This study sought to examine the reporting quality of financial institutions in Ghana after adopting International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) as its official national reporting standard. Using a fixed effect logistic regression, the study compares the earnings management of banks and insurance firms before and after IFRS adoption on reporting quality. The data used was drawn from 51 financial institutions made up of 23 universal banks and 28 insurance companies observed over the period 2003 to 2014. The empirical results indicate that financial institutions exhibit more earnings management during the post-adoption era which is interpreted as a decline in the quality of financial reporting among financial institutions in Ghana. The results documented in this study add to the dearth of literature and contributes to the debate on IFRS adoption and its related impact on reporting quality (earnings management) among financial institutions from the perspective of an emerging market. The study is unique in the sense that it includes the insurance industry where the literature is largely silent especially, on the impact of IFRS adoption by countries on the African continent. Furthermore, unlike previous studies, this paper considers both listed and non-listed firms.

A well-designed product packaging, increased perceived quality and brand equity are essential elements that can strengthen brand loyalty in a keenly competitive retail environment. Although the impact of packaging, perceived quality and brand equity on loyalty has gained considerable attention in the marketing literature, there are limited studies on the impact of packaging on brand loyalty mediated by perceived quality and brand equity in the drug industry. In this respect, this paper aimed to examine the mediation influence of perceived quality and brand equity on the relationship between packaging and loyalty in the drug industry. The data for this paper were collected from a sample of 316 customers using a systematic sampling procedure. The study's hypotheses were statistically examined via structural equation modelling with the aid of smart PLS version 3.3.3. Findings from this paper show that brand equity fully mediates the impact of packaging on loyalty but partially mediates the path between perceived quality and loyalty. The research also found that perceived quality perfectly mediates the relationship between packaging and loyalty but partially mediates the impact of packaging on brand equity. This paper, therefore, established that perceived quality and brand equity are critical in designing packaging to improve brand loyalty in the drug industry.

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