Vlora Berisha

The main objective of this study is to find out if Balkan banks use income smoothing (IS) as a creative accounting practice. The IS level is analyzed to see whether banks are focused on these practices as a tool to produce a better picture of financial views in the sight of decision makers. The data are provided from the audited financial reports presented on the banks’ web pages. Eckel’s modified equation was used to find out if banks use the technique of IS. As a result, the findings showed that banks use IS, and the factors that influence the use of this practice are analyzed. The factors studied are: age of banks, profitability, and loan provision. Of a total of seven banks in Kosovo, only three use income smoothing. In Albania, of a total of 11 banks, only one uses income smoothing. Surprisingly, the results show that none of the variables measured affect the usage of income smoothing. The study contributes to understanding the practice of IS on the one hand, and on the other hand, to opening the eyes of investors and depositors promoting vigilance when they make decisions about investing their funds in banks.

This paper investigates the impact of operating cash flows, company size, and debt (including both cash and operating flows) on the financial performance of Kosovo’s ten most prominent publicly traded companies. Various analytical techniques were employed for hypothesis testing, including OLS linear regression analysis, correlation analysis between variables, and statistical tests such as the T-test and Ratio test. The financial performance analysis involves utilizing Return on Assets (ROA) as the dependent variable, while the independent variables encompass operating cash flows (CFO), firm size, and financial leverage.
The study’s findings reveal noteworthy insights. Although cash flow (p > 0.05) is not observed to have a significant impact, larger company size (p < 0.01) is associated with diminished financial performance. Conversely, higher debt leverage (p < 0.01) is linked to enhanced financial performance. Consequently, the results underscore the significant economic implications that firm size and financial leverage hold for the financial performance of corporations in Kosovo, as indicated by ROA.
The observation that firms size plays a substantial role in financial performance aligns cohesively with established economic theory. As companies expand, they often encounter challenges related to efficient resource management.

The main motive of this study is to evaluate the adaptation of the form of public-private organization to cost control. The empirical analysis for this research includes time-series data from 2008 to 2019 for the EcoHigjiena company by comparing its costs when it was a publicly owned company with the costs over the time the company entered into the partnership agreement. The findings of the study show that public-private ownership is a critical factor in determining total costs of the company by reducing total costs by 10%. The control variables (such as landfill within the municipality, wages and maintenance costs, number of customers and number of employees) for this study also showed significant and robust relationships in the total costs of the company. Wage expenses are an important indicator in increasing the total costs of the company by increasing them by 1.12%, which means that for every employee in the company, total cost decrease by 0.49%. Disposal costs contribute to a 0.25% increase in total costs. The number of clients is statistically important when viewed from an economic perspective, its impact on total costs is not high, or, in other words, there is no implication because for each client of the company, total expenses increase by 0.002%.

This research investigates the relationship between the adoption of internal fintech solutions and the profitability of banks in Kosovo, leveraging the Technology Acceptance Model and Innovation Theory. The study analyzes the impact of mobile banking, e-banking, electronic payment systems, and data analytics on profitability using net interest margin (NIM) and return on assets (ROA) as key metrics. A mixed-method approach was adopted, combining audited financial report data from Kosovo’s commercial banks with survey data to ensure comprehensive analysis. To explore this relationship, a structured questionnaire was administered to 169 bank employees across 10 commercial banks in Kosovo. The sample included professionals from finance, technology, credit analysis, and customer service departments, chosen for their direct involvement in fintech adoption and its implementation. This selection ensured insights from individuals who actively engage with fintech tools and their impact on bank operations. Findings reveal that fintech adoption impacts profitability based on focus. Investments in operational efficiency negatively affect ROA (β = –0.079, p < 0.001), while fintech adoption targeting business opportunities, credit cost reduction, and customer understanding improves ROA and NIM. Business opportunities enhance ROA (β = 0.053, p < 0.01) and NIM (β = 0.098, p < 0.001), while customer understanding increases ROA (β = 0.143, p < 0.001). Mobile banking, digital lending, and bank age also show positive effects.