میثم بلگوریان

The primary objective of this study is to develop a predictive model for money laundering risk in Iranian listed firms. Initially, firm-level money laundering risk is measured using auditor assessments of anti-money laundering (AML) activities disclosed in annual audit reports. Subsequently, a quantitative modeling approach is employed, using financial and governance-related variables identified in prior research. To validate the quantitative findings, a qualitative approach based on grounded theory is also applied to identify additional explanatory factors. This research follows a mixed-methods design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative phases. In the quantitative phase, a panel logit regression model is estimated using data from 1,680 firm-year observations covering the period 2012–2023. Independent variables include firm size, return on equity, leverage, investment opportunities, board independence, and board size. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 experts to identify key risk factors, followed by the design and administration of an 18-item questionnaire distributed to 110 professionals. Exploratory factor analysis was then used to extract latent variables. The quantitative analysis reveals significant relationships between money laundering risk and several variables, such as firm size (positive), return on equity (negative), leverage (positive), and board independence (negative). The qualitative analysis identifies three core factors: (1) organizational culture and employee training, (2) corporate governance, and (3) a composite factor comprising compliance, organizational complexity, financial performance, firm size, and capital structure. Together, these factors explain over 50% of the variance in expert responses. The convergence of results from both methodological approaches confirms the robustness of the proposed model. Corporate governance indicators—particularly board size and independence—alongside financial attributes such as firm size, profitability, and capital structure, are found to be significant predictors of firm-level money laundering risk. The findings underscore the importance of strengthening internal control mechanisms and compliance structures in reducing money laundering risk.

The purpose of this article is identification of factors which have significant effects on the perceived value of educational services by students’ parents in Iran educational system. Furthermore, we explore the role these factor play on the evaluation of educational services by parents. The statistical population of this study includes the parents of students of all secondary private schools in Tehran at the year 2021 and 800 parents were selected using random sampling. The research tool is a questionnaire with 62 statements which were identified using interviews by experts. We collected 300 questionnaires after calculating validity and reliability. We used Principal Components Analysis (PCA) in order to extract factors with highest degree of determining power. Using four identified principal components, we run a linear regression for testing the significance of these factors. Our results show that all of four factors i.e. functional, social, emotional and epistemic value have significant impact on the perceived values by parents in Iran educational system.