[Truncated abstract] A spate of sudden, high-profile corporate collapses has raised serious concerns over the degree to which managers are open and honest about poor financial performance. Corporate failures such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco in the United States and One.tel and HIH in Australia have advanced the view that internal governance mechanisms and private managerial incentives systematically fail to ensure timely and reliable disclosure of bad news (e.g. Jensen, 2004). This thesis appraises the conventional view by investigating managers’ communications with the capital market during a period of sudden, poor financial performance. We study 74 firms that are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange [ASX], which experience an adverse earnings shock between 1994 and 1999. An adverse earnings shock is defined as a year of positive, increasing net income, followed by two contiguous years of negative or declining net income. The Australian setting for this study provides access to a richer database of investor communications than previously utilised in the literature, including management discussion and analysis, strategy disclosures, earnings and revenue forecasts, earnings preannouncements, business segment forecasts, dividend changes and share repurchases. Exploiting this extensive data set, we find that managers actually step up their investor communications activities around an adverse earnings shock. In the low litigation Australian setting, we are able to rule out litigation-avoidance incentives as a major explanatory factor. We investigate whether the increase in the volume of investor communications is aimed at mitigating information asymmetry, signalling a turnaround in financial performance or simply due to management “hype”

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: TAX CONSIDERATIONS OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS During the past few years the South African business environment experienced a considerable increase in corporate mergers and acquisitions. At a corporate tax rate of thirty per cent, the tax implications of mergers and acquisitions have an important impact on the financial success thereof. By way of background information, a short exposition of the characteristics, the various forms and the reasons for the increase, of mergers and acquisitions is provided. Essentially a merger or acquisition entails the acquisition of either the business of, or the shares in, the target company. A comparison is drawn between the tax consequences of the above two options for both parties to mergers and acquisitions. The composition of the purchase price payable by an acquiring company in respect of the acquisition of the target company's business or shares may have far reaching tax consequences. Consequently, the most commonly used arrangements relating to payment of the purchase price are scrutinized from a tax point of view. The bulk of the study consists of an analysis of particular aspects of mergers and acquisitions, which may, depending on how a particular transaction is structured, result in important tax benefits. The analysis is directed towards, firstly, establishing the tax consequences arising from mergers and acquisitions and, secondly, suggesting tax efficient structuring methods or alerting against structuring options that may have detrimental tax results. Some of the proposed tax structuring techniques have tax efficient results for one party to the merger or acquisition, but result in corresponding negative tax effects for the other. There are, however, opportunities to structure a tax efficient transaction in such a way to ensure that both parties share in the tax benefit. lt is even possible to, in respect of certain aspects of mergers and acquisitions, achieve a tax efficient result for both parties to the transaction without any commensurate disadvantage, or without them having to share the benefits thereof. lt is important to evaluate tax planning strategies against the general antiavoidance measures contained in the doctrine of substance over form and in tax legislation. Consequently, in the final analysis, the applicability of the antiavoidance measures to the tax planning strategies proposed in this study, is considered. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: BELASTINGOORWEGINGS OM IN GEDAGTE TE HOU BY SAMESMEL TINGS EN OORNAMES VAN SUID-AFRIKAANSE MAATSKAPPYE Korporatiewe samesmeltings en oornames is 'n dinamiese en immer groeiende area van die Suid-Afrikaanse besigheidsomgewing. Teen 'n korporatiewe belastingkoers van dertig persent is die belastinggevolge van 'n samesmelting of oorname 'n belangrike faktor in die finansiele sukses daarvan. Ter agtergrondinligting word daar in hierdie studie 'n kort uiteensetting van wat 'n samesmelting en oorname behels, die verskillende vorme wat dit kan aanneem en die redes waarom samesmeltings en oornames plaasvind, gegee. In wese kan 'n samesmelting of oorname geskied deur die verkryging van of die besigheid of die aandele van 'n teikenmaatskappy. 'n Vergelyking tussen die belastingimplikasies van genoemde twee opsies word uit die perspektief van beide die verkrygende maatskappy en die teikenmaatskappy, getref. Die samestelling van die koopprys wat ingevolge 'n oorname of 'n samesmelting betaalbaar is, kan verreikende belastingimplikasies inhou. Die mees algemene wyses van betaling, en die belastinggevolge wat daaruit voortvloei, word dus geanaliseer. Die studie behels hoofsaaklik 'n ontleding van spesifieke aspekte inherent aan samesmeltings en oornames wat, afhangend van die strukturering van die transaksie, verskillende belastinggevolge inhou. Die doel met die ontleding is tweeledig, naamlik om, eerstens, die belastinggevolge van samesmeltings en oornames vas te stel en om, tweedens, enersyds voorstelle te maak vir effektiewe belastingstrukturering, en andersins te waarsku teen struktureringsopsies wat negatiewe belastinggevolge mag inhou. Sommige struktureringstegnieke hou voordelige belastinggevolge vir een party tot 'n samesmelting of oorname in, maar lei tot korresponderende nadelige belastinggevolge vir die ander party. In sommige gevalle is dit egter moontlik om 'n middeweg tussen die voordeel en korresponderende nadeel te vind, sodat die partye in die voordeel kan deel. Daar word ook aangetoon dat sommige aspekte van samesmeltings en oornames, indien dit noukeurig beplan word, belastingvoordele sonder enige korresponderende nadele vir beide partye kan inhou. Belastingbeplanningstegnieke moet egter aan die algemene teenvermydingsmaatreels wat in die leerstuk van wese bo vorm, asook in belastingwetgewing, vervat word, gemeet word. Die studie word dus afgesluit met 'n bespreking van die toepaslikheid van die algemene teenvermydingsmaatreels op die voorstelle wat gemaak word ten opsigte van belastingstruktureringsopsies.

I examine the impact of real earnings management (REM) and corporate governance on cash holdings. Extant research documents an increase in both cash holdings and REM activity in recent years and shows that agency conflicts influence both the levels and valuations of cash holdings. Motivated by agency problems of REM and Jensen's (1986) arguments concerning the free cash flow problem, I investigate whether opportunistic asset sales and reductions in discretionary expenditures are associated with levels and valuations of cash holdings. Prior research also shows that strong corporate governance mitigates opportunistic earnings management behavior and enhances the valuation of cash holdings. Using empirical models from prior research, I document that REM is positively associated with cash holdings, investors discount cash holdings of high REM firms, and, among high REM firms, valuations of cash holdings of weak corporate governance firms are discounted significantly lower relative to those of strong corporate governance firms. My study unites two lines of research by incorporating agency problems concerning REM with levels and valuations of cash holdings. / by Adam J. Greiner. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Originally presented as the author's dissertation--Universität Osnabrück, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references and index.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2005/2006--Osnabrück. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [317]-334) and index.

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of knowledge management (KM) in integrating sustainability into business strategy in companies applying the framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD).Corporations have the potential to be key players in moving society towards sustainability, but they lack clear definitions and guidelines around strategic sustainable development (SSD). The authors focus on the benefits of KM in organisations applying the FSSD, which offers general strategic guidelines, but does not refer to the complexity of managing the new sustainability knowledge.This study first examines the scientific literature around KM and FSSD and compares it with the results of expert interviews to develop a State of the Art Model of KM for SSD. Then the model is compared to current practices of corporations applying the FSSD and the gap is examined.The results of the analysis show that the concept of KM is widely discussed in the literature, yet it does not have much presence in the business world. The value of knowledge is recognised, but KM is not much used and no structured practices were identified. It was concluded that companies would benefit from a strategic KM system when integrating sustainability.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A sound and favourable financial climate is necessary for any forward-looking economy to thrive. This, amongst others, includes the extent to which the commercial banks are able to discharge their intermediating role in the demand and supply of credit necessary to sustain commercial businesses. Indeed, in the last decade, the Nigerian banking industry has witnessed swings with the attendant effects on the business community. One of the downsides has been the incidence of loan default which led to many banks recording astronomical levels of bad loans in their 2008 financial reports. The drastic measures taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria of relieving eight CEOs of their jobs in September 2009 further highlights the import of this subject matter. This paper gives an overview of the concept of loan default in Nigerian commercial banks ranging from the causes to the remedies currently in place to checkmate it. A field survey on loan officers, credit analysts and credit risk managers in some select banks was carried out. The findings reveal that the banks have a rather cautious approach to lending with certain classes of loans classified. Causal factors leading to loan delinquencies categorised into environmental, bank specific and borrower specific factors were analysed to have contributed equally to causing loan default in Nigeria. Lastly, the regression results indicated that there was a significant relationship between measures adopted by the banks in the face of increa

published_or_final_version / Business / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration