O foco desta pesquisa é verificar a viabilidade da utilização de uma ferramenta gerencial que forneça subsídios para a tomada de decisão dos gestores na atual realidade organizacional, momento em que a concorrência se tornou mais intensa. Mais especificamente, este trabalho trata da aplicação prática, através de um estudo de caso, da metodologia do custeio alvo em uma instituição de ensino que oferece cursos de pós-graduação lato sensu, localizada no interior do estado de São Paulo. Tem-se, assim, a possibilidade de testar, utilizando o ramo de prestação de serviços, uma metodologia sobre a qual há poucos estudos desenvolvidos no país, e cuja utilização tem sido muito reduzida mesmo em âmbito mundial. Neste estudo, faz-se, primeiramente, um levantamento dos antecedentes que definem o problema da pesquisa, traçando os objetivos e hipóteses do trabalho. Em seguida, faz-se um levantamento de toda bibliografia acerca do assunto, elaborando um estudo conceitual sobre a metodologia do custeio alvo, na qual está incluída a técnica da engenharia ou análise de valor. Por fim, realiza-se a aplicação prática da metodologia através de um estudo de caso. Inicia-se o desenvolvimento da metodologia do custeio alvo com uma abordagem histórica, relatando seu surgimento e evolução. Prossegue-se com sua conceituação, objetivos e procedimentos necessários para implantação, culminando com os benefícios obtidos com a metodologia, bem como com suas principais limitações e críticas. Esquematiza-se posteriormente, a estrutura conceitual da engenharia de valor, considerada a base de existência do custeio alvo, apresentando uma abordagem histórica e conceitual, desenvolvendo a técnica processual para obtenção do índice de valor, o que possibilita gerenciar os itens que devam ser substituídos, eliminados, reprojetados ou incentivados, alcançando uma administração de custos orientada para a otimização dos resultados. O estudo de caso, através da implantação da metodologia, permitiu identificar e, por conseqüência, administrar de forma pautada os componentes que formam os custos de um curso de pós-graduação, diminuindo custos ou alavancando atributos, baseado na plena satisfação dos consumidores. / The focus of this research is to verify the viability of the utilization of a managerial tool that gives subsidies for the decision making of the managers in the current organizational reality, a moment in which the competition became more intense. More specifically, this work cares for the practice application, through a case study, of the methodology of the target costing in an Educational Institution that offers latu sensu post graduation courses, located in the interior of São Paulo. There is, this way, the possibility to test, using the service branch, a methodology about which there are few studies developed in the country, and whose utilization has been very reduced even in world scope. In this study, first the antecedents that define the research problem are sought, tracing the goals and hypotheses of work. Soon after it, a bibliographical research is done concerning the subject, elaborating a conceptual study about the methodology of the target costing, in which the technique of the value analysis or engineering is included. Finally, the practice application of the methodology is accomplished through a case study. The development of the methodology of the target costing is initiated with a historical approach, telling about its appearance and evolution. We continue with its conceptualization, objectives and necessary procedures for implantation, culminating with the benefits obtained with the methodology, as well as with its main limitations and criticism. It is schematized afterwards, the conceptual structure of the value engineering, considered the base of the target costing existence, presenting a historical and conceptual approach, developing the procedural technique to obtain the value index, what enables the management of the items that should be replaced, eliminated, replanned or encouraged, obtaining a cost administration guided for the optimization of the results. The case study, through the implantation of the methodology, allowed identifying and, consequently, managing in a ruled way the components that form the costs of a post graduation course, decreasing costs or leveraging attributes, based on the full satisfaction of the consumers.

The function of accounting is to provide users with useful information in making economic decisions. Information regarding goodwill, a major constituent of the value of many listed companies, is likely to be useful in making decisions relating to those companies. A historical review of accounting literature, including professional standards, relating to methods of accounting for purchased goodwill showed that none of them has stood the test of time. The current trend towards an impairment paradigm will not resolve the issue satisfactorily because it produces, at best, a partial solution. The difficulty in accounting meaningfully for goodwill is compounded because, given its foundation in historical cost principles, accounting has been unable to present any information at all with regard to internally generated goodwill within the confines of the traditional Balance Sheet. This, in turn, has led to the evasion of the reality that the two forms of goodwill are inextricably merged. Trying to account satisfactorily for goodwill has been a prime example of R.R. Sterling�s �issues conceived in a way that they are in principle unresolvable�. The problem was accordingly redefined as being to find a method by which the current level of information relating to goodwill in the financial statements contained in a company�s Annual Report could be improved. This thesis seeks to identify a logically defensible method of accounting for goodwill which addresses the redefined problem. It builds upon the historical research undertaken, combined with a priori reasoning, to propose an additional financial statement which is a modification of nineteenth century �double accounting� in a modern context. This statement, which goes far to solve the redefined problem, also furnishes information regarding the company�s market capitalization at balance date and is termed the Market Capitalization Statement (�MCS�). While the idea of furnishing market capitalization data to readers of the Annual Report is not new, it is believed that this is the first time such data has been systematically linked with the Balance Sheet to provide an objective, integrated and meaningful view of goodwill in the financial statements. The practical application and simplicity of the MCS are illustrated by a range of examples drawn from Australian �dot-com� companies over a period of time which saw considerable fluctuation in both goodwill and market capitalization, supplemented by examining data relating to some of Australia�s largest listed companies over the same period. These examples demonstrate that the MCS has the potential to provide significant information not available in conventional financial statements, while freeing the traditional Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account to present information in a more meaningful and less distorted way. Finally, the MCS is noted as still being subject to certain problems and distortions in the context of the historical cost basis of the remaining financial statements. It is shown that, if used in the context of an exit price based system, Chambers� CoCoA, many of these distortions are removed. The MCS also complements the information provided by CoCoA as originally formulated.

The purpose of this thesis was to from a Swedish perspective investigate the fantastic growth rates of Estonia and Latvia and why it became such a massive collapse when the world economy was slowing down. To build a theoretical foundation for the investigation several international macroeconomic theories such as the Mundell-Flemming model, the fundamental national income equilibrium, and international parity relations were used. The empirical section shows that Estonia and Latvia have based much of their growth on imports from their Baltic and especially their Nordic neighbours. At the same time they have been highly dependent on continuously growing Nordic stock markets and high risk appetite from investors to be able to keep the fabulous growth figures. The conclusions drawn are that it has been possible for Estonia and Latvia to grow at fast rates, by running large current accounts deficits, as long as the world was in a boom. But when the world economy is slowing down they are now forced into the very painful process of re-establishing a more balanced current account.

Account books of household expenses provide details of people's social and economic life. For Scotland during the seventeenth and eighteenth century few, if any, account books are as detailed as those of Lady Grisell Baillie of Jerviswood who lived from 1665-1746. Lady Baillie (nee Hume) is a well-known upper class woman in Scottish history, both in her own right and in relation to the tumultuous political careers of her father (Patrick Hume) and husband (George Baillie). A scholarly edition of the accounts, augmented by an 1822 biography written by her daughter, can provide insight into women's social history in eighteenth-century Scotland. The household accounts, in particular, provide the opportunity to examine what the everyday lifestyles were like for upper-class families in Scotland. These accounts include the expenses of raising and educating children, feeding a large household of family and servants and the extravagant costs involved in overseas travel. What makes Lady Grisell's accounts unique is their level of detail and organization spanning over forty years, from 1692 to 1746. In addition to the accounts the biography, written in the style of times, provides valuable information about the Baillies' marriage, family life and the Baillie girls' upbringing. These sources add to the understanding of the household and marital economy in Scotland during the long eighteenth century.

The CWB has the stated objective of increasing producer returns through maximizing sales revenue and minimizing operating costs. To maximize producer returns the CWB derives value from single-desk selling, price pooling and the initial price guarantee.<p> The initial price allows the CWB to offer a price floor to producers which is guaranteed by the Federal government. This guarantee has come under review in recent World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations with opponents stating that the Federal government is unfairly subsidizing producers. Therefore developing methods to hedge the initial payment and remove the CWB dependency on the Federal government guarantee has taken on considerable importance.<p> Hedging the initial price has two components, the first is commodity risk, and the second is currency risk. Commodity risk basically consists of the risk that wheat prices decrease significantly from the announcement of the initial payment resulting in a wheat pool account deficit. Currency risk relates to the risk of the Canadian dollar (CAD) increasing vis-à-vis the United States dollar (USD) resulting in lower wheat prices. This is due to the fact most sales are made in USD, necessitating the conversion of USD for CAD in order to pay Canadian producers. Given recent increases in exchange rate volatility this later risk is important. <p> The goal of this study is to evaluate the currency risk present in the initial payment and to examine alternate means of mitigating this risk. A number of call option strategies will be evaluated to determine its ability to reduce the probability of a wheat pool account deficit by offsetting the effect of a rising CAD.<p> The policy variables analyzed in the thesis are the initial payment as a percentage of the Pool Return Outlook for wheat and the strike price of the call options purchased. Therefore the study will examine the effect of inputting varying initial payment levels and different strike prices for the call options in the model. This will allow for quantifiable insight into cost versus risk reduction comparisons. These comparisons will be useful in determining the most efficient mode of action for the CWB.

Defining art has been one of philosophy of art’s biggest projects. However, no definition offered has achieved to account for all objects we consider art. In this paper, I argue that normative dualism, an unjustifiable Western prejudice for the mental, plays a big part in this failure. The division between fine art and utilitarian and “low” art has been perpetuated because the former is associated with the mental processes involved in its appreciation and, thus, considered more valuable. Theories of art also tend to exclude production (a physical process), concentrating mostly on the appreciation of art (a mental process). Ridding theory of the bias of normative dualism, by abolishing the division that sets fine art apart as more valuable and writing theory that takes art production into consideration, is the only way art theory will succeed in accurately describing art objects.

In December 2010 the Treasury Department presented a proposal contain-ing change in regard of current endowment assurance laws and an alterna-tive way of saving financial instruments called Investment Savings Account. The purpose of the proposal is to make investing in financial instruments easier for private investors and to prevent reigning tax evasion regarding endowment assurances. The objective of this thesis is to determine if the proposal will have the desired effect of making investments in financial in-struments easier for private investors. The purpose is also to determine whether the changes imposed by the proposal are relevant and adequate. The proposal suggests that the Investment Savings Account should be sub-jected to flat-rate tax instead of taxation on capital profit upon divestment of financial instruments, which is the case today. By doing this the investor does not have to calculate expenditure costs of investments making declar-ing tax return to the Tax Agency easier. The proposal also includes change regarding endowment assurance laws stating that deposits and withdrawals should affect the capital base of the assurance preventing tax evasion. Fur-thermore the proposal suggests an elevation of tax on endowment assur-ances conform to the tax-rate of the Investment Savings Account. The proposal shows good intentions since the Treasury Department has ac-knowledged that something has to be done concerning taxation on capital. However, the execution is in some areas quite poor. Excessive measures are taken in comparison to what is achieved. Calculations are complicated, mak-ing capital profit and taxation unpredictable for private investors. Elevating taxation on endowment assurances within a Swedish tax system which is al-ready high might impede the financial market.

This study analyses how the real effective exchange rate affected the current account in Argentina between the years 1978 and 2006 divided into three sub-periods. Theory concerning the subject, the so called J-curve that the current account should immediately be reduced after a devaluation, thereafter recovering and in the end becoming larger than it was initially. This study has been unable find all the three stages of the J-curve, at best only the first two were found. In the first two periods – 1978 to 1990 and 1991 to 2000 – a real depreciation seemed to have an instant negative impact on the current account and then a positive trend could be seen. For the third sub-period of 2001 – 2006, there was even less evidence supporting a J-curve, although the small number of observations may be driving this results.

The CWB has the stated objective of increasing producer returns through maximizing sales revenue and minimizing operating costs. To maximize producer returns the CWB derives value from single-desk selling, price pooling and the initial price guarantee.<p> The initial price allows the CWB to offer a price floor to producers which is guaranteed by the Federal government. This guarantee has come under review in recent World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations with opponents stating that the Federal government is unfairly subsidizing producers. Therefore developing methods to hedge the initial payment and remove the CWB dependency on the Federal government guarantee has taken on considerable importance.<p> Hedging the initial price has two components, the first is commodity risk, and the second is currency risk. Commodity risk basically consists of the risk that wheat prices decrease significantly from the announcement of the initial payment resulting in a wheat pool account deficit. Currency risk relates to the risk of the Canadian dollar (CAD) increasing vis-à-vis the United States dollar (USD) resulting in lower wheat prices. This is due to the fact most sales are made in USD, necessitating the conversion of USD for CAD in order to pay Canadian producers. Given recent increases in exchange rate volatility this later risk is important. <p> The goal of this study is to evaluate the currency risk present in the initial payment and to examine alternate means of mitigating this risk. A number of call option strategies will be evaluated to determine its ability to reduce the probability of a wheat pool account deficit by offsetting the effect of a rising CAD.<p> The policy variables analyzed in the thesis are the initial payment as a percentage of the Pool Return Outlook for wheat and the strike price of the call options purchased. Therefore the study will examine the effect of inputting varying initial payment levels and different strike prices for the call options in the model. This will allow for quantifiable insight into cost versus risk reduction comparisons. These comparisons will be useful in determining the most efficient mode of action for the CWB.

Account books of household expenses provide details of people's social and economic life. For Scotland during the seventeenth and eighteenth century few, if any, account books are as detailed as those of Lady Grisell Baillie of Jerviswood who lived from 1665-1746. Lady Baillie (nee Hume) is a well-known upper class woman in Scottish history, both in her own right and in relation to the tumultuous political careers of her father (Patrick Hume) and husband (George Baillie). A scholarly edition of the accounts, augmented by an 1822 biography written by her daughter, can provide insight into women's social history in eighteenth-century Scotland. The household accounts, in particular, provide the opportunity to examine what the everyday lifestyles were like for upper-class families in Scotland. These accounts include the expenses of raising and educating children, feeding a large household of family and servants and the extravagant costs involved in overseas travel. What makes Lady Grisell's accounts unique is their level of detail and organization spanning over forty years, from 1692 to 1746. In addition to the accounts the biography, written in the style of times, provides valuable information about the Baillies' marriage, family life and the Baillie girls' upbringing. These sources add to the understanding of the household and marital economy in Scotland during the long eighteenth century.