Cryptocurrencies are new financial instruments that pose opportunities and challenges for modern finance. This paper synthesizes previous research using a literature review method and various academic databases. The results show that cryptocurrencies offer lower transaction costs, greater privacy, diversification benefits, and alternative financing solutions for institutional investors and individuals. However, they also face challenges such as regulatory uncertainty, criminal activity, environmental costs, prohibitions and restrictions on use, security and privacy concerns, and high volatility. The paper provides useful information for the academic and professional public who want to understand these new financial instruments. The research question is, “What are the opportunities and challenges of cryptocurrencies in modern finance?”

This study examines climate finance context, policy context in Bosnia and Herzegovina and creating recommendations regarding national Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system to track climate finance inflows and public expenditure. This research was prepared to answer the question, what is the best methodological approach for recording climate finance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, considering the best foreign practices as well as the specifics of the political system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The subject of the research was the financial flows of investments in climate change, mitigation and adaptation, and the recommendation of the best way to establish a system for monitoring, reporting and verifying the relevant financial indicators. During the research, the main hypothesis was tested: H1: The existing monitoring of flows of public finances in Bosnia and Herzegovina give a clear picture of investment in climate change. The findings underscore the necessity for a robust MRV system that not only enhances transparency but also fosters accountability in the allocation of climate finance. It becomes evident that tailored strategies must be deployed to integrate these practices within the existing governance frameworks, ensuring that financial flows align with national climate objectives. Ultimately, this study seeks to contribute valuable insights and actionable recommendations toward advancing climate finance management in Bosnia and Herzegovina, advocating for a sustainable and resilient future in the face of climate change impacts.

Global crises like pandemics and geopolitical turbulence have underscored the importance of responsible business practices and corporate transparency. In light of these circumstances, ESG reporting, which measures and expresses a company's concern for the environment, society, and transparent management, has become increasingly crucial. However, in challenging environments with limited resources, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), adopting ESG reporting can present significant barriers to the accounting profession. Therefore, this paper aims to examine accountants' readiness in BiH to adopt ESG reporting under such circumstances. To achieve this goal, we surveyed a representative sample of 290 accountants from across BiH. The survey used a Likert scale to assess accountants' knowledge of ESG standards, their willingness to adopt different reporting methods, and their expectations regarding the impact of ESG reporting on their work, responsibilities, long-term career prospects, and professional development. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, ANOVA tests and t-tests in Excel and SPSS programs. Our study provides valuable insights into the readiness of accountants for ESG reporting, the measures necessary to support its implementation, and the impact of ESG on the development of the accounting profession in BiH. The study also discusses the role accountants can play in encouraging ESG reporting and answers questions about ESG standards' challenges and how accountants can prepare for their adoption. Our results demonstrate that the majority of accountants in BiH support ESG reporting, but they lack the necessary knowledge, tools, and resources to properly implement the new requirements. Hence, we strongly recommend taking measures to improve the preparation of accountants for ESG reporting.

This study investigated the capital structure of 18 publicly traded agricultural companies over a 10-year period (2012-2022), specifically focusing on short-term debt to total liabilities (SHTDTL). Employing a dataset of 121 observations, the strategic financing decisions of these firms in the Republic of Srpska’s stock market were analyzed. The study examines the impact of various factors, including total debt to total equity (TDTC), tangible assets (TOA), company size (CS), current assets ratio (CR), current assets to total assets (CAA), return on equity (ROE), and return on assets (ROA), on capital structure choices. Results reveal that TOA, CAA, and ROE significantly positively influence the short-term debt ratio, while CS and ROA have a significant negative impact. This research sheds light on the financial decision-making of agricultural enterprises, offering insights that can inform their financing strategies and improve financial performance.

This study aims to analyze the opinions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) citizens regarding mandatory pension insurance and the possibility of incorporating private insurance in future reforms. The research involves evaluating the satisfaction of BiH residents with the current pension system, understanding their perception of the pension fund’s risks, and identifying their attitudes towards possible pension system reforms, including the potential involvement of private insurance. The study also seeks to highlight any differences in attitudes towards socio-demographic characteristics, such as gender, employment, length of service, professional qualification, and monthly income. A survey of 812 BiH adults (representative but potentially not fully capturing the entire population) explored these aspects. While acknowledging limitations, the study reveals significant differences in attitudes based on demographics. For example, men are more optimistic about future pensions, while employed individuals are more inclined towards reform. The findings suggest general public support for pension system reform and openness to private insurance. However, the study highlights the need to consider these varying attitudes across different population groups when designing future reforms. This research provides the first quantitative data on BiH residents’ views on private insurance reform, contributing to public discourse and informing future policy changes.

This paper examines the complex landscape of digital currencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and distributed ledger technology (DLT), focusing on their implications within the accounting and financial reporting sector. The surge in popularity of these assets has brought about reporting challenges and complexities. The lack of comprehensive accounting standards and the digitization of financial reporting processes further compound the situation. These challenges underscore the need to update accounting practices to align with the security and transparency offered by DLT. The study examines the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for digital currency reporting, analysing their implications and potential solutions for the accounting community. Central to this exploration is the question: How can the accounting sector navigate the multifaceted challenges and harness the multifarious opportunities that stem from digital currencies, NFTs, and DLT? Using a comprehensive research approach, including a literature review, empirical analysis, case studies, and comparative analysis, this study identifies strategies for managing the reporting complexities of digital assets. It also highlights the importance of collaborative dialogue between stakeholders and regulators to ensure consistency in an evolving landscape. This paper guides the accounting and investment sector in making informed decisions, fortified by a nuanced understanding of the evolving digital asset terrain.

The financial industry is experiencing a digital revolution fueled by the fourth industrial revolution. While digital tools are widely adopted, the specific impacts of digitalization and innovation on financial markets and citizens remain under-researched. This study investigates the relationship between technological progress and innovation with the development of financial markets, the Human Development Index, and the Gross Domestic Product per capita. The core question is how, and to what extent, technological advancement and innovation influence financial development and other social and financial performances per capita. The research employs regression analysis, specifically simple linear regression, and integrates existing research and theoretical frameworks to build an inductive approach. Findings indicate that a one-unit rise in technological progress is linked to a 0.5unit increase in the financial development index (p-value < 0.001). These findings suggest that financial intermediaries and decision-makers in developing countries should consider altering their business models and adapting to rapid technological changes to enhance financial development. This paper provides insights into the connection between progress in digitization and outcomes in the economy and finance, emphasizing the importance of adapting to swift technological changes for sustainable development.

The word rehabilitation is of Latin origin (sanacio) and means treatment, from the point of view of the economy of the company, rehabilitation means economic and technical-organizational measures that should contribute to the recovery of the company, in the sense of making it liquid and profitable again. A company is considered sick if, in the long run, it is unable to meet its obligations and operates at a loss. The causes of the disease can be external and internal. Financial difficulties, manifested in illiquidity and unprofitability, cause the need for rehabilitation. Initiation of remediation presupposes remediation eligibility, which exists if permanent recovery of the company is possible. Determining the suitability of rehabilitation involves examination and selection of measures, the implementation of which ensures the permanent recovery of the company, in the sense of re-establishing the financial balance and returning to the profit zone. This paper explores the food industry business market as an example, highlighting the key role of market research in successful economic recovery. Through this example, market research becomes a fundamental framework for identifying the changes that a company needs to implement in its operations in order to become more competitive. The example will show the market research of companies from the food industry. There is no successful economic rehabilitation without market research. This example can serve as a framework for market research, which provides answers to the question of what the company needs to change in its business in order to be more successful than the competition. The research results have significant implications for managers, experts and political decision-makers, providing them with information necessary for effective management of financial crises and ensuring the stability of companies, as well as a faster understanding of the competitive business environment.

The mobility of factors of production from the very beginnings of the theory of the optimal currency area (OCA) stands out as one of the primary mechanisms for achieving a balance of payments, i.e. sustainability of the monetary union (Mundell criterion). However, there is a significant qualitative difference between the monetary union of countries with similar income levels and the one with different development stages Namely, in the first case, labor mobility, as a rule, has short-term economic effects, while it has a longer-term (more negative) impact – especially on the long-run aggregate supply (LRAS). Many Eastern European countries, which expressed a desire to become part of European integration and the monetary union after the communist ruin, experienced this. In a previous paper, the authors set the thesis about “Impossible Trinity of Developing Countries”. In this paper, the aspiration is to confirm the validity of this theory by analyzing Greece within the period 1999-2020, specifically observing the impact of three variables (fiscal policy, social development level, and level of economic freedom) on the emigration of the population under conditions of monetary union and labor force mobility. The results obtained in this research indicate that the fiscal policy in the observed period was the most significant factor in explaining migration trends. The implications for developing countries that are currently entering (such as Croatia) or intend to enter the monetary union with more developed countries in the future are particularly significant.

This paper primarily analyzes the classification of international organizations according to different criteria to see the specificity of the EU as a sui generis international organization. The authors specifically examine the legal order of the EU and the process of achieving full membership. They are interested in the EU accession process, particularly for countries in the Western Balkans like Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is covered by the Stabilization and Association Agreement. Candidate countries have access to various EU funds, which the authors analyze as pre-accession assistance. The study assesses Bosnia and Herzegovina’s status in European integration and delves into the use of IPA funds in the country, including its withdrawal, scope, and limitations. The authors emphasize the importance of IPA funds for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The paper investigates the empirical verification of the efficacy of investment diversification using the main stock exchange indices in the Eurozone countries and Bitcoin. The paper also investigates whether and to what extent it is desirable for institutional investors, in addition to traditional financial instruments, to invest in Bitcoin. The aim of the research is to examine whether it is justified and to what extent to include Bitcoin in the portfolio of an institutional investor. Through this research, an attempt is made to find an answer to the research question: “What share of Bitcoin in the portfolio structure is justified, taking into account the ratio of return and risk”? The analysis includes data on the daily movement of selected action indices as well as the movement of Bitcoin. The methodology involves the analysis of high-frequency data, given that daily trading data were used. The results show that it is justified to include Bitcoin in the portfolio structure. Also, the results show which share of Bitcoin in the portfolio is justified from the aspect of institutional investors. The data used in the analysis cover the period from 2019 and 2020. Two portfolios have been created, one without Bitcoin and the other with Bitcoin. The goal in optimization for both portfolios is to minimize risk. The observed period of the analysis is characterized by the crisis caused by the coronary virus pandemic and the period of active bitcoin trading. The results of the research show that Bitcoin is a good source of diversification in a portfolio that contains traditional financial instruments, both for an investor who is not prone to risk, and for those investors who have a greater appetite for risk. The conclusion is that the rational behavior of institutional investors requires consideration of investing in Bitcoin using the Markowitz model. However, given the high degree of volatility, investors should be careful when making decisions about including Bitcoin in their investment portfolio. Bitcoin is an extremely volatile instrument. Given that it is a speculative and highly volatile financial instrument, investors have different views on Bitcoin. First in terms of defining this cryptocurrency and then in terms of including this instrument in the investment portfolio. By including Bitcoin in the investment portfolio, the goal of diversification has been achieved. This is to reduce the risk of the institutional investor to a minimum. In practice, this means that it is possible to create a portfolio that carries an acceptable level of risk with the desired level of return. Given that Bitcoin is an extremely volatile and consequently - risky instrument, the expected return is also - high. The results of the research show that the cryptocurrency Bitcoin can serve as a desirable instrument for diversification of the investment portfolio when looking at a portfolio that includes stock indices. The results suggest that it is desirable to include in the structure of the portfolio a certain share of Bitcoin, about 6%.

The aim of the paper is to analyze international sanctions in the third decade of the 21st century. International sanctions are non-violent actions that individual states undertake against other states to force them to change certain foreign and domestic policy aspects that are considered unacceptable. Sanctions, introduced by one country, or an international organization are divided into unilateral and multilateral. Sanctions are usually divided into three forms: diplomatic (restriction or complete termination of diplomatic relations), economic (usually related to the prohibition of trade, usually related to weapons), and military sanctions. The aim of the paper is to analyze the current economic multilateral sanctions against the Russian Federation. The purpose of the introduction of sweeping sanctions is to try to overthrow the current government, which made it impossible to implement the policy that led to the introduction of the sanctions. Descriptive and comparative methods and scientific articles were used in the paper together with announcements by regulators, websites of relevant institutions, books, etc. Data on monthly oil and gas production, exports, inflows, and outflows of capital, mandatory financial reports of large companies, data on the monetary base of the central bank, data on direct foreign investments, and data on lending are observed. The paper shows that the general public is actually deprived of a large number of essential statistical data that was updated on a monthly basis until February 2022. Namely, one of the key reasons why there is doubt about the effectiveness of sanctions is that not enough relevant economic indicators are coming from Russia. Instead, optimistic Russian economic analyses, forecasts, and projections are transmitted. The work indicates that there are certain misconceptions among experts and the general public regarding sanctions. The conclusion is that certain sanctions, such as bans related to agricultural products and artificial fertilizers, have been relaxed. However, all sanctions are introduced to hurt the country and lead to regime change. The paper raises numerous questions arising from the fact that there is great uncertainty that has led to a slowdown in economic activity at the global level.

Cilj istraživanja je da se utvrdi jačina veze između dostignutog nivoa tehnološkog razvoja i inovacija sa jedne strane, te bruto domaćeg proizvoda per capita, razvoja finansijskog tržišta, indeksa ljudskog razvoja i indeksa pranja novca sa druge strane. Korišteni su relevantni podaci za period od 2012. do 2021. godine za sve zemlje za koje su navedeni pokazatelji dostupni. Korištene metode za ovaj proces su komparativna metoda, analiza i regresiona analiza te analiza varijanse, odnosno prosta linearna regresija, te sinteza prethodnih istraživanja i teoretskih nalaza da bi zaključci bili izvučeni metodom indukcije - od pojedinačnog ka opštem. Dobijeni rezultati podvrguti su suštinskoj i statističkoj analizi. Rad pokazuje da postoji značajna veza između posmatranih varijabli, tj. da postoji direktan uticaj nivoa inovacija u zemlji na BDP, razvoj finansijskog tržišta, indeksa ljudskog razvoja te indeks pranja novca. Ograničenja u istraživanju uslovljena su definisanim problemom i metodama koje su primijenjene u radu, uzimajući u obzir standardne probleme kod istraživanja korelacija. Dalja istraživanja treba usmjeriti u pravcu u kojem je potrebno istražiti da li finansijsko ulaganje u inovacije ima efekta na rezultate posmatranih varijabli.

U nekim fazama svog razvoja, kod kompanija se vrlo èesto pojavljuje potreba da se privuku spoljni izvori finansiranja. Jedan od naèina za privlaèenje novca za finansiranje neke kompanije ili investicionog projekta su pozajmice. Te pozajmice mogu biti u obliku vlastitih izvora finansiranja, u vidu emisije akcija i u obliku pozajmljenih izvora finansiranja u vidu emisije obveznica ili kredita od banaka. Meðutim, jedno od osnovnih pitanja koje se postavlja jeste: koji je optimalan odnos duga i akcijskog kapitala u finansiranju kompanije, odnosno kako se odreðuje optimalna struktura kapitala neke kompanije? Dakle, ovdje je rijeè o strukturiranju pasive bilansa stanja preduzeæa, odnosno o uspostavljanju optimalnog odnosa sopstvenog kapitala i dugova (obaveza). Istraživanje je obuhvatilo analizu godišnjih finansijskih izvještaja 612 nefinansijskih akcionarskih društava koja jesu ili su bila listirana na Banjaluèkoj berzi hartija od vrijednosti u periodu od 2011. do 2020. godine. Istraživaèko pitanje glasi: "Kako menadžeri listiranih akcionarskih društava u Republici Srpskoj komponuju strukturu kapitala?" Kao zavisna varijabla u modelu posmatran je odnos kratkoroènog duga prema ukupnom zaduženju. Kao nezavisne varijable korišteni su sljedeæi fundamentalni pokazatelji poslovanja: povrat na akcijski kapital, povrat na aktivu, fiksna imovina, tekuæi racio, tekuæa aktiva prema ukupnoj aktivi, ukupan dug prema ukupnom kapitalu i velièina firme. Ukupan broj opservacija iznosio je 2.905. Svrha rada je identifikovati faktore specifične za privredna društva koja posluju u zemljama u razvoju, a koji značajno utiču na odluke o zaduživanju, odnosno finansiranju, te uzimajući u obzir te faktore konstruisati odgovarajući ekonometrijski model. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da su najjači uticaj na zavisnu varijablu, tj. kratkoročni dug prema ukupnim obavezama, zabilježile sljedeće nezavisne varijable: fiksna aktiva/ukupna aktiva i neto dobit/prosječan kapital (ROE). Sa druge strane, negativan uticaj na zavisnu varijablu imale su ostale varijable. Kada se uzorak podijeli na društva u većinskom javnom i u većinskom privatnom vlasništvu, zaključak je da kod obje vrste društava najveći uticaj ima odnos fiksna aktiva/ukupna aktiva ali da su ostali pokazatelji različitog uticaja.

This paper investigates the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth, on a sample of three groups of countries, classified according to the criterion of economic development. The research problem that seeks to be solved is defined by the question: Do foreign direct investment affect the economic growth of targeted countries and in what way? The objectives of the research are to explain the mechanism of functioning of foreign direct investment and the implications for macroeconomic growth parameters, ceteris paribus. The results of the research show the existence of correlation and determination of the dependent variable with the variations of the independent variable. In this way, the main hypothesis of the paper was confirmed, that foreign direct investment has a stimulating effect on economic growth and the effect of investment is a priori determined by the defined economic policy and the appropriate institutional and legislative framework of the countries, ceteris paribus. The methods used in this paper are regression analysis, i.e. simple linear regression, and analysis and synthesis of previous research and theoretical findings, in order to draw conclusions by induction. The analysis of the data confirms that foreign direct investments have an impact on the economic growth of each group of countries individually, but that in certain groups this connection is present. Thus, the results of the research showed the existence of a relation between FDI and economic growth, i.e. they emphasized FDI as a significant predictor of economic growth in the targeted groups of countries ceteris paribus. The paper represents the author's contribution to economic theory and practice, and to the general public, but also to decision-makers in developing countries. Further research should be directed towards whether it is possible to influence the increase of GDP by "copying" a certain country in terms of attracting foreigners.