The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the role that R&D expenditures have on the current stock market valuation of publicly listed firms from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There is plenty of accounting literature that has investigated before the effect of R&D on the market value of firms. However, few studies have included the Nordic countries despite the fact that for highly developed countries, such as the Nordic region, R&D plays a crucial role to boost their economic growth. Therefore, the first aim of this thesis was to fill this gap by combining previously proposed econometric models and adapting a suitable model for the Nordic region to estimate the effect of R&D on the market value of firms. This thesis was divided in two parts; a theoretical and an empirical part. In the theoretical part, the most relevant accounting literature that analyzes the relation between R&D and the market value is presented and analyzed. As a result, two types of variables are identified: endogenous and exogenous factors. In the first category, firm-specific and industry-specific factors are pinpointed. The first ones are selected as control variables (size and earnings) and the second distinction is used to test the second hypothesis in the empirical part. Regarding the exogenous factors, the GDP of the studied countries is used as a control variable and the 2008 financial crisis is studied in the third hypothesis in the context of R&D. In the empirical part, the effect of R&D is analyzed from three perspectives with an OLS methodology. For this purpose, firm-level observations for the period of 1990‒2012 are taken from Thomson Reuters and combined with data from the World bank database. From this data, three hypothesis are developed and tested. First, a general model investigates the overall impact of R&D on the market value. Secondly, an interaction term is included to test whether or not the stock market valuation of R&D is stronger for technology-oriented companies. Finally, the impact of R&D on the market value in the context of the 2008 financial crisis is analyzed by estimating whether or not the R&D effect on the market value was stronger before the financial crisis. For this, an interaction term of R&D and a dummy variable that differentiates the periods before and after the financial crisis is included. In line with previous literature, the results show that the overall effect of R&D on the market value is positive and significant. On the other hand, looking from the industry context, R&D does not play a meaningful role on the market valuation of non-technology firms. This is in line with previous findings, where R&D is found to be significant at explaining the current market value only for firms that are R&D intensive. Finally, regarding the third hypothesis, the effect of R&D on the market value remains, in general terms, unchanged even after the 2008 financial crisis. This means that investors and companies have not “panicked” to the crisis. To the contrary, they are well aware of the importance and long-term benefits that R&D investments bring to their economies, especially in dealing with a financial crisis. Perhaps, this behavior could be coming from experience, as they are not foreigners to a financial crisis.

Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena oli avata ensin sale and leaseback -järjestelyn (myös SLB- rahoitus) sisältö ja sen jälkeen nostaa esille syitä, jotka johtavat SLB-toiminnan käyttämiseen liiketoiminnassa. Tutkielman tutkimuskysymys voitiin lausua seuraavan kysymyksen muodossa: Mitkä syyt johtavat yritystoiminnassa SLB-rahoitusmuodon käyttöön? Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli myös tarkastella sitä, minkälaisia markkinavaikutuksia teorian mukaan SLB-rahoitusmuodon käyttöönotto aiheuttaa ja tuoda esille asiantuntijoiden näkemyksiä näistä vaikutuksista. Tutkimuskysymyksiin liittyvää teoriaa haettiin alan kirjallisuudesta ja artikkeleista. Tutkimuksen kohdetta lähestyttiin kvalitatiivisella tutkimusotteella. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus toteutettiin haastatteluin, joiden avulla pyrittiin löytämään näyttöä siitä, mikä tai mitkä asiantuntijoiden esittämistä perusteluista peilaantuvat teoriassa esitettyihin syihin ja millaisina asiantuntijat näkivät SLB-järjestelyn markkinavaikutukset. Haastateltavat edustivat erilaista asiantuntijuutta ja kokemusta. Haastattelut tehtiin puolistrukturoituun haastatteluun tähtääviä periaatteita noudattaen. Tutkimus osoitti, että SLB-rahoitus on yksi käytettävissä oleva vaihtoehto rahoittaa yrityksen toimintaa ja näin se monipuolistaa yrityksen rahoitusvaihtoehtoja. Se on yksi vaihtoehto velkarahalle. Haastateltavien mielestä tärkein syy toteuttaa SLB-järjestely on pääoman vapauttaminen muuhun tarkoitukseen. Syyksi nähtiin se, että ei haluta velkaantua lisää, ei haluta rahaa omistajiltakaan tai muuta rahaa ei ole saatavilla. SLB-rahoituksen katsottiin sopivan suurille yrityksille, koska järjestelyn toteuttaminen vaatii aina asiantuntijuutta. Huomiota kiinnitettiin myös SLB-järjestelyyn liittyviin riskeihin, jotka pitää tunnistaa. Rahoituksen hinta saattaa myös osoittautua liian korkeaksi. Markkinareaktioista oltiin sitä mieltä, että potentiaali osakkeen kurssinousulle on olemassa, jos SLB- järjestely on kooltaan suuri ja se on tehty hyvään hintaan. Esimerkiksi Finnair Oyj on tehnyt hyvin rahaa konekaupoilla. Mutta SLB voi olla osakekurssille huonokin asia, jos on jouduttu tekemään SLB- järjestely, koska muualta ei ole saatu rahoitusta. Negatiivinen kurssireaktio on mahdollinen myös silloin, kun yritys yhtäkkiä muuttaa rahoitustaan ja siirtyy käyttämään pelkästään SLB-järjestelyä. Markkinavaikutuksia koskeneeseen kysymykseen saatiin vain vähän vastauksia.

Tämän tutkielman tarkoituksena on tutkia, kuinka hyvin yrityksen arvonmääritysmenetelmistä kassavirtamalli ja lisäarvomalli soveltuvat yrityskauppahintojen ennustamiseen. Tutkimusaineistona käytetään 199 toteutunutta pörssiyhtiöiden välistä yrityskauppaa Yhdysvalloissa vuodelta 2010. Arvonmääritysmallien selittävien muuttujien arvot saadaan vuoden 2009 tilinpäätöstiedoista. Tutkimus jakaantuu teoreettiseen ja empiiriseen osaan. Teoreettisessa osiossa käydään läpi aiempaa kirjallisuutta aiheesta johdanto-osiossa. Teoreettisessa osiossa esitellään empiirisen osion kannalta keskeiset arvonmääritysmallit. Lisäksi tarkastellaan yrityskauppoja, miksi niitä tehdään sekä mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat onnistumisiin yritysjärjestelyissä ja mitkä tekijät johtavat epäonnistumiseen yrityskaupoissa. Tutkimuksen empiirisessä osiossa arvonmääritysmalleja verrataan kauppahinnan ja markkina-arvon erotuksena laskettuun yrityskauppapreemioon ja markkina-arvoon regressioanalyysin avulla. Yleisiä arvonmääritysmalleja on yksinkertaistettu ja selittävinä muuttujia ovat oman pääoman kirjanpitoarvo, lisävoitto, kassavirta ja tutkimus- ja kehitysmenot. Tutkimustulosten perusteella lisäarvomalli näyttää toimivan kassavirtamallia paremmin arvonmäärityksessä useimmissa tapauksissa. Tuloksien perusteella sekä kassavirtaperusteinen että lisäarvoperusteinen malli selittävät huonommin yrityskauppapreemiota kuin yrityksen markkina-arvoa. Toimialakohtaisessa tarkastelussa lisäarvomalli selittää varsin tasaisesti markkina-arvoa eri toimialoilla. Kassavirtaperusteisen mallin tilastollinen merkitsevyys heikkeni huomattavasti, kun tarkastelua tehdään pienemmällä aineistolla toimialoittain. Lisäarvoperusteisen mallin selitysasteet ovat pääosin kassavirtaperusteista mallia parempia.

Tutkielman tavoitteena on kerätä sekä teoreettista että empiiristä tietoa strategian toteuttamisen tukemisesta johdon laskentatoimen keinoin. Kirjallisuuden perusteella muodostetaan ensin kattava yleiskuva strategisen johdon laskentatoimen käsitteestä ja sen eri menetelmistä, minkä jälkeen tehdään empiirinen multicase-tutkimus teoreettisen viitekehyksen puitteissa. Tutkimuksen avulla pyritään selvittämään, miten strateginen johdon laskentatoimi näkyy kohdeyrityksissä sekä miten laskentatoimen eri työkaluja sovelletaan strategian tukemiseksi ja mikä on johtanut juuri kyseisten työkalujen käyttöönottoon. Tutkimuksen kohteena on kaksi erilaista yritystä, joiden avulla pyritään vastaamaan tutkimusongelmaan sekä konsernin emoyhtiön että tytäryhtiön näkökulmista. Tutkimus on luonteeltaan laadullinen ja se toteutetaan teemahaastattelulla eli puolistrukturoidulla haastattelulla, jossa tutkimusongelmasta nostetaan esille keskeiset aiheet tai teemat. Tutkimus toteutetaan laadullisena, sillä tarkoituksena ei ole testata tarkkoja hypoteeseja tai tehdä etukäteen oletuksia tuloksista, vaan siinä halutaan antaa tilaa tutkimuksen kohteena olevien henkilöiden omille tulkinnoille ja näkökulmille. Tavoitteena on pyrkiä muodostamaan kattava yleiskuva kohdeyritysten tilanteesta, eikä muodostaa yleistyksiä. Kummallakaan kohdeyrityksistä ei ole käytössään erillistä strategisen johdon laskentatoimen osaaluetta. Tutkimuksen myötä voidaan kuitenkin todeta, että strategian ja laskentatoimen välinen vuoropuhelu on yrityksissä jatkuvaa ja strategia ohjaa molempien yritysten toimintaa koko ajan. Erityisesti emoyhtiön roolissa toimivassa yrityksessä laskentatoimen tuki strategian toteuttamiselle näkyy selvästi ja johdon laskentatoimi antaa monipuolista informaatiota strategisen päätöksenteon tueksi. Tytäryhtiössä laskentatoimen merkitys strategian toteuttamiselle ei näytä olevan ihan niin suuri, minkä lisäksi yrityksessä näkyy selvästi ajattelutapa, jonka mukaan suuret strategiset asiat hoidetaan konsernin ylemmillä tasoilla ja tytäryhtiö itse keskittyy lähinnä oman operatiivisen toiminnan pyörittämiseen. Kuitenkin myös tytäryhtiöstä löytyy jonkin verran laskentaa, joka tukee strategian toteuttamista. Kyseessä on ainutlaatuinen, tapauskohtainen tutkimus, jonka tulokset eivät ole yleistettävissä. Mikäli yleistyksiä haluttaisiin tehdä, tulisi case-tutkimuksia aiheeseen liittyen suorittaa systemaattisesti lisää. Myös aineiston määrä rajoittaa tutkimuksen yleistettävyyttä ja hyödynnettävyyttä. Tutkimuksessa aineistoa kerättäessä haastateltiin ainoastaan kohdeyritysten talousjohtajia. Laajempien ja monipuolisempien tulosten saamiseksi haastateltavien määrää voisi lisätä koskemaan myös muita talousosaston henkilöitä. Tutkimus siis määrittelee strategisen johdon laskentatoimen käsitettä ja kokoaa yhteen sen eri menetelmiä monipuolisesti. Lisäksi se tarjoaa informaatiota siitä, miten strateginen johdon laskentatoimi, tai strategian ja johdon laskentatoimen välinen vuorovaikutus ylipäätään, näkyy yrityksissä käytännössä. Tällainen informaatio, erityisesti jos tutkimusta vielä jatketaan ja syvennetään, voi auttaa parantamaan laskentatoimen ja strategian välistä yhteyttä yrityksissä ja siten tehostamaan johdon laskentatoimea ja sen antamaa tukea strategiselle päätöksenteolle.

This thesis determines the state of recent developments in CEO compensation in the spirit of corresponding literature. Besides the literature review, empirical study provides further evidence on CEO pay-for-performance sensitivities in the US listed companies during 2007–2011 and containing Compustat Execucomp data of more than 33,000 CEOs from more than 3,000 companies. I build the regression similar to methods in a groundbreaking paper from Jensen and Murphy (1990a) and expecting positive and significant relationship between the change in CEO total compensation and shareholder wealth. My estimate of the pay-for-performance relation for chief executive officers indicates CEO wealth changes by $4.93 per $1,000 change in shareholder wealth. Role of the value of CEO stock holdings plays the most important role determining pay-for-performance sensitivity a $4.7 change in CEO wealth per 1,000 change in shareholder wealth. I also report CEO total mean compensation during 2007–2011 is $5,968,000 a year. The mean value of option awards have declined by 18% and median stockholdings have increased during the same period by 130%. Relatively high value of pay-for-performance sensitivity and CEO stockholdings may help other shareholders to solve the differing interests of their and CEOs. Besides stock rewards, other compensation methods are needed to minimize the effect of systematic risk. Relative performance evaluation RPE, could be used together with equity-based incentives but they are not widely used in US listed companies. However, further research is needed to determine how equity-based compensation affects on CEOs excessive risk taking.

This paper examines the impact of the IFRS adoption on earnings management and earnings quality in Russia. Despite the fact that multiple surveys and papers focus on earnings quality, earnings management and IFRS research, these topics are still actively being studied. This research is motivated by the increase of attention to the IFRS implementation process in Russia. The process of harmonization of Russian Accounting Standards with IFRS takes long time as there are significant differences between these two standards. The reasons for that are Russian economic and political issues. Existing academic research shows controversial results concerning the impact of the IFRS adoption on earnings quality. Some research provides evidence that the IFRS adoption brings significant benefits to a country as it improves disclosure quality and informational environment around the IFRS adoption. However, several studies argue, that, at the same time, IFRS give significant flexibility and discretion to managers. This does not always mean the improvement of disclosure quality. In this paper we provide one more examination of how IFRS influences earnings quality. This thesis studies the accrual-based type of earnings management. The empirical analysis employs the linear regression model which includes a dependent variable (discretionary accruals) and several control variables. The Jones model is used for the estimation of discretionary accruals as a measure of earnings management. The sample used for the analysis contains 577 observations of Russian companies from various industries during the period 2006–2012. This research proves that IFRS adoption increases accruals-based earnings management which leads to lower earnings quality in Russian companies. The results of the empirical research support the hypothesis that a positive correlation exists between IFRS adoption and earnings management. The results show that Russian companies use downward earnings management (income minimization) mostly. Finally, this paper demonstrates that IFRS do not always have a positive impact on the quality of accounting information. The adoption of IFRS in Russia is close to the final steps, but it is still not clear if it brings real benefits to the Russian business environment. The limitations of this study are the usage of the Jones model instead of the Modified Jones model and the relevancy of data set.

This study is based on the cornerstones which forms the components of Activity-based costing. These cornerstones work together to bring about the successes that firms reap after implementing the ABC system. Firms exist mainly to gain profit by providing goods and services that will satisfy customers by delivering them with the value they demand. The cost system used by firms is therefore an essential decision to be made by the firm in question. Activity-based costing has been accepted and implemented by numerous firms who speaks so highly of it. But one will want to probe more into the system to understand the main elements that combine to form the system. This gave way to the main objective of this study to uncover and compile the cornerstones of the ABC system which has been compiled by practitioners in professional literature. The study uncovered eight cornerstones of the ABC system which work hand in hand to achieve the aims and goals of the organizational cost system. Some of the cornerstones are basic to the survival of the cost system but nevertheless, they still work in cooperation with the others to ensure a smooth running of the system. The results also established the link that exists between the cornerstones and how the correlate which each other in the process of spreading overhead costs to cost objects.

<p> Sustainability accounting reporting is an offshoot of corporate social responsibility. Accounting professionals are now producing sustainability reports. Sustainability accounting reporting is a combination of economic, social, and environmental issues incorporating both financial and nonfinancial elements. Sustainability reports may be assured (certified) by third parties. Recently, the accounting profession has been criticized for failing to prepare proper sustainability reports. To date, there has been no investigation of the social and environmental viewpoints of accountants. The problem this nonexperimental, correlational, quantitative study investigated was Openness to CSR, perceptions of proficiency in sustainability assurance reporting, and environmental attitudes of accountants. The study is important because it provided the first evidence of accountants being pro-environmental. The New Ecological Paradigm was the conceptual framework. Stakeholder and legitimacy theories were included. Stakeholder theory states organizations have a responsibility to those who influence or can be influenced by the organization. Legitimacy theory involves an organization&rsquo;s ability to survive granted by the larger community. The New Ecological Paradigm scale provides a score of environmental worldviews. Corporate social responsibility was addressed using the Openness to CSR scale. Assurance was addressed using a perceptions of assurance scale. A survey method provided data and IBM SPSS Statistics was the analytical tool. The participants were U.S. CPAs. The results indicated CPAs were pro-environmental and younger CPAs were more likely to be pro-environmental. Gender was not found to be statistically significant. Openness to CSR and assurance were not found to be statistically significant. This study has relevance for accounting curricula in universities because sustainability accounting reporting is not addressed currently. Future research should replicate the study when not in tax season. Future research should also address the gap in the literature investigating accountants&rsquo; gender and age relating to sustainability accounting reporting.</p><p>

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is gradually turning into a critical issue in business management. Over the decades, both theoretical and empirical literatures were concentrated on studying the effect of CSR on corporate financial performance. However, the results have been ambiguous and inconsistent. The purpose of this master thesis is to examine the relationship between CSR disclosure and Corporate Financial Performance in Vietnamese large listed firms, both on short-term and long-term profitability for a period of three years, from 2014 to 2016. Focusing the study in Vietnam helps to enrich the existing literature and bridge the research gap in a geographic sense. For the study purpose, different CSR theories such as economic agency, legitimacy and stakeholder theories are reviewed to provide extensive understanding towards CSR approaches. In addition, an overview of the general CSR application in developing countries is put forward to explain the differences between CSR in emerging markets and its manifestation in developed world. Current status of CSR practice in Vietnam and PESTEL analysis are also included to provide a macro analysis of Vietnamese market based on Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal aspects. In this study, we performed linear regressions on the sample data in order to investigate the effect of CSR disclosure on corporate financial performance. CSR disclosure is measured by using a disclosure index which consists of environmental, social, economic and legal aspects. Content of annual reports and stand-alone CSR reports of each firm is examined and disclosure scoring scale is constructed for the purpose of measuring the level of CSR disclosures. For corporate financial performance, Return on Assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q ratio were employed as measures of short-term and long-term profitability respectively. The results indicate that, in the short run, there is no significant relationship between CSR disclosure and corporate financial performance. However, in the long run, the study found a positively significant relationship between CSR disclosure and firms’ financial performance. The results are encouraging since it provides an empirical evidence that Vietnamese firms can be both socially responsible and financially successful. It is expected to make Vietnamese firms become more aware of the significance and importance of CSR practice. At the same time, strategic managers and socially responsible investors can take into account the reported results for sustainability and investment decision making processes.

Board composition plays a significant role in corporate governance; the board is responsible for making strategic, tactical and operational decisions for the company on behalf of the shareholders and the stakeholders. This study examined the effect of some corporate board composition characteristics on the performance of listed firms in Nordic Countries (Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway) from 2012 to 2016. Although each country in the Nordic region has its Corporate Governance Codes, Nordic corporate governance code also known as ‘Nordic Model’ provides some recommendations for Nordic countries. The suggestions in this model are similar to the individual corporate governance code of each country. The rule stipulated that board should be independent of the company; hence, the majority of the Nordic listed corporations have entirely or predominantly non-executive boards. Further, there should be fair representation of gender diversity on board and members should have necessary skill and experience to perform efficiently. The analysis was carried out on the sample of 552 firm-year observations. Starting with descriptive statistics of data, followed by Pearson’s correlation analysis and then OLS regression. The analysis was done by examining the impact of board composition characteristics, board size, gender diversity, board independence and board experience on firm performance (ROA) while controlling for variables of firm size, leverage, and liquidity. An additional test was performed by adding another control variable to examine the effect of industry type. The industry variable gets a value of one or zero for each classification. The regression result of the industry effect remained the same as the original OLS regression result. The coefficient retained the same positive or negative signs. The OLS result shows a significant association between board size and firm performance. This implies that board size of Nordic listed firms has an impact on firm performance. However, the result of gender diversity reported no significant relationship between the percentage of female representation on board and firm performance. Regarding the impact of board independence on firm performance, the OLS result shows a positive association between board independence and firm performance. Concerning board experience, the result shows a significant positive association between board experience and firm performance. The results of this study are in line with previous studies. This study has relevant implications for management, shareholders as well as academicians on corporate boards and corporate performance. The result will enable the Nordic listed firms’ management and policymakers to make a better decision on issues regarding board composition. Also, both existing and potential shareholders can assess the board composition to make a better decision on their investment. Further, the result of this study provides evidence to corporate governance theories, thereby, indicating the needs for corporate governance regulators to gain more insight into board’s functioning.