrence of random events specified in the contract. Market practice shows that such a limited function of classic insurance proved to be insufficient, especially at the time when insurance products appeared which, in addition to their protective function, allow savings to be multiplied. Such products are life insurance with insurance capital funds. However, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic caused unexpected difficulties in the conduct of business by enterprises, including insurance companies. These difficulties manifested themselves in a periodic decline in premiums written, and in relation to life insurance with UFK also in a periodic deterioration of their effectiveness due to a slump in the financial markets. The aim of this paper is to present the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the market of life insurance linked with insurance capital funds and to discuss the trends in the volume of sales of life insurance with UFK and in the effectiveness of investments in insurance capital funds.

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Pojęcie równowagi na konkurencyjnym rynku ubezpieczeń

Author(s): Łukasz Kuryłowicz,Adam Śliwiński / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The article shows the possibility of analyzing the insurance market by using the Rothschild–Stiglitz equilibrium model and its subsequent modifications. As an example the Polish market of compulsory third party liability insurance was used. The first part of the article describes this market, both in terms of its structure and the financial results of insurance companies operating in the group 10 of insurance. In the next part, the main focus is on describing the assumptions of the Rothschild–Stiglitz model both for the markets characterized by full common knowledge and those operating under the conditions of information asymmetry. In the last part, the authors used the Rothschild–Stiglitz model to simulate the market behavior after having introduced a new type of insurance contract which allowed access to information collected byon-board ADR recorders. The simulation showed that, in accordance with the model, the use of new technologies can bring the market closer to the state of equilibrium.

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Instytucjonalne uwarunkowania niestabilności na rynku ubezpieczeń. Studium przypadku holdingu American International Group, Inc.

Author(s): Lyubov Klapkiv,Faruk Ulgen / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The aim of the article is to analyze the institutional conditions of instability that occurred on the insurance market during the global financial crisis (GFC) on the example of the American International Group, Inc. The global financial crisis of 2007–2008 called into question the ability of liberalized financial markets to function in a stable manner in the long term and questioned the positive contribution of financial innovation to economic development. Numerous and varied factors played a role in this process: low interest rates, easy and accessible credit, loose regulations, “toxic” mortgage loans leading to high-risk financial operations in innovative products. As a result of the crisis, attention has shifted to the banking sector as it has been the most important source of instability in the financial market. The insurance sector is usually considered a minor player in the financial market but clearly regulated. The total assets of European Union banks in 2019 accounted for EUR 49.3 trillion, and the total assets of the EU insurance sector: EUR 12,706.1 billion. However, the case of AIG shows that the role of insurance companies in generating and spreading financial instability is underestimated. It can also be concluded that the insurance sector in the United States of America still remains insufficiently regulated. The collapse of AIG was a combination of defects and violations in the regulatory mechanisms and the lack of appropriate legislation, which allowed for the appearance of certain elements of fraud in the functioning of the insurance market.

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Real estate practice and security concerns in Nigeria: the role of smart technologies/artificial intelligence

Author(s): Christian Osita Ifediora / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The security situation in Nigeria over the years been such that is alarming and no doubt that this ugly challenge of insecurity has affected all the sectors of the economy including the real estate sector while investment in same was seen to affected negatively. This study focused on smart technologies (ST) and artificial intelligence (ST) and their relation to security and real estate practice. It focused on firms/individual efforts aimed at providing security. In other words their commitment to security concerns. The methodology is purely descriptive and the population includes that of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in professional practice. The questionnaire administration was basically via social media. The study defined artificial intelligence and smart technology and what it should encompass in respect to real estate practice. It identified various security measures and modern technologies that have been deployed to enhance real estate practice. More importantly, it noted that there is noticeable level of awareness and application of AR and ST. The study recommends collective effort and more on individuals and as well firms capacity in ensuring security of all sectors of life.

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Иновации, предприемачество и изкуствен интелект в корпоративната сигурност

Author(s): Ilian Ivanov Yordanov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The intersection points in the triad – innovation, entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence and corporate security show that a balance is needed between the pace of development of innovation and artificial intelligence and the adaptation of different social groups, as well as the retraining of the workforce in accordance with the technological changes of business processes and change in the business environment as a whole.

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Çalışma Yaşamında Bilgi Uçurma (Whistleblowing)

Author(s): Gül Bilen / Language(s): Turkish Publication Year: 0

Whistleblowing is defined as the conscious revealing and disclosure of unethical or criminal situations occurring within the organization by the member or members of the organization (Cross and Tiller, 1998). The concept of whistleblowing has gained importance with the emergence of scandals in large and powerful enterprises, institutions and organizations, especially in recent years. Organization members who engage in whistleblowing behavior may naturally conflict with their organizations, other organization members and managers and remain silent. In this silence, unjust, unfair and illegal situations in the organization can become widespread (Near and Miceli, 2013). Therefore, whistleblowing is protected by different laws in different countries in order to support the members of the organization to take action without hesitation (Kaptein, 2011). However, in order for whistleblowing to be implemented and carried out effectively in the organization, the members of the organization must know the internal politics and ethical rules well and be knowledgeable and conscious about this issue (Miceli and Near, 1992). As a result, the concept of whistleblowing is an extremely important concept in terms of revealing unfair and erroneous situations in organizations and ensuring justice within the organization. However, members of the organization must be careful and act in accordance with the law when deciding whether or not to engage in whistleblowing. In this book chapter, information about the emergence of the concept of whistblowing, its reasons and its importance in terms of working life will be given.

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İş Hayatında Temaruz

Author(s): Ebrar Ilıman Yaltagil / Language(s): Turkish Publication Year: 0

The concept of malingering, which means false illness, is not only an issue that should be addressed by the field of psychiatry, but also an important issue that should be examined for businesses. This concept, which is difficult to detect, is seen as a situation where employees take shelter in order to escape from work. The concept of malingering, which is defined as consciously pretending to be sick, exaggerating or triggering the disease for an identifiable secondary gain, has become an important problem in business life within the framework of its causes and effects. Malingering in business life can be due to personal reasons as well as to reasons arising from the business environment. Many empirical studies show that malingering; health complaints, perceived workload, working conditions, ergonomic defects, negative employee-manager and employee-employee relations, health status of individuals, age, migration history, job and income satisfaction, size of the institution they work for, and existence of a fixed-term employment contract. reported to be significantly related to its properties. The effects of malingering are manifested in the form of turnover, continuous payment of absent employees, inadequate use of labor, productivity losses, customer dissatisfaction, increased administrative costs, high turnover costs, reductions in workforce morale, and heavier workloads. The increase in malingering is not only harmful to organizations in the long run, but also brings a burden to the state and society. Despite all this importance of the subject, it is seen that studies in the field of health are intensively carried out, although scientific statistics on malingering in enterprises cannot be reached. In this context, it is thought that it is important to know the concept in detail.

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Oszustwa związane z VAT. Ewolucja oszustw typu MTIC

Author(s): Łukasz Pastuszka,Dariusz Strugliński / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Purpose: The purpose of the chapter is to present the subject of VAT fraud, with particular em-phasis on MTIC fraud, and to present the evolution of fraud over the years. Discussion of fraudpatterns, fraud participants, goods used in VAT fraud as well as tax fraud mechanisms will allowto understand both the changes that occur in VAT fraud and why VAT fraud is still a challenge forEU Member States.Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the purpose, the opinions of tax law experts, informationprovided by the Ministry of Finance and the National Revenue Administration, published documentsof the European Commission and organizations dealing with detecting and combating VAT fraudwere used. The chapter was also based on the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union(CJEU) and national administrative courts.Findings: Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that VAT fraud, in particular MTIC fraud, stilloccurs and has a significant impact on the VAT gap. Criminals organizing VAT fraud modify boththe fraud schemes and the goods or the number of participants in the crime fraud. Knowledge aboutVAT fraud and its evolution is useful not only for the National Revenue Administration but also forhonest taxpayers who want to avoid being involved participating in a fraud.

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Metody ograniczania luki VAT

Author(s): Arkadiusz Bernal / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to review and evaluate actions taken to reduce the VAT gap. Design/methodology/approach: The review of actions was conducted taking into account the various causes of the gap, including the carousel frauds in particular, but also the abuse of the subjective exemption, the unregistered sales to consumers, the consumer imports of goods ordered online, the electronic services provided by entrepreneurs located in third countries, the illegal application of a reduced tax rate and smuggling. Findings: The actions taken by public authorities to reduce the VAT gap show that in Poland in recent years much has been done to effectively reduce the range of the gap. Among the measures taken were: educational campaigns, creation of public taxpayer registers to verify current and potential contractors, the introduction of split payment method, increased sanctions for the VAT frauds, including those imposed on tax representative, the abandonment of the exemption for imports of low-value goods and the obligation to recognize such imports through so-called electronic interfaces, and the change of quarterly reports to monthly for taxpayers starting their business. Many actions involve new technologies, such as issuing structured electronic invoices, recording sales to consumers on online cash registers, the obligation to provide consumers with the opportunity to make cashless transactions, and the mandatory submission of monthly VAT settlement reports electronically. Digitalisation causes a significant increase in the scope of data at the disposal of the tax administration as well as acceleration of their circulation. Both changes assisted by the centralization of tax administration and the use of artificial intelligence significantly hinder tax frauds.

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Dochowanie należytej staranności na gruncie VAT w dobie cyfryzacji

Author(s): Dariusz Strugliński / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to present the possibilities of using IT tools and databases by a taxpayer exercising due diligence. The most important circumstances that will be taken into account by tax officials in the assessment of entrepreneurs’ activities in VAT settlements are presented in the document Methodology for assessing due diligence by buyers of goods in domestic transactions, which is why this document is presented in this chapter. Selected IT tools and databases are also discussed useful in verifying contractors and transactions. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the purpose, the documents published by the Ministry of Finance was used. In addition, information available on the Internet about search engines and databases was used. Information obtained during various meetings and trainings with taxpayers was also used. Findings: Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that the taxpayer can verify the contractor and partly the transaction using publicly available databases and IT tools. For a taxpayer who wants to exercise due diligence, it is useful to know the Methodology and know about the available sources of information and how to use them.

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