Current management accounting techniques have not been widely accepted as a means to develop a competitive advantage. The information obtained from the literature reviewed and the results from an empirical study that involved a sample of forty respondents from Equity Bank found that the modern management accounting practices provide very important skills and techniques in building competitiveness. The practices play an important role in the planning, developing, implementing and evaluating strategic competitive policies that result in a competitive advantage. The study outlines the importance of management accounting practices in providing strategies that lead to the creation of a competitive advantage in an organisation. However, the conclusions are drawn on a conceptual level and a future empirical investigation is needed to substantiate these claims further. The study also sets a foundation for more focused research into the importance of modern management accounting practices in developing a competitive advantage especially in the banking sector. / Management Accounting / M.Comm. (Accounting)

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Thesis Accomodation premises designed for homeless children and low-income people at the documentary for execution of works. The building was designed so that the object is divided into two parts. The first part is a home for homeless children, which is developed to the level of documentation for construction. The secon part is a started flats, which is designed only as a preparatory study and work. The building is brick of brick blocks. Foundation structures bearing walls ale designed footings. Roof construction is designed flat. The building has four above-ground floors and cellar. The building is insulated exterior contact insulation.

Cette thèse propose une analyse empirique de deux stratégies majeures du financement du développement; les annulations de dette et la mobilisation des ressources domestiques. Les trois premiers chapitres tentent d'analyser les effets des annulations de dette du début des années 2000 sur les finances publiques et les possibilités de réendettement des gouvernements bénéficiaires. Nos résultats montrent que les annulations de dette concédées via les initiatives PPTE et IADM ont permis d'améliorer significativement la composition budgétaire des gouvernements récipiendaires et de diversifier leurs sources de financement. Néanmoins, d'autres résultats mettent en lumière l'existence d'un aléa moral induit par ces initiatives, nécessitant ainsi une surveillance accrue des politiques budgétaires, notamment une fois l'annulation de dette octroyée. Enfin, le quatrième chapitre tente de revisiter la relation entre fiscalité et croissance en adoptant une approche macro-micro à l'aide de données de firmes. Notre analyse montre que la fiscalité est bénéfique à l'activité des entreprise, en particulier celles des pays à faible revenu. Par ailleurs, d'autres résultats suggèrent que cet effet est renforcé lorsque ces mêmes firmes font face à une faible corruption, réitérant ainsi la nécessité pour les pays en développement d'établir un environnement économique et politique sain. / This thesis aims at investigating empirically the effects of two financing strategies for low-income countries; debt relief and taxation. The first three chapters focus on the consequences of debt relief for public finance and new external financing. Results show that cancellations granted under the multilateral debt relief initiatives have been beneficial for recipient countries by significantly improving the composition of their budget and widening financing opportunities. However, findings also underline the risk of moral hazard stemming from these initiatives which thus calls for continuous sound fiscal management, especially after debt relief. Lastly, the fourth chapter revisits the taxation-growth nexus adopting a macro-micro approach. Using firm-level data in developing countries our findings suggest that taxation is favorable to firms' activity, especially when firms operate in poor countries characterized by a significant lack of infrastructure. Moreover, this effect of taxation seems to be maximal in the absence of corruption, hence reaffirming the need for healthy and enabling economic and political environments in developing countries.

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Problems in the public policy decision-making environments are typically complex and continuously evolve. In a resource-constrained environment, several alternatives, criteria, and conflicting objectives must be considered. As a result, solutions to these types of problems cannot be modelled solely using single-criteria techniques. It has been observed that most techniques used to shape energy policy and planning either produce sub-optimal solutions or use strong assumptions about the preferences of decision-maker(s). This difficulty creates a compelling need to develop novel techniques that can handle several alternatives, multiple criteria and conflicting objectives to support public sector decision-making processes. First, the study presents a novel scenario-based multi-objective optimisation framework based on the augmented Chebychev goal programming (GP) technique linked to a value function for analysing a decision environment underlying energy choice among low-income households in isolated rural areas and informal urban settlements in South Africa. The framework developed includes a multi-objective optimisation technique that produced an approximation of a Pareto front linked to an a priori aggregation function and a value function to select the best alternatives. Second, the study used this model to demonstrate the benefits of applying the framework to a previously unknown subject in public policy: a dynamic multi-technology decision problem under uncertainty involving multiple stakeholders and conflicting objectives. The results obtained suggest that while it is cost-optimal to pursue electrification in conjunction with other short-term augmentation solutions to meet South Africa's universal electrification target, sustainable energy access rates among low-income households can be achieved by increasing the share of clean energy generation technologies in the energy mix. This study, therefore, challenges the South African government's position on pro-poor energy policies and an emphasis on grid-based electrification to increase energy access. Instead, the study calls for a portfolio-based intervention. The study advances interventions based on micro-grid electrification made up of solar photovoltaics (PV), solar with storage, combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and wind technologies combined with either bioethanol fuel or liquid petroleum gas (LPG). The study has demonstrated that the framework developed can benefit public sector decision-makers in providing a balanced regime of technical, financial, social, environmental, public health, political and economic aspects in the decision-making process for planning energy supply interventions for low-income households. The framework can be adapted to a wide range of energy access combinatorial problems and in countries grappling with similar energy access challenges.

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This professional project estimates the upfront costs and utility savings expected from greening an approximately 1,100 square foot home built in the 1950s in the San Francisco Bay Area. Two sets of upgrades (alternative and original) were compared for costs and benefits. The alternative set (which included ceiling insulation and omitted upgrading to dual-pane windows) clearly out performed the original set. The alternative set would be expected to reduce resident utility bills by 28% annually, and to prevent approximately 2,700 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The water efficiency upgrades were the best performing group of upgrades, as they had the lowest upfront cost and shortest payback period. (These water efficiency upgrades consisted of modifying toilets, faucets, and showerhead, as well as upgrading the dishwasher and clothes washer to efficient models.) Future very low-budget greening programs, in nearly all cases, should include a full-set of water fixture modifications, weatherstripping, and clotheslines. As budgets allow, other upgrades from alternative upgrades list are recommended, such as ceiling fans, programmable thermostats, and ceiling insulation. Whenever possible, workforce development labor should be used to simultaneously reduce labor costs and multiply the social benefit of each project dollar by providing entry-level green collar jobs.

This study examined how the longitudinal associations among children’s negative emotionality, mothers’ depressive symptoms, parental warmth, and children’s school readiness and whether the associations vary as a function of fathers’ positive involvement in low-income South Korean families. Participants were 399 families including mothers (Mage = 32.54 years at Time 1), fathers (Mage = 35.23 years at Time 1), and children (Mage = 38.92 months at Time 1; 50.5% boys) in the Panel Study on Korean Children. Results revealed that children’s negative emotionality was indirectly associated with their school readiness three years later, through its association with mothers’ depressive symptoms and warmth. Mothers’ warmth mediated the association between mothers’ depressive symptoms and children’s school readiness, and fathers’ warmth mediated the association between fathers’ positive involvement and children’s school readiness. Our findings revealed the family processes underlying children’s school readiness development in low-income Korean family contexts. Our findings also provide information useful for efforts to detect family risks and to establish family policies to promote low-income children’s school readiness.