A comparative evaluation of the legislative controls on unfair terms and exemption clauses in consumer and business contracts in England and Brazil

The purpose of the present study is to make a comparative evaluation of the legislative controls on unfairness in the context of B2B, B2C and small businesses contracts in England and Brazil. This work will focus on the examination of statutes and relevant case law which regulate exemption clauses and terms on the basis of their ‘unfairness’. The approach adopted by legislation and courts towards the above controls may vary according to the type of contract. Business contracts are more in line with the classical model of contract law according to which parties are presumably equals and able to negotiate terms. As a consequence interventions should be avoided for the sake of freedom of contract even if harmful terms were included. Such assumption of equality however is not applicable to small businesses contracts because SMEs are often in a disadvantageous position in relation to their larger counterparties. Consumer contracts in their turn are more closely regulated by the English and Brazilian legal systems which recognised that vulnerable parties are more exposed to unfair terms imposed by the stronger party as a result of the inequality of bargaining power. For this reason those jurisdictions adopted a more interventionist approach to provide special protection to consumers which is in line with the modern law of contract. The contribution of this work therefore consists of comparing how the law of England and Brazil tackles the problem of ‘unfairness’ in the above types of contracts. This study will examine the differences and similarities between rules and concepts of both jurisdictions with references to the law of their respective regional trade agreements (EU and the Mercosul). Moreover it will identify existing issues in the English and Brazilian legislation and recommend lessons that one system can learn from the other.

Episodes in the Malaysian auditing sage

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the various episodes in the Malaysian auditing saga, covering the period of the first 40 years post-independence in 1957 to just before the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. Design/methodology/approach – Based on documentary analysis, the paper offers a historical account of the development of the auditing profession with reference to the dynamic changes in its political and socio-economic environment. Findings – The paper concludes that the function of auditing in Malaysian society responded to political-economic pressures over time viz. changing from maintaining the economic policy to serve Western investors to accommodating ethnic relations, and to strengthening the bond between local and global corporate elites and the political leaders. Originality/value – Since, little is known of the professionalisation process in Malaysia, our analysis of the structural conditions during the 40 years from the achievement of independence from the British in 1957 to just before the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 and our assessment of their implications for auditing contributes to knowledge in this area

State legislative term limits and the law of unintended consequences: An examination of member behavior, power structures, and legislative organization in Florida

The implementation of term limits on state legislators has provided a wealth of data for study. Florida, the second largest state in the Union with term limits, has not been comprehensively studied. This research examines the effects of term limits on electoral competition, member composition, legislator career paths, legislative leadership, and intra- and inter-governmental influences on Florida's legislature. This study looks at the Florida legislature from 1992 when term limits were enacted through 2004, three electoral cycles in which term limits have been in effect. This study uses both quantitative and qualitative data where appropriate. Electoral data is used to assess electoral and demographic effects, as well as member career trajectories. Interview data with current and former legislators, lobbyists, and executive branch officials is used to analyze both changes in legislative organization and intra- and inter-governmental influences on the legislative process. Term limits has only created greater competition when a legislative seat opens and has actually created a greater advantage for incumbents. Women and minorities have only made minimal gains in winning seats post-term limits. Newly elected legislators are not political novices with a vast majority having previous elective experience. Leadership is more centralized under term limits and the Senate has gained an advantage over the more inexperienced House. Lastly, the influence of staff, lobbyists, and most importantly, the governor has greatly increased under term limits. This research finds that term limits have not produced the consequences that proponents had envisioned.^

An examination of accounting and auditing issues related to strategic environmental initiatives

Although corporate environmental accountability is receiving unprecedented attention in the United States from policy makers, the capital market, and the public at large, extant research is limited in its examination of the implications of strategic corporate environmental initiatives on accounting and auditing. The purpose of my dissertation is to address these implications by examining the association between firm environmental initiatives and audit fees, capital expenditures, and earnings quality using multivariate regression analysis. I find that firms engaged in more strategic environmental initiatives tend to have significantly higher audit fees and capital expenditures, and significantly lower levels of earnings manipulation measured using discretionary accruals. These results support the notion that auditors do recognize the importance of environmental initiatives when conducting the year-end financial statement audit, an idea that positively reflects upon the auditor’s monitoring role. The results also demonstrate the increased amount of capital resources required to participate in strategic environmental initiatives, an anecdotal notion that had yet to be empirically supported. This empirical support provides valuable insights on how environmental initiatives materially impact corporate financial statements. Finally, my results extend the extant literature by demonstrating that the superior financial performance reported by environmentally active firms is less likely driven by earnings manipulation by management, and by implication, more likely a result of real economic gains. Taken together, my dissertation establishes a strong and timely foundation for current and future research to explore corporate environmental initiatives in the United States and globally, a topic increasingly gaining momentum in today’s more eco-conscious world.^

Independent Projects Environmental Studies 2001: Environmental Auditing Strategy for Sir Wilfred Grenfell College

Overconsumption has caused environmental degradation, while creating a dependence on convenience commodities. It is the disposal of solid waste which will prove problematic in the future with growing world populations requiring resources and the use of the land. Universities, as institutions of higher learning, have an opportunity to reduce their environmental impact through its daily operations. Adopting an environmental management system and creating an environmental policy is the means by which these institutions become sustainable campuses. Stewardship policies are developed for universities, such as Sir Wilfred Grenfell College by analyzing current consumptive practices of the students, Faculty, and staff at the institution, often by way of an environmental audit

Let's put in order the accounting records and annual accounts of the agrarian processing companies

The substantive legislation on which Agricultural Processing Companies is based has some notable gaps with regard to the pertinent accounting system. There are grey areas concerning compulsory accounting records and their legalization, together with the process for drawing up, checking, approving and depositing the annual accounts.Consequently, in this paper, we will look first at the corporate and accounting records for Agricultural Processing Companies, putting forward proposals in the wake of recent legislation on the legalization of generally applied corporate and accounting documents.A critical analysis will also be made of the entire process of drafting, auditing, approving and depositing the annual accounts and other documents that Agricultural Processing Companies must send each year to their respective regional registries. Legal and mercantile registries will be differentiated from administrative ones and, in this last sense, changes will be suggested with regard to the place and objective of the deposit of such documents.After thirty-four years old, the substantive legislation in economic and accounting matters of the SAT is out of step with the current law, so a review is necessary. Recent regional regulations have not been a real breakthrough in this regard. We assert the existence of a gap between the substantive rules of the SAT and general accounting rules on financial statements, which is unsustainable and it needs a quick legislative action to be canceled.

Evaluation of a versatile energy auditing tool

Energy auditing can be an important contribution for identification and assessment of energy conservation measures (ECMs) in buildings. Numerous tools and software have been developed, with varying degree of precision and complexity and different areas of use.   This paper evaluates PHPP as a versatile, easy-to-use energy auditing tool and gives examples of how it has been compared to a dynamic simulation tool, within the EU-project iNSPiRe. PHPP is a monthly balance energy calculation tool based on EN13790. It is intended for assisting the design of Passive Houses and energy renovation projects and as guidance in the choice of appropriate ECMs.   PHPP was compared against the transient simulation software TRNSYS for a single family house and a multi-family house. It should be mentioned that dynamic building simulations might strongly depend on the model assumptions and simplifications compared to reality, such as ideal heating or real heat emission system. Setting common boundary conditions for both PHPP and TRNSYS, the ideal heating and cooling loads and demands were compared on monthly and annual basis for seven European locations and buildings with different floor area, S/V ratio, U-values and glazed area of the external walls.   The results show that PHPP can be used to assess the heating demand of single-zone buildings and the reduction of heating demand with ECMs with good precision. The estimation of cooling demand is also acceptable if an appropriate shading factor is applied in PHPP. In general, PHPP intentionally overestimates heating and cooling loads, to be on the safe side for system sizing. Overall, the agreement with TRNSYS is better in cases with higher quality of the envelope as in cold climates and for good energy standards. As an energy auditing tool intended for pre-design it is a good, versatile and easy-to-use alternative to more complex simulation tools.