Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Vale Strategic Audit, Nikolas Mancio

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The Chinese government is critical in shaping the global mining and metals industry, specifically for companies like Vale S.A., the world’s largest iron ore and nickel producer. China’s dominance as the largest importer of iron ore significantly impacts commodity prices and demand, with its government exerting substantial influence through production quotas, infrastructure spending, and environmental regulations. Vale’s strategic position in the Chinese market is a cornerstone of its operations. It is supported by investments in distribution centers, blending facilities, and high-grade iron ore that align with China’s environmental goals. However, this reliance also makes Vale vulnerable to shifts in Chinese …

Critical Success Factors Of Users’ Continuous Intention Of Adopting Cryptocurrency Exchanges: Las-Vict Principle, Cheuk Hang Au, Kevin K.W. Ho, Kris M.Y. Law, Dickson K.W. Chiu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The proliferation of cryptocurrencies has contributed to the emergence of different cryptocurrency exchanges (crypto-exchanges). While these services may be regarded as FinTech, involving cryptocurrency as the major transaction currency has made these services potentially distinctive from other fiat-based FinTech services. Thus, the critical success factors of crypto-exchanges may not be identical to those of other fiat-based FinTech services. Grounded on theories related to FinTech and service varieties, we developed a survey and explored the role of different factors on users’ continuous intention of adopting the crypto-exchanges. Our results suggested that when users perceive specific crypto-exchange characteristics, they are more likely …

Exploring Impression Management Through Eye-Tracking: A Study On The Influence Of Photographs In Financial Reporting, Andreas Hellmann, Simone D. Scagnelli, Lawrence Ang, Suresh Sood

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The objective of financial reporting is to provide decision-useful information for a wide range of existing and potential stakeholders. However, the lack of regulation regarding the use of visual imagery may enable companies to engage in impression management and subtly influence the reader's judgments through careful selection of images and how they obfuscate or clarify information. This study utilizes eye-tracking technology to experimentally examine how non-explanatory photographs influence the performance judgments of non-professional investors comprising business students and auditors. Participants were exposed to an excerpt of the management summary of a fictitious company's annual report. The findings suggest while a …

How Millennials Make Investment Decisions: Financial Literacy And Financial Behavior, Dewi Tamara, Anita Maharani

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This study investigates the effect of financial literacy, financial attitude, risk perception, and financial behavior on investment decisions. Employing a survey method with 342 respondents in Jakarta, the findings reveal that financial literacy has a negative and insignificant effect on investment decisions. In contrast, risk perception plays a crucial role in influencing investment decisions. Furthermore, financial behavior has an indirect mediating effect between financial literacy and risk perception on investment decisions but does not affect financial attitude. This study concludes that risk perception and financial behavior are important factors in investment decisions. Future research may consider incorporating other variables such …

The Effect Of Private Placement On Investment Efficiency: Empirical Evidence From The New Refinancing Regulations, Zhiyong Han

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Compared with public offerings, private placements are more attractive to investors due to a lower threshold, a simpler procedure, and a higher success rate of issuance. These advantages make private placements the preferred choice for listed companies seeking to issue additional shares in many capital markets. With the increased prevalence of private placements as a refinancing method, how to effectively leverage raised funds and improve investment efficiency has emerged as a topic under discussion within the academic community. However, whether private placements can affect investment efficiency remains controversial. Moreover, previous studies lack systematic empirical evidence, and endogeneity issues hinder an …

Competency Model For General Managers Of Chain Independent Clinical Laboratory (Icl) Subsidiaries, Haiyan Wen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

An independent clinical laboratory (ICL) is a medical institution that has received approval from health authorities, holds independent legal status, and specializes in medical testing or pathological diagnostics, assuming responsibility independently. It is also referred to as a third-party medical testing laboratory. During in-depth research on the enterprises, it was found that while the chain ICL industry is rapidly growing, the issues of uncertainty and difficulty in selecting subsidiary general managers have become a common concern and pain point among senior managers.

The study combines theoretical and data analysis to identify distinct and important competency characteristics of general managers of …

Impact Of Project Simulation Shareholding Incentive On Team Performance: Research Based On The Construction Industry, Jian Zhou

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

China's construction industry is vast and possesses a wide market; however, it faces challenges such as unclear stratification and low concentration levels. Construction enterprises face significant constraints in key areas such as financial strength, team stability, and technological advancement, while also bearing substantial costs related to supervision and accountability. The project simulation shareholding mode enhances employees' sense of belonging and responsibility through a collaborative approach characterized by joint management, shared risks, and shared benefits. This improves project execution efficiency and quality, ultimately strengthening the core competitiveness of the enterprise. In the construction industry, projects often involve substantial investments and long-term …

Manufacturing Enterprises' Gross Margins And Performance: A Study On The Moderating Effect Of Management Expenses And R&D Expenses, Jiuliu Zhang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In the context of globalization, manufacturing enterprises are integral to national economies, with their financial stability closely related to increasingly fierce market competition. Among various financial metrics, gross margin stands out as a key indicator of product profitability, significantly impacting production decisions, cost control, and pricing strategies. Understanding the relationship between the gross margins of manufacturing enterprises and their performance is essential for optimizing their financial structures and enhancing their market competitiveness. The study aims to investigate the correlation between gross margin and enterprise performance by developing complex, scientifically sound models and utilizing big data analysis technology. Additionally, it examines …

A Full-History Network Dataset For Btc Asset Decentralization Profiling, Ling Cheng, Qian Shao, Fengzhu Zeng, Feida Zhu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Since its advent in 2009, Bitcoin (BTC) has garnered increasing attention from both academia and industry. However, due to the massive transaction volume, no systematic study has quantitatively measured the asset decentralization degree specifically from a network perspective.In this paper, by conducting a thorough analysis of the BTC transaction network, we first address the significant gap in the availability of full-history BTC graph and network property dataset, which spans over 15 years from the genesis block (1st March, 2009) to the 845651-th block (29, May 2024). We then present the first systematic investigation to profile BTC's asset decentralization and design …

Universal Return And Factor Timing, Poh Ling Neo, Chyng Wen Tee, Jeroen Kerkhof

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The authors highlight the shortcomings of commonly used performance graphs in assessing and comparing investment returns. This paper's main conceptual contribution is the introduction of Universal Return (UR) - a visual method to evaluate and rank investment strategies that challenges the traditional focus on raw performance statistics. The authors argue that the ranking of investment performance when viewed from a pool of investors over different entry time is more important than its overall absolute returns, as it better aligns investment analysis with the needs of investors, who are primarily concerned with identifying currently successful strategies or managers rather than dwelling …

Pengaruh Performa Perusahaan Terhadap Kualitas Laporan Tanggung Jawab Sosial Perusahaan Yang Dimoderasi Oleh Tahap Siklus Hidup Perusahaan Pada Perusahaan Lq45 Periode 2017-2021, Satya Rifansyah Batubara, Dwi Nastiti Danarsari

Jurnal Manajemen dan Usahawan Indonesia

This study aims to empirically prove the effect of corporate performance on the quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, moderated by the company's life cycle stages. The study uses a sample of companies listed in the LQ45 index as of August 2019, registered on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the period from 2017 to 2021. The method used in this study is pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. The results show that corporate performance does not have a significant impact on CSR reports. However, firm life cycle stages have a significant effect with a negative correlation direction on …

Navigating Market Volatility: Risk And Return Insights From Indian Mutual Funds, Davinder K. Malhotra, Rahul Singh, L. Ramani

School of Business Faculty Papers

This study evaluates Indian mutual funds using a variety of criteria, demonstrating a historical tendency of lower monthly returns and volatility when compared to benchmark indexes. This positive risk profile implies that it will appeal to investors who want stability. Despite COVID-19-induced market volatility, mutual funds persistently outperform benchmark indices in terms of average return per unit of risk, highlighting their potential as a dependable investment option for stability seekers. Furthermore, Indian mutual funds routinely beat benchmark indexes in risk-adjusted terms. Despite having a positive alpha, it lacked statistical significance, indicating a possible reliance on market volatility rather than managerial …

Thoughts On Reform Of Fiscal S&T System Under Public Finance System, Wei Xue, Xuan Wang, Yunqiqige Wu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Finance is the foundation and important pillar of national governance, a perfect financial science and technology system is of great significance for promoting scientific and technological progress, optimizing financial science and technology management, and enhancing the effectiveness of financial science and technology funds. This study discusses the main features of the financial science and technology system under the framework of public finance, summarizes the relevant reform achievements in China in recent years, identifies the main problems, clarifies the practices of innovative countries such as the United States, Germany, Britain, and Japan, and puts forward policy suggestions for further deepening the …

Variation In Investment Portfolios For Identical Client Scenarios: A Study Of Portfolios Recommended By Financial Professionals, Patricia G. Wells

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using a unique set of data obtained from interviews of financial professionals, this study aimed to explore the heterogeneity among portfolios of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds recommended by financial professionals for fictional client scenarios that control for investor risk and asset allocation. First, the extent to which the revealed asset allocation matched the elicited asset allocation was examined. Next, the portfolios were examined relative to diversification within the stock and bond holdings. Portfolios were examined on the basis of hypothetical historical risk and return. Lastly, comments provided by financial professionals about their security selections and investment approach were presented. …

Multi-Sided Information Asymmetry In A Single Contract: Why Revocable Living Trusts Go To Court, James P. Wells

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Revocable living trust documents (trusts) are among the most important documents created in contemporary estate planning. One of the trust’s objectives is to provide clear guidance to the trustees on how to carry out the grantor's intent. When a trust is contested in court, the objective of the trust has clearly failed. Consequently, understanding why trusts go to court and developing approaches that reduce or eliminate the number of trusts in our courts is an endeavor worthy of research and the primary objective of this research effort.

Ideally, with a clearly stated grantor’s intent and clearly executed interpretation of the …

Exploring Factors That Influence Artificial Intelligence Adoption In Banks And Credit Unions, Vijaya S. Tumma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is exploding in the banking sector, fueled by enhanced productivity, improved efficiencies, and personalized services to the consumers. For credit unions, the adoption of AI technologies presents opportunities and challenges. This research explores the factors influencing AI adoption in the banking sector through the lens of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework. This study aims to explore the influence of key aspects of UTAUT model, Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), and Facilitating Conditions (FC) on the intention of AI adoption among credit unions, banks, and their …

Financial Analysis, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

The investment in a financial analysis can seem like a painful task of gathering information but the information it provides gives you invaluable information about your operation, especially when you don’t want to see it. I was once told a producer didn’t want to do the analysis anymore because the information made it hard to sleep at night. While not knowing maybe helped him sleep then, the problems that were being highlighted by the analysis didn’t go away and eventually caught up to him.

Comparative Analysis Of Univariate And Deep Learning Models For Stock Market Prediction In Frontier Markets: A Case Study Of Pakistan, Bangladesh, And Sri Lanka, Rabia Sabri, Sobia Iqbal

Business Review

This research is focused on the stock exchanges of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh due to their significant presence in the Asian region and the unique challenges, opportunities, and presence in these frontier markets. The study assesses both traditional stationary models, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Theta traditional stationary models, with the contemporary deep learning models Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) with 1D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) support. The study covers the sample period of historical data from 2020–2023 to include the in and out of sample forecasting of 2024–2025. The time series comprises linear and nonlinear datasets to capture …

Eurobond Performance In Emerging Markets: Do Economic Freedom, Contagion Effects, And Strategic International Relations Matter?, Nourhan El Rouby

Theses and Dissertations

This paper studies the factors moving the Eurobond prices and credit ratings issued by emerging markets. By observing a set of variables, including economic freedom, contagion effects and strategic international relations, the study was able to provide a thorough analysis of their impact on Eurobond performance. The research was able to identify significant determinants of Eurobond prices and credit ratings through utilizing panel data from 20 emerging markets over a period of April 2018 to September 2023 where we applied fixed effects linear regression and ordered logit models. The findings resulted that economic freedom, in specific enforcement of contracts, and …

The Influence Of News Media On Esg Ratings: Analyzing Media Sentiment Around Esg Rating Changes, David Beverly

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the complex relationship between media sentiment and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings, a pressing issue highlighted by the lack of transparency in the adjustments to ratings from some agencies and not others. The research aims to empirically examine the extent to which news media narratives influence ESG scores and contribute to discrepancies among rating agencies. With ESG investing becoming increasingly significant, as evidenced by the rise in global assets under management in ESG funds, the accuracy and reliability of ESG scores are of increasing importance to investors, policymakers, and academics.

The study explores the potential of …

The Impact Of Cash Holding Decisions On Firm Performance In The It Industry, Jaeseong Lim, Bong Keun Jeong

Accounting

This study examines the relationship between corporate cash holdings and firm performance within the IT industry, which is characterized by intense competition and rapid technological advancements. We propose an integrated framework that combines principal component analysis (PCA), machine learning (ML) algorithms, and Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) values to estimate and interpret model outcomes. Based on 21,051 corporate financial statement data items from 2004 and 2023, the empirical evidence supports an inverted U-shaped relationship between cash holdings and profitability, suggesting that holding either too little or too much cash is suboptimal. Among the tested models, the random forest demonstrates the highest …

Road To Net Zero: Greenness Of Leadership In Energy And Environmental Design And California Green Building Standards Code In The Multifamily Sector, Jamie Jung, Michael Cusumano, Dongshin Kim, Abraham Park

Finance, Banking and Real Estate Faculty Publications

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) sustainability programs in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in multifamily buildings. We find that CALGreen effectively reduces GHG emissions by 7.2%–11.6%. However, among properties completed during the CALGreen period (on or after 2015), LEED-certified properties exhibit 14.1%–20.8% higher GHG emissions compared to non-LEED-certified buildings. We attribute this result to the emphasis on theoretical design versus actual energy performance of those programs. Furthermore, our research reveals that LEED-certified buildings completed before the implementation of CALGreen command a rent premium of 4.7%–5.4%. …

Lead-Lag And Volatility Point Change Estimations For Cryptocurrencies, Jules Clement Mba, Jenipher Mutale, Ehounou Serge Eloge Florentin Angaman

Journal of Banking and Financial Economics

This study investigates the lead-lag relationships and volatility dynamics among four major cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon – during the turbulent year of 2022. We address three primary research questions: (1) To what extent do lead-lag relationships exist among major cryptocurrencies, and how do they challenge or support the notion of market efficiency in the crypto space? (2) How do volatility change points in different cryptocurrencies relate to each other and to major market events? (3) How can the identification of lead‑lag relationships and volatility change points inform cryptocurrency investment strategies and risk management practices? Using a continuous-time …

A Method To Incorporate Transition Risk Stress Testing Into Probability Of Default (Pd) Models For Retail Portfolios, Aneta Ptak-Chmielewska, Paweł Kopciuszewski, Alvaro Fernandez Toledo

Journal of Banking and Financial Economics

Climate risk is one of the type of risks in a bank’s portfolio which is not fully recognized, and its impact on the future overall risk changes is hidden due to lack of sufficient knowledge at the moment. One of the most common data comes from Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) scenarios related to climate change (physical risk) and climate policy and technology trends (transition risk). In the paper we focused on the transition risk scenarios and their impact on the economy and in particular on credit risk. Our main goal was to check the tendency in the …

Fixed Income Fund Report, November 2024, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

Estimating Models For Engineering Costs On The State Highway Operation And Protection Program (Shopp) Portfolio Of Projects, Elhami Nasr, Tariq Shehab, Nigel Blampied, Vinit Kanani

Mineta Transportation Institute

The State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP) is crucial for maintaining California’s 15,000-mile state highway system, which includes projects like pavement rehabilitation, bridge repair, safety enhancements, and traffic management systems. Administered by Caltrans, SHOPP aims to preserve highway efficiency and safety, supporting economic growth and public safety. This research aimed to develop robust cost-estimating models to improve budgeting and financial planning, aiding Caltrans, the California Transportation Commission (CTC), and the Legislature. The research team collected and refined comprehensive data from Caltrans project expenditures from 1983 to 2021, ensuring a high-quality dataset. Subject matter experts validated the data, enhancing its …

Equity Fund Monthly Report, November 2024, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Test Of Auction Efficiency: Evidence From Mbs Auctions Of The Federal Reserve, Pietro Bonadi, Ali Hortacsu, Zhaogang Song

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

PurposeWe estimate the marginal cost curve of each dealer in each auction, based on structural models of the multiunit discriminatory-price auction.Design/methodology/approachAuction theory has ambiguous implications regarding the relative performance of three formats of multiunit auctions: uniform-price, discriminatory-price and Vickrey auctions. We evaluate the performance of these three auction formats using bid-level data of the Federal Reserve’s purchase auctions of agency MBS from June 2014 through November 2014.FindingsOur results suggest that neither uniform-price nor Vickrey auctions outperform discriminatory-price auctions in terms of the total expenditure. However, Vickrey auctions outperform discriminatory-price auctions in terms of efficiency, with the efficiency gain around 0.74% …

Applying Deep Learning To Detect Abnormal Event Log Traces: A Non-Rule-Based Framework, Yunsen Wang, Tiffany Chiu, Miklos A. Vasarhelyi

Department of Accounting and Finance Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Process mining is an efficient method that can analyze the full population of transactions using the event log of business processes. Conventional rule-based process mining techniques can detect anomalies; however, it tends to trigger a large number of false alarms. To improve the efficiency of anomaly detection using process mining, this study adopts a deep learning-based classification approach to detect anomalies in the traces of event logs. This approach contributes to the literature by proposing a non-rule-based process mining technique based on deep learning. Results demonstrate that the proposed non-rule-based process mining method can help auditors focus on transactional anomalies.

Improved Estimation Of The Correlation Matrix Using Reinforcement Learning And Text-Based Networks, Cheng Lu, Papa Momar Ndiaye, Majeed Simaan

Department of Accounting and Finance Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We propose a data-driven methodology to shrink the correlation matrix and, hence, the covariance matrix using reinforcement learning (RL). Our approach does not impose any assumptions on the stock returns and can be applied to any covariance matrix target. It focuses on the special case of the global minimum variance portfolio and investigates the economic value of our methodology by utilizing text-based networks (Hoberg and Phillips, 2016). The portfolio selection problem, hence, boils down to determining the optimal shrinkage policy using RL. The empirical analysis utilizes a large universe of stocks covering more than 400 assets and 20 years as …