28.6 C
Vientiane
Saturday, July 19, 2025
spot_img
Home Blog Page 2685

No Covid Deaths in Laos, 323 New Cases Recorded

Savannakhet Covid-19 Update

Laos has recorded no new Covid deaths for the first time in almost three weeks, as cases continue a downward trend.

Laos Foreign Minister Expresses Appreciation for Cambodia’s Efforts in Myanmar Crisis

Laos and Cambodian foreign ministers meet.

Laos has expressed its appreciation of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s efforts as ASEAN Chair to make progress on the crisis in Myanmar.

CUHK Business School Research Reveals How Auditor Rotation May Benefit From Guanxi Among Auditors

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 17 February 2022 – Mandatory audit partner rotation has become a common practice around the world since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in the U.S. in 2002. Also known as the SOX, the purpose of this act is to protect investors from potential accounting fraud and to improve corporate financial disclosure.

 

(Source: iStock)

The purpose of mandatory auditor rotation is to prevent accounting fraud but the close connections between incoming and outgoing auditors raise questions on the effectiveness of the practice in China

 

The year after the SOX was passed, China’s Securities and Regulatory Commission and Ministry of Finance signed into a regulation requiring listed companies to rotate their auditors regularly. This practice is officially known as mandatory auditor rotation. It aims to prevent audit partners from providing services to a public company for more than five consecutive years, and prohibits the same audit partner from resuming audit services for the same client until a two-year cooling-off period expires.

 

Although 18 years have passed since this regulation was introduced, very little was known about how audit firms actually select audit partners to succeed the previous ones after their five-year engagement. Similarly, very little was known about the economic consequences and the audit quality when audit firms use different rotation strategies concerning the choice of auditors.

 

A group of researchers decided to look into the intricate patterns of auditor rotation practice in China to see whether there were any close network connections between the outgoing and incoming auditors, and what kind of impacts those connections might have on audit quality and auditor performance.

 

The research, titled Network Analysis of Audit Partner Rotation, was conducted by Wu Donghui, Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School and its Director of Centre for Institutions and Governance, Prof. Jeffrey Pittman at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Lin Wang at the Central University of Finance and Economics.

 

An extensive range of data was gathered for the period 2003-2015. Sources included the China Stock Market and Accounting Research database, A-share companies’ annual reports, IPO prospectuses and a public accountant database compiled by the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants. A total of 4,257 pairs of incumbent-successor auditors were selected for the research, as well as 53,046 pairs of potential candidates who could have been chosen by the companies.

 

Guanxi Ensures Smoother Transitions

 

The researchers found substantial evidence that auditors who shared more teamwork experience with their predecessors were more likely to be selected when the engagements are rotated. In other words, audit firms prefer to consider auditors with professional guanxi (the Chinese concept of social networks) with the outgoing auditors rather than auditors without such connections.

 

Why do audit firms tend to assign the rotated engagements to auditors who are familiar with the outgoing audit partners? Prof. Wu explains that this preference is rooted in audit firms’ pragmatic approach to the transitions between the outgoing and incoming auditors.

 

“An auditor who has worked at a client company for five years is someone who has accumulated quite a lot of knowledge about that particular company. This kind of company-specific knowledge is complex and sometimes tacit and subtle. If this auditor has an existing interpersonal relationship with the incoming auditor, the process of knowledge transfer can be a lot smoother than if a stranger comes onboard,” says Prof. Wu.

“Client companies appreciate that smooth transition because first of all, they don’t have to risk the loss of knowledge after the transition. Second, they don’t need to pay for a tonne of extra billable hours for the incoming auditor to learn the ropes.”

The research found that auditors with an established guanxi with the incumbent auditors are more likely to be assigned to rotations where the companies have more complex accounting needs. In addition, when none of the incoming auditors has any knowledge about the company, candidates who are connected with the incumbent were favored.

 

Guanxi among Auditors May Affect Objectivity

 

While choosing an auditor who is familiar with the outgoing one can be beneficial for companies, this practice raises the questions: Would the guanxi between the pair of auditors make the audit less objective? Wouldn’t this defeat the original intension of the SOX and its application in China?

Prof. Wu admits that these were the concerns of his research team and they decided to find out through their study.

 

“Yes, it’s true that a friendly successor may not closely scrutinize the predecessor’s work and is less likely to catch and correct problems in the auditing process. When the two auditors are closely connected, the audit firms may not be able to benefit from the supposed ‘fresh-eye effect’ of rotating out an auditor after five years, thus potentially defeating the purpose of the partner rotation practice,” he admits.

 

In addition, Prof. Wu points out that the practice of hiring a familiar auditor can be regarded as an act of “favouritism.” This may discourage the incoming audit partner from challenging the outgoing one’s work, thus potentially weakening the objectivity or independence of having a new auditor on the job.

 

According to Prof. Wu, an audit firm may also overlook an incoming auditor’s competence level in the quest to ensure a smooth transition between the outgoing and incoming auditors. This may influence the quality of audits.

 

Better Transitions without Sacrificing Audit Quality

 

The above concerns were put to rest after the research team found that a high level of mutual trust between the auditing pairs not only enhanced the transfer of client-specific knowledge and expertise, but also improved the accuracy of audit reports and client satisfaction after the rotation took place.

 

“Based on our audit-quality analysis, we found no evidence that audit quality suffers when the incoming partners are closely connected to the rotated-off partners,” remarks Prof. Wu.

In fact, Prof. Wu says, the study provides evidence that prior teamwork experience with the incumbent auditors actually increases the successors’ tendency to issue Modified Audit Opinions (MAOs). MAOs are usually issued when there are ongoing accounting or disclosure issues. So when the study found that successors actually issued more MAOs, it implies that the act of hiring “familiar” auditors does not compromise the neutrality and quality of the audits performed by the new auditor.

 

“Our MAO analysis suggests that when the succeeding auditors have a professional guanxi with the incumbent, they actually can provide more accurate warning signals about their clients’ looming financial or accounting problems to the market,” says Prof. Wu.

 

This study contributes to a new, more positive view than existing literature on the subject of mandatory auditor rotation. It has found new evidence that companies do prefer to hire auditors who have an established guanxi with the outgoing auditor. It also provides assurance for audit firms to design their auditor rotation policies in an optimal way so that they can reap the benefits while ensuring a high audit quality.

 

Reference:

 

Pittman, Jeffrey A. and Wang, Lin and Wang, Lin and Wu, Donghui, Network Analysis of Audit Partner Rotation (November 15, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3087491 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3087491

 

This article was first published in the China Business Knowledge (CBK) website by CUHK Business School: https://bit.ly/3qO9Vwo

 

About CUHK Business School

CUHK Business School comprises two schools – Accountancy and Hotel and Tourism Management – and four departments – Decision Sciences and Managerial Economics, Finance, Management and Marketing. Established in Hong Kong in 1963, it is the first business school to offer BBA, MBA and Executive MBA programmes in the region. Today, CUHK Business School offers 9 undergraduate programmes and 18 graduate programmes including MBA, EMBA, Master, MSc, MPhil and Ph.D. The School currently has more than 4,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students from 20+ countries/regions.

In the Financial Times Executive MBA ranking 2021, CUHK EMBA is ranked 19th in the world. In FT‘s 2021 Global MBA Ranking, CUHK MBA is ranked 48th. CUHK Business School has the largest number of business alumni (40,000+) among universities/business schools in Hong Kong – many of whom are key business leaders.

More information is available at http://www.bschool.cuhk.edu.hk or by connecting with CUHK Business School on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cuhkbschool

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cuhkbusinessschool

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/cuhkbusinessschool

WeChat: CUHKBusinessSchool

#CUHKBusinessSchool

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Customers Can Now Pre-order the New Samsung Galaxy S22 5G Series with M1 Singapore

Hyped for the new Galaxy S22 series that was just announced by Samsung? With the multinational electronics corporation revealing the new line-up, M1 goes full throttle alongside the smartphone launch. Customers looking to get their hands on the next big flagship equipped with top-notch 5G compatibility and features from Samsung can leverage the exclusive pre-order period rolled out by one of Singapore’s leading digital network operators. Starting from February 17, 2022, at 9:00 AM SGT, customers can pre-order any of the 3 Samsung Galaxy S22 models – S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra 5G.


SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 17 February 2022 – With the official unveiling of the Galaxy S22 series by Samsung, M1 Limited stays true to its promise of offering customers the opportunity to get the phone they want on their own terms. In addition to exclusive mobile plan promotions and hyper-personalised solutions, existing and new M1 customers can now purchase these revolutionary smartphones online and in-store. Accompanied by flexible Bespoke mobile plans available at unbeatable prices, fervent Android fans can own any of the 3 models in the line-up when the pre-order window goes live.

Epic Upgrades for Everyday Use

 

A year after the release of the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G series, the Samsung Galaxy S22 5G range will make heads turn with its revolutionary functions and notable design upgrades. Featuring Samsung Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and Galaxy S22 Ultra, the series boasts swanky colours such as Phantom Black, Phantom White, and Green. The Galaxy S22 and S22+ models also come in Pink Gold, while the S22 Ultra 5G is available in a unique Burgundy tone.

 

Presenting enhanced camera quality with its Galaxy Pro-Grade multi-camera system, its intelligent battery capabilities, and faster display refresh rates only add to its ability to deliver performances unlike any other. Every photographer’s dream, the S22 and S22+ 5G boasts a rear camera setup featuring a 12MP Ultra Wide, 50MP Wide-angle, and 10MP Telephoto camera. The Samsung S22 Ultra 5G comes with massive pixel sensors in addition to its 12MP Ultra Wide, 108MP Wide-angle, 10MP 3X and 10MP 10X Optical Zoom Telephoto cameras on the back. Also built with a new 5G-compatible chipset to support hyper fast True 5G speeds, the new Galaxy S series pushes the limits of smartphone technology at mind-blowing proportions.

 

All the Power & Freedom You Can Carry

 

With M1, customers can leverage the selection of Bespoke plans for optimal flexibility. Boasting all 3 Samsung Galaxy S22 models, Samsung fans can choose either the Bespoke Flexi and Bespoke Contract plans to enjoy upfront payments as low as $0 and instalment periods between 12 to 36 months, all with no hidden fees. In addition to the range of mobile add-ons, to experience the wonders of high-speed connectivity, customers can subscribe to the 5Go Plus Booster pack to lead their digital life at True 5G speeds.

 

Hold the Galaxy in Your Hands with M1 Today

 

Pre-order for the new S Series launch, along with fantastic perks, will open to existing and new subscribers on February 17, 2022. Head online for exclusive pre-order access today before availability on March 4.

About M1

M1, a subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, is Singapore’s first digital network operator, providing a suite of communications services, including mobile, fixed line, and fibre offerings to over two million customers.

Since the launch of its commercial services in 1997, M1 has achieved many firsts – becoming one of the first operators to be awarded one of Singapore’s two nationwide 5G standalone network licences, being the first operator to offer nationwide 4G service, ultra-high-speed fixed broadband, fixed voice, and other services on the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (NGNBN).

M1’s mission is to drive transformation and evolution in Singapore’s telecommunications landscape through cutting-edge technology and its made-to-measure offerings. For more information, visit www.m1.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/m1limited

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/m1-limited

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m1.sg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/m1singapore

#M1

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

OPPO to Launch its Flagship Find X5 Series on 24 February 2022

  • Find X5 series is the first to feature OPPO’s self-designed NPU MariSilicon X
  • Find X5 Pro will feature Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform

CHINA, SHENZHEN – Media OutReach – 17 February 2022 – The pioneering smart device brand, OPPO, today announced the launch of its high-end flagship smartphone with world-first imaging experiences – OPPO Find X5 series.

 

OPPO marries breathtaking high-end design with best-in-class technology and camera innovation. Join OPPO and #EmpowerEveryMoment at the global Find X5 Series launch event, to be streamed live via OPPO’s official channel on 24 February 2022 at 11:00 GMT/19:00 GMT+8.

 

At OPPO INNO Day 2021, OPPO announced MariSilicon X, the dedicated imaging Neural Processing Unit, which overcomes smartphone video capture’s greatest challenge – nighttime recording. Taking quality to new heights with its cutting-edge 6nm architecture, real-time RAW processing, and up to 20x faster 4K AI performance – Find X5 Pro shines a light on the night.

 

Powered by the latest-generation, multicore Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, the Find X5 Pro stays cool under pressure and is supercharged to handle the most demanding games and applications. On the outside, it embodies a futuristic design to express a sense of calm and timeless beauty. With an ultra-hard, true ceramic back, the Find X5 Pro achieves clean, modern sophistication while creating a surface texture that reduces fingerprints, and follows a perfectly-smooth, uniform incline to gently cushion the camera module.

 

With unrivalled night shooting capabilities, the high-end 5G flagship Find X5 Pro builds on the core DNA that makes OPPO a hit with consumers and critics alike. With a futuristic aesthetic, new ColorOS, world-class performance, ultra-fast connectivity and a camera system that’s out of this world, Find X5 Pro raises the bar for smartphones.

 

Join the global online launch event to #EmpowerEveryMoment on Thursday February 24th at 11:00 GMT/19:00 GMT+8 on OPPO’s official channel.

 

About OPPO

OPPO is a leading global smart device brand. Since the launch of its first mobile phone in 2008, OPPO has been in relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of aesthetic satisfaction and innovative technology. Today, OPPO provides a wide range of smart devices spearheaded by the Find and Reno series. Beyond devices, OPPO provides its users with the ColorOS operating system and internet services like OPPO Cloud and OPPO+. OPPO operates in more than 40 countries and regions, with 6 Research Institutes and 5 R&D Centres worldwide, as well as an International Design Centre in London. More than 40,000 of OPPO’s employees are dedicated to creating a better life for customers around the world.

#OPPO

ARISTA Biotech Plans Hong Kong Cleanroom Production Plant for COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits; Donates 15,000 Packs to Groups in Need

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 17 February 2022 – ARISTA Biotech Pte Ltd (“ARISTA”) today announces it plans to set up a production facility with cleanroom environment in Hong Kong for the manufacturing of COVID-19 antigen rapid testing kits to help meet rapidly-increasing local demand.

The company is also working with the Hong Kong government to donate at least 15,000 of its rapid testing kit to facilities including elderly homes, schools, and hospitals, and other public institutions. Since its founding in 2020, ARISTA and its partners have received approval and sold over 100 million testing kits in countries and regions including the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore and many other European and Southeast Asian countries.

The new production facility, which will employ about 100 staff, is expected to be in operation by the third quarter and will produce as many as 2 million packs a month. ARISTA Biotech currently manufactures the testing kits from its home market Singapore and other locations. Over the past month the company has sold more than 500,000 kits in Hong Kong and it expects sales in the city to reach 10 million kits for the full year of 2022.

“Hong Kong is now entering a critical phase in its fight against the pandemic, and we want to do our part to help,” said Eric Tang, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer for Hong Kong at ARISTA. “The donation program will provide immediate relief to those groups that are most in need. In the longer term, by setting production facility locally, we are giving ourselves more flexibility and agility to adjust production according to public needs, while minimizing logistical issues.” 

About the ARISTA Rapid Test Kit:

The ARISTA COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test is confirmed to be able to detect over 400+ variants, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Delta Plus, Lambda, and Omicron with similar sensitivities. The kit is available at most major pharmacies, supermarkets and other retail locations in Hong Kong.

About ARISTA Biotech Pte. Ltd


Founded in 2020 by two pharmaceutical industry veterans, ARISTA Biotech develops and manufactures COVID-19 antigen test kits, along with other innovative diagnostic technologies, products, and “big data” analytics for novel disease management. With offices in Singapore and Hong Kong, the company has sold more than 100 million COVID antigen test kits globally since late 2020. The kit is now approved and sold in over 10 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and other European and southeast Asian countries.

For more information, please visit https://aristabio.com/

#ARISTA

Vietnam to Reopen International Tourism From 15 March

Vietnam to reopen to tourism in March

The Vietnamese government agreed on Wednesday to restart inbound and outbound tourism under new normal conditions beginning 15 March.

Smart Notifications Take Gold in New Research on Top Customer Journeys and Channels

CSG’s State of the Customer Journey 2022 report shows brands going the extra mile to win in the battle for customers

DENVER, US – News Direct – 17 February 2022 – CSG® (NASDAQ: CSGS), the leader in innovative customer engagement, revenue management and payments solutions that make ordinary customer experiences extraordinary, today released its 2022 State of the Customer Journey report. Drawing on over 10 billion customer journey interactions, the research found that companies reached their customers through an ever-broadening mix of digital channels, finding increasingly sophisticated ways to connect with their customers at scale.

 

The report highlighted the efforts of global brands to deepen levels of engagement with their customers by shifting focus away from sales and customer acquisition toward long-term loyalty and customer goodwill, both at and after the point of sale. As such, use cases like smart notifications and digital customer service became vitally important and made significant gains during socially distant times, with consumers now expecting these instant interactions online or in-store.

 

Top takeaways from this year’s research include:

  • Smart notifications take customer journey gold as top channel: With the world moving faster than ever, brands embraced “micro-moments” to capture customers’ attention at the right time and in the channels they already use. Case in point: smart notifications accounted for more than 50% of journey interactions and took the top spot as the number one customer journey use case in 2021. Notably, SMS texts presented a unique opportunity for immediacy, engagement and personalization. CSG found that SMS notifications increased by almost 1,000% year over year, and for good reason: 90% of messages are read within 3 minutes.
  • Voice and SMS make a powerful 1-2 punch: It turns out consumers still want to “phone a friend,” as total phone calls increased in volume by 290%, with inbound calls accounting for 31% of total calls in 2021. This trend highlights the growing importance and value of intelligent automated phone system technologies like interactive voice response (IVR), which can better understand customer needs and offer more self-service options for faster resolution. Like voice, SMS saw a big increase in adoption, with overall message volume more than quadrupling year over year (304%). As businesses adapt to notifying consumers in real-time, whether to confirm a delivery or provide a fraud alert, SMS will soon become a requirement to compete.
  • Email makes a rebound: Despite the rumors heard year after year, email is not dead. Email interactions grew steadily since last year’s report (+145%). It triumphed as the most popular channel for journey interactions for customer notification, onboarding, digital customer service and acquisition. Email’s scalability and low technical requirements for personalization continue to make it a powerful “must-have option” for any company’s digital channel mix.
  • Journey interactions rise across the board, across industries:
    • Financial services: Timely, accurate communication is especially important when it comes to managing and protecting our wallets. To meet this expectation, financial services institutions became the ambassadors for channel mix diversity, with 40% more variety in their communication channel delivery than other industries. Not only are banking customers being kept better informed, but banks are building greater trust and confidence with their customers, which will lead to more business down the road. Interestingly, phone channels reigned supreme, accounting for 69% of digital customer service interactions.
    • Telecommunications: The telecom industry also had a lot to gain from channel diversification. Communications service providers (CSPs) got savvier with their channel mix (+36% than average) to retain customers long-term while also pursuing innovative ways to acquire new subscribers. In a highly competitive market, CSPs can ensure current customers are happy by making their experiences simple and easy. On the acquisition front, CSPs need to leverage sophisticated segmentation and analytics to show that they know what future customers are looking for, and then be able to adapt their communications and interactions in real-time to deliver value even before the customer signs up.
    • Retail: Retail brands are mastering the channels they’ve used for years — on average tapping two — but are now standing out in other ways. They are broadening ways for customers to interact with the brand, whether through e-commerce with convenient upsell suggestions during checkout (the digital version of snacks in the checkout line) or hybrid options like buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS). Overall, the opportunity to create the best journeys in retail will come from increasing everyday value-add and orchestrating transactional messages through the most intelligent journey workflows possible.

 

“Winning with customer journeys is quite straightforward: be where your customers are,” says Mark Smith, VP of digital engagement solutions at CSG. “If it’s across six channels, your brand should have a uniquely enticing presence in each, but also ensure you offer consistent value and experience. The goal, especially after the hardships of the pandemic, is to uplift your customer and elevate the experience they have with your brand in the most proactive, predictive and personalized way possible. This digital transformation shift is here to stay, and businesses are realizing the benefits of digital communications that are intelligently coordinated, as evidenced by the expanding channel mix and rise in smart notifications.”

 

Methodology

CSG tracked more than 10 billion customer journey interactions in 2021 through its customer journey orchestration platform, a component of CSG Xponent™ . CSG defines a customer journey interaction as an instance where an API triggers an action to be taken on a channel within the customer journey. New this year, CSG supplemented its journey orchestration data with data from voice and messaging channels (U.S. only), also spanning 2021, with 2020 volumes for comparative reference.

 

Read CSG’s full analysis, findings, and recommendations in the global industry report: State of the Customer Journey 2022.

 

About CSG

CSG is a leader in innovative customer engagement, revenue management and payments solutions that make ordinary customer experiences extraordinary. Our cloud-first architecture and customer-obsessed mindset help companies around the world launch new digital services, expand into new markets, and create dynamic experiences that capture new customers and build brand loyalty. For over 40 years, CSG’s technologies and people have helped some of the world’s most recognizable brands solve their toughest business challenges and evolve to meet the demands of today’s digital economy with future-ready solutions that drive exceptional customer experiences. With 5,000 employees in over 20 countries, CSG is the trusted technology provider for leading global brands in telecommunications, retail, financial services and healthcare. Our solutions deliver real world outcomes to more than 900 customers in over 120 countries. To learn more, visit us at csgi.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

#CSG

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.