Search results for "Health Services Administration"
showing 10 items of 127 documents
Audit fees and earnings management: differences based on the type of audit
2020
In spite of the extensive research about the impact of audit fees on audit quality, there is no research examining if the association between voluntary audits and audit pricing affects audit quality. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to empirically examine whether the effect of audit fees on audit quality, measured by the level of earnings management, is affected by the type of audit (voluntary vs mandatory), as well as whether the effect of audit fees on audit quality is different depending on the type of audit. Using a sample of Spanish SMEs composed of both voluntarily and mandatorily audited companies, we find that voluntary audits have higher quality when audit fees are lower, but th…
Audit fees and cost of debt: differences in the credibility of voluntary and mandatory audits
2019
Despite the extensive research on audit fees, few studies have examined the effect of audit fees on the cost of debt. Based on the credence goods theory, we examine whether the effect of audits on the cost of debt is affected by the type of audit (voluntary or mandatory) and the audit fees, as well as whether there is a combined effect of voluntary audits and audit fees, so that the effect of voluntary audits on the cost of debt is affected by audit fees. Using a sample of Spanish SMEs, we find an asymmetric effect of audit fees on the cost of debt: higher audit fees are associated with a lower cost of debt for voluntarily audited companies, while the association is not significant for mand…
Persistence of low back pain reporting among a cohort of employees in a metal corporation: A study with 5-, 10-, and 28-year follow-ups
2005
Low back pain (LBP) is a common symptom among adults but little is known about its persistence over time in defined populations. The aim of this study was to examine the persistence of LBP among a cohort of industrial employees studied in four successive surveys during a total of 28 years. Cross-tabulations and logistic regression was used to estimate the interdependence of LBP occurrence at the surveys. At baseline, 54% of the subjects reported local LBP and 25% LBP radiating to the lower limb(s). Persistent or recurrent LBP was common. Of those with LBP at baseline, 75, 73, and 88% reported it also at the 5-, 10- or 28-year follow-up, respectively. Of those with radiating pain, 66, 65, an…
REPLICATED TRIANGLE TESTS: EFFECT OF FEED-BACK AND PRODUCT COMPARISON ON PERFORMANCE
1998
The feed-back procedure consists of informing assessors of the quality of their response (correct or incorrect) after each triangle test. This procedure showed a contrasted effect according to assessors' detection abilities. A decrease in performance was observed for assessors who had low detection abilities whereas a slight increase was observed for assessors who had higher detection abilities. When the feed-back procedure is followed by a comparison by tasting of the two products, the increase in performance from the beginning to the end of the session is larger than that of both feed-back and control (no information) groups. We suggest that information inference from previous tests, whic…
The corporate image of auditors in a developing audit market within the EU: the case of Spain
2004
This paper examines the images of audit firms in Spain. Spain offers a valuable research context in that it is a relatively new audit market and one where the top company audits are not totally dominated by the large multinational audit firms, allowing for a comparison of the images of such firms against those associated with smaller, national audit firms. The findings of this survey are pertinent given the current level of debate internationally over the role, regulation and quality of auditing services and concerns over the potential impact of recent corporate scandals on auditor reputation. Our study shows that the images of audit firms in Spain have differed on a number of dimensions, m…
Cost of debt capital and audit in Spanish SMEs
2014
Evidence about the effect of voluntary audits on the cost of debt is mixed, and there is no research about the effects of mandatory audits and the non-compliance with the audit requirement. Using a sample of Spanish SMEs, where some companies are exempt from audit and some are mandatorily audited, we examine if audits, either mandatory or voluntary, help to reduce the cost of debt. We do not find a significant association between voluntary audits and cost of debt, whereas companies that breach the audit requirement have a higher cost of debt than the mandatorily audited ones. This suggests that differences in the cost of debt between audited and unaudited companies are associated with a “pu…
Earnings Quality in Nonprofit Versus For-Profit Organizations: Evidence From the Microfinance Industry
2013
This study uses data from the microfinance industry to analyze differences in earnings quality between for-profit and nonprofit organizations. The two sets of organizations differ with respect to both governance mechanisms and managerial incentives, and little research has been conducted to investigate how such differences affect the quality of financial reporting. Overall, we find little evidence of differences in earnings quality between our two samples in the aggregate. We do, however, observe significant differences among the types of nonprofit organizations; this finding suggests that the concept of a “nonprofit level of earnings quality” is ill defined.
Spain: a decentralised health system in constant flux
2009
The Spanish healthcare system is one of Europe’s most efficient, but urgent reform is needed if it is to cope with changing demands and rising costs, argue Jose M Martin-Moreno and colleagues
Sperm Telomere Length in Men with Normal and Abnormal semen Parameters. A Pilot Study
2019
Objective: Male infertility is a growing social problem. The measurement of telomere length may be a new marker that can help to assess reproductive age of males and assess the chances of in vitro fertilization. Aim: The aim of our study was to investigate whether there are any differences between telomere length in men with normal and abnormal semen parameters. Materials and Methods: Telomere length was analyzed in 17 patients with normal and 28 patients with abnormal semen parameters using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol and Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). Results: Mean sperm telomere length in all donors was 49±24kbp per haploid genome. However, patie…
Work environment risk indicators for pharmacists in the preparation of extemporaneous medicines
2022
The pharmaceutical sector is one of the leading sectors of the Latvian economy, but the extemporary prepared medicines still occupy a small market share. The study involved 44 pharmacists and pharmacist assistants preparing extemporal medicines, while the control group included pharmacists and pharmacist assistants who only attend customers in pharmacies. The aim of this study was to identify work environment risk indicators for pharmacists preparing extemporal medicines in open-type pharmacies. In the research, we used methods of observation and survey to identify the views of pharmacists and pharmacist assistants preparing medicines in open-type pharmacies. The study concluded that pharma…