Miroslav Todorović, Đorđe Kaličanin and Aleksandra Nojković
A large number of acronyms which indicate diff erent performance metrics, such as EBIT (Earnings Before Interest And Taxes), EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, And Amortization), ROIC (Return On Invested Capital), NPV (Net Present Value), EVA (Economic Value Added), IRR (Internal Rate Of Return), ROE (Return On Equity), ROA (Return On Assets) etc. are in use nowadays. In practice, managers cannot and do not want to apply all of these metrics and managers’ choice does not necessarily rely on what theory emphasizes as their advantages and disadvantages. We surveyed 64 CFOs in order to explore the corporate practice in the Republic of Serbia. The DCF-based capital budgeting metrics are dominant compared to the traditional metrics, and the one that is used the most is the profi tability index, only to be followed by the IRR and the NPV. The Payback Period is yet frequently used. The earnings-based corporate performance metrics are still the most important. However, the presence of EVA and balanced scorecard is not negligible. Large companies use them signifi cantly more than small companies. The orientation towards EVA and balanced scorecard increases with the internationalization of a fi rm as well. Finally, companies using sophisticated capital budgeting metrics are prone to using sophisticated corporate performance metrics.
Fang Ying1 and Zhao Wen-ping2
In recent years, the worsening of the quality of the air has urged more people to att ach great importance to circular economy. Shaanxi, abundant in natural resources, maintained the GDP growth rate of 14.9% during the period of the twelfth fi ve-year plan. However, the fast economic growth under the extensive traditional economic growth mode renders Shaanxi inadequate in resources supply and noticeably worse in ecological environment issues. With the method of the IPAT equation, this paper quantitatively analyzes the developmental stage and the developmental level of the circular economy of Shaanxi to cover the shortage of the previous studies having only been focused on the policy study and the practice mode. The result shows that Shaanxi is in the intermediate stage of circular economy and the advanced stage has an apparent advantage over the intermediate one by comparing their energy consumption and solid pollutant discharge. The development experience of Shaanxi, a typical province of China, has guidance and reference signifi cance to China and other developing countries.
Vladimir Mićić
This paper examines industrialization and structural change induced thereof, which are the main drivers and bearers of economic development. The author observes that the industry of the Republic of Serbia is devastated due to sudden and premature tertiarization as well as inadequate reforms. The current structures of both the economy and the industry do not have a sufficient capacity to ensure sustainable economic development; hence, the aim of the research presented in this paper is to emphasize the importance of reindustrialization and the implementation of structural changes in the Republic of Serbia. The paper starts from the premise that industry is the main driver and the bearer of economic growth and development. Therefore, it is necessary for the Republic of Serbia to turn to reindustrialization and implement structural changes in this sector given the fact that the levels of the development and competitiveness of the industry are correlated to the intensity of industrialization. The research findings indicate that developed industrial countries are characterized by more effective structural changes and more propulsive production that creates higher value-added products. This reflects not only at the level of the industrial development but also at the level of the competitiveness, volume and quality of exports.
Fan Xiufeng, Liu Bolong and Liu Qiong
This article is based on the years from 1991 to 2012 of the nine categories of the provincial pollutant discharge indexes of China, uses the „vertical and horizontal method“ to calculate the comprehensive indexes that can fully measure the provincial pollutant discharge situation of China, establishes a dynamic inter-provincial panel data regression model and makes an empirical test on the relationship among foreign direct investments, foreign trade and pollutant discharge these three factors. The results show that foreign direct investment and foreign trade in diff erent regions have a diff erent impact on pollutant discharge. Therefore, local governments should at all levels be based on local conditions to att ract foreign investment and develop foreign trade for the targeted optimization of the structure of introducing foreign investment and improving the quality of foreign trade growth, thus improving the overall situation of China’s pollutant discharge.
Slavica P. Petrović
At the beginning of this Editorial, we would like to inform the domestic and international academic community that, since March this year, and along with EconLit, EBSCO, Cabell’s Directories, ProQuest ABI/INFORM, Index Copernicus and Ulrich Web, the Economic Horizons has been included in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – an online directory that indexes and provides access to quality open access, peer-reviewed journals.
Katarina Radaković
Mirjana Todorović
In addition to the capacity cost rate, the key parameter of Time-Driven Activity Based Costing – the TDABC is the time required for the realization of each business activity. In accordance with the TDABC methodology, the above-mentioned time is calculated by using time equations. Therefore, the total time required for the realization of a certain business activity is obtained by adding a normal (standard) time to the additional time required for performing modified forms of one and the same activity. The aim of this paper is to analyze the role and importance as well as various aspects of the building of time equations from the perspective of the organizational and methodological preparation for the realization and functioning of the TDABC. The research results show that the application of time equations leads to the increased accuracy of the calculation of costs and a product cost, reduces the complexity of the organizational and methodological preparation for the implementation and functioning of the TDABC system, i.e. enables the realization of a more effective and efficient costs calculation.
Vladimir Obradović
The transformation of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) into a single global language of financial reporting is well under way and followed by a problem of their inconsistent application from country to country, with negative consequences for the global comparability of financial statements. Starting from this, the main purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the main causes of the diversity of financial reporting practices between those countries declaring themselves to be the followers of the IFRS, as well as to identify the ways of overcoming this diversity. Applying the qualitative research methodology, it has been found that the flexibility of the IFRS provisions, which is inevitable in many cases, modifications in their incorporation into national regulatory frameworks and the diversity and unequal effectiveness of national mechanisms for their enforcement and the supervision of their implementation stand for the main causes of inconsistent accounting practices. In order to reduce the inconsistency, national financial reporting regulators should increase their engagement and coordination among themselves, and the International Accounting Standards Board should make additional efforts, which should primarily be focused on the global promotion of the fundamental basis of the IFRS.