Risk Categories Disclosed in the Administration Reports of Brazilian Companies with ADRs

The study aims to find the categories of risks disclosed in the Administration Reports of Brazilian companies with the issuance of ADR`s. The research is characterized as descriptive, accomplished through doucmentary analysis. The sample includes 28 Brazilian companies with the issuance of American Depository Receipt (ADR`s) in the Stock Exchange of New York (USA). We have tried to identify the categories of risk, presented by the companies surveyed in the Administration Reports (AR) of 2007. Seven categories of corporate risks were considered, identified through COSO (2004) methodology strategic risks, operational risks, legal risks and image risks,. The survey results show that in general there is no standaardization of the types sof risks disclosed by the companies. A total of 14 types of risks havd been identified. The predominant category in the disclosure was the operational risk, with 20.72% of the observations. There was no disclosre of image risk in the AR of the companies surveyed. It was found that 19 companies, 67.86% of the surveyed companies, demonstrate some kind of risk to which they are exposed. On the other hand, nine companies (32.14%) did not show any kind of risk.

Abrang??ncia, inser????o e impacto transformador dos sistemas de compras eletr??nicas na administra????o p??blica: an??lise do Siasg/Comprasnet

Quais as funcionalidades necess??rias aos sistemas de compras eletr??nicas no ambiente da administra????o p??blica? Que par??metros s??o relevantes para a an??lise e a avalia????o desses sistemas? O trabalho aborda a aplica????o da tecnologia da informa????o ??s compras governamentais, focalizando o caso do Sistema Integrado de Administra????o de Servi??os Gerais (Siasg) e seu portal na Internet, o Comprasnet, desenvolvido pela Administra????o P??blica Federal brasileira. Contextualiza a emerg??ncia do com??rcio eletr??nico e sua aplica????o ?? administra????o p??blica. Sistematiza as fases e os procedimentos do processo de compras e contrata????es na administra????o p??blica brasileira, indicando os componentes e as funcionalidades que devem compor os sistemas de compras eletr??nicas governamentais. Prop??e par??metros de an??lise para a avalia????o desses sistemas: abrang??ncia, inser????o e impacto na transforma????o da gest??o. A aplica????o desses par??metros ao estudo de caso evidencia que o Siasg/Comprasnet apresenta abrang??ncia ainda incompleta, inser????o consolidada e impacto transformador mais acentuado sobre as compras realizadas por meio de modalidades de licita????o eletr??nicas.

Contradiction between the average age of retirement at the time of death and the average pension time for men and women in public employment in Portugal

The short article attempts to make some very brief reflections on the effects a lack of public policies positively discriminatory in terms of public employment retirement. In particular, the observation of the absurd contradiction between the average age of retirement at the time of death (for men and women) and the average pension time for men and women in public employment in Portugal.

Determinant factors of the implementation of the balanced scorecard in Portugal: empirical evidence in public and private organizations

In this article we aim to identify and analyze a set of variables that can potentially influence the adoption of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC)in Portugal. Hypotheses were tested using data obtained from a questionnaire sent to 591 publicly-owned organizations (local governments, municipal corporations and hospitals) and 549 privately-owned organizations (large companies and small and medium enterprises) in Portugal, with an overall response rate of 31.3%. The results allow us to conclude that although the majority of respondents claimed to know the BSC, its use in Portugal is still limited and very recent, particularly in the public sector organizations. However, it should be noted that its use has increased in Portugal in recent years. Using as theoretical framework the contingency and institutional theories, we found that decentralization, vertical differentiation and the degree of higher education are associated with the implementation of the BSC.