Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Petr Dvořák
Title: About The Amendment to the Law on Higher Education
Abstract: Dear readers, it seems now, that after the years of repeated attempts to amend the law on higher education, the effort gets clearer contours in the form of the extensive amendment to the law. It is true that before this amendment comes into force, it has to pass through the legislative process. Nevertheless, it is possible to ask the question yet, what can the proposed change bring to the university environment. At the outset, I must say that I am not really sure, whether we actually know, what the weaknesses of our universities are, and the most importantly, whether we do know how to deal with them. In my opinion, the basic problem is that we hear often about the need for fundamental reform of higher education, but the specific reasons are not usually discussed. It seems to me that the conclusion on the state of the whole higher school system is based on the obvious problems and the low level of one school. The analysis restricts to finding that schools are falling behind the world's prestigious universities and instructions slip into "you need to improve quality". These ideas are true, but they are too general for our search for the successful future of our higher education. If we want to increase the level of our colleges, we have to on the one hand very specifically describe, with knowledge of the conditions of our current higher education, what are the main problems of particular disciplines, and define the objectives we should achieve on the other hand. And then we should deduce the specific steps that will our colleges take to go in the right direction. If we look at the basic points of the amendment to the law, it cloud seem that it goes in this direction. It cannot be denied that the accent in the changes to law is on improving the quality of higher education, schools themselves should set up a body for internal quality assessment that evaluate the quality and to take measures for quality assurance. Enhancing the status of the National accrediting agency, as a guardian of the level and quality of our higher education, might be considered to be a significant change too. European Financial and Accounting Journal, 2013, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 4-6. 5 However, the important question still remains whether we are actually able to measure quality reliably and meaningfully. The measurement often slips to quantification of what can be quantified (and the meaningfulness of the quantification and implications it will bring stand aside), or it slips to the word rating, which in turn often results into reports which fail to find its attentive readers and does not provide usable information on the current state and ways to improve it in the first place. This is the main reason why I am quite sceptical whether the creation of an authority for the internal evaluation of quality will bring something new to the situation. The change in the status of the Accreditation Agency will not make itself the difference to its activities. In my opinion, there still remains the question whether the concept of agency of which members come from institutions that are the subject of accreditation, is able objectively to assess the quality of the schools and disciplines. Introduced institutional accreditation might free up capacity for the evaluation of applications for accreditation of schools that require "more attention", but does not solve the above problems. And so the question remains whether the amendment to the Act will have a real impact on quality of our universities. What is indisputable, however, is a relatively large administrative burden, which will be connected with the new accreditation of programmes, with the establishment of the authority for the internal quality assessment or with changing of many internal regulations of universities. It's not that the aims embodied in the amendment to the Act were flawed. I am afraid, however, that the changes will take place at the administrative level. The level of schools stems in reality from something else. It is primarily determined by the attitude and the responsibility of students and teachers, their interest and motivation to learn as much as possible, to discover something new and to take care of their school’s reputation. And this all cannot be changed by any law. The change can be made only by competition between schools and by the pressure of employers for graduates’ standards. It would be therefore better not to expect too much from the change of the law. We would rather not believe too much in the ability of some authority to inspect and review objectively the quality of schools. Let’s learn that just as we select a car for its make, we need to choose a college for its name - whether we select a school where we want to study or from where we will employ graduates. We must not forget that as long as there is demand for titles PREFACE - Dvořák, P.: About The Amendment to the Law on Higher Education. 6 without adequate knowledge, there are schools without the required quality. Fortunately, these schools are not determining the level of our higher education!
Pages: 4-6
Volume: 2013
Issue: 1
Year: 2013
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/download.php?jnl=efaj&pdf=92.pdf
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/92
File-Format: text/html
Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlefa:v:2013:y:2013:i:1:id:92:p:4-6

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Michal HORA
Author-Name: Ludmila CHYZEVSKA
Title: Accounting Regulation in Ukraine
Abstract: The aim of the paper is to evaluate the regulation and organization of accounting in Ukraine under the changes in the national economic system development and impact of IFRS implementation. The system of legal regulation of accounting in Ukraine is presented by five levels, each comprised of a number of corresponding subjects of regulation and documents. Typical Chart of Accounts is evidence of the continental accounting model in Ukraine. The accounting standards provide freedom of choice as for the specific accounting methods, and as a result the significance of accountants’ training and their role in professional judgment is intensified. Harmonization of national accounting standards with IFRS requires intensification of accounting organizations’ activity. At the present several professional accounting organizations operate in Ukraine, however, they are not given the rights on accounting regulation, but rather have an advisory function. Taking into consideration the historical background, the efficiency of public regulation of the professional accountants’ activity in Ukraine is rather limited. Special influence is being done on the accounting purpose and methodology as a tool of applying the values that are considered by users according to their functions at the different levels of management.
Keywords: Ukraine, Chamber of Auditors, Audit
Classification-JEL: M42
Volume: 2013
Issue: 1
Year: 2013
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/download.php?jnl=efaj&pdf=93.pdf
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/93
File-Format: text/html
Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlefa:v:2013:y:2013:i:1:id:93
X-File-Ref: http://www.vse.cz/RePEc/prg/jnlefa/references/93

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Jan KODERA
Author-Name: Van Quang TRAN
Title: Monetary Policy as an Optimal Control Problem
Abstract: This paper analyses the monetary policy of a central bank in a simple deterministic and continuous dynamic non-linear New-Keynesian model with an active central bank conducting monetary policy within inflation targeting framework. To meet this purpose, first we derive two differential equations capturing the dynamics in the economy: the dynamic IS curve representing the commodity market and the Phillips curve capturing the connection between the real and nominal sectors of the economy in a continuous form. By introducing a quadratic loss function commonly used in New Keynesian Economics we get optimal control problem which solution will be analysed with the use of fuzzy control. Then we introduce a modified form of the Taylor rule and analyse the solution of the same differential equations capturing the dynamics of the economy using Taylor rule instead of loss function. The comparison of the solutions of both models will be demonstrated in examples in which the main characteristic of dynamics of production and inflation are displayed.
Keywords: Deterministic continuous model, Dynamic IS curve, New- Keynesian Phillips curve, Loss function, Modified Taylor rule, Optimal control problem
Classification-JEL: C61, E58
Pages: 18-38
Volume: 2013
Issue: 1
Year: 2013
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/download.php?jnl=efaj&pdf=94.pdf
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/94
File-Format: text/html
Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlefa:v:2013:y:2013:i:1:id:94:p:18-38
X-File-Ref: http://www.vse.cz/RePEc/prg/jnlefa/references/94

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Robert G. Kuklik
Author-Name: Vladislav VACEK
Title: Volatility Asset Pricing Model as an Alternative Approach?
Abstract: The reality of contemporary developments in the capital markets indicates that they do not lend themselves to the deductive theory based on simplified rationality of the physical world. The behaviour of the markets cannot be derived from rather bare postulates of the so called “random walk” process and the “normal distribution” of investments´ returns. It in fact relates to a variety of different. even behavioural factors. The riskreturn relationship is not therefore stable over time and investors cannot rely on the comforting message that all you need to do in order to obtain an expected return is only to decide the appropriate level of risk. There are therefore serious doubts about the Efficient Market Hypothesis with e.g. the CAPM. SIM and MIM frameworks. The multifractal view of e.g. Mandelbrot concerning the market behaviour. has inspired the outline of the Volatility Asset Pricing Model (VAPM) based on the market’s expected volatility and the serial dependence on the past return’s performance. both reflecting the total market risk of an investment. In view of a further research this model has been so far successfully tested as well as presented.
Keywords: CAPM, Efficient Market Hypothesis, Random walk, Markowitz’ mean-variance maxim, Multifractal view, SIM, MIM, Total risk, Volatility, Serial dependence
Classification-JEL: G12
Volume: 2013
Issue: 1
Year: 2013
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/download.php?jnl=efaj&pdf=95.pdf
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/95
File-Format: text/html
Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlefa:v:2013:y:2013:i:1:id:95
X-File-Ref: http://www.vse.cz/RePEc/prg/jnlefa/references/95

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Vladimír ZELENKA
Author-Name: Marie ZELENKOVÁ
Title: From the Germanic to the Soviet Accounting System (History of Czechoslovak Accounting after the World War Two)
Abstract: The development of accounting in Czechoslovakia after the World War II was influenced by political and economic changes of that time. Firstly, it is a subject to tradition, and then also the political order. It results in the transition from the Germanic type of accounting to the Soviet model of accounting, i.e. from the Singular System of Business Accounting to Book-Keeping Evidence under the National-Economic Evidence. Although the Soviet accounting system is by some formal characteristics based on the Anglo-Saxon model of accounting, it was unable to operate efficiently in terms of collectivist economies of the communist regime, i.e. neither in Czechoslovakia.
Keywords: Accounting History, Czechoslovak Accounting, Socialist Accounting
Classification-JEL: M41
Pages: 67-84
Volume: 2013
Issue: 1
Year: 2013
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/download.php?jnl=efaj&pdf=96.pdf
File-URL: http://www.vse.cz/efaj/96
File-Format: text/html
Handle: RePEc:prg:jnlefa:v:2013:y:2013:i:1:id:96:p:67-84
X-File-Ref: http://www.vse.cz/RePEc/prg/jnlefa/references/96