Dear authors and readers, we present the 15-th issue of the Journal for Financial Studies, published by the Institute for Financial Studies in Bucharest. This issue presents an impressive volume of articles, structured in a diversified manner, but all having in common the economic-financial field. Although the review was interdisciplinary, it can be considered that the topics were treated exhaustively according to the subject matter of the article. Even more, it can be considered that the themes of the articles can be integrated into the three essential pillars of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. The articles are mainly about economic and social issues, such as: employability skills, economic and social influences of the consumer price index, the impact of crisis situations on financial indicators, the effects of digitalisation, the concept of taxation, life insurance. There are also environmental themes related to the economic sector, such as ESG, the performance measurement of water and sewerage operators.

In an objective way, below you find, in a very concise way, the main key aspects of the articles contained in this volume.

In the article „The Evaluation of the E-Payment Methods According to User’s Perspective”, reference is made to the evaluation of the e-payment method in relation to the customer’s perspective. This article used questionnaires of BADR bank users, and the results surprised that satisfaction of e-card users is generally high, primarily influenced by the availability of payment support in shops.

The article „Determinants for Life Insurances, a View on Notoriety” captures the influence of knowledge and information, in particular the notoriety of life insurance products and its correlation with sales, with the aim of boosting life insurance sales in Romania by analyzing the correlation between product usage and notoriety. It was found that level of education, occupation, income or area of residence play an important role as there is a direct influence on product usage or notoriety.

Unfortunately, being an increasingly present subject, crisis of any kind has become a ubiquitous topic, so the paper „The Impact of Crisis Situations on the Financial Indicators of Romanian Companies” captures the analysis of the impact that changes in the economic environment, in recent times, have had on Europe, and then especially on Romania. The unexpected situations that have occurred in recent years, starting with the COVID 19 pandemic, then with the war between Russia and Ukraine, and in the last year, the high inflation rates and the sharp economic crises, are some of the topics analysed in the paper, highlighting the effect these events have had on the economy.

Article „Employability Skills for Professional Accountants in the Midst of Industry 4.0 – A Literature Review -” assess the impact of change on the requirements of a job-ready accountant by including skills relevant to the accountancy profession, with a focus on skills relevant to technology. The originality of the study lies in its attempt to provide a robust and comprehensive guide to the accounting skillset that will provide the capabilities needed to thrive in the digitised accounting workplace of the future.

The paper „Intangible Assets and Resource Allocation: Insights From European Companies” captures the link between CEO-Chairman duality, leverage and investment in intangible assets in European Union (EU) listed energy companies using a multi-theoretical approach. Findings show that leverage and CEO-Chairman duality exert a positive influence on investment in intangible assets.

The following article „The Performance Measurement of Water and Sewerage Operators in Romania Through the Key Performance Index” presents the economic, financial and technical indicators that can be used as a basis of comparison for regional operators and that can contribute to performance improvement. These indicators are designed to eliminate dysfunctions caused by differences in size between regional operators and, by creating a suitable performance index for water services, make it possible to compare their performance appropriately.

The topic of population taxation also includes a social part, the paper „Economic Growth or Regression – Conceptions of Single Taxation Vs. Progressive Taxation” involves looking at the evolution of progressive taxation compared to single taxation in Romania and other European countries. It was found that the system of progressive taxation in Romania in the past has generated a low level of revenue for the budget. However, many European countries apply such a progressive tax system, which reinforces the OECD’s claim that there is no „one size fits all” tax system.

Keeping the theme in the same area, the next paper „Analysis of the Trade Balance in the 27 EU Countries” includes an analysis of the main elements related to a country’s external competitiveness, i.e. foreign trade and trade balance for all 27 EU Member States. This analysis can support policy-makers on different competitiveness policies of economic sectors as well as academia. It was found that there is a slight relationship between the average trade balance position of Member States and the time of accession to the EU, a positive relationship, meaning that the earlier countries were accepted into the European Union, the better they performed in terms of trade balance.

Moving on to the article „Navigating the ESG Landscape and its Impact in the Business and Investment Sector”, it captures the impact and importance of ESG (environmental, social and governance), on the business sector and how to implement these ESG criteria in order to develop viable businesses. The research focuses on the role of ESG decisions within organisations and how they can impact a company’s value.

Turning to the social and knowledge transfer theme, the article „The Effects of Digitization on the Instructive – Educational Act in the School Organization” presents the impact of digitization on the instructive-educational act, and in school organizations, it provides easy and fast access to various educational resources. The aim of the study is to obtain the necessary information to identify the effects of digitization on the instructive-educational act.

The article „Analysis of Romania’s Foreign Trade With Main Partner – Financial Views on the Agri-Food Sector” focuses on the trade performance in agri-food products between Romania and its main partner. Thus, the trade between Romania and Germany is analysed with reference to agri-food products, the aim being to carry out an analysis of the chapters of the Nomenclature in order to determine the key chapters in terms of demand in Romania, using the ABC method which can structure the range of products into three categories of importance.

The following are presented „The Economic-Social Influences of the Consumer Price Index: The Case of Post-Communist Romania”. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of the most important consumer price index issues and some of the most important macroeconomic determinants in Romania. The results indicate that the variables economic growth, labour productivity, invested capital, gross wage, net wage have a significant impact on the consumer price index.

Continuing in the thematic area of risk, the article „Integration of Artificial Intelligence in the Risk Management Process: An Analysis of Opportunities And Challenges” examines how artificial intelligence can be incorporated into risk management procedures, with a focus on accounting and finance. The main objective of the article is to analyse how financial institutions can improve their performance by integrating artificial intelligence into risk management strategies.

Subsequently it will be presented an opinion regarding the „Impact of CSRD on Financial Reporting”, including a market study of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and how the new legislative framework influences their financial statements.

We believe that we have succeeded in painting a compelling picture of the contents of this volume of scholarly articles devoted to financial studies. Each article represents a significant part of the complex mosaic of the financial field, contributing to its understanding and development. The articles included cover a wide range of topics, from risk analysis and insights on global financial markets to technological innovations and business model transformations in the financial sector. This diversity reflects not only the complexity but also the continuing dynamism of the financial world.

The current concern about moving towards a sustainable environment and facilitating the green transition has led to the development of a new legislative framework, comprising as many companies as possible in the area of applicability, which will take steps to apply the new reporting requirements. The new legislative framework referred to in this article is called Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and will replace the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD).
Thus, the article follows the impact of CSRD on financial reporting, comprising a market study on the companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and on the way in which the new legislative framework impacts the financial statements elaborated by them.

Enterprise risk management is a critical component in achieving long-term performance in any company seeking to achieve long-term results. Businesses face a variety of internal and external risks over time, some of which are more difficult to manage or eliminate than others. Recent times have shown that technological progress can have a significant influence on all industries. Artificial intelligence is a topic that is relevant today, given the advancements in the field and the increased interest from the public. We already know that many people are worried about artificial intelligence, particularly since this aspect has the potential to affect millions of people’s careers in finance and accounting. Nonetheless, if used appropriately, this risk might benefit people and should not always be seen negatively. The article examines how artificial intelligence can be incorporated into risk management procedures, with an emphasis on the accounting and financial domains. The use of artificial intelligence in the analysis of vast volumes of financial data and the successful detection of anomalies, which improves risk assessment and promotes improved decision-making, is one significant topic addressed. The article’s primary objective is to analyse how financial institutions can improve their performance by integrating artificial intelligence into risk management strategies. The sample, which consists of financial institutions listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, highlights the difficulties and moral issues surrounding the application of AI in the financial industry, such as data security, interpretability of algorithms, and decision-making accountability. Exploring these aspects provides a comprehensive perspective of how AI is changing and improving risk management in the accounting and financial sectors, emphasizing both the advantages and difficulties of this significant transformation. This case study provides a window into how financial risk analysis is changing in the modern era and shows how embracing AI technology can be a transformative force for risk management.

The consumer price index plays an important role in the current economic-financial activity because the income level is updated with the help of the rate of this index, both in the private environment and in public institutions, which means that if the level of the index is high, salaries or pensions are increased accordingly. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of the most important aspects related to the consumer price index and some of the most important macroeconomic determinants in Romania. The authors consider this research proposal necessary because it has been observed that the consumer price index influences the economic situation within a country and causes changes in unfavorable directions on macroeconomic indicators. The study is based on a set of statistical data covering the period 1990-2021. The result of econometric model indicates that all the proposed independent variables – economic growth, labor productivity, invested capital, gross salary, net salary, have a significant impact on the consumer price index – the dependent variable. Our opinion is that the consumer price index influences to a large extent the economic and social activity of Romania because following the results of the econometric analysis it was found that Capital investment and Grosswages are the main factors that led to the increase of the Consumer Price Index, while the study presents and some unfavorable directions (Economic Growth, Labour productivity, Net wages) with direct influence on Consumer Price Index.

According to the literature, Romania maintains a close trade relationship, in terms of agri-food products, with Germany, especially the import-export relationship, thus, Romania imports either in terms of value the most, or in terms of assortment diversification, most from Germany. Thus, in this paper, the aim is to carry out an analysis of all the chapters of the Combined Nomenclature, related to the agri-food sector to determine the key chapters in terms of demand in Romania, using the ABC method which can structure the range of products in three categories of importance.

Digitization has a significant impact on the instructive-educational act, and in school organizations, it provides easy and fast access to various educational resources, including e-books, videos, simulations, and interactive materials. This enriches the learning experience and allows teachers to provide concrete and varied examples. The purpose of this study is to obtain the necessary information to identify the effects of digitization on the instructional-educational act. An opinion poll was used as the research method for the case study, with the research instrument being a questionnaire.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact and importance of ESG in the business and investment world in the past few years and how can we implement ESG criteria into our businesses to continue to have profitable and investable businesses. The research is focused on the role of ESG decisions within organizations and how they can impact the value of a company. The research hypothesis is that there are various decisions of becoming ESG complaint you can take, but not all of them are profitable decisions. So, instead of taking decisions based on the implementing costs and short-term expenses, an organization should take into consideration long-term profits and a possible increase in the company’s valuation. Achieving success involves identifying these factors well in advance before they can adversely impact the well-being of the company. This allows for proactive measures to mitigate any potential detrimental consequences that may arise. This can be accomplished through ongoing monitoring of these variables, creating a dynamic process, and making informed decisions based on a solid understanding of the operational processes and needs of each company. Because of its massive politicization, ESG has become perceived more as a cost center instead of a value center. Business leaders consider that they are being forced to report something without value for their businesses when they should be asked how to turn this in their favor to make business more valuable. This paper also presents the importance of sustainable developments and how they can impact investment decisions. Analyzing the behavior of the biggest investment firms, we can identify those metrics that show if a company’s decisions about ESG implementation make it investment material.

In this paper, the aim is to carry out a study on the analysis of the balance of trade for all products in the Combined Nomenclature at the level of the 27 Member States of the European Union. For this purpose, international databases have been identified, in particular, data provided by the International Trade Centre (ITC) on the import and export values of each country have been extracted and the trade balance has been determined. This analysis can support decision-makers on different policies regarding the competitiveness of economic sectors as well as academia.

The discussion on single taxation vs. progressive taxation returns periodically and always in times of budgetary crisis, which in turn induces the economic crisis and not the other way around, as normal. The purpose of this article is to observe the evolution of taxation in progressive tax rates compared to taxation in single rates in Romania, but also in other European countries. The research methodology involved the qualitative analysis of the various scenarios, already existing at national and international level on the single taxation vs. progressive taxation, as well as documentation by quantitative analysis of the focus of literature on the evolution of taxation in progressive quotas. Following the analysis, it was found that the tax system in progressive quotas existing in Romania until 2004 generated a low level of revenues to the budge. In many European countries, however, a progressive taxation system is applied, which reinforces the OECD’s assertion that there is no tax system „unique to all”.

Both local communities and the government face a real challenge in measuring and improving the performance of water services. At the local, central, and European level, ensuring the population’s access to drinking water and sewage services is an extremely important objective, supported by the significant investments recently made in this sector. The improved performance of businesses in this sector plays a crucial role in achieving this primary objective. Between 2005 and 2010, as a first step in streamlining the activity in this sector, regional water and wastewater operators were established, providing services for the majority of the Romanian population. Although in theory this should have provided the advantage of an economy of scale, in reality it did not produce the expected results; unfortunately, most of these water and wastewater operators remained inefficient. This inefficiency has technical, economic, financial and organizational aspects, which can be monitored and improved with the help of certain key performance indicators. To guarantee access to water in good conditions and in the long term, it is crucial to improve the efficiency of the sector. The average price of drinking water has increased from 2.75 RON/m3 in 2014 to 5.99 RON/m3 in 2023, which means it has almost doubled. In this context, it is crucial to implement a performance measurement system to improve the efficiency and performance of water services. In this article, the authors identify and analyze the economic, financial and technical indicators that can be used as a basis of comparison for regional operators and can contribute to increasing performance. These indicators are designed in such a way as to eliminate the dysfunctions caused by the differences in size between the regional operators, and by creating a performance index suitable for water utilities, they make possible the adequate comparison of their performances.