Assurance

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the supply and demand side of sustainability assurance in Bangladesh.
Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on signalling theory, a logistic regression model is used for a sample of 100 of the largest Bangladeshi companies to study the relationships between assurance, sustainability disclosure, industry membership and reporting format.
Findings – Our results show that companies which produce more sustainability information are more likely to get their sustainability assured, to be from non-carbon intensive industries, and are more likely to integrate their sustainability information with the financial annual reports. Our results support the argument that organisations based in weaker legal environments are more likely to secure assurance as this adds to the credibility and reliability of sustainability reports.
Implications – The findings of this paper will prove valuable to practitioners and researchers. Practitioners, including assurance providers and sustainability reporting managers, will benefit from our study as it covers both the demand and supply side characteristics of assurance. Researchers will benefit from the study as it investigates assurance practices in the developing country of Bangladesh.
Limitations – This paper has limitations which raise some issues for future research. Firstly, we have covered only large companies, therefore future research could examine the differences between small and large companies in relation to assurance. Secondly, our data consists of company sustainability disclosure information in the fiscal year 2015. Longitudinal studies are recommended to extend this research. Finally, future research could examine the moderating effects of geographical location on the relationship between assurance (and its providers) and other variables
Originality/value – This is the first study to examine both the supply and demand sides of sustainability assurance in Bangladesh. We also introduce reporting format when measuring the relationship between assurance and its determinant factors at micro level. The study also links assurance to signalling theory.

Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the supply and demand side of sustainability
assurance in Bangladesh.
Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on signalling theory, a logistic regression model is
used for a sample of 100 of the largest Bangladeshi companies to study the relationships
between assurance, sustainability disclosure, industry membership and reporting format.
Findings – Our results show that companies which produce more sustainability information
are more likely to get their sustainability assured, to be from non-carbon intensive industries,
and are more likely to integrate their sustainability information with the financial annual
reports. Our results support the argument that organisations based in weaker legal environments
are more likely to secure assurance as this adds to the credibility and reliability of sustainability
reports.
Implications – The findings of this paper will prove valuable to practitioners and researchers.
Practitioners, including assurance providers and sustainability reporting managers, will benefit
from our study as it covers both the demand and supply side characteristics of assurance.
Researchers will benefit from the study as it investigates assurance practices in the developing
country of Bangladesh.
Limitations – This paper has limitations which raise some issues for future research. Firstly,
we have covered only large companies, therefore future research could examine the differences
between small and large companies in relation to assurance. Secondly, our data consists of
company sustainability disclosure information in the fiscal year 2015. Longitudinal studies are
recommended to extend this research. Finally, future research could examine the moderating
effects of geographical location on the relationship between assurance (and its providers) and
other variables
Originality/value – This is the first study to examine both the supply and demand sides of
sustainability assurance in Bangladesh. We also introduce reporting format when measuring
the relationship between assurance and its determinant factors at micro level. The study also
links assurance to signalling theory.

Managing risks are crucial in all fields. Information technology risks pose more threats to organisations in three categories: 1) technical and operational risk; 2) data and information security risk; and 3) organisation, project and human risk. Therefore, modern organisations have to face the challenging new and increasing threats from IT risks in more sophisticated manners. This task is difficult if it is not properly given due care by top management and implemented diligently with duty of care by the responsible teams. The main objective of the paper is to develop an information technology risk management framework for International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) based upon series of consultant group discussions, risk management formulation, business process identification, quantification of risk weightage and classification of core risk factors in a university environment. The proposed risk management method has been applied to IIUM case. This study uses an action research approach with the active involvement of the researchers and stakeholders in order to identify, analyse and respond to risks. The analysis draws upon both empirical research and a real case study. The study finds that top management acknowledges the important pervasive role of information technology in organisations and that consequential threats originating and created from the use of IT hardware and software can be detrimental to organisational effectiveness and efficiency. The dangers could cause financial, privacy, security and data losses. As a result, IIUM engaged its ICT strategic business unit to draw and design a new IT risk management framework based on the current problems and settings. The framework, however, can be applied to other Malaysia public and private universities. Moreover, it is also suitable for replication in non-academic institutions with a few minor adjustments.

Recently, advances in IT have exposed the IT departments, infrastructures, functions and services to more threats from internal and external risks. These threats can be detrimental to not only technical aspects but also the data and information in the organisations which can be costly and even cause terminal loss or bankruptcy. Hence, recognising IT as a technology with the fastest rate of development and application in all branches of business, requires adequate protection to provide high security and quality products and services. The aim of www.intechopen.com

The activities of the construction industry are vital to the achievement of national socioeconomic development goals of providing shelter, infrastructure, and employment. The sector accounts for five percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in Kenya and employs about 13 percent of the country's total workforce. The devolved units (counties and constituencies) have invested the substantial amount of public funds in infrastructure development and yet social audit and media reports have raised the concern over the poor quality of the projects undertaken by these devolved units. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the contractors' operations in the quality assurance process and how they affect the quality of the public building projects. A case involving sixty-four projects sampled from Busia County and its seven constituencies was carried out. The study was a sample survey whose data was collected using questionnaires, interviews and physical observation exercise. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square good-for-fit tests. The findings indicated the insufficient participation of the contractors as quality assurance providers in the construction process of the public building projects undertaken by devolved units. The participation rate was at 43% which implied that the projects were constructed with inadequate checks on quality through the assurance process. The physical observation assessment revealed the quality of the public building projects stood at 34% compliance to building specifications and standards which is inadequate to meet the required standards. It is concluded that the involvement of contractors in the quality assurance process in the construction management process of public building projects undertaken by the devolved units was inadequate and impacts negatively on the quality of the projects. In order to achieve the sustainable development as far as the infrastructural development is concerned, the involvement of contractors as quality assurance providers in the construction process was critical. This therefore called for the development of the legal and quality frameworks to guide the construction sector at the devolved units.