This paper explores how digital forensic accounting can help in combating the embezzlement of public funds in Iraq and how it will help in the vision of sustainable development. The study uses the information of Iraqi government, international reports, and comparative evaluation in understanding how information systems strategies could be used to increase the effectiveness of fraud detection, investigation, and recovery in the Iraqi public sector. According to the available sources, there have been huge losses to the public funds since 2003 with projections of between 150-450 billion USD of the funds lost being as per different official and parliamentary sources. Iraq experienced a slight positive increase in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index as the country was ranked 23 points (2023) and 26 points (2024). According to recent statistics, there has been a massive rise in digital payments, which have risen to 7.6 trillion Iraqi dinars (2024) upon 2.6 trillion Iraqi dinars (January 2023) indicating that there is a substantial infrastructure that can be used to support digital forensic applications. Statistically, the analysis shows that the issues of digital infrastructure capacity and forensic accounting effectiveness (b = 0.687, p < 0.001), forensic effectiveness and fund recovery rates (b = 0.759, p < 0.001), fund recovery and sustainable development impact (b = 0.634, p < 0.001) are strongly correlated. The cost benefit analysis shows outstanding returns of NPV of 1.758.2 million and ROI of 998. These results have immense implications to policy makers, auditors and development practitioners who may want to consider technological solutions to enhance financial integrity as Iraq seeks sustainable development agendas.

Linear Programming (LP) is an effective method that has been developing with time as a means of providing more efficient solutions to various optimization problems and decisions under difficult circumstances. It started as a way of planning production, transport, and resource utilization, but sustainability, digital revolution, and management by data has taken its relevance to the crossroad. The study explored the value of use of LP in the contemporary world, how it is better off with new technologies, and what it could be in the future. The paper employed the desk review research technique, relying on scholarly articles, books, and research reports to follow the development of LP since its conventional application in manufacturing and energy systems to new ones in artificial intelligence, smart cities, and environmental planning. The findings revealed that LP is highly suitable in terms of saving costs, improving efficiency and sustainable development. However, it still is problematic in the sense that it is founded on simple and a priori assumptions that is not always a reflection of reality. The authors concluded that with the addition of machine learning, cloud computing, and quantum optimization, such limitations would be minimized when using LP. LP would remain significant in making intelligent, sustainable, and data-informed decisions in future.

As global climate concerns intensify alongside China’s pursuit of carbon neutrality, the low-carbon transition of the manufacture industry has become an urgent necessity. As a key driver in the digital era, how FinTech can effectively facilitate this transition has emerged as a critical issue. Therefore, this study selects panel data from 30 Chinese provinces spanning 2004 to 2023 to examine the mechanisms through which FinTech influences low-carbon development of manufacture industry. The study shows: (1) FinTech exerts a direct promoting effect on the low-carbon development of the manufacture industry, but this effect is only significant in regions with high levels of FinTech. (2) FinTech indirectly facilitates low-carbon transformation through stimulating green technology innovation and reducing energy intensity. (3) Government environmental attention and human capital exhibit stage-specific moderating roles along the transmission pathway, the former amplifies FinTech’s driving force on technological innovation, whereas the latter accelerates the conversion efficiency of innovation outcomes. Building upon these findings, this study proposes the following targeted policy recommendations: regions with underdeveloped financial infrastructure should promote the integration of FinTech with traditional financial services; green technology innovation should be strengthened through dedicated funds, while energy efficiency should be enhanced via integrated “energy-efficiency loans with digital management systems”; government should build a phased and multi-party collaborative policy system, combining stronger policy guidance at the front end with enhanced cultivation of interdisciplinary talent at the back end, ultimately forming a comprehensive support system. This research elucidates the dual pathways and conditional mechanisms through which FinTech drives low-carbon development in manufacturing, offering strategic insights for aligning technological innovation, financial support, and policy guidance.

The convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and sustainable banking is transforming the global financial landscape, presenting both extraordinary opportunities and significant challenges. This paper provides an in-depth review of AI applications in the banking sector, elaborating on their role in advancing efficiency, enhancing customer experience and promoting financial inclusion, while also examining their implications for sustainability. Drawing on a thematic analysis of scholarly literature, case studies, industry reports and studies, this analysis identifies key applications of AI in fraud identification, credit risk management, wealth management, customer service automation and regulatory compliance. Further than operational welfare, the review centre is evolving sustainability-focused on uses of AI, comprising environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk calculation and green finance simplification. However, major challenges remain, notably data privacy risks, algorithmic bias, regulatory uncertainty, high operational costs, workforce disruptions and the environmental impact of AI systems. The analysis underscores significant gaps in aligning AI adoption with broader sustainability goals, regulatory expectations and ethical standards. To address the identified loopholes, this research recommends future research strategies focused on the development of accountable AI frameworks, explainable AI, stronger regulatory harmonization and inclusive financial contact. The findings contribute to both theory and practice by combining fragmented insights, providing a structured framework for indulgent AI’s dual role in efficiency and sustainability and offering legal guidance for policymakers, regulators and banking authorities. Ultimately, this study highlights AI not only as a driver of operational conversion but also as a catalyst for building a more comprehensive, robust and practical global banking environment.

This study aims to identify the impact of guerrilla marketing dimensions on enhancing the competitive position of local travel and tourism companies in the city of Samarra. To achieve this objective, seven main dimensions of guerrilla marketing were identified: ambient marketing, ambush marketing, stealth marketing, sensory marketing, viral/buzz marketing, graffiti advertising, and word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing, which represent the independent variables. The competitive position represents the dependent variable of the study. The researchers adopted the descriptive-analytical approach and designed a special questionnaire to measure the research variables after presenting it to a group of professors and experts to ensure its validity and reliability. The value of Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient reached (0.879), indicating a high level of internal consistency. A total of (50) questionnaires were distributed to employees of travel and tourism agencies operating in the city of Samarra, all of which were retrieved and found valid for statistical analysis. Using (SPSS Ver. 26), both descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted, including correlation and simple and multiple linear regression analyses. The results revealed a significant and positive correlation and impact between the dimensions of guerrilla marketing and the competitive position, indicating that adopting these strategies contributes to enhancing the agencies’ ability to compete in the local tourism market. The study concluded with several recommendations, most notably the need to encourage travel and tourism agencies to use creative, low-cost marketing methods, adopt guerrilla marketing strategies that suit the characteristics of the local market, and promote a culture of marketing innovation among management and employees due to its direct impact on improving the agency’s competitive position.

This study examines the short-run and long-run impacts of external debt and institutional quality on sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), using dynamic panel GMM estimation and panel ARDL ECM for robustness. It further explores four transmission channels, foreign direct investment (FDI), gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), inflation, and debt servicing. Results confirm that external debt positively influences sustainable development only when complemented by strong institutional quality. The negative and significant interaction between debt and weak institutions underscores the risk of debt undermining sustainability in poorly governed environments. Transmission channels reveal that inflation poses a mild threat to sustainability, while FDI, GFCF, and debt service lack consistent significance. These findings suggest that institutional quality is the most vital factor in enhancing the developmental returns of debt-financed interventions.

The study investigated the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and innovative behavior within the packaged water industry in Rivers State, with a focus on the moderating role of strategic thinking and risk-taking. The study utilized a census of 298 representatives (owners, managers and supervisors) of 85 functioning packaged water companies based on a cross sectional research design and positivist paradigm. The questionnaire was a structured, closed-ended questionnaire based on other existing scales on entrepreneurial leadership and innovative behavior, and with a 5-point Likert scale to collect data. The reliability of the instrument was verified in a pilot test as the Alpha coefficients of Cronbach were found to be between 0.770 and 0.850. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used in the analysis of data. The results show that there is a strong positive correlation between strategic thinking, risk-taking behavior, and such innovative behaviors as the generation of ideas, championing, and implementation. Strategic thinking showed a positive relationship with innovative behavior with a moderate positive correlation whereas risk-taking behavior had a positive correlation as well. This implies that innovations in any small business are highly dependent on entrepreneurial leadership, especially in terms of visionary planning and readiness to take risks. Finally, with entrepreneurial leadership, the culture of innovation is highly stimulated. It is suggested that the small business in the packaged water sector ought to work towards instilling strategic thinking, and risk taking in a calculated manner in their organizations. This is possible through the introduction of strategy workshops, cross-functional teams in the area of an environmental scanning and the innovation challenge programs, which promotes experimentation and failure tolerance in order to increase the overall organizational resilience and competitiveness.