Iowa Child Advocacy Board, 2007 Findings

The Iowa Child Advocacy Board (ICAB) is an independent board composed of nine members appointed by the Governor of Iowa and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. ICAB establishes policies and procedures for two volunteer child advocacy programs: the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and the Iowa Citizen Foster Care Review Boards programs.

Iowa Child Advocacy Board Annual Report, 2009

The Iowa Child Advocacy Board (ICAB) is an independent board composed of nine members appointed by the Governor of Iowa and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. ICAB establishes policies and procedures for two volunteer child advocacy programs: the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and the Iowa Citizen Foster Care Review Boards programs.

Iowa Child Advocacy Board Annual Report, 2010

The Iowa Child Advocacy Board (ICAB) is an independent board composed of nine members appointed by the Governor of Iowa and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. ICAB establishes policies and procedures for two volunteer child advocacy programs: the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and the Iowa Citizen Foster Care Review Boards programs.

Iowa Child Advocacy Board Annual Report, 2011

The Iowa Child Advocacy Board (ICAB) is an independent board composed of nine members appointed by the Governor of Iowa and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. ICAB establishes policies and procedures for two volunteer child advocacy programs: the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and the Iowa Citizen Foster Care Review Boards programs.

Iowa Child Advocacy Board Annual Report, 2012

The Iowa Child Advocacy Board (ICAB) is an independent board composed of nine members appointed by the Governor of Iowa and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. ICAB establishes policies and procedures for two volunteer child advocacy programs: the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and the Iowa Citizen Foster Care Review Boards programs.

Iowa Child Advocacy Board Annual Report, 2006

The Iowa Child Advocacy Board (ICAB) is an independent board composed of nine members appointed by the Governor of Iowa and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. ICAB establishes policies and procedures for two volunteer child advocacy programs: the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and the Iowa Citizen Foster Care Review Boards programs.

Iowa Child Advocacy Board Annual Report, 2008

The Iowa Child Advocacy Board (ICAB) is an independent board composed of nine members appointed by the Governor of Iowa and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. ICAB establishes policies and procedures for two volunteer child advocacy programs: the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and the Iowa Citizen Foster Care Review Boards programs.

Workforce Training and Economic Development Fund Annual Progress Report, 2014 December 9, 2014

The Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges, will annually provide the State Board of Education with the Workforce Training and Economic Development Fund Annual Progress Report. Administration and oversight responsibility for the fund was transferred from the Iowa Economic Development Authority to the Iowa Department of Education effective July 1, 2013 (FY 2014). This report is the first annual progress report produced and distributed by the Iowa Department of Education. The full report outlines the programs, projects, and initiatives that the community colleges have implemented during the past fiscal year.

Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 2015 Enhanced 911 Annual Report, January 14, 2016

The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) submits this enhanced 911 (E911) annual report to the Iowa General Assembly’s standing committees on government oversight pursuant to Iowa Code § 34A.7A (3) (a). This section of the Code requires the E911 program manager to advise the General Assembly of the status of E911 wireline and wireless implementation and operations, the distribution of surcharge receipts, and an accounting of revenue and expenses of the E911 program.

Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 2014 Enhanced 911 Annual Report, January 15, 2015

The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) submits this enhanced 911 (E911) annual report to the Iowa General Assembly’s standing committees on government oversight pursuant to Iowa Code § 34A.7A (3) (a). This section of the Code requires the E911 program manager to advise the General Assembly of the status of E911 wireline and wireless implementation and operations, the distribution of surcharge receipts, and an accounting of revenue and expenses of the E911 program.

L’arquitectura termal a Tàrraco i el seu territorium: reflexions sense resposta

Se trata de una reflexión global y actualizada de los diversos aspectos que configuraron la cultura termal de Tarraco y de su territorium. Más allá de los análisis arquitectónicos y cronológicos, los restos arqueológicos deben considerarse el testimonio de una evolución económica e ideológica y el reflejo de una sociedad que tuvo, en las actividades termales, el principal espacio de vida ciudadana. La comprensión de este fenómeno es aún un objetivo incompleto que requiere desarrollar proyectos científicos para conocer los datos de una realidad arquitectónica fundamental en la escenografía de la ciudad y en los asentamientos rurales.

Projecte Rambla de la Mina. Colors per trepitjar

Aquest projecte deriva d'alguns dels resultats del conjunt de tallers de participació que, amb el nom de Cartografies de La Mina vàrem desenvolupar entre el 2002 i el 2005 amb diversos grups de veïns i veïnes del barri i que queden sintetitzats en el Pla d¿accions de barri en Espai Públic, que vàrem lliurar al Consorci del Barri de La Mina l'abril del 2006.

Effective corporate governance : experimental evidence on international auditors'judgments and the contribution of financial accounting education

1 Summary This dissertation deals with two major aspects of corporate governance that grew in importance during the last years: the internal audit function and financial accounting education. In three essays, I contribute to research on these topics which are embedded in the broader corporate governance literature. The first two essays consist of experimental investigations of internal auditors' judgments. They deal with two research issues for which accounting research lacks evidence: The effectiveness of internal controls and the potentially conflicting role of the internal audit function between management and the audit committee. The findings of the first two essays contribute to the literature on internal auditors' judgment and the role of the internal audit function as a major cornerstone of corporate governance. The third essay theoretically examines a broader issue but also relates to the overall research question of this dissertation: What contributes to effective corporate governance? This last essay takes the perspective that the root for quality corporate governance is appropriate financial accounting education. r develop a public interest approach to accounting education that contributes to the literature on adequate accounting education with respect to corporate governance and accounting harmonization. The increasing importance of both the internal audit function and accounting education for corporate governance can be explained by the same recent fundamental changes that still affect accounting research and practice. First, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX, 2002) and the 8th EU Directive (EU, 2006) have led to a bigger role for the internal audit function in corporate governance. Their implications regarding the implementation of audit committees and their oversight over internal controls are extensive. As a consequence, the internal audit function has become increasingly important for corporate governance and serves a new master (i.e. the audit committee) within the company in addition to management. Second, the SOX (2002) and the 8th EU Directive introduced additional internal control mechanisms that are expected to contribute to the reliability of financial information. As a consequence, the internal audit function is expected to contribute to a greater extent to the reliability of financial statements. Therefore, effective internal control mechanisms that strengthen objective judgments and independence become important. This is especially true when external- auditors rely on the work of internal auditors in the context of the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 610 and the equivalent US Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) 65 (see IFAC, 2009 and AICPA, 1990). Third, the harmonization of international reporting standards is increasingly promoted by means of a principles-based approach. It is the leading approach since a study of the SEC (2003) that was required by the SOX (2002) in section 108(d) was in favor of this approach. As a result, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) commit themselves to the development of compatible accounting standards based on a principles-based approach. Moreover, since the Norwalk Agreement of 2002, the two standard setters have developed exposure drafts for a common conceptual framework that will be the basis for accounting harmonization. The new .framework will be in favor of fair value measurement and accounting for real-world economic phenomena. These changes in terms of standard setting lead to a trend towards more professional judgment in the accounting process. They affect internal and external auditors, accountants, and managers in general. As a consequence, a new competency set for preparers and users of financial statements is required. The basil for this new competency set is adequate accounting education (Schipper, 2003). These three issues which affect corporate governance are the initial point of this dissertation and constitute its motivation. Two broad questions motivated a scientific examination in three essays: 1) What are major aspects to be examined regarding the new role of the internal audit function? 2) How should major changes in standard setting affect financial accounting education? The first question became apparent due to two published literature reviews by Gramling et al. (2004) and Cohen, Krishnamoorthy & Wright (2004). These studies raise various questions for future research that are still relevant and which motivate the first two essays of my dissertation. In the first essay, I focus on the role of the internal audit function as one cornerstone of corporate governance and its potentially conflicting role of serving both management and the audit committee (IIA, 2003). In an experimental study, I provide evidence on the challenges for internal auditors in their role as servant for two masters -the audit committee and management -and how this influences internal auditors' judgment (Gramling et al. 2004; Cohen, Krishnamoorthy & Wright, 2004). I ask if there is an expectation gap between what internal auditors should provide for corporate governance in theory compared to what internal auditors are able to provide in practice. In particular, I focus on the effect of serving two masters on the internal auditor's independence. I argue that independence is hardly achievable if the internal audit function serves two masters with conflicting priorities. The second essay provides evidence on the effectiveness of accountability as an internal control mechanism. In general, internal control mechanisms based on accountability were enforced by the SOX (2002) and the 8th EU Directive. Subsequently, many companies introduced sub-certification processes that should contribute to an objective judgment process. Thus, these mechanisms are important to strengthen the reliability of financial statements. Based on a need for evidence on the effectiveness of internal control mechanisms (Brennan & Solomon, 2008; Gramling et al. 2004; Cohen, Krishnamoorthy & Wright, 2004; Solomon & Trotman, 2003), I designed an experiment to examine the joint effect of accountability and obedience pressure in an internal audit setting. I argue that obedience pressure potentially can lead to a negative influence on accountants' objectivity (e.g. DeZoort & Lord, 1997) whereas accountability can mitigate this negative effect. My second main research question - How should major changes in standard setting affect financial accounting education? - is investigated in the third essay. It is motivated by the observation during my PhD that many conferences deal with the topic of accounting education but very little is published about what needs to be done. Moreover, the Endings in the first two essays of this thesis and their literature review suggest that financial accounting education can contribute significantly to quality corporate governance as argued elsewhere (Schipper, 2003; Boyce, 2004; Ghoshal, 2005). In the third essay of this thesis, I therefore focus on approaches to financial accounting education that account for the changes in standard setting and also contribute to corporate governance and accounting harmonization. I argue that the competency set that is required in practice changes due to major changes in standard setting. As the major contribution of the third article, I develop a public interest approach for financial accounting education. The major findings of this dissertation can be summarized as follows. The first essay provides evidence to an important research question raised by Gramling et al. (2004, p. 240): "If the audit committee and management have different visions for the corporate governance role of the IAF, which vision will dominate?" According to the results of the first essay, internal auditors do follow the priorities of either management or the audit committee based on the guidance provided by the Chief Audit executive. The study's results question whether the independence of the internal audit function is actually achievable. My findings contribute to research on internal auditors' judgment and the internal audit function's independence in the broader frame of corporate governance. The results are also important for practice because independence is a major justification for a positive contribution of the internal audit function to corporate governance. The major findings of the second essay indicate that the duty to sign work results - a means of holding people accountable -mitigates the negative effect of obedience pressure on reliability. Hence, I found evidence that control .mechanisms relying on certifications may enhance the reliability of financial information. These findings contribute to the literature on the effectiveness of internal control mechanisms. They are also important in the light of sub-certification processes that resulted from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the 8th EU Directive. The third essay contributes to the literature by developing a measurement framework that accounts for the consequences of major trends in standard setting. Moreovér, it shows how these trends affect the required .competency set of people dealing with accounting issues. Based on this work, my main contribution is the development of a public interest approach for the design of adequate financial accounting curricula. 2 Serving two masters: Experimental evidence on the independence of internal auditors Abstract Twenty nine internal auditors participated in a study that examines the independence of internal auditors in their potentially competing roles of serving two masters: the audit committee and management. Our main hypothesis suggests that internal auditors' independence is not achievable in an institutional setting in which internal auditors are accountable to two different parties with potentially differing priorities. We test our hypothesis in an experiment in which the treatment consisted of two different instructions of the Chief audit executive; one stressing the priority of management (cost reduction) and one stressing the priority of the audit committee (effectiveness). Internal auditors had to evaluate internal controls and their inherent costs of different processes which varied in their degree of task complexity. Our main results indicate that internal auditors' evaluation of the processes is significantly different when task complexity is high. Our findings suggest that internal auditors do follow the priorities of either management or the audit committee depending on the instructions of a superior internal auditor. The study's results question whether the independence of the internal audit function is actually achievable. With our findings, we contribute to research on internal auditors' judgment and the internal audit function's independence in the frame of corporate governance.

Poblenou y La Mina [Barcelona], participacion creativa con la metodologia de las CPBoxes

En el último año, en la reunión del Public Art Observatory en Lisboa (septiembre 2002) y en el marco del congreso User (marzo 2003), presentamos uno de nuestros proyectos iniciado en el 2001 y centrado en la búsqueda de metodologías de participación ciudadana para el desarrollo de propuestas de arte público o diseño de espacio público: las denominadas CPBoxes (cajas de acotaciones y tendencias). Ahora, después de la realización de distintas dinámicas de participación ciudadana, tanto en el barrio de La Mina como en el de Poblenou, ambas zonas urbanas de Barcelona caracterizadas por los profundos cambios urbanos y sociales a los que se hayan sometidas, hemos percibido que la metodología propuesta ha resultado ser, no sólo herramienta perfecta para averiguar la percepción y significado que los ciudadanos otorgan a su espacio, sino excelente instrumento de dinamización cultural y educativa para realizar con grupos escolares de educación secundaria con el objetivo de descubrir y conocer conceptos relacionados con la ciudad y el espacio urbano.