Thesis--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 240-244).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-85). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-85). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Univ., Diss.--Frankfurt (Main), 2005. / Literaturverz. S. 283 - 300.

The risk of climate change has gained prominence globally and also in South Africa. Companies operating in developing countries such as South Africa are perceived to be particularly vulnerable to climate change. There have been mixed reactions to this risk by companies ranging from inaction to significant financial outlays expended on mitigating this risk. Whilst climate change is potentially a downside risk to financial performance, certain companies have identified opportunities to enhance their returns in the course of adapting to climate change. This study assessed whether there is a relationship between climate change and the financial performance, as manifested in the mitigation of risks and exploitation of opportunities of selected South African companies. The study sought to establish the extent to which climate change creates relevant and material risks, returns and opportunities for companies. The study was conducted using a combination of a literature review and empirical research in the form of secondary analysis. Data on climate-change performance, risks and opportunities was compared to data on financial indicators. The population of companies selected for the empirical research consisted of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies that had publicly disclosed information to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2012. Climate-change data was categorised to differentiate between varying levels of climate-change performance, and the identified categories were compared to a range of ratios that demonstrated financial return. The research concluded that climate-change risks and opportunities are expected to have a significant and highly likely impact on company operations, revenue and expenditure. Positive and statistically significant correlations were identified between climate-change performance and equity analyst recommendations, historical internal rates of return, market values to book values, forecasted earnings per share, beta coefficients, and return on equity. Climate-change performance was not found to have a significant effect on the cost of capital. / Management Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

The risk of climate change has gained prominence globally and also in South Africa. Companies operating in developing countries such as South Africa are perceived to be particularly vulnerable to climate change. There have been mixed reactions to this risk by companies ranging from inaction to significant financial outlays expended on mitigating this risk. Whilst climate change is potentially a downside risk to financial performance, certain companies have identified opportunities to enhance their returns in the course of adapting to climate change. This study assessed whether there is a relationship between climate change and the financial performance, as manifested in the mitigation of risks and exploitation of opportunities of selected South African companies. The study sought to establish the extent to which climate change creates relevant and material risks, returns and opportunities for companies. The study was conducted using a combination of a literature review and empirical research in the form of secondary analysis. Data on climate-change performance, risks and opportunities was compared to data on financial indicators. The population of companies selected for the empirical research consisted of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies that had publicly disclosed information to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2012. Climate-change data was categorised to differentiate between varying levels of climate-change performance, and the identified categories were compared to a range of ratios that demonstrated financial return. The research concluded that climate-change risks and opportunities are expected to have a significant and highly likely impact on company operations, revenue and expenditure. Positive and statistically significant correlations were identified between climate-change performance and equity analyst recommendations, historical internal rates of return, market values to book values, forecasted earnings per share, beta coefficients, and return on equity. Climate-change performance was not found to have a significant effect on the cost of capital. / Management Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

The impact of climate change on the financial performance of companies is of concern to bank credit processes. The main objective of this research was to develop a South African contextualised credit process that incorporates environmental risk. The research methodology comprised of a mixed-method being content analysis – the qualitative portion and the Probability of Default prediction using a Merton Model and the Hoffmann and Busch (2008) carbon risk analysis model - the quantitative portion. A content analysis of the banks’ Annual Reports, Integrated Reports and Sustainability Reports showed that, while South African banks follow a qualitative approach to embedding environmental risk into their credit process, none of the four banks that formed part of the study divulged their quantitative approach to embedding environmental risk. The study used a proximity matrix method to examine the level of embedding. The second part of the study, which used prior studies as the benchmark, adopted the following: (1) a simulated carbon tax regime as a proxy for an environmental risk, and (2) the Hoffmann and Busch (2008) carbon risk analysis tool and the Merton Model (1974) as the bank credit process proxies. The second part of the study used a sample of 33 JSE-listed Carbon Disclosure Project reporting companies out of a population of 107. The carbon risk analysis showed that the companies in the materials and energy sector have a high carbon risk. However, the results from the Merton Model showed that the companies have enough profit to cushion the additional carbon tax liability, given the insignificant shift in probability of default between the three scenarios, where financial data had (1) no carbon tax, (2) was adjusted for a carbon tax with incentives, and (3) adjusted for carbon tax without incentives. Triangulation of the results from the content analysis, carbon risk analysis and the probability of default analysis confirms that South African banks do not fully integrate environmental risk across the credit value chain or process in the 2010 to 2017 period. However, the carbon risk analysis shows a heavy dependency on carbon sources for critical inputs into the South African companies’ production processes, which if not checked, will affect the credit portfolios of banks. / Finance, Risk Management and Banking / D. Phil (Management Studies)