Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Conclusion of PFS Program Regional Activities in Five Central and Eastern European Countries
Budapest, Hungary
On December 31, 2003 EWMI concluded PFS Program regional activities in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. From 2000 through 2003, the PFS Program (active in the above countries as well as in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) was funded under a cooperative agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and EWMI.
Beginning January 1, 2004 EWMI will continue to cooperate on specific financial sector reform initiatives in the five above-mentioned Central and Eastern European countries on a case-by-case basis.
Under a new grant from the US Department of State, EWMI will continue PFS Program activities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania through June 30, 2004.
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Research Report: “Investment Strategies of Pension Funds in CEE Countries”
Budapest, Hungary
On Tuesday, December 30, 2003 FI-AD Financial Advisory Ltd. (Budapest, Hungary) published the final version of its research report, “Investment Strategies of Pension Funds in CEE Countries” on its website and on the PSF Program website. This research, co-financed by a PFS Program Grant, represented a significant contribution of valuable comparative data to the PFS Program/INPRS comprehensive pension reform initiative involving all eight CEE countries that will join the European Union (EU) on May 1, 2004.
The report’s authors presented excerpts from the research at the 5th CEE INPRS Regional INPRS Seminar on Private Pensions: Security of Future Benefits, held in Prague, Czech Republic on December 4-5, 2003.
To download the research report, please click on the link below:
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Country Study: “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies in Poland”
Gdansk, Poland
On Thursday, December 18, 2003 The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics published its inaugural country study, “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies.” This research, co-financed by a PFS Program Grant, is part of a comprehensive initiative involving a Regional Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in CEE countries (published in September 2003) as well as country surveys conducted by research institutions in Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
The “Survey of Reporting on CSR by Polish Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies” was conducted during the time period August – October 2003. It investigates Polish-language information available in the 2002 annual reports and websites of 31 Polish banks, 32 financial institutions (16 investment fund companies and 16 pension fund companies) and all 201 companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Encompassing corporate governance, environmental policies and social policies, the Polish survey employs the same template used by the PFS Program in its Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia, published in September 2003. In addition, similar country studies of listed companies have been completed in the Czech Republic and Hungary, and will be published in early January 2004. As a result, the group of surveys should enable for the first time benchmarking of reporting on CSR in these countries against other countries in the European Union (EU) and elsewhere.
Survey findings include the following:
- 74% of Polish listed companies provide information on management board structure and 62% on supervisory board structure.
- 100% of the banks surveyed provide information on management board structure and 93% provide information on supervisory board structure.
- 80% of the investment fund companies and 100% of the pension fund companies surveyed provide information about their management board structure.
- In the environmental policy sphere, 20% of Polish listed companies state whether they comply with industry, national and/or international regulations regarding environmental standards.
- In the social policy sphere, 18% of listed companies disclose employee development/employee benefit policies and 16% disclose information regarding community patronage/sponsorship programs.
To download the country study in Polish and/or in English, please click on the links below:
Friday, December 12, 2003
Country Studies: The Economic Impact of Registered Pledge Systems in Latvia and Poland
Riga, Latvia and Gdansk, Poland
In 2003, the PFS Program co-financed two country studies: Each study analyzed the economic impact of the registered pledge system in the respective country. The Latvian study was co-financed by the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks and the Polish study was co-financed by the Gdansk Academy of Banking.
The studies were presented at the Regional Symposium on Registered Pledge Systems in Transition Economies, held in Budapest, Hungary on December 11, 2003. (See the PowerPoint presentations of these country studies as well as presentations on the Czech Republic and Sloval Republic.)
To download the studies, please click on the appropriate link below:
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Second Annual Regional Symposium on Registered Pledge Systems in Transition Economies
Budapest, Hungary
On December 11, 2003 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks and the Gdansk Academy of Banking, held a Second Annual Regional Symposium on Registered Pledge Systems in Transition Economies. 19 persons, representing Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovak Republic and the US, attended the Regional Symposium.
To download the agenda, presentations and list of participants, please click on the links below:
Thursday, December 4, 2003 - Friday, December 5, 2003
5th CEE Regional INPRS Seminar on Private Pensions
Prague, Czech Republic
The 5th CEE Regional INPRS Seminar on Private Pensions: Security of Future Benefits was held in Prague on Thursday, December 4 and Friday, December 5, 2003.
The objective of the seminar was to provide a forum to share information on a range of current topics in pension regulation, supervision and policy in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in selected OECD and EU countries.
Specifically, the seminar provided a forum to: (1) Continue discussion on the payout and distribution of pension benefits, including issues regarding the annuitization of accumulated pension savings; (2) Initiate discussion on the issue of investor/fund member financial literacy and education, focusing on current educational programs, their successes and their failures in the CEE region and in select OECD countries; and (3) Present the results of the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program research project on private pension fund investment in the CEE countries.
CEE Regional INPRS Member Regulators and Supervisors were asked to complete a questionnaire related to one of the topics of the seminar and provide it to the organizers before the event. Seminar participants included: Pension regulators and supervisors from several CEE and Southeastern European (SEE) countries, international organizations with an interest in private pensions, federations and associations of asset managers and pension funds, other private pension service providers, as well as research organisations.
The organizers of the seminar were the PFS Program of the East-West Management Institute, Inc. (EWMI), the International Network of Pension Regulators and Supervisors (INPRS), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The host of the seminar was the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic.
To download the seminar presentations, please click on the links below:
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
Workshop on Corporate Social Responsibility: Measurement and Reporting
Budapest, Hungary
On November 19, 2003 the Center for the Social Foundations of Business held a workshop entitled, "Corporate Social Responsibility: Measurement and Reporting" from 17:00 – 19:00 at the Graduate Business School of the Central European University.
Professor Heather Elms, Associate Professor of Strategy and Ethics, opened the workshop with an introduction to the subject, outlining the origins of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the social-contracts approach to the corporation. Professor Elms explained that whereas CSR is consistently viewed as a multi-dimensional construct, measurement to date has largely been either single-dimensional or multiple-dimensional but aggregated, thereby making measurement difficult. Single-dimension measurement does not capture the breadth of the construct and/or doesn’t allow for comparison across companies or industries. Multi- but aggregated-dimension measurement produces a number of difficulties: the meaning and the richness of the data can be lost in details; weighting of the various factors is an issue; dimensions may not correlate and again, it may be difficult to compare across companies or industries. Furthermore, Dr. Elms noted that measurement is very dependent on reporting.
Mr. Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program, analyzed the current state of corporate reporting by listed companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). He presented the PFS Program’s semi-annual Surveys of Online Investor Relations of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE, conducted since September 2001, and outlined the background to the inaugural Survey of Reporting on CSR by the Largest Listed Companies in CEE published in September 2003. He described the process whereby the PFS Program developed its standard profile for reporting on CSR, including three categories of information: corporate governance, environmental policy and social policy.
This analysis of concrete data from the region was complemented by two company presentations.
Ms. Zsuzsanna Toth, Social Reporting Manager, British American Tobacco (BAT) described the company’s strategy as follows: “To be recognized as a responsible company in an industry seen as controversial.” She explained BAT’s “Responsible Company Strategy” and described its process of social reporting.
In contrast to this general discussion of CSR, Ms. Beata Kiss, Director, Corporate Affairs, Danone Kft. presented in detail one of the company’s successful social initiatives, the TEGY program. She explained how this program was integrated into Danone’s overall marketing through Cause Related Marketing (CSR) tools.
Following the three presentations, Mr. Karoly Nagy, Human Resources and Public Affairs Manage, Philips Hungary moderated a discussion on the following issues:
- The relationship between CSR and financial performance;
- The impact of the bottom line on CSR;
- The definition of CSR – something extra or something inherent in the company;
- Customer recognition of CRM and the company; and
- Whether CSR improves the company’s attractiveness to future/potential employees.
CEU students and professors as well as representatives of Hungarian companies, Hungarian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and multinational companies participated in the workshop.
To download the workshop agenda and presentations, please click on the links below:
Friday, November 7, 2003
Seminar on Socially Responsible Business in Poland
Warsaw, Poland
On Friday, November 7, 2003 The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics held a Seminar on Socially Responsible Business in Poland. At the seminar, The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics presented its inaugural “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Polish Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies.” This research, co-financed by a PFS Program Grant, is part of a comprehensive initiative involving a regional survey of reporting on CSR by the largest listed companies in CEE countries as well as country surveys conducted by research institutions in Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
The seminar opened with an in-depth overview of the Polish Survey. Thereafter, the PFS Program’s Regional Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by the Largest Listed Companies in Six Central and Eastern European Countries was presented. Three leading members of Poland’s banking/financial community commented on the research. A final session allowed for a roundtable discussion of the research and brainstorming on possible follow-up activities. Representatives of Polish companies, financial institutions, the financial press, non-governmental organizations and self-regulatory organizations as well as multilateral financial institutions attended the seminar.
The final version of the Polish Survey will be published (in English and in Polish) on the Capital Markets Research page in December 2003.
To download the seminar presentations (in Polish), please click on the links below:
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - Friday, October 17, 2003
Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering
Krakow, Poland
On October 16-17, 2003 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Poland conducted a Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering. The participant breakdown was as follows: Poland (17 prosecutors; two representatives of the Department of Financial Information, Ministry of Finance; and one representative of the Department of Judicial Assistance and European Law, Ministry of Justice); Slovak Republic (one judge and one prosecutor); Slovenia (the Director of the Slovene Office for Money Laundering Prevention); UK (one barrister); Ukraine (three prosecutors and one police officer/instructor from the National University of Internal Affairs); and US (one judge and one regional advisor of the US Treasury, also a former prosecutor). On the first day of the workshop, specialists from Poland, Slovenia, the UK and the US presented case studies demonstrating a range of issues and experiences in combating money laundering. On the second day, participants debated case studies presented by judges and prosecutors from Poland, Slovak Republic and Ukraine. This in-depth discussion of real life situations from the three jurisdictions, complemented by insights offered by Slovene, UK and US practitioners, proved to be an extremely fruitful exercise, enabling the exchange of lessons learned and identification of best practices.
To download the agenda, presentations, speaker CVs and list of participants, please click on the links below:
Monday, October 6, 2003
Investor Relations Online - Survey of Websites of Hungarian Listed Companies - 2003
In September 2003 PFS Program Intern Philipp-Emanuel Pap conducted an inaugural Survey of Online Investor Relations of Hungarian Companies Listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange. This is the PFS Program’s first in-depth survey of the online investor relations practices of all Hungarian listed companies. It adds to and complements the PFS Program’s ongoing research in this area, namely the regional surveys of online investor relations of the largest listed companies in Central and Eastern Europe conducted semi-annually as well as the annual surveys of online investor relations of Polish companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
To download the survey, please click on the link below:
Thursday, October 2, 2003 - Friday, October 3, 2003
International Accounting Standards (IAS) Seminar
Horny Smokovec (High Tatras), Slovak Republic
On October 2-3, 2003 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Chamber of Auditors of the Slovak Republic, held a Seminar on International Accounting Standards (IAS).
One Czech auditor, one Hungarian auditor and 129 Slovak auditors, officials of the Chamber of Auditors of the Slovak Republic and accounting specialists from the Ministry of Finance attended the event.
The Chamber of Auditors of the Slovak Republic translated the agenda, presentations and supplementary examples into Slovak.
To download the list of participants as well as the agenda and presentations (in English and Slovak), please click on the links below:
Monday, September 22, 2003
Second Annual Survey of Websites of 42 Securities Commissions
In 2003, the PFS Program commissioned Digital Strategies Group, Inc. to conduct a second annual Survey of Websites of Securities Commissions in 42 Countries.
The inaugural survey was conducted in 2002 in response to a request from the Lithuanian Securities Commission.
The purpose of the surveys is fourfold: First, to survey what information the investing public can obtain in the English language via the websites of the securities commissions; Second, by analyzing the above, to survey how the securities commissions are informing, educating and thereby protecting the investing public; Third, to identify and survey best practices in investor education, information and protection via the websites of the securities commissions; and fourth, to share the survey results with securities commissions in the eight PFS countries and thereby promote: (a) discussion of lessons learned and (b) implementation of best practices.
This research was presented for the first time at a Seminar on Issuer Disclosure and Corporate Governance, organized by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Estonian Financial Supervision Authority, USAID and the PFS Program. The presentation took place on Thursday, September 18, 2003 in Tallinn, Estonia.
To download the survey, please click on the link below:
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Investor Relations magazine Central and Eastern Europe Conference & Awards 2003 –
Warsaw, Poland
On Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Investor Relations magazine held its second annual Central and Eastern Europe Conference & Awards. This year’s venue was Warsaw, Poland following last year’s inaugural event in Budapest.
The Budapest Stock Exchange, the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the PFS Program were three of the many sponsors; for the second year in a row, the PFS Program co-financed the independent research that selected the award winners.
Participants representing institutional investors, listed companies, regulatory authorities, self-regulatory organizations, service providers and stock exchanges from across Central and Eastern Europe as well as the European Union and the United States attended. Mr. Mazullo presented the PFS Program’s most recent Survey of Online Investor Relations of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE and inaugural Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by the Largest Listed Companies in CEE. Please click on this link to Investor Relations magazine’s website to read a list of the companies and individuals who received awards.
Monday, September 15, 2003 - Friday, September 19, 2003
Issuer Disclosure and Corporate Governance Seminar
Tallinn, Estonia
From Monday, September 15 through Friday, September 19, 2003 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Estonian Financial Supervision Authority, USAID and the PFS Program conducted a Seminar on Issuer Disclosure and Corporate Governance. The seminar took place in Tallinn, Estonia. 46 participants representing securities commissions and stock exchanges from 18 countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe as well as the Newly-Independent States attended the seminar. Among the participants were representatives of securities commissions and/or stock exchanges from all eight PFS Program countries: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
To download the agenda, presentations and a list of participants, please click on the links below:
 | Agenda - September 15-19, 2003.doc - 52 KB |
| Presentation - IPO and Listing Requirements - September 15, 2003.ppt - 103 KB |
| Presentation - Nonfinancial Disclosure Requirements - September 15, 2003.ppt - 136 KB |
| Presentation - IAS IFRS - September 15, 2003.ppt - 164 KB |
| Presentation - Financial Statements - September 15, 2003.ppt - 132 KB |
| Presentation - Advising on the Public Offer - Tark & Co - September 15, 2003.ppt - 77 KB |
| Presentation - Offering Process - September 15, 2003.ppt - 61 KB |
| Presentation - Processing Disclosure Documents - September 16, 2003.ppt - 85 KB |
| Presentation - Risk Factors - September 16, 2003.ppt - 135 KB |
| Presentation - Management's Discussion and Analysis - September 16, 2003.ppt - 72 KB |
| Presentation - Fraudulent Reporting - September 16, 2003.ppt - 199 KB |
| Presentation - HEX Tallinn - September 16, 2003.ppt - 279 KB |
| Presentation - Detection of Financial Fraud - September 16, 2003.ppt - 160 KB |
| Presentation - Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program - September 16, 2003.ppt - 761 KB |
| Presentation - EU and US Reporting - SOx - September 17, 203.ppt - 209 KB |
| Presentation - Annual Meeting - September 17, 2003.ppt - 62 KB |
| Presentation - Takeover Bids - September 18, 2003.ppt - 116 KB |
| Presentation - Underwriting Arrangements - Analyst Problems - September 18, 2003.ppt - 83 KB |
| Presentation - Best Efforts Underwriting Problems - September 18, 2003.ppt - 83 KB |
| Presentation - Disclosure of C I Schemes - September 18, 2003.ppt - 427 KB |
| Presentation - Investment Funds - September 18, 2003.ppt - 86 KB |
| Survey - Websites of Securities Commissions - Conducted by Digital Strategies Group, Inc.2 - September 2003.ppt - 5,638 KB |
| Presentation - Eesti Telecom - September 19, 2003.ppt - 502 KB |
| Presentation - Timely Disclosure and Insider Trading - September 19, 2003.ppt - 80 KB |
| List of Participants - September 15-19, 2003.doc - 54 KB |
Thursday, September 4, 2003
Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Central and Eastern Europe
Intern Amanda Schneier conducted the PFS Program’s first Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the 10 Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The survey investigates companies’ disclosures on a range of CSR issues as of August 15, 2003.
Encompassing accounting standards, corporate governance, environmental policies and social policies, the survey analyzes corporate reporting on matters that previously might not have been considered essential. However, as the above-mentioned countries enter the European Union (EU), listed companies will come under the tighter scrutiny of EU disclosure requirements about these issues. Also, in a more global marketplace, listed companies will face more CSR-conscious investors and consumers.
This inaugural survey is designed to inform investors, listed companies, the public-at-large and regulators by providing a regional overview of current disclosure practices and facilitating an easy comparison of best practices. Via hyperlinks, a reader can move from the database directly into a company’s website and/or annual report to see how and where the specific information is disclosed. The survey should also enable the benchmarking of reporting in these countries against other countries in the EU and elsewhere.
Hungary and Poland are not covered in this survey. PFS Program grants to research institutions in those countries are currently co-financing similar surveys of all listed companies in those countries. That research, and a similar survey of all Czech listed companies, also co-financed by a PFS Program grant, will be published on this page in autumn 2003.
To download the survey and the background database, please click on the links below:
Tuesday, September 2, 2003
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE
PFS Program Intern Michal Slawinski conducted the PFS Program’s fifth survey of online investor relations of the 10 largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in each of the following countries: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. The survey provides current data and comparisons with the four previous surveys, completed in February 2003, August 2002, February 2002 and August 2001.
The survey demonstrates a positive trend across the region; listed companies are disclosing more information online in English. Nevertheless, many companies still do not provide additional information in English about management and supervisory board members. The survey suggests that “best practice” would include a separate page of the website dedicated to investor relations, including a photo and short biography of each senior manager and each member of the board of directors/supervisory board.
To download the survey and the background database, please click on the links below:
Monday, August 18, 2003
PFS Program Grant to The Leadership Forum Prague
The PFS Program awarded a PFS Program grant to The Leadership Forum Prague, Czech Republic to conduct a “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by Listed Companies in the Czech Republic.” The survey will be completed in autumn 2003 and published on the websites of The Leadership Forum Prague and the PFS Program. This research is part of a wider regional initiative; similar research is being conducted by research organizations in Hungary and Poland.
Friday, July 11, 2003
Presentation of Investor Relations Online Revisited - Survey of Websites of Polish Listed Companies - 2003
Warsaw, Poland
On Friday, July 11, 2003 the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the PFS Program held a presentation of the third annual Survey of Online Investor Relations of Polish Companies Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The survey was commissioned by the PFS Program and conducted by Digital Strategies Group, Inc. It analyzes current Polish practices and compares this year‘s data with the survey completed in 2002. At the beginning of the event, Mr. Geoffrey Mazullo, Director, PFS Program presented the regional surveys of online investor relations of the largest listed companies in eight Central and Eastern European countries. 84 representatives of Polish listed companies and the financial press attended the presentation, held at the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
To download the survey in English and Polish, and Mr. Mazullo’s presentation in Polish, please click on the link below:
Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - Wednesday, May 28, 2003
4th CEE Regional INPRS Seminar on Private Pensions
Zagreb, Croatia
The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Network of Pension Regulators and Supervisors (INPRS), and the Partners for Financial Stability Program of the East-West Management Institute, Inc. (EWMI PFS) held the Fourth CEE Regional INPRS Seminar on Private Pensions in Zagreb, Croatia, with the kind hospitality of the Agency of Supervision of Pension Funds and Insurance of Croatia (Hagena), on May 27 – 28 2003. More than 90 participants from 24 countries attended the event.
To download the seminar agenda, list of participants or room documents, please click on the links below.
Thursday, May 22, 2003 - Friday, May 23, 2003
Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering
Gdansk, Poland
On May 22-23, 2003 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Poland, conducted a Regional Workshop on Prevention of Money Laundering. The participant breakdown was as follows: Estonia (one prosecutor); Latvia (three prosecutors); Lithuania (one judge and two prosecutors): Poland (one judge, 30 prosecutors and one representative of the Department of Judicial Assistance and European Law, Ministry of Justice); Russia (two prosecutors); Slovenia (the Director of the Slovene Office for Money Laundering Prevention); UK (two barristers, one a former prosecutor) and US (one judge). On the first day, specialists from Poland, Slovenia, the UK and the US presented case studies demonstrating a range of issues and experiences in combating money laundering. On the second day, participants debated case studies presented by prosecutors from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. This in-depth discussion of real life situations from the four jurisdictions, complemented by insights offered by UK and US practitioners, proved to be an extremely fruitful exercise, enabling the exchange of lessons learned and identification of best practices.
To download the agenda, presentations, speaker CVs and list of participants, please click on the links below:
Thursday, May 8, 2003
PFS Program Grants to MAKK Hungarian Environmental Economics Center and The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics
The PFS Program awarded a PFS Program Grant to MAKK Hungarian Environmental Economics Center to conduct a “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by Listed Companies in Hungary” and a PFS Program Grant to The Gdansk Institute for Market Economics to conduct a “Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility by Banks, Financial Institutions and Listed Companies in the Poland.” The surveys will be completed in autumn 2003 and published on the websites of the respective institutions and the PFS Program.
Monday, April 14, 2003 - Wednesday, April 16, 2003
International Accounting Standards (IAS) Seminars
Poznan, Warsaw and Katowice, Poland
In April 2003, the PFS Program, in cooperation with the National Chamber of Statutory Auditors of Poland, held three seminars on International Accounting Standards (IAS). On Monday, April 14 a seminar was held in Poznan; on Tuesday, April 15, a seminar was held in Warsaw; and on Wednesday, April 16, a seminar was held in Katowice.
35 participants attended the seminar in Poznan, 46 participants attended the seminar in Warsaw and 47 participants attended the seminar in Katowice.
Participants included accountants, auditors, officials of the National Chamber of Statutory Auditors of Poland and accounting specialists from the Ministry of Finance.
The National Chamber of Statutory Auditors of Poland translated the agenda and presentations into Polish.
To download the agenda and presentations, please click on the links below.
Monday, April 7, 2003
PFS Program Grants to the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks and the Gdansk Academy of Banking
The PFS Program awarded a PFS Program Grant to the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks to conduct an analysis of “The Economic Impact of the Registered Pledge System in Latvia” and a PFS Program Grant to the Gdansk Academy of Banking to conduct an updated analysis of the “Economic Impact of the Registered Pledge System in Poland 2002/2003.” The surveys will be completed in autumn 2003 and published on the websites of the respective institutions and the PFS Program.
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Corporate Governance Roundtable
Ljubljana, Slovenia
On March 26, 2003 the PFS Program and the Ljubljana Stock Exchange held a Corporate Governance Roundtable in Ljubljana. 50 participants representing Slovene listed companies and representatives of Slovene capital markets institutions, the information technology officer of the National Stock Exchange of Lithuania as well as representatives of several South Eastern European stock exchanges attended the roundtable.
To download the agenda, presentations and a list of participants, please click on the links below.
Friday, March 21, 2003
Investor Relations Online: Survey of Websites of the Largest Listed Companies in CEE
Bence Lanyi, Research Associate, PFS Program has conducted a fourth survey of online investor relations of the 10 largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in each of the following Central and Eastern European countries: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. The research follows three previous surveys completed in August 2001, February 2002 and August 2002. This data will be presented at upcoming PFS Program events throughout the region.
The survey provides current data and a comparison with data from the three previous surveys. The survey suggests that companies realize the importance of investor relations online; nevertheless it remains difficult to obtain detailed information in English about management and supervisory boards.
To download the survey and the background database, please click on the links below:
Friday, February 28, 2003
Standard Profile for Analyzing Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Listed Companies in Central and Eastern Europe
PFS Program Intern Yarema Luciw and Bence Lanyi, PFS Program Research Associate drafted a standard profile for analyzing reporting on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by listed companies in Central and Eastern Europe. The standard template is designed to capture data on four key issues: corporate governance, business ethics, environmental policy and social policy. The PFS Program would like to thank ISIS Asset Management plc in London, UK and scoris GmbH (SiRi Group) in Hannover, Germany for their pro bono assistance in critiquing the standard profile developed by the PFS Program.
Throughout 2003, the PFS Program plans to utilize the standard profile in analyzing reporting on CSR by listed companies in Central and Eastern Europe.
To download the standard profile, please click on the links below:
Saturday, February 22, 2003 - Saturday, March 1, 2003
Study Tour to the United States for Internal Auditors of CEE Consolidated Financial Supervisory Authorities
Washington, DC and Philadelphia, PA
The PFS Program organized a study tour on internal audit for staff of the following institutions (in alphabetical order by country): Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority; Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority; Latvian Financial and Capital Markets Commission; Supervisory Commission for Insurance and Pension Funds (Poland); Slovak Financial Market Authority.
The study tour visited the following institutions (in alphabetical order) in Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC: City of Philadelphia – Office of the City Controller; Department of Insurance and Securities Regulation (DISR) of the District of
Columbia; Ignet - Website of the Federal Inspectors General; International Insurance Foundation; National Association of Insurance Commissioners; National Association of Securities Dealers; United States Agency for International Development; United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; United States Federal Reserve Board; United States Department of the Treasury; United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
International Accounting Standards (IAS) Seminar
Vilnius, Lithuania
On February 19, 2003 the PFS Program, in cooperation with the Accounting Institute of Lithuania and the National Stock Exchange of Lithuania, conducted a seminar on International Accounting Standards (IAS). 74 accountants, auditors, chief financial officers and financial staff of listed companies as well as representatives of Lithuanian capital markets institutions attended the seminar.
The National Stock Exchange of Lithuania translated the agenda and presentations into Lithuanian (lietuviskai).
To download the agenda and presentations, please click on the links below.
Saturday, January 25, 2003 - Saturday, February 1, 2003
Study Tour of Baltic Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to the United States
Washington, DC and New York, NY
The PFS Program organized a study tour on prevention of money laundering for the Money Laundering Information Bureau of Estonia, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia and the Financial Crime Investigation Service of Lithuania.
The study tour visited the following institutions (in alphabetical order) in New York and Washington, DC: East-West Management Institute; FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), United States Department of the Treasury; Global Anti-Money Laundering Services, Deloitte Touche Tomatsu; New York County District Attorney’s Office; Office of International Affairs, US Securities and Exchange Commission; Office of Market Transition Europe & Eurasia Bureau, USAID (United States Agency for International Development); Patton Boggs LLP; Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC), American University.
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Largest Listed Companies in Hungary
The PFS Program has conducted a pilot research study on reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the 10 largest listed companies (by market capitalization) in Hungary. The survey analyzed each company’s 2001 annual report and website for information disclosed about the company’s CSR activities and policies. The research was conducted by Bence Lanyi, Research Associate, PFS Program.
The survey indicates that whereas CSR activities/policies of the 10 largest listed companies vary widely, manufacturing companies currently offer the most information about their environmental activities, impact and policies. Of the 10 companies surveyed: four disclosed comprehensive information about their environmental policy; and four reported on CSR and issues related to Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). Two companies do not mention CSR or SRI in the information currently available on their websites.
The PFS Program will conduct a similar survey of the 10 largest listed companies in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia during the first quarter of 2003.
To download the survey, please click on the link below:
Monday, January 20, 2003
Publication of Research Report entitled, “Past Redistribution and Future Imbalances: Generational Accounts in the Hungarian Pension System”
Budapest, Hungary
In this paper Mr. Robert Gal and co-authors from TARKI, a Hungarian research institute, present a quantitative analysis of past redistribution between first-comer and late-comer generations and future imbalances in the Hungarian pension system. The results of the research identify specific measures of generational imbalance (both with and without the 1998 pension reform in Hungary) and different measures of redistribution among generations.
The research study also included the collection of data about the Hungarian pension system, as far back as the beginning of the state pension system in the 1950s.
The method of calculation employed is known as generational accounting, developed by Alan Auerbach and Laurence Kotlikoff of Harvard University. Generational accounting is a particularly well-suited tool to demonstrate the effect of changes in redistributive budgetary systems, such as the above-mentioned Hungarian pension reform. In order to quantify the impact of the reform on the long-term future sustainability of the system, TARKI analyzed pension data from 2000 using generational accounting. The results show that pension reform considerably reduced the severe imbalance that existed in the system prior to the reform; as a consequence of the reform, approximately three-quarters of the net losses awaiting future generations were wiped out.
The original method of generational accounting does not take into account redistribution among generations in the past. However, if the process is completed with retrospective calculations, i.e. former contributions and benefits are taken into account, redistribution among generations can be measured directly. This application of the method might be used to observe ‘loser’ and ‘winner’ cohorts. The results coincide with international experience and show significant redistribution in favor of the first generations that enter the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) system. However, the authors demonstrate that the majority of today’s living population, including a sizeable portion of pensioners, are losers in the PAYG pension system.
To download the research report, please click on the link below.
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