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In 2021, the work of investigative journalists ICIJ and the accountants-founded global NGO Tax Justice Network had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. This article reviews a recent bestselling research book by a multi-award-winning Private Eye investigative journalist: 'Beancounters' by Richard Brooks. Despite being a significant influence on global accounting practice, the culture, politics, services and practices of the Big 4 firms have hardly received serious forensic scrutiny by accounting academics. This paper discusses the methods, motives and breakthroughs of investigative journalists and how these can help advance our research and teaching in accounting. Their scoops and narratives can certainly make the classroom very interesting. Freed from the need to 'prove' scientific credibility and appease academic peer-review, investigative journalists can provide us with new concepts, linkages, data and evidence which we would not otherwise have seen. They force us to step out of our disciplinary boundaries and raise disturbing questions about our academic leadership, pedagogy, moral purpose and strategic direction. We provide suggestions for renewed academic courage, research and education reform in both accounting and finance and how the disciplines can be made more ethical, relevant and impactful.

"Venture Capitalists at Work: How VCs Identify and Build Billion-Dollar Successes offers unparalleled insights into the funding and management of companies like YouTube, Zappos, Twitter, Starent, Facebook, and Groupon. The venture capitalists profiled--among the best in the business--also reveal how they identify promising markets, products, and entrepreneurs. Author Tarang Shah, a venture capital professional himself, interviews rising VC stars, Internet and software investment pioneers, and venture investment thought leaders. You'll learn firsthand what criteria venture capitalists use to make investments, how they structure deals, the many ways they help the companies they fund, avoidable mistakes they see all too often, the role of luck in a success, and why so many startups fail. Venture Capitalists at Work also contains interviews with those on the receiving end of venture money--entrepreneurs in high-profile startups that went on to achieve great success. Whether you're an entrepreneur, an aspiring VC, an M & A professional, or an ambitious student, the knowledge you will gain from Venture Capitalists at Work could provide a significant shortcut to success"--Provided by publisher

This study examines several aspects of the momentum
strategies, such as profitability, risk-based explanation, and
decomposition of the momentum profits. For this purpose, we use weekly
and monthly data of 581 firms listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange
(PSX) for the period 2004-2014. We found the presence of momentum
profits over short and long-horizons, while majority of the contrarian
profits were observed only in the presence of penny stocks that have
share prices of PKR 10 or less. As a robustness check, we computed
returns through the weighted relative strength scheme (WRSS) procedure
and average cumulative abnormal returns (ACARs). Interestingly, the
results reported through WRSS have shown a similar pattern to that
obtained through average cumulative abnormal returns (ACARs). Further,
to know which factor contributes more to momentum and contrarian
profits, we used the model proposed by Lo and MacKinlay (1990). Our
findings show that the overreaction effect is the largest contributing
factor of contrarian profits in PSX, while cross-sectional risk is the
second largest factor and negatively affects the contrarian profits.
Moreover, the lead-lag effect contributes positively to the contrarian
profits. Similarly, the largest contributing factor for momentum profits
is the underreaction effect, whereas cross-sectional risk is the second
largest factor that positively affects momentum profits. Unlike
contrarian profits, lead-lag effect reduces the momentum profits in the
PSX.

Girl Education is a global issue. Many reports and papers, including UNESCO reports on gender monitoring and education highlight the intensity of the challenge across the world. It is underpinned by myriad factors ranging from a genuine desire on the part of the family to protect and safeguard the girls in specific contexts to cultural determinants, social manipulations, gender discrimination, economic priorities, religious interpretations, political exploitations, vested interests, and simple pragmatics, among many others. However, the nature of these factors and their combinations vary in diverse societies influenced by dominant cultural and belief systems, as well as by the economic parameters.Girl education in rural Pakistan is a serious cause of concern. In some regions, the literacy gap between men and women is as large as 45 percentage points (Simons, 2007). It is alarming that in Pakistan, 47 percent of all girls never enrol in a school (McCutcheon, 2007). Economic imperatives emerge as a significant factor but the feudal patriarchal structure of the society (Mernissi, 1991; Shah and Conchar, 2008; Weiss, 1994), religious discourses (Al-Hibri, 1982; Talbani, 1996), gendered roles and stereotyping (Griffin, 2006; Shah, 2008), entrenched traditions and practices underpinned by public/private divide (Afshar, 1991; Seller, 1996; Shah, & Conchar, 2007) and a lack of relevant effective responsive policies exacerbate the situation. This paper attempts to debate the issue, inviting to respond to legitimate concerns, to involve all stakeholders, to solicit social mobilisation, to remove practical barriers, to facilitate acceptable structures, and to ensure effective outcomes. The underlying argument is that ensuring education for girls is crucial, not only for resolving gender inequities, but it is also critical for combating with personal and national poverty.

Girl Education is a global issue. Many reports and papers, including UNESCO reports on gender monitoring and education highlight the intensity of the challenge across the world. It is underpinned by myriad factors ranging from a genuine desire on the part of the family to protect and safeguard the girls in specific contexts to cultural determinants, social manipulations, gender discrimination, economic priorities, religious interpretations, political exploitations, vested interests, and simple pragmatics, among many others. However, the nature of these factors and their combinations vary in diverse societies influenced by dominant cultural and belief systems, as well as by the economic parameters.Girl education in rural Pakistan is a serious cause of concern. In some regions, the literacy gap between men and women is as large as 45 percentage points (Simons, 2007). It is alarming that in Pakistan, 47 percent of all girls never enrol in a school (McCutcheon, 2007). Economic imperatives emerge as a significant factor but the feudal patriarchal structure of the society (Mernissi, 1991; Shah and Conchar, 2008; Weiss, 1994), religious discourses (Al-Hibri, 1982; Talbani, 1996), gendered roles and stereotyping (Griffin, 2006; Shah, 2008), entrenched traditions and practices underpinned by public/private divide (Afshar, 1991; Seller, 1996; Shah, & Conchar, 2007) and a lack of relevant effective responsive policies exacerbate the situation. This paper attempts to debate the issue, inviting to respond to legitimate concerns, to involve all stakeholders, to solicit social mobilisation, to remove practical barriers, to facilitate acceptable structures, and to ensure effective outcomes. The underlying argument is that ensuring education for girls is crucial, not only for resolving gender inequities, but it is also critical for combating with personal and national poverty.

Relevance. The rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world is disastrous to low-income countries. The pandemic was a serious threat to developing countries. In the case of Pakistan's textile industry, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been hit hard. Importantly, the textile sector is the largest industrial sector in Pakistan.Purpose of the study. The purpose of the article is to identify the challenges that SMEs are facing due to the pandemic and to consider trade credit as a possible tool to resolve them.Data and Methods. The data were collected through the questionnaire survey among the representatives of SMEs in the textile industry in Pakistan. In total, representatives of 150 textile industries were surveyed, but due to incomplete data only 115 were used for the analysis. The survey was conducted from March 2020 to March 2021. Then, the structural equation model (SEM) was applied to ensure the accuracy of the results. Results. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the textile industry in Pakistan and the buying process as well as the satisfaction level. The study highlights the industrial safety issues during the pandemic which exacerbated the economic difficulties. The study also explains the mechanism how perceived control over buying, perceived satisfaction, and perceived trust in science relate to trade credit and COVID-19 pandemic.Conclusions. The Pakistani government has taken many proactive measures, but there is still no consistent policy to attract more agents to the small textile business. Thus, a trade loan is the best solution for SMEs as it does not require immediate cash payments. The lack of government support has exacerbated the general pandemic-related economic crisis. In this light, trade loans may be considered as one of the most effective tools to keep SMEs afloat.

Relevance. Human health is essential to economic activity and social development. The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) all around the world can be particularly disastrous for low-income persons, which means that the pandemic poses a severe threat for developing countries. In Pakistan, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were hit especially hard by the pandemic and lockdown restrictions. This research focuses on the economic challenges faced by Pakistan in combatting the impacts of the pandemic.Research objective.The purpose of the article is to identify the difficulties faced by SMEs as a result of the coronavirus infectionData and methods. The methodological approach presents an analysis of statistical data to show the main problems of the SME sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used the data from the statistical report of the Ministry of Health of the Government of Pakistan (GOP), as well as the data from previous studies on the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.Results. The study identified problems for SMEs during COVID-19, such as the lack of capital and the lack of satisfactory business plans. Moreover, poverty is one of the most serious problems in Pakistan, which is why SMEs cannot afford prolonged isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic and individual entrepreneurs have to risk their lives for their families. The government of Pakistan has adapted steps to control the epidemic, however, so far there is no policy for small business investors. The authorities are still working on the policies for small business units.Conclusions. Although Pakistan has adopted many protective measures, the situation regarding measures to support SMEs still leaves much to be desired.The lack of state support contributes to the general economic crisis the country has faced due to the pandemic.