The impact of population ageing on the social budgets of the future is a phenomenon confronting many of the world's wealthiest and most advanced nations. The impending retirement of the 'baby boomers' has raised concerns about the inadequacy of budgetary frameworks (both conceptual and real) to fulfil the financial commitments of demographically sensitive programs, namely old age pensions. Pension schemes represent, by far, the largest social welfare commitment of first world nations. Old age pensions are also demographically sensitive. Furthermore, pension systems play a crucial role in alleviating poverty, in recognising the previous contribution of an individual and in maintaining of the social and economic wellbeing of democratic polities. The financial stability of pension schemes and the ability of governments to meet future commitments will become significant issues of public policy as the pressures from population ageing intensify. Yet, committing resources, or budgeting, for longer-term pressures is an inherently problematic exercise both from an intellectual and a practical perspective. For long-term resourcing to be successful it requires perfect foresight and a level of political commitment that typically eludes most politicians and governments. Longer or medium-term budgetary pressures are often ignored or avoided until they impact on the immediate chances of either fiscal or electoral success. As such, societies face the prospect of looming financial burdens, but only have a box of short-term tools at their disposal and a limited body of scholarship to guide them through this ticking political 'time bomb'. This research tackles a significant omission in the existing literature on budgeting, public policy and social welfare, by proposing a conceptual framework for the anticipation, conceptualisation and analysis of future budget pressures. In doing so, it brings together analytical frameworks of government budgeting and social policy from a number of disciplinary areas and weaves them into a conceptual framework that allows for diagnostic and prescriptive analysis of budgetary pressures within a particular policy/spending area. The framework is also compatible with existing budgetary frameworks and decision-making processes. Through the analysis of the old age pension systems in Australia, Canada and Sweden this thesis makes an important contribution to the understanding of how demographic transition will impact on the future stability of pension schemes. The thesis contends that ageing populations will place significant pressure on each pillar of the pension system to meet its future financial commitments. This pressure will, in turn, have important implications for national budgetary processes and old age pension policy over the coming decades. In particular, governments will be required to implement a range of techniques that sit both within and beyond the traditional bounds of most budget processes. It will be imperative for researchers to explore the complexities and political possibilities of budget reform and to search for ways in which the longer-term needs of society can be adequately satisfied through the budget process.

Of the many components of reform to Australian government administration in the 1980s, the introduction of systematic program evaluation is perhaps one of the least examined. This thesis seeks to assess the Federal Labor Government's evaluation strategy as an instrument for enhancing what are here termed the policy management capacities of central agencies. It proceeds in two steps. First, the thesis traces in detail the development of program evaluation policy in Australian federal government from the effectiveness reviews of the Coombs Report of 1976 to the current evaluation strategy, and argues that, despite competing purposes for it, evaluation was intended primarily to serve decision making in central government. This policy aim was cemented by the economic crisis of the mid 1980s and framed around budgetary issues by its steward, the Department of Finance. Second, in order to assess the impact of the evaluation strategy, the thesis develops a framework for analysing program evaluation as one instrument for strengthening the core policy management functions of central agencies. In this context, policy management is essentially a coordination task. The contribution of evaluation to two aspects of policy management-resource coordination, and policy development and coordination-is examined. The findings confirm that attempts to formalise evaluation processes have had a variable impact- central budgetary processes remain dependent on relatively informal assessment procedures, although recent attempts to enhance policy coordination through the evaluation of policy advising processes have proved potentially to be more influential. In conclusion, the thesis argues that the evaluation strategy represented a credible attempt to better inform policy making in central government, but suffered for want of clear policy design and firm execution that resulted in only a marginal impact on these processes.

During the early 1960s, the US Department of Defense, under Secretary Robert McNamara implemented for the first time in national government a Planning-Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS) in order to improve effectiveness and efficiency in defence program management. McNamara sought improved effectiveness through a formal five-year program designed to reduce costs. He also sought efficient methods of managing joint service strategy coordination, requirements' analysis and planning, and improved alignment between the choice of requirements and the size and nature of the acquisition program. The Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) and the UK Ministry of Defence later sought to implement their own forms of PPBS. Recently, both have introduced program management innovations that seek to achieve more reliably effective and efficient outcomes. The thesis has reviewed program management theory with a particular focus on its implementation challenges relating to strategic management, program review, personnel management and program coordination. It has sought to answer the research problem: Which specific management designs could offer better outcomes for Australian defence technological edge programs? The thesis' central proposition is that the greatest opportunities for improving defence program outcomes occur when classic PPBS concepts are implemented within a Program Management System that incorporates Zero- Base budgeting (ZBB), Management by Objectives (MBO), and Matrix structural systems. All of these systems, either alone or in combination seek to enhance program quality, scheduling, financial management and evaluation. The research used in-depth case study research based on qualitative data found within a selection of recent Australian National Audit Office reports, and other public records. The central proposition is subjected to dynamic reliabilityrelated contingency analysis and evaluation. The thesis concludes with the proposition that if managers were to implement a contingency based integrated mixture of the above-mentioned systems they could expect improved technological edge program outcomes.

This thesis contributes to an understanding of capital budgeting and accounting practice. The factors affecting practice are of special research interest. It is also investigated whether practice diverges from what is prescribed by finance text books and accounting standards/frameworks. The overarching research question posed in this thesis is: “What capital budgeting and accounting choices are made by top management in practice, and how can these choices be explained?”. The thesis consists of four papers that address this issue. The first two papers focused on capital budgeting choices. Findings emphasised that the use of sophisticated capital budgeting and cost of capital estimation methods such as NPV and CAPM was widespread in Swedish listed companies. However, also unsophisticated accounting based methods were employed. Overall, findings suggested that Swedish companies used capital budgeting and cost of capital estimation techniques less often than did U.S./continental European companies. Other interesting findings were changes over time. Over time, the use of sophisticated methods increased and the use of unsophisticated methods decreased. This indicated a closing of the theory-practice gap. Finally, size was generally positively related to more extensive use of methods. The last two papers focused on accounting choices. Findings showed that non-preparers supported amortisation of goodwill to a greater extent than did preparers. Preparers instead supported the goodwill impairment-only approach. It was suggested that economic consequences could explain why preparers supported the goodwill impairment-only approach. When the impairment-only approach subsequently was introduced by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), Swedish and Dutch preparers however only disclosed slightly more than 60% of the assumptions underlying the impairment test, after three years of learning. Moreover, findings showed that the level of compliance with the IASB’s disclosure requirements was associated with industry; financials were less compliant than were non-financials. Findings also showed that Swedish and Dutch companies were more compliant in 2008 than they were in 2005, which suggested learning over time. Finally, in 2005 the disclosure compliance level was higher in Sweden than in the Netherlands. Three years later, 2008, the difference was eliminated, thus indicating convergence.

<p>The study focused on financial reporting in the public sector with the view to understanding the impact of the present financial management system in South Africa is adding value to the measurable outcomes-based objective process as required by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). The study determines the role of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) in financial reporting, in relation to the business plan (strategy) and measurable outcomes and results of the Department of Community Safety. The primary objective of this study was to perform an assessment of financial reporting and its effectiveness in terms of the PFMA as the legislative framework and the MTEF as a financial management tool. The secondary objectives were to: (1) to provide a theoretical perspective of public financial management and reporting in government / (2) to provide an&nbsp / verview of policies, legislation and strategies / (3) to record and develop a case study of financial reporting in the Western Cape Provincial Government within the Department of Community Safety (WCPG) / (4) to present the research findings on financial management, and (5), to apply the theoretical framework to the case study in order to develop findings.</p>

Datum: 2010-06-03 Nivå: Magisteruppsats i företagsekonomi, 15 hp Författare: Sanne Jotorp, Emelie Strandh och Katrin Wilhelmsson Handledare: Esbjörn Segelod Titel: Budgetlös styrning - Har Wallanders budgetlösa styrning stått sig oförändrad inärmare 40 år och har den varit ett vinnande koncept till framgång? Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka huruvida Handelsbankens budgetlösa styrning utvecklats sedan införandet för nästan 40 år sedan samt att studera om bankens framgång grundar sig på den budgetlösa styrningen. Metod: Undersökningen har formen av en fallstudie med en kvalitativ undersökningsmetodik har använts. Den teoretiska referensramen bygger på en litteraturstudie och empirin grundar sig på semistrukturerade intervjuer med två utvalda respondenter. Slutsats: Handelsbanken har sedan Wallanders tid varit den mest lönsamma banken i Sverige och varje år haft en högre räntabilitet än genomsnittet för konkurrenterna. Denna framgång har sin grund i en kombination av en decentraliserad organisationsstruktur och den flexibilitet, frihet och anpassningsförmåga som den budgetlösa styrningen innebär. Decentraliseringen har inneburit att beslutsfattandet flyttats nedåt iorganisationen, vilket medför snabbare beslut och bättre kundkännedom. Decentraliseringen medför även en känsla av frihet och ett engagemang hos de anställda och det leder till kostnadsmedvetenhet. Styrningen skapar en miljö av frihet där innovativa strategier kan växa fram. Den budgetlösa styrningens flexibilitet har resulterat i att banken kunnat anpassa sig snabbare än konkurrenterna och därför kunnat återhämta sig fortare under år av kris och förändring. Decentralisering och budgetlös styrning är beroende av varandra för att vara så effektivt som möjligt. Decentralisering är en förutsättning för den budgetlösa styrningen och utan den radikala decentralisering som Wallander genomförde hade troligtvis den budgetlösa styrningen aldrig blivit lyckad. Likväl hade en decentralisering inte fått samma effekt om den traditionella budgetstyrningen vidhållits. / Date: 2010-06-03 Level: Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits Authors: Sanne Jotorp, Emelie Strandh and Katrin Wilhelmsson Tutor: Esbjörn Segelod Title: Beyond budgeting – Has Wallander’s beyond budgeting control not changed incloser to 40 years and has it been a winning concept for success? Background: In the beginning of the 1970’s Handelsbankens new CEO Jan Wallander removed the budgeting control of Handelsbanken. He decentralized the organization and implemented the beyond budgeting control. Purpose: The purpose of the essay is to examine whether Handelsbankens beyond budgeting control has developed since the phase out of budgetary control and study if the banks success is based on the beyond budgeting control. Method: The essay has the form of a case study and a qualitative study method has been used. The theoretical reference frame is established on a scholarly literature study and the empirical material is based on semi structured interviews with two respondents. Conclusion: Handelsbanken has since the time of Wallander been the most profitable bank in Sweden and has presented a higher return on equity than the average of its rivals each year. The success is a combination of a decentralized organization and the flexibility, freedom and adaptability that a beyond budgeting control means. The decentralization has meant that the decision making has moved downwards in the organization, which has lead to faster decisions and a better knowledge of the customer. The decentralization also brings out a feeling offreedom and a commitment in the employees and that leads to cost-awareness. The beyond budgeting control creates an environment of freedom where innovative strategies can develop. The flexibility in the beyond budgeting control has resulted in that the bank can adapt faster than the other banks and thereby come back faster from crisis and change. Decentralization and beyond budgeting control is dependent of each other to be as effective as possible. This comes of the fact that decentralization is a presumption for the beyond budgeting control to work and without de radical decentralization that Wallander implemented the beyond budgeting control never had been successful. However had the decentralization never given the same effect if the traditional budgeting control had been kept.

Titel: Investeringsuppföljningar – En fallstudie på Volvo Construction Equipment i Braås Seminariedatum: 2011-06-01 Ämne/kurs: 2FE13E:3 Författare: Aleksandar Stamenkovic och Donald Bergström Handledare: Anders Jerreling Examinator: Fredrik Karlsson Nyckelord: Post-audits, Capital Budgeting, Investments, Performance Evaluations, ROI, RI, AARR Syfte: Syftet med detta ämnesfördjupande arbete är att förklara de problem som uppstår när avsaknad av investeringsuppföljning föreligger, samt att förklara för hur rutiner av uppföljningar kan organiseras. Metod: Valet föll på att göra en kvalitativ fallstudie gällande Volvo Construction Equipment i Braås. Kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer har utförts med fyra stycken respondenter på anläggningen. Detta ämnesfördjupande arbete har utförts enligt en deduktiv metod och en diskussion förs angående arbetets validitet och reliabilitet. Teori: Den teoretiska referensramen behandlar relevant teori gällande investeringar och uppföljning, vidare behandlas även kortfattat de metoder som används för att bedöma investeringars lönsamhet på Volvo Construction Equipment i Braås. Empiri: Det empiriska avsnittet redovisar data från de semistrukturerade intervjuerna som fördes med personal på anläggningen i Braås. Dessa bestod av ekonomichefen, controllern samt två projektledare. Slutsats: Resultaten som presenteras behandlar komplexiteten med att följa upp investeringar enligt dess faktiska kassaflöden och förkastar därmed en sådan uppföljning för Volvo Construction Equipment i Bråas. Vidare presenteras två konkreta förslag över hur rutiner och metoder för investeringar givet anläggningens förutsättningar kan organiseras. Avslutningsvis för att öka validiteten presenteras respondenternas kommentarer till förslagen.

Uppsatsen utgår från resultatet av Holmen AB:s medarbetarenkät Holmen Inblick 2011 i vilken 55 till 65 procent av cheferna uppgav att de känner sig delaktiga i mål, budget respektive verksamhetsplan. Enkätens resultat avviker från ledningens önskade utfall, vilket i uppsatsen omnämns som ett styrglapp.Studiens syfte är att analysera vad som orsakar ett styrglapp genom att klarlägga varför och till vilken grad chefer i Holmen är medvetna om, och kan påverka, mål, budget och verksamhetsplan. Genom att förstå detta kan de åtgärder som krävs för att reducera styrglappet identifieras av koncernledningen. Studien avgränsas till att analysera hur organisationens struktur, kontroll och kommunikation påverkar styrglappet.I studien används en kvalitativ intervjumetod där 17 chefer på två bruk i Holmens koncern har intervjuats individuellt. Därtill intervjuades platschefen för respektive bruk samt Holmens HR-direktör. HR-specialister har även bistått med information.Studien visade att Holmens chefer till låg grad är medvetna om innehållet i mål, budget och verksamhetsplan. Färre har möjlighet att påverka styrverktygen, där påverkan på budget är lägst. Resultatet skiljer sig mellan de två bruken. Medvetenheten och inflytandet är minst bland chefer i produktionen. Den låga delaktigheten beror på brist på formalisering kring hur arbetet med mål, verksamhetsplan och budget ska gå till. Den decentraliserade organisationens maktstruktur försämrar förutsättningarna för koncernledningen att centralt kontrollera utformningen av arbetet med styrmedlen på olika bruk. Avsaknaden av en effektiv kombination av skriftlig, muntlig och elektronisk kommunikation ökar också styrglappet.Till sist, kan enkätfrågans utformning ha haft en betydande inverkan på hur cheferna har svarat, då det saknades en definition av ordet delaktighet. Negativa enkätsvar kan också ha varit ett sätt att uttrycka missnöje över något annat.

Bakgrund: Länge har paybackmetoden, nettonuvärdesmetoden och andra diskonteringsmetoder haft en ledande ställning när företag gör sina investeringsbedömningar. Metoderna har fått kritik för att inte ta hänsyn till beslutsfattarnas flexibilitet och på så sätt underskatta värdet av en investering. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda i vilken utsträckning svenska företag använder sig av reala optioner och förklara varför metoden inte används i större utsträckning. Vidare syftar uppsatsen till att förklara varför användningen skiljer sig mellan USA och Sverige. Ytterligare ett syfte är att undersöka vilka kapitalbudgeteringsmetoder som används i Sverige idag . Metod: I uppsatsen har främst en kvantitativ metod använts i form av en enkätundersökning. Metoden kompletterades senare med den kvalitativa metoden, då i form av en intervju med en användare av reala optioner. Slutsatser: Payback- och DCF-metoden dominerar fortfarande bland de svenska företagen. Enkätundersökningen fann en användare av reala optioner. Resterande företag är nöjda med sina metoder och anser att reala optioner är en komplicerad metod som inte kan tillföra värde till företaget. / Background: When it comes to investment decisions the most frequently used methods are payback and the net present value model. These methods have been criticized for not taking decision makers flexibility into account and thus underestimate the value of an investment. Aim: The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent Swedish companies use real options and explain why the method is not used more widely. Furthermore, the study tries to explain why the use of real options differs between U.S. and Sweden. Another purpose is to examine what capital budgeting methods are used in Sweden today. Method: The mainly used method is the quantitative method in form of a survey. This method has been supplemented with the qualitative method, in form of an interview with one user of real options. Conclusions: The payback and DCF method is still predominant among Swedish companies. The survey found one user of real options. All other companies are satisfied with their used method and do not believe that real options can add more value.

In recent years, the use of option pricing models to support IT investment decisions has been proposed in the MIS literature. In this paper, we discuss the practical advantages of such techniques for the selection of a software platform. First, we argue that traditional quantitative approaches to a cost-benefit analysis give only a partial picture of such decision situations: due to the long planning horizon required because of the time-consuming and resource-intensive implementation process, it is not possible to exactly predict which applications will, in fact, run on the system over time. Thus, the investor is faced with the problem of valuing "implementation opportunities". We then compare different valuation techniques for this task and discuss their respective advantages and drawbacks. The practical advantages of employing such models are demonstrated by describing a real-life case study where option pricing models were used for deciding whether to continue employing SAP R/2 or to switch to SAP R/3. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"