In a global economic context characterized by rapid change and unexpected challenges, financial research is becoming an essential pillar for understanding and anticipating developments in financial markets. Today, more than ever, financial institutions and professionals need access to quality analysis and research that provides a solid foundation for strategic decision-making. Volume 17 of the Journal of Financial Studies, published by the Institute of Financial Studies, brings together pioneering research that addresses challenging issues in the global economy and provides up-to-date perspectives on key areas.
In the current edition, we have identified four central themes that bring together the articles in this volume: the hidden economy and fiscal digitization, sustainable development and the energy transition, financial risk analysis and prediction, and the role of standards and institutional frameworks in the transformation of financial markets. Each of these areas is highly relevant in the current context, having a direct impact on the strategic and operational decisions of companies, investors and public institutions.
Shadow Economy and Fiscal Digitalization
This topic focuses on two main themes: the informal economy and tax digitization. The article on the hidden economy uses global data analysis to highlight its impact on economic sustainability, emphasizing the need to reduce the phenomenon through effective policies. At the same time, tax digitization is presented as a solution to increase the transparency and efficiency of revenue collection, essential to fight the informal economy and improve the European tax system.
Sustainable Development
Energy transition and sustainable development are analyzed through their impact on industry and economy. The studies explore the interactions between energy efficiency and structural changes in the Romanian industrial sector, assessing the extent to which policies and investments supported by European funds contribute to achieving sustainable development objectives.
Financial Risk Analysis and Prediction
This topic focuses on financial risk assessment using advanced prediction methods. Two papers compare artificial intelligence models and regression techniques to estimate credit default risk and predict stock prices. These research articles provide useful insights for risk management in the financial sector, helping professionals navigate the challenges of a complex and unstable economic environment.
The Role of Standards and the Institutional Framework in Transforming Financial Markets
The last topic explores the importance of aligning to international standards and adapting the institutional framework for transparency and efficiency. The articles discuss the integration of sustainability standards into financial reporting and analyze the impact of the institutional environment on the performance of the agricultural sector in Romania. The research highlights the need for good governance and effective policies to support the stability and development of financial markets.
This volume of the Journal of Financial Studies is a reference guide for those interested in the new directions of development in the financial sector, providing an in-depth analysis of highly topical issues. Each article makes a valuable contribution, providing essential information for understanding complex economic and financial phenomena, thus providing a coherent picture of the challenges and opportunities in the financial sector.

The European Commission (EC) has been steadily introducing financial instruments either managed directly by the Commission or through shared management. There has been a growing desire among member states to move away from the traditional purely grant-based approach towards providing a proportion of their programme allocations for the implementation of financial instruments.
Using Romania as a case study, this paper aims to examine the evolution of financial instruments financed from EU funds in Romania, with the purpose of establishing their trend and effectiveness. It incorporates the presentation of all financial instruments starting from accession and finishing off with the current financial period (2021-2027). The paper also tackles the results of the ex-ante analysis and the financing gap that needs to be covered in order to make Romanian enterprises competitive in the Single Market. Preliminary results seem to confirm that there is a growing appetite for repayable financing by SMEs which has been noticed by central authorities. Furthermore, the paper makes a brief presentation of the results achieved through the implementation of refundable financing, by programme and type of instrument. It is well known that tailor made, innovative financial instruments can be a driving force for economic development and can ensure a place for Romanian start-ups and enterprises on the single market.

This study analyzes the perception of Romanian farmers regarding the predictability of the institutional environment and its connection with the perception of the importance of subsidies and the financial performance they obtain. Excessive bureaucracy, frequent changes in legislation and misalignment of the objectives of various stakeholders are limiting factors in financing programs, farmers being discouraged from applying for them. The study uses the statistical method of unidirectional analysis of variances (ANOVA) to observe significant differences in the means for the perception of the institutional environment and performance indicators, and the tests are carried out using the SPSS software, on a sample of 201 companies operating in the vegetable agricultural sector. The results of the study show that farmers’ perception of the influence of subsidies seems to be subjective, based on the effort made to obtain them and less on the actual result of their use. Farmers who achieve good results in terms of return on assets and have a good liquidity position, consider the institutional environment to be predictable one, which supports them in their development and therefore, can make plans based on existing policies. The lack of confidence can be justified by poor financial results in general, the farmers’ expectations being to receive aid if the agricultural year is not a very good one.

At the present moment, the entities are operating under conditions of tough competition, which imposes the need to organize a viable management accounting system. Currently, in most of the entities in the Republic of Moldova, managerial accounting is not kept or only unreliable attempts are made to organize it. The created situation can be explained by the lack of a basis and some methodological recommendations regarding its organization. In this context, it is proposed to develop at entity level a managerial accounting policy that would include three key compartments: organizational, technical and methodological.
The article proposes the basic elements that must be included in each of its compartments. As a result, the managerial accounting policies will help to ensure the efficient management of financial resources by internally regulating the principles, methods and procedures used to record, report and analyze accounting information needed by management in the decision-making process.

At the present moment, the entities are operating under conditions of tough competition, which imposes the need to organize a viable management accounting system. Currently, in most of the entities in the Republic of Moldova, managerial accounting is not kept or only unreliable attempts are made to organize it. The created situation can be explained by the lack of a basis and some methodological recommendations regarding its organization. In this context, it is proposed to develop at entity level a managerial accounting policy that would include three key compartments: organizational, technical and methodological.
The article proposes the basic elements that must be included in each of its compartments. As a result, the managerial accounting policies will help to ensure the efficient management of financial resources by internally regulating the principles, methods and procedures used to record, report and analyze accounting information needed by management in the decision-making process.

This paper investigates the impact of geopolitical instability, specifically the Russia-Ukraine conflict, on the dynamics of the Ukrainian financial market. The study focuses on key indices and companies, including the PFTS Index, Kernel Holding SA (KER), MHP SA DRC (MHPC), and Ukrnafta (UNAF). Utilizing advanced machine learning models—decision trees, Random Forest, and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks—the research predicts stock price changes in response to market volatility induced by geopolitical events. The analysis reveals a significant correlation between the onset of conflict and stock price fluctuations, particularly in the agricultural and energy sectors, with notable resilience differences across industries. The findings underscore the importance of incorporating predictive analytics for decision-making in turbulent market environments, offering valuable insights for investors and policymakers navigating uncertainty.

This paper investigates the performance of various regression-based machine learning techniques for short-term stock price prediction. Four regression algorithms – linear regression, support vector regression (SVR), polynomial regression and LASSO regression – were applied to Apple Inc’s historical price data for two-years ending on October 1st, 2024, to predict the next day’s closing stock price. Technical indicators such as moving average, relative strength index (RSI) and lag features were included in the regressions to improve prediction performance. Evaluation metrics such as Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Squared Error (MSE), and R-squared (R²) were employed to assess the models’ performance. Results show that linear regression and LASSO regression were the most performant models, reaching R² values of more than 0.95, with minimal error values. While SVR yielded the poorest results when accounting for all metrics. Overall, the study highlights the predictive power of simpler regression models over more complex ones in stock price predictions and offers recommendations for model selection.

The integration of sustainability in insurance companies has become a priority of the boards and constitutes a strategy in increasing resilience, in terms of improving financial performance and developing innovation. In this article, we will synthesize various studies and perspectives regarding the integration of sustainability in insurance companies, emphasizing both the financial advantages, as well as the operational and reputational ones. In the scientific literature review part, we touched on the research methodologies that highlighted the global sustainability development frameworks. The results obtained suggest that adopting sustainability is essential for long-term success and relevance in a rapidly changing global landscape. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that nearly 50% of the published articles originate from the fields of business, engineering, economics, and social sciences, underscoring the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability research. Future research, as we have seen in studying the activity of BNP PARIBAS CARDIF, should focus on developing comprehensive frameworks for sustainability management in the insurance sector, addressing local and global challenges.

In the context of the highly increasing dispersion of technology in the European economic environment, the interaction of citizens with the public sector is changing rapidly. European countries have significant differences on the tax collection, generating economic effects under a complex fiscal system. The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of digitalization on the VAT compliance gap in the European Union countries.
The analysis considers the VAT compliance gap as the dependent variable and examines the influence of E-government activities of individuals via websites as an independent variable, as a relevant indicator of digitalization. The research approach methodology consisted in EViews Granger causality tests for the collected data from the EU sources, for a period of ten years (2012-2021).
The study results revealed relevant insights and latest information about the connection between e-government users and the VAT compliance gap. This relationship is particularly notable as it emphasizes the potential of digitalization in uplifting tax compliance and improving VAT collection.
Studying the impact of digitalization on VAT compliance, the research is intent to provide to the economist, policymakers, and students a deeper understanding of the technology’s impact on tax policies and economic outcome.