Abbas Jumaah Al-waeli

In this paper, we analyzed the relationship between sustainable development practices and the financial performance of Iraqi industrial companies and investigated the moderating effect of artificial neural networks. Given the significance of sustainability as a worldwide issue, this study seeks to fill the research gap regarding sustainability in developing economies. Different metrics for sustainability and financial performance are evaluated through analysis of empirical data of Iraqi industrial organizations. This study uses artificial neural networks to assess their contribution to improving these interactions. It finds that sustainability activities lead to better financial performance, so the focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues does indeed matter. Moreover, artificial neural networks significantly improve the accuracy of the prediction of financial performance using sustainability criteria. Corporations that employ sustainable practices and advanced computational techniques also obtain superior financial results through those applications. This publication contributes to the theoretical discourse on sustainability, financial performance, and artificial intelligence by developing action-oriented suggestions for industry leaders in Iraq. It also directs the next phase of research and policy development for sustainable industrial advancement.

This paper examines the mediating role of environmental reporting quality in the relationship between environmental regulations and corporate reputation in Iraqi industrial companies. The method used in this study is a quantitative research methodology; the study populationcomprised 250 respondents, including accountants, auditors, and managers of environmental issues from industrial companies on the Iraq Stock Exchange and oil companies in Iraq. Using Smart PLS (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling) to analyse the data, the results confirmed the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between environmental regulations and corporate reputation (t = 11.036, β = 0.522, p < 0.000). Also, environmental reporting quality significantly and positively impacted corporate reputation (Estimate = 0.32, p < 0.000). It was also possible to verify the mediating role of reporting quality in the relationship between environmental regulations and reputation (β <0.000). Based on the study's findings, it is evident that the Iraqi company communicates a firmer reputation, as established by the environmental report, with a high level of transparency and high quality, as the generation of low quality by ineffective reporting practices undermines stakeholder confidence.

This paper examines the mediating role of environmental reporting quality in the relationship between environmental regulations and corporate reputation in Iraqi industrial companies. The method used in this study is a quantitative research methodology; the study populationcomprised 250 respondents, including accountants, auditors, and managers of environmental issues from industrial companies on the Iraq Stock Exchange and oil companies in Iraq. Using Smart PLS (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling) to analyse the data, the results confirmed the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between environmental regulations and corporate reputation (t = 11.036, β = 0.522, p < 0.000). Also, environmental reporting quality significantly and positively impacted corporate reputation (Estimate = 0.32, p < 0.000). It was also possible to verify the mediating role of reporting quality in the relationship between environmental regulations and reputation (β <0.000). Based on the study's findings, it is evident that the Iraqi company communicates a firmer reputation, as established by the environmental report, with a high level of transparency and high quality, as the generation of low quality by ineffective reporting practices undermines stakeholder confidence.

This paper examined how bank credit can be used to measure financial risk and predict financial failure using the Z-score, drawing on data from Iraqi commercial banks. The research used panel data regression to estimate a sample of banks across the study period, with bank credit (loans) as the primary explanatory variable and total assets and total liabilities as control variables. The experimental findings revealed that bank credit significantly and positively influences financial stability, as indicated by the Z-score (β1 = 0.0100, p = 0.043). In particular, a rise in bank loans will have a quantifiable positive effect on the Z-score, thereby reducing the likelihood of bankruptcy. Total assets also showed a positive and significant correlation with financial stability (2 = 0.01), indicating that larger banks with diversified asset bases are more resilient to financial risk. Conversely, total liabilities have an adverse, statistically significant effect on Z-Score (β3 is negative and p < 0.05), indicating that greater leverage implies greater financial risk and undermines banks' solvency. The general model has strong explanatory power, with the adjusted R2 well above levels deemed acceptable in panel data studies, and the outcomes are also robust across different model specifications. These results confirm that the Z-Score model is effective at forecasting financial failure. That sound credit control is a key factor in improving the financial stability of Iraqi commercial banks. The study recommends calibrate the credit growth in accordance with the internal risk appetite and the macro-financial environment. Set bank-specific ranges of loan growth percentiles, like percentile ranges based on historical volatility, and ensure that executives must approve any variation, and that it is clearly connected to capital planning and liquidity buffers. Increase and strengthen underwriting requirements when cyclical conditions are favourable, thereby eliminating potential weaknesses. Integrate the Z-score into regular risk management, track its patterns on board risk committees, set tolerance limits aligned with stress-test results, and associate violations with automated reactions such as tightening credit conditions, changing charges, or increasing capital. Keywords: Bank Credit, Financial Risk, Financial Failure, Z-Score, Iraqi Commercial Banks, and Panel Data.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact between Internal Control Components (ICC) and the Financial Performance (FP) of the Iraqi banking sector. The selected components were control environment, control activity, risk assessment, information & communication, and monitoring. The theoretical framework in this study was based on the Agency theory. A quantitative approach using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was utilised as the main study design. The data was collected from a group of respondents comprising CFO, CEO, Accountants, Internal Auditors, and Audit Committee selected through non-random purposive sampling. The actual survey questionnaire was distributed to 365 respondents, and the data were analysed using SEM to determine the impact between Internal Control Components and Financial Performance. The study results indicated that the Internal Control Components have a significant impact on Financial Performance. The positive significant relation were control activity (β =0.311, p<0.05), followed by risk assessment (β =0.203, p< 0.05), monitoring (β=0.176, p<0.05), control environment (β=0.164, p<0.05) and information & communication (β=0.157, p<0.05). In conclusion, the control activity is the most dominant ICC factor that affects financial performance. The main implication of the study is that Iraqi banks should focus on the improvement of Internal Control Components to enhance financial performance.

Abstract This paper reviews and analyses 41 empirical studies examining the effects of internal corporate governance attributes on the disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) information by companies in Iraq. The inductive approach used in this paper entails the surveying, studying, comparing and summarizing of all papers published in prominent journals in the past seven years. By reviewing 41 empirical studies, this current study obtained mixed results ranging from Positive and negative statistically significant to statistically insignificant relationships, depending on the CSRD measures, sample selection and corporate governance attributes. The researchers also found that CG and CSR disclosure have a more positive relationship (57.80 %) than Negative and significant relationship (15.47%). However, the study found that (26.73%) an insignificant relationship .This paper also found that CSRD is weak in Iraq compared to developing countries in the analyzed studies.  In the case of the Iraqi companies, Board of directors and managerial ownership were found to have a positive effect on the growth of social costs. As for the other variables, the study failed to discover any effects. In addition, the researchers also found that none of the previous studies had addressed the abovementioned correlation in the context of Iraqi companies.