Objective: Assess the impact of a web-based gamification program on nutrition literacy of families and explore differences in impact by socioeconomic status. Design: Quasi-experimental. Setting: Thirty-seven kindergartens from Portugal. Participants: Eight hundred seventy-seven families. Intervention: Web-based social network of participants' interactions, educational materials, apps and nutritional challenges, focused on fruit, vegetables, sugar, and salt. Main Outcome Measures: Parental nutrition literacy (self-reported survey − 4 dimensions: Nutrients, Food portions, Portuguese food wheel groups, Food labeling). Analysis: General linear model − Repeated measures was used to analyze the effect on the nutrition literacy score. Results: Families uploaded 1267 items (recipes, photographs of challenges) and educators uploaded 327 items (photographs, videos) onto the interactive platform. For the intervention group (n = 106), the final mean (SD) score of nutrition literacy was significantly higher than the baseline: 78.8% (15.6) vs 72.7% (16.2); P < .001, regardless of parental education and perceived income status. No significant differences in the scores of the control group (n = 83) were observed (final 67.8% [16.1] vs initial 66.4% [15.6]; P = .364). Conclusions and Implications: Gamified digital interactive platform seems to be a useful, easily adapted educational tool for the healthy eating learning process. Future implementations of the program will benefit from longer time intervention and assessment of the eating habits of families before and after intervention.

Purpose This study aims to analyse the effect of borrower’s countries on syndicated loan spreads, featuring countries according to institutional factors, namely, financial systems and corporate governance systems. Design/methodology/approach This study is an empirical investigation based on a unique sample of more than 85,000 syndicated loans from 122 countries. The paper uses standard and two-stage least squares regression analysis to test whether the types of financial and corporate governance systems affect loan spreads. Findings The paper finds that borrowers from countries with financial systems oriented towards the banking-based paradigm pay lower interest rate spreads than those from countries with financial systems oriented towards the market-based paradigm. In addition, there is evidence that borrowers from countries with more developed financial systems pay lower spreads. The results also show that borrowers from countries with an Anglo-Saxon governance system pay higher spreads than borrowers from countries with a Continental governance system. Research limitations/implications This study does not consider potential promiscuous relationships that can arise at the ownership structure and governance level between banks and borrowers and may affect loan spreads. Practical implications This study suggests that financial and corporate governance systems are essential factors in the financial intermediation process. Furthermore, the evidence indicates that corporates with higher potential agency costs and higher potential information asymmetry are requested to pay higher spreads. Therefore, the opportunities to such corporates invest optimally tend to be scarcer. Originality/value The paper highlights the impact of institutional factors on the cost of financing, characterising the countries according to the type of financial system and the type of corporate governance system. The study finds that borrowers from countries with bank-based financial systems pay lower interest rate spreads than those from countries with market-based financial systems. The paper also highlights how the level of financial development affects the cost of financing. The paper focusses on non-financial firms, unlike financial firms, which have been the focus of several empirical studies on topics relating to the cost of funding and corporate governance.

Resumo -O ensino da auditoria financeira apresenta desafios que vão desde o teste aos conhecimentos técnicos em contabilidade financeira, de gestão e em fiscalidade, aos conhecimentos relacionados com os procedimentos de auditoria financeira, nomeadamente a materialidade, os testes de controlo, os procedimentos analíticos e os procedimentos substantivos de pormenor. O desafio maior prende-se com a compreensão dos relatórios oficiais dos profissionais. Neste trabalho é apresentada a aplicação SimEmp -Avaliação (Auditoria) como forma de melhorar o desenvolvimento de capacidades e competências adequadas a um auditor. Neste sentido, a aplicação está estruturada e organizada com o objetivo de o aluno contactar com os principais tópicos de auditoria financeira.

A company's investment promotes the creation of shareholder value, so an adequate analysis of all factors that may interfere with its viability is relevant. For the evaluation of a given project, financial criteria and non-financial criteria should be used. Here, we highlight the importance of the strategic aspects for the investment decision and the importance of synergies and consistency with the strategic objectives of the company. The strategic analysis of investments is relevant to understand the combined effect with the project sponsor. In this sense, these issues are crucial in investment decisions, which is explained by the risks associated with an inadequate analysis. We also present the main strategic risks and how to minimize them.

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