SME perceptions of the independent review and accounting skills on bank financing: South African perspective

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a meta-analysis of the relationship between determinant factors and tax evasion based on deterrence approach. Using the meta-analysis method, each statistical result of empirical studies is converted into r-pearson as standardized effect size, and then synthesized into a mean effect size in order to increase power and to resolve uncertainty. Theoretically, increasing audit, tax rate and tax penalty will decrease tax evasion. However, the results show that only tax rate has a significant impact on tax evasion. Synthesizing totally 478 outcomes from articles published between 1978 and 2018, there is a robust conclusion that decreasing tax rate is an effective tool in combating tax evasion. On the other hand, audit and penalty are not significant in influencing tax evasion. In addition, the results of heterogeneity analysis suggest that national culture and income level of the country are useful in explaining the impact of audit, tax rate and tax penalty on tax evasion. These findings should be of interest to policymakers. First, instead of sacrificing more resources in conducting audit or imposing more penalty, tax authorities should consider setting the tax rate as low as possible to diminish tax evasion. Second, considering that culture and income level influence the impact of audit and penalty on tax evasion, policymakers should consider national cultural values and income level condition when designing audit techniques and setting penalty structures.

The relevance of the study is caused by the fact that the non-financial reporting of business entities and the intensification of process of globalization are becoming nowadays an important source of information for making managerial decisions by different groups of stakeholders. The process of its implementation, definition of types, forms and content remains legally unregulated for Ukraine. A process of its audit requires a systemic solution and an appropriate independent audit opinion.
The purpose of the article is to summarize the European and international experience in the field of regulation of drawing up and publication of non-financial reporting, to work out problems of its content definition and to provide proposals for the regulation of these issues in Ukraine, to define the recommended groups of indicators, and to ground the main directions and tasks of their audit.
It is proposed to create a general concept for the implementation and development of non-financial reporting in Ukraine, which may require the adoption of the future Law of Ukraine “On Public Non-Financial Reporting”, national standards for its preparation, and relevant methodological recommendations for their implementation. The directions of development of theoretical, organizational and methodical issues of audit of non-financial reporting are provided.
A number of valid normative acts of the Audit Chamber of Ukraine in terms of the regulation of audit of non-financial reporting and improvement of professional qualifications of specialists require clarification and accompaniments.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are a powerful economic force, significant employers, and creators of added value. In the European Union SMEs are the backbone of its economic and innovative potential, and for this reason, economic development and stability of SMEs are critical. The goal of this study is to apply modern controlling to the management of SME value growth using the tools and indicators of financial analysis. This study is based on a detailed analysis of 359 companies from the European Union in order to test 4 hypotheses. The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis to identify the dependence between the controlling management of a company, tools of financial analysis, innovative potential, level of digitization, internal auditing, and HR communication tools used in the SME. The statistical analysis confirmed a close relationship between the studied variables and created a model for managing the company’s value growth for the study sample of SMEs. Subsequent experimental testing was used to confirm these conclusions, and other important associations were found that are important for successful management of SMEs value growth. The findings obtained are applicable in practice and can be used for a deeper analysis of the issues in question.