Published Article / The financial crisis of the 21st century arising from the credit and sub-prime crisis has resulted in the accounting for financial instruments being placed under intense scrutiny. In reaction to this, the International Accounting Standards Board commenced a comprehensive review of financial instruments and the related accounting standards. This article analyses the disclosure of financial instruments by performing a literature review of the principles underlying financial instruments disclosure, followed by an empirical study of the current practices of the disclosure of financial instruments by selected companies on the JSE Limited. This article indicates that in certain aspects of the disclosure practices related to financial instruments, the "through the eyes of management" approach is not followed in the companies selected - a principle established in International Financial Reporting Standard 7 (IFRS 7).

The analysis undertaken, firstly aims to identify the extent to which equities, their indexes and their derivatives priced in accordance with their fair value. Secondly, presuming that the traded values of the instruments do not in all instances equate to the fair value, the research aims to develop an effective means to identify and manage profitable opportunities arising from the mispricing. General concepts relating to profitability, trade identification, risk and continuous improvement of the processes are addressed. This includes recommendations on the management of the risks through a structured reporting process. The research looks at arbitrage trading in the South African market from the perspective of an empirical review into the market's participation in equity and equity derivative arbitrage. In addition to this empirical analysis, a time series analysis into various arbitrage strategies is conducted with the view to determining their relative profitability. The first component of the empirical research focuses on the arbitrage trading strategies adopted by a sample of 80 institutions. Where the institutions trade arbitrage strategies, the research undertook to establish what methods are used to identify, trade and manage the index arbitrage, single stock futures arbitrage, risk arbitrage, statistical arbitrage and volatility arbitrage trading opportunities that present themselves within the South African Market. Information gathered did not only focus on the actual trading strategies but also determined the relative cost structures, profitability and risk management processes that are employed to support these trading initiatives. The time series analysis focused on index futures, single stock futures, risk, dual listed and statistical arbitrage methods, and reflects the results before and after transaction costs. These arbitrage strategies were applied to the ALSI Top 40 index or its associated shares and generally spanned a period of about four years. Finally the research presents an arbitrage business model that is aimed at providing a blue print for arbitrage trading which covers: new arbitrage strategy, implementation, market risk, execution, profit, traders, cost Finally, the research provides a multiple regression method for application in identifying further arbitrage trading opportunities within the South African environment. / School of Business Leadaership / DBL

Företag ska i de finansiella rapporterna delge en rättvisande bild. Bokföringsnämnden bestämde sig för att förändra de redovisningsregelverk som gällde för att förenkla för de svenska företagen samt för att uppnå en bättre redovisning. Denna skiftning i normgivningen kom att kallas K-projektet. Ett utav regelverken K3 innehåller en praktiskt ny värderingsmetod i Sverige, vilket är komponentavskrivning. Komponentavskrivning ska resultera i att företag redovisar på ett tydligare sätt vad som händer i verksamheten och på så vis ska den uppnå en mer rättvisande bild. Metoden har blivit väl omdiskuterad och kritiserad, främst för att kostnaden är väldigt stor till en så liten nytta. Komponentavskrivning anses heller inte bidra till en förbättrad redovisning, enligt kritikerna. Fastighetsbranschen är den mest utsatta branschen då de har många fastigheter att beakta, vilket resulterar i en stor mängd komponenter.Syftet med denna studie är att studera om komponentavskrivning som tillgångsvärderingsmetod har bidragit till en mer rättvisande bild av verkligheten. För att kunna mäta detta har vi valt att genomföra intervjuer där vi har samlat in åsikter om metoden. Vi har intervjuat fem allmännyttiga fastighetsbolag och fem revisorer om vad de tycker om komponentavskrivning.De resultat vi fått fram är att åsikterna skiljer sig åt. Samtliga är överens om att komponentavskrivning rent teoretiskt bidrar till en mer rättvisande bild, men inte i praktiken i lika stor utsträckning. Vi kan uttyda ett mönster i att de fastighetsbolag som från början har gjort en grundlig och välarbetad övergång och som har kommit längre i processen idag, ser värdet med metoden. För revisorerna är det svårt att uttyda något mönster, mer än att revisorernas åsikter kan tänkas vara påverkade av omgivningen. / Businesses should communicate a true and fair view in their financial statements. The Board of Accounting decided to change the accounting rules, which was made to simplify for Swedish companies and to achieve a better accounting. This shift in accounting norms was called the K-project. One of the regulations, K3, contains a practically new valuation method in Sweden, which is the component depreciation. Component depreciation will result in that companies report in a clearer way what is happening in the business. In this way it achieves a more accurate picture. The method has been well debated and criticized, mainly because the cost is very high for such a small benefit, but also because component depreciation does not seem to contribute to an improved reporting. The real estate industry is the most vulnerable sector, as they have many properties to consider which will result in even more components.The purpose of this study is to investigate if the component depreciation as an asset valuation method has contributed to a more accurate picture of reality. To measure this, we have chosen to conduct interviews in which we collect opinions about the method. We interviewed five public real estate management companies and five auditors about what they think about the component depreciation.The results we have produced are that opinions differ. All respondents agree that the component depreciation theoretically contribute to a more accurate picture, but not always practically. We can interpret a pattern. If real estate management companies from the beginning has made a thorough and well-made transition and has come further in the process today, they also sees the value of the method. For auditors, it is difficult to interpret any pattern, more than that the auditors opinions may be influenced by the environment.

Bakgrund och problemformulering: Värdering till verkligt värde har kritiserats för att ge subjektiva och opålitliga värderingar. IFRS 13 är en standard vars syfte är att öka tillförlitligheten genom att kategorisera indata vid värdering till verkligt värde i tvingande steg.  Förvaltningsfastigheter är ett tillgångsslag som värderas till verkligt värde, vilket gör att IFRS 13 är tvingande för noterade fastighetsbolag vid värderingen av dessa. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka huruvida IFRS 13 gett någon effekt på fastighetsbolagens värdering av förvaltningsfastigheter. Vidare ämnar studien även undersöka hur en extern värdering används vid fastställandet av det bokförda värdet. Metod: Studien genomförs med en kvantitativ metod där samtliga fastighetsbolag i populationen ingår. Utifrån bolagens årsredovisningar har data hämtats som sedan sammanställts. Referensram: Referensramen utgörs av redovisningsstandarder, teorier som behandlar värde som begrepp samt tidigare forskning. Empiri: Samtliga bolag baserar värderingen av förvaltningsfastigheter till verkligt värde på icke observerbar data genom en avkastningsmetod. Detta gäller för samtliga år. Gällande fördelning mellan intern och extern värdering samt hur en eventuell extern värdering används vid fastställandet av det bokförda värdet av förvaltningsfastigheterna har skillnader mellan bolagen trätt fram. Slutsats: Införandet av IFRS 13 har inte visat sig ge någon effekt för fastighetsbolagen vid värdering till verkligt värde av förvaltningsfastigheter. Majoriteten av bolagen använder någon form av extern värdering. Däremot föreligger det skillnader i andelen av fastighetsbeståndet som värderas externt samt om det bokförda värdet är fastställt enligt intern eller extern värdering. / Background and research issue: Fair value measurement has been criticized to result in subjective unreliable valuations. The purpose of IFRS 13 is for the fair value measurements to be more reliable by categorizing the input data in a mandatory hierarchy. Investment properties represent a kind of asset that is measured at fair value. Listed real estate companies are thereby obligated to report in accordance with IFRS 13. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine whether the implementation of IFRS 13 has resulted in any effect on the real estate companies valuation of investment properties. The further purpose of the study is to explore how external valuation is used when determining the book value. Method: The study uses a quantitative method where the entire population is included. Through annual reports from respective real estate company the data relevant to the study has been collected and compiled. Framework: Accounting standards, value theories and previous literature works as the framework for the study. Empiricism: Common for all studied years is that all the included companies discount cash flows based on unobservable input data when estimating the fair value of their investment properties. Differences has appeared in the usage of external appraisers and which valuation, internal or external, that the book value is based upon. Conclusion: The implementation of IFRS 13 has proven to not result in any effect on the real estate companies’ choice of input data and method of valuation, when estimating the fair value of investment properties. The majority of companies use external appraisers in some kind of purpose.  However, the study shows differences in the amount of investment properties valued by external appraisers together with which valuation the book value has been based upon.

Analytical modelling and characterization of Weighted Fair Queueing (WFQ) have recently received considerable attention by several researches since WFQ offers the minimum delay and optimal fairness guarantee. However, all previous work on WFQ has focused on developing approximations of the scheduler with an infinite buffer because of supposed scalability problems in the WFQ computation. The main aims of this thesis are to study WFQ system, by providing an analytical WFQ model which is a theoretical construct based on a form of processor sharing for finite capacity. Furthermore, the solutions for classes with Poisson arrivals and exponential service are derived and verified against global balance solution. This thesis shows that the analytical models proposed can give very good results under particular conditions which are very close to WFQ algorithms, where accuracy of the models is verified by simulations of WFQ model. Simulations were performed with QNAP-2 simulator. In addition, the thesis presents several performance studies signifying the power of the proposed analytical model in providing an accurate delay bounds to a large number of classes. These results are not able to cover all unsolved issues in the WFQ system. They represent a starting point for the research activities that the Author will conduct in the future. The author believes that the most promising research activities exist in the scheduler method to provide statistical guarantees to multi-class services. The author is convinced that alternative software, for example, on the three class model buffer case, is able to satisfy the large number of buffer because of the software limitation in this thesis. While they can be a good topic for long-term research, the short-medium term will show an increasing interest in the modification of the WFQ models to provide differentiated services.

<p>Background: In the 1970’s, the first concerns regarding manufacturing pollu-tion headed off in Sweden and an enormous demand was cre-ated. The result came to be an enhanced consumption of ingredi-ent branded products such as KRAV, Bra Miljöval and The Swan to mention a few. Fair Trade entered the Swedish shelves in 1996 which gave the consumers the possibility to buy products and contribute to better conditions for farmers and employees in de-veloping countries.</p><p>Problem: In 1995 a research was performed, which showed that 50 percent of the respondents did not buy products with for instance an en-vironmental concerned label due to the significantly higher price. Some argue against this and believe that it is more of a marketing issue. Customers have become more aware in their shopping and, in order to keep them, companies must meet their demands by paying more attention to how they run their business.</p><p>Purpose: The aim with this thesis is to investigate why managers make decisions to purchase ingredient branded products, particulary Fair Trade.</p><p>Method: To accomplish this thesis a qualitative approach has been applied with the intention to describe the result from performed tele-phone and personal interviews with companies within chain res-taurants, hotels, grocery stores, and textile retail stores.</p><p>Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the decision to introduce Fair Trade labelled products depended on factors such as; the introduction year of these products, the history of the company and core values. Managers at the selected companies decided to purchase products with the ingredient brand Fair Trade for different rea-sons. Either since they had a long history of concern for fair production and rooted values or due to that the introduction of these products contributed to a good business image or to clean the company’s history.</p>

<p>Sammanfattning</p><p>Bakgrund: En ökad handel över nationsgränserna har skapat en efterfrågan på ett internationellt redovisningsspråk. IASB har därför skapat ett set med högkvalitativa internationella redovisningsstandarder. Från och med 2005 kräver EU att alla företag som är listade på en reglerad marknad inom EU ska an-vända sig av IASBs standarder IFRS.</p><p>Problem: Genomförandet av implementeringen av IFRS är olika i olika företag. Vi vill därför undersöka hur implementeringsprocessen var genomförd i Sveriges största bank, Swedbank.</p><p>Syfte: Syftet med den här rapporten är att beskriva samt förklara hur förändringen till IFRS genomfördes i Swedbank samt att beskriva de eventuella problem och hinder som implementeringen av dessa standarder kan ha medfört.</p><p>Metod: Vi har valt att göra en fallstudie genom att intervjua anställda i Swedbank som har varit delaktiga i implementeringsprocessen. Vi har också intervjuat Deloitte för att få deras syn på en implementeringsprocess av IFRS.</p><p>Analys: Vår analys är baserad på empirisk data i jämförelse med ett teoretiskt underlag. Vad vi har kommit fram till är att Swedbank har inkluderat de flesta av de steg som tas upp i teorin angående en implementering av IFRS; de har förberett sig bra samt använt rätt resurser. De har dock avvikit genom att inte utvärdera processen när den var klar.</p><p>Slutsats: Swedbank satte ihop en central projekt grupp som skötte implementering-en. De identifierade de ändringar som skulle göras och genomförde dessa. De problem som uppstod i processen har sitt ursprung i FVO och IAS 39.</p> / <p>Abstract</p><p>Background: An increase in cross-border trade has created a need for a common international accounting language. IASB therefore created a single set of high quality international accounting standards. As of 2005 all companies listed on a regulated market within the EU are mandated to use IASB’s standard IFRSs.</p><p>Problem: The process of implementing IFRS is different in different companies. We therefore want to look at the implementation process in Swedbank, the largest bank in Sweden.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe and explain how the process of the change to IFRSs was done within Swedbank and to outline the problems and obstacles that might have occurred when implementing these new standards.</p><p>Method: We have done a case study by interviewing people in Swedbank that took part in the implementation process. We have also done an interview with Deloitte to get their views on a IFRSs implementation process.</p><p>Analysis: Our analysis is based on our empirical findings in comparison with our theoretical framework. We found that Swedbank did most of the steps described in the theoretical framework regarding the implementation process; they prepared themselves well and choose the right resources to do so. The deviating step is that no evaluation was done afterwards.</p><p>Conclusion: Swedbank used a project group to handle the implementation process. They identified the changes that had to be done and did the change to IFRS. The problems and obstacles that occurred were due to FVO and IAS 39.</p>

Background The external requirements for the European top clubs within the UEFA football industry are changing. Due to mismanaged finances during a significant period of time derived from the clubs’ ruthless aim for short-term sporting success, UEFA (The Union of European Football Association) has decided to change the rules of the game. UEFA’s newly implemented financial fair play regulations, with the main requirement of breaking even, force clubs that aim to participate in future UEFA competitions to drastically improve their financial performance. Consequently, we are witnessing a fundamental shift in the European top club’s upcoming strategy. From now on, the club must go from pursuing a short-term strategy almost exclusively based on the quest for sporting success, to successfully implement a long-term strategy that besides being based on the main purpose of sporting success also is characterized by the quest for financial success. Purpose The purpose with this thesis is to provide guidance towards the European top club’s adjustment to UEFA financial fair play and its simultaneous achievement of competitive advantage within the changing UEFA football industry. Approach With the more decisive aim for profitability, the similarities between the European top club and a profit-seeking firm become evident. Consequently, the authors apply and adapt business strategic management theories to formulate a long-term strategy based on the simultaneous achievement of profitability and improved sporting performance.   Results Formulating a long-term strategy based on the simultaneous quest for financial and sporting success, the authors finally come to an understanding of how the European top club possibly could comply with financial fair play and simultaneously create conditions for competitive advantage within the changing UEFA football industry.

An employee is usually entitled to representation in a disciplinary hearing. The question arises whether this representation includes legal representation or whether it is limited to representation by union representatives or a fellow employee? An employee's right to legal representation will in most cases be determined by a collective agreement, the employment contract or a disciplinary code. Over the years the Courts have indicated that they are not prepared to grant an absolute right to legal representation in disciplinary enquiries. Yet in some cases the courts found legal representation to be a sine qua non for a fair hearing and an intrinsic part of natural justice. It seems that the conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that legal representation might soon become a requirement for a fair disciplinary hearing in serious and complex matters. This research looks at numerous decisions both in die public and private sector before and after 1994. The right to legal representation is also discussed in the light of a fair hearing. The various advantages and disadvantages of legal representation are briefly examined. It is argued that all employees should be granted legal representation in complex and serious matters where the employee is likely to be dismissed. It is thus said that all presiding officers should be granted a discretion to allow legal representation in serious and complex matters. / Thesis (LL.M. (Labour Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

In 2001 the then UK Government set a national target to get 50 per cent of young people between the ages of 18 and 30 into higher education by the year 2010. To achieve this goal, higher education institutions were required to deliver Widening Participation initiatives that would target under-represented groups in a bid to raise aspirations and bring them into the sector. The study that underpins this thesis was an investigation into the issues surrounding widening participation from the perspective of students in their final year of compulsory schooling. It began as a year-long longitudinal study of the students’ views as they moved towards a key transitional point in their lives. Nine students were identified from Year 11 in one school. Three were drawn from each of the following three categories or groups of students: (i) ‘traditional students’, these were students who were deemed as belonging to groups that were already well-represented in higher education; (ii) ‘non-traditional’ students, these were deemed ‘non-traditional’ in the sense that they were seen as belonging to groups that were under-represented in higher education; (iii) ‘widening participation’ students, these were recipients of a widening participation initiative delivered by their nearest university which, by implication, also deemed them as being ‘non-traditional’ in the sense that they were seen as belonging to groups that were under-represented in higher education. Each participant was interviewed in-depth three times whilst they were in Year 11; in December 2003, in March 2004, and again in June 2004. Whilst all interviews sought to elicit information about their lives at that point in time, the first interview was intended to gather relevant information about their past lives, the second a more in-depth look at their current lives, and the third focused on their future lives. Follow-up data were collected from some of the participants in 2009, 2010 and 2011. An in-depth interview also took place in June 2004 with the university’s Widening Participation Officer and the school’s Head of Year 11 and Widening Participation Co-ordinator. They are considered to be key informants to widening participation initiatives, more broadly in the case of the former, and specific to the school in the case of the latter. The thesis reports on the process through which participants were selected (or not selected) for widening participation intervention, learning identities in school and out, imagined futures, choices, and ultimately what happened to those students who were tracked beyond Year 11. Flaws in the widening participation policy agenda at the time of the main data collection period were identified as: (i) the individualization of the problem which drew attention away from the structural nature of the problem of under-representation and also from deep-rooted flaws within the education system; (ii) the lack of awareness of the longitudinal nature of the problem whereby entrance into higher education is dependent on prior learning and prior qualifications – this resulted in little or no account being taken in the selection process of widening participation-targeted individuals’ previous patterns of achievements, such that they may not be on a trajectory that makes higher education a viable option, and (iii) the valuing of non-participation in higher education. The thesis concluded by acknowledging that a new legislative framework about to be implemented in 2012 appears to be addressing some of these concerns. Issues that remain unaddressed include deep-rooted problems within the formal education system, the valuing of non-participation and of vocational training, and an appreciation that learning takes place on a trajectory.