Submitted by Cristina Toyoko Hashimoto Nagai (cris.t.hashimoto@gmail.com) on 2017-04-11T20:16:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Versão_final_1.pdf: 2818161 bytes, checksum: eb4b87be1af75595294f74e4d7125b37 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by LUIZA DE MENEZES ROMANETTO (luizamenezes@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2017-04-12T16:32:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 nagai_cth_me_mar.pdf: 2818161 bytes, checksum: eb4b87be1af75595294f74e4d7125b37 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-12T16:32:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 nagai_cth_me_mar.pdf: 2818161 bytes, checksum: eb4b87be1af75595294f74e4d7125b37 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A divulgação de informações financeiras na internet tem se tornado uma prática cada vez mais comum em empresas e órgãos públicos, uma vez que a internet possibilita a ampla disseminação e divulgação de informações a diversos públicos. Nesse contexto, visando a agilidade e praticidade para a elaboração de relatórios financeiros emerge a linguagem Extensible Business Reporting Language – XBRL. Assim, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar como as empresas, que atuam no Brasil e aderiram ao XBRL disponibilizam suas informações financeiras na internet. Para tanto, adotou-se uma amostra de cem empresas nacionais e estrangeiras que atuam no Brasil, e a partir da amostra, realizou-se buscas na internet, por meio da ferramenta de busca Google, utilizando-se site:<domínio da empresa> xbrl, para a identificação de documentos no formato XBRL disponibilizados por essas empresas. A partir da busca, constatou-se que apenas uma pequena parcela das empresas utiliza o XBRL, e que os formatos de documento predominantes ainda são HTML, XLS, PDF e Microsoft Word, e estes formatos pouco contribuem para que haja um maior aproveitamento e análise dos dados disponibilizados, uma vez que alguns desses formatos não permitem selecionar e organizar os dados de forma que o usuário possa reaproveita-los. E por fim, constatou-se que a linguagem XBRL ainda não é utilizada pelas empresas para divulgar informações financeiras no Brasil e que uma das causas da não adesão ao XBRL seja a falta de conhecimento por parte das empresas e de profissionais da área financeira no Brasil. / The dissemination of financial information on the Internet has become an increasingly common practice in companies and public agencies, since the Internet makes it possible to disseminate and disclosure information to different audiences. In this context, the language Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) emerges in order to be agile and practical for the preparation of financial reports. Thus, the present work aims to analyze how companies, which operate in Brazil and have joined XBRL, make available their financial information on the Internet. To do so, we adopted a sample of one hundred national and foreign companies operating in Brazil, and from the sample, we searched the internet through the Google search tool, using site: <company domain> Xbrl, for identification of documents in XBRL format made available by these companies. From the search, it was verified that only a small part of the companies use XBRL, and that the predominant document formats are still HTML, XLS, PDF and Microsoft Word, and these formats contribute little to a greater use and analysis of the data available, since some of these formats do not allow to select and organize the data in a way that the user can reuse them. And finally, it was verified that the XBRL language is not yet used by companies to disclose financial information in Brazil and that one of the causes of non-adherence to the XBRL is the lack of knowledge on the part of companies and financial professionals in Brazil.

Thesis M.Com. (Accounting)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, 2015 / With changes in international governance trends leaning towards integrated reporting, and the inclusion of good governance practices in the Companies Act No. 71 of 2008, it has become imperative for companies to embrace integrated reporting in order to be, and also be seen to be, responsible with regard to social, environmental and economic issues. The purpose of this report is to investigate the trends in the extent of integrated reporting by companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The report sought to investigate compliance with the recommendations of the King Report and Code of Governance Principles for South Africa 2009 (King III) by companies listed on the JSE. The report assesses the extent of reporting and disclosures made by companies in relation to the specific recommendations contained in the various chapters of King III since the inclusion of King III in the JSE listing requirements for financial years beginning on or after 1 March 2010. The report also assesses the extent of economic, social and environmental sustainability reporting as required by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. The annual integrated reports of fifty-two companies listed under the various sectors of the JSE were examined to determine whether there had been significant changes in the specific disclosures provided by these companies, as recommended by King III, from 2010 to 2012. The key findings of the study show that although there has been an increase in the level of disclosure by companies, this change was not significant over the three-year period. The results also show that much improvement is needed in disclosures relating specifically to the new King III sections of risk management, compliance management and IT governance. Key words: corporate governance, disclosure, financial performance, integrated reporting, non-financial information, sustainability

Este estudo objetivou investigar a influência da estrutura de propriedade sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis divulgados pelas empresas negociadas no mercado acionário brasileiro. Foi considerada como informatividade a intensidade da relação entre o lucro contábil e o retorno das ações, mensurada pelo coeficiente angular da reta estimada entre essas duas variáveis. A pesquisa teve como foco a influência específica de duas características da estrutura de propriedade: a concentração dos votos e a divergência entre os direitos das ações (voto versus fluxo de caixa) sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Tendo em vista a realidade do mercado brasileiro, a pesquisa considerou a adoção das práticas diferenciadas de governança corporativa como mecanismo redutor da influência da concentração de votos e da divergência entre direitos sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Adicionalmente, a pesquisa abordou a diferença da informatividade entre o lucro contábil e o dividendo, provocada pela divergência entre os direitos das ações (voto versus fluxo de caixa). A importância deste estudo, no ambiente brasileiro, encontra-se no fato de o mercado brasileiro, diferente dos mercados desenvolvidos, ser caracterizado por uma forte concentração dos votos nas mãos de poucos acionistas e pelo desvio entre os direitos de voto e fluxo de caixa por intermédio da emissão de ações preferenciais. A relação entre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis e a concentração de votos e a divergência entre direitos foi fundamentada pelo efeito entrincheiramento e pelo efeito alinhamento. A metodologia adotada foi baseada na utilizada nos estudos de Fan e Wong (2002) e Francis et. al. (2005) desenvolvidos, respectivamente, no mercado do sudoeste asiático e no mercado americano. Utilizou-se a definição do maior acionista controlador. A amostra utilizada na pesquisa foi formada pelas empresas não-financeiras listadas na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (Bovespa) durante o período de 2000 a 2006. Como a amostra de trabalho selecionada apresenta características de um painel desbalanceado, os modelos adotados foram estimados em três abordagens: Pooled, Efeitos Fixos e Efeitos Aleatórios. Os resultados encontrados indicam que a concentração dos votos exerce uma influência negativa sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Quanto à divergência entre direitos, a influência negativa foi confirmada parcialmente. Diferente do resultado esperado, a divergência entre direitos exerce influência positiva sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Quando a divergência entre direitos passa a ser observada em conjunto com o excesso de votos, verifica-se a sua influência negativa sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Essa evidência sugere que a divergência entre os direitos passa a influenciar negativamente a informatividade somente quando o maior acionista controlador possui a maioria (>50%) dos votos. O maior impacto negativo sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis foi observado quando ocorre a combinação da concentração de votos com a divergência entre direitos. Sobre a adoção de práticas diferenciadas de governança corporativa, não foi confirmado o seu papel como elemento redutor da influência da concentração de votos e da divergência entre direitos sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Em relação à comparação da informatividade dos lucros contábeis e dos dividendos, foram levantadas as seguintes evidências: (i) quando condicionadas a divergência entre direitos, foi observada a diferença estatística entre as informatividades dos lucros contábeis e a dos dividendos, e (ii) ao contrário do esperado, sob a influência da divergência entre direitos, a informatividade dos lucros contábeis aumenta e à dos dividendos diminui. / This present study consists on examining the effects of the ownership structure over the informativeness of the accounting earnings which are disclosed by traded companies in the Brazilian stock market. Informativeness is about measuring how intense is the relation between accounting earnings and stock prices considering the angular coefficient of the probable straight line between these two variables. The research focus on the specific influence of two ownership structure´s characteristics: the concentration of the vote rights and the divergence between the rights of the shares (vote versus cash flow) on the accounting earnings informativeness. Analyzing the Brazilian market, this study considerate the use of the different practices of corporative governance to reduce the influence of the concentration of vote rights and the divergence between rights on the accounting earnings informativeness. It also approaches the difference of the informativeness between accounting earnings and dividends, caused by the divergence between the rights of the shares (vote versus cash flow). The relevance of this study, in the Brazilian reality, meets in the fact that the Brazilian market, different from other developed markets, is the typical concentration of the vote rights at the hands of a few shareholders, plus the deviation between the rights to vote and cash flow through emission of preferential shares. The relation between the informativeness of the accounting earnings and the concentration of votes and the divergence among rights was based on the entrenchment and the alignment effects. Its methodology was based on the studies made by Fan and Wong (2002) and Francis et. al. (2005) in Asian southwestern market and the American market. The definition of the largest ultimate owner was used. The sample used in the research was formed by the no-financial companies listed in the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) during the years of 2000 the 2006. There were three approaches: pooled, fixed effect and random effect. The results show that the concentration of the vote rights has a negative influence on the accounting earnings informativeness. Concerning the divergence between rights, the negative influence was confirmed partially. However, as an unexpected result, the divergence between rights has positive influence on the accounting earnings informativeness. When the divergence between rights is taken into consideration within the excess of votes, it becomes clear its negative influence over the accounting earnings informativeness. This evidence suggests that the divergence among rights can influence negatively the informativeness only when the largest ultimate owner has the majority (>50%) of the vote rights. The most negative impact on the accounting earnings informativeness was observed when the combination of the concentration of votes with the divergence between rights occurs. Concerning the different practices of corporative governance as the reducing element of the influence of the concentration of votes and the divergence between rights over the accounting earnings informativeness, it was not confirmed. At last, comparing informativeness of accounting earnings and dividends, evidences emerged: (i) when the divergence for rights were conditioned, there was a difference in statistics between informativeness of accounting earnings and dividends, and (ii) whereas, unexpectedally, under the influence of the divergence within rights, accounting earnings informativeness increased and informativeness dividends decreased.

Cette thèse étudie l’impact de la gouvernance sur le niveau de divulgation d’information des grandes sociétés cotées françaises. Trois types de mécanismes sont considérés : les conseils, les assemblées générales d’actionnaires et les rémunérations incitatives des dirigeants. En plus de contribuer à l’avancement des recherches sur la gouvernance, cette thèse apporte une méthodologie empirique originale, fondée à la fois sur une approche descriptive et explicative. / This PdD dissertation examines the impact of governance on the level ofdisclosure of large French listed companies. Three types of mechanisms are considered:boards, shareholder meetings and incentive compensation of managers. In addition tocontributing to the advancement of research on governance, this thesis provides anoriginal empirical methodology, based on both a descriptive and explanatory approach.

Familjeföretag är en ständigt växande företagsform och står idag för hälften av allt företagande i Sverige. Familjeföretag har visat sig skilja sig från icke-familjeföretag i olika hänseenden, och dessa skillnader har forskats mycket kring. Bland annat har forskning visat att familjeföretag i mindre grad använder sig av finansiell information vid beslutsfattande än icke-familjeföretag, samtidigt som de visar sig prestera bättre än dem. Detta trots att finansiell information har påståtts vara ett viktigt underlag vid beslutsfattande för företag generellt. Detta väcker intresse för att undersöka hur familjeföretagare använder sig av finansiell information när de fattar beslut, och vilken roll den har.  Syftet med studien är att utifrån familjeföretagarens perspektiv utforska användningen av finansiell information, genom att studera beslutsprocessen vid långsiktiga och återkommande satsningar som familjeföretagare ställs inför. Studiens forskningsfråga är därför hur familjeföretagare använder sig av finansiell information som underlag vid beslutsfattande. Genom att gå in i undersökningen med en abduktiv ansats, fungerar teorierna rationell beslutsteori, begränsad rationalitet och beslutsirrationalitet som inspirationskälla för att kunna hitta mönster och tendenser som pekar på hur familjeföretagare använder sig av finansiell information när de fattar beslut. För att kunna få en förståelse för detta, görs en kvalitativ undersökning baserat på semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Slutsatsen av denna studie är att användningen av den finansiella informationen påverkas av hur mycket familjeföretagsanda som finns i företaget, vilket förklaras av graden av öppenhet och behovet av kontroll. Större familjeföretagsanda bidrar till att den finansiella informationen används i mindre grad vid långsiktiga beslut, och i större grad vid återkommande beslut. Företag med mindre familjeföretagsanda tenderar att använda lika mycket finansiell information som icke-finansiell information vid både långsiktiga och återkommande beslut. / Family firms are an ever growing business and now accounts for half of all employment in Sweden. Family firms have been found to differ from non-family firms in different aspects, and these differences have been studied a lot by researchers. For example, research has shown that family firms use financial information in decision-making in smaller extent than non-family firms, while they also appear to perform better than them. This despite the fact that financial information has been alleged to be an important basis of decision making for companies in general. This raises interest in examining how family entrepreneurs use financial information when making decisions, and what role it plays.  The purpose with this study is that by the family entrepreneurs explore the use of financial information by studying the decision making for long term and recurring decisions that family entrepreneurs face. Therefore, the study research question is how family entrepreneurs use financial information as a basis for decision making. By entering the study with an abductive approach, the theories rational decision theory, bounded rationality and decision irrationality work as inspiration to find patterns and trend that point to how family entrepreneurs use financial information when making decisions. In order to gain an understanding of this, a qualitative study is made by using semi-structured interviews. The conclusion of this study is that the use of financial information is affected by how much family spirit exists in the firm, which is explained by the degree of transparency and the need of control. Larger family spirit contributes to that financial information is used to a lesser extent in long term decisions, and to a greater extent in recurrent decisions. Companies with smaller family spirit tend to use as much financial as non-financial information on both long-term and recurring decisions.

Problem &amp; bakgrund: Den grundläggande problematiken med etisk redovisning är att den inte är lagstadgad, därför kan företagen själva styra hur de väljer att redovisa den samt hur de värderar informationen.   Etisk redovisning är ett viktigt och aktuellt ämne som succesivt bör utvecklas i näringslivet. Detta eftersom intressenter har börjat ställa högre krav på företagen att ta sitt miljömässiga, moraliska och etiska ansvar och inte bara fokusera på den ekonomiska aspekten av företaget.   Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är förklara vad etisk redovisning är samt att undersöka vilka faktorer som kan påverka hur företag använder sig av etisk redovisning.   Metod: Undersökningen är en litteraturstudie som bygger på en abduktiv forskningsmetod med en kvalitativ ansats.   Resultat &amp; slutsatser: Efter att ha granskat lagar och rekommendationer, den insamlade teoretiska grunden, tidigare forskning och tre olika branscher inom Sverige, textilindustrin, gruvindustrin och konsultbranschen som alla har sina egna risker och krav. Slutsatsen är att de faktorer som påverkar hur företagen redovisar etisk redovisning och varför de gör detta är storleken på företaget, trovärdighet hos intressenterna samt att de andra företagen inom samma bransch väljer att redovisa etisk redovisning likvärdigt det största företaget inom branschen. Det sista målet med uppsatsen var att ta reda på vad etisk redovisning är. Etisk redovisning är en icke-finansiell redovisning som företag väljer att redovisa frivilligt för att skapa förtroende hos intressenter. Med icke-finansiell redovisning menas frivillig information som inte anses mätbar i pengar som visar hur företaget arbetar på ett etiskt och moraliskt sätt för att exempelvis förbättra arbetsvillkoren för sina anställda. / Problem &amp; Background: The fundamental problem of ethical accounting is that it is not statutory, thereby allows companies to control how they choose to present it and how they value the information. Ethical accounting is an important and timely subject, which should gradually become more important in business. This is because stakeholders have begun to place greater demands on the companies to take their environmental, moral and ethical responsibility, and not just focus on the financial aspect of the company.   Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explain what ethical accounting is and to investigate the factors that can influence how companies choose to use ethical reporting.   Method: The study is a literature study that is based on an abductive research method with a qualitative approach.   Results &amp; Conclusions: After reviewing laws and recommendations, the collected theoretical basis, previous research and three different industries in Sweden, the textile industry, mining and consulting industry who all have their own risks and requirements. The conclusion is that the factors affecting how companies report ethical accounting and why they do this is the size of the company, credibility with stakeholders and the other companies within the same industry chooses to report ethical accounting equivalent to the largest company in the industry. The last objective of this thesis was to find out what ethical accounting is. Ethical accounting is a non -financial reporting that companies choose to report voluntarily to build trust among stakeholders. With non -financial reporting means volunteer information that is not considered measurable in money, that shows how the company operates in an ethical and moral manner, for example to improve working conditions for their employees.

Este estudo objetivou investigar a influência da estrutura de propriedade sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis divulgados pelas empresas negociadas no mercado acionário brasileiro. Foi considerada como informatividade a intensidade da relação entre o lucro contábil e o retorno das ações, mensurada pelo coeficiente angular da reta estimada entre essas duas variáveis. A pesquisa teve como foco a influência específica de duas características da estrutura de propriedade: a concentração dos votos e a divergência entre os direitos das ações (voto versus fluxo de caixa) sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Tendo em vista a realidade do mercado brasileiro, a pesquisa considerou a adoção das práticas diferenciadas de governança corporativa como mecanismo redutor da influência da concentração de votos e da divergência entre direitos sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Adicionalmente, a pesquisa abordou a diferença da informatividade entre o lucro contábil e o dividendo, provocada pela divergência entre os direitos das ações (voto versus fluxo de caixa). A importância deste estudo, no ambiente brasileiro, encontra-se no fato de o mercado brasileiro, diferente dos mercados desenvolvidos, ser caracterizado por uma forte concentração dos votos nas mãos de poucos acionistas e pelo desvio entre os direitos de voto e fluxo de caixa por intermédio da emissão de ações preferenciais. A relação entre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis e a concentração de votos e a divergência entre direitos foi fundamentada pelo efeito entrincheiramento e pelo efeito alinhamento. A metodologia adotada foi baseada na utilizada nos estudos de Fan e Wong (2002) e Francis et. al. (2005) desenvolvidos, respectivamente, no mercado do sudoeste asiático e no mercado americano. Utilizou-se a definição do maior acionista controlador. A amostra utilizada na pesquisa foi formada pelas empresas não-financeiras listadas na Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo (Bovespa) durante o período de 2000 a 2006. Como a amostra de trabalho selecionada apresenta características de um painel desbalanceado, os modelos adotados foram estimados em três abordagens: Pooled, Efeitos Fixos e Efeitos Aleatórios. Os resultados encontrados indicam que a concentração dos votos exerce uma influência negativa sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Quanto à divergência entre direitos, a influência negativa foi confirmada parcialmente. Diferente do resultado esperado, a divergência entre direitos exerce influência positiva sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Quando a divergência entre direitos passa a ser observada em conjunto com o excesso de votos, verifica-se a sua influência negativa sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Essa evidência sugere que a divergência entre os direitos passa a influenciar negativamente a informatividade somente quando o maior acionista controlador possui a maioria (>50%) dos votos. O maior impacto negativo sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis foi observado quando ocorre a combinação da concentração de votos com a divergência entre direitos. Sobre a adoção de práticas diferenciadas de governança corporativa, não foi confirmado o seu papel como elemento redutor da influência da concentração de votos e da divergência entre direitos sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Em relação à comparação da informatividade dos lucros contábeis e dos dividendos, foram levantadas as seguintes evidências: (i) quando condicionadas a divergência entre direitos, foi observada a diferença estatística entre as informatividades dos lucros contábeis e a dos dividendos, e (ii) ao contrário do esperado, sob a influência da divergência entre direitos, a informatividade dos lucros contábeis aumenta e à dos dividendos diminui. / This present study consists on examining the effects of the ownership structure over the informativeness of the accounting earnings which are disclosed by traded companies in the Brazilian stock market. Informativeness is about measuring how intense is the relation between accounting earnings and stock prices considering the angular coefficient of the probable straight line between these two variables. The research focus on the specific influence of two ownership structure´s characteristics: the concentration of the vote rights and the divergence between the rights of the shares (vote versus cash flow) on the accounting earnings informativeness. Analyzing the Brazilian market, this study considerate the use of the different practices of corporative governance to reduce the influence of the concentration of vote rights and the divergence between rights on the accounting earnings informativeness. It also approaches the difference of the informativeness between accounting earnings and dividends, caused by the divergence between the rights of the shares (vote versus cash flow). The relevance of this study, in the Brazilian reality, meets in the fact that the Brazilian market, different from other developed markets, is the typical concentration of the vote rights at the hands of a few shareholders, plus the deviation between the rights to vote and cash flow through emission of preferential shares. The relation between the informativeness of the accounting earnings and the concentration of votes and the divergence among rights was based on the entrenchment and the alignment effects. Its methodology was based on the studies made by Fan and Wong (2002) and Francis et. al. (2005) in Asian southwestern market and the American market. The definition of the largest ultimate owner was used. The sample used in the research was formed by the no-financial companies listed in the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) during the years of 2000 the 2006. There were three approaches: pooled, fixed effect and random effect. The results show that the concentration of the vote rights has a negative influence on the accounting earnings informativeness. Concerning the divergence between rights, the negative influence was confirmed partially. However, as an unexpected result, the divergence between rights has positive influence on the accounting earnings informativeness. When the divergence between rights is taken into consideration within the excess of votes, it becomes clear its negative influence over the accounting earnings informativeness. This evidence suggests that the divergence among rights can influence negatively the informativeness only when the largest ultimate owner has the majority (>50%) of the vote rights. The most negative impact on the accounting earnings informativeness was observed when the combination of the concentration of votes with the divergence between rights occurs. Concerning the different practices of corporative governance as the reducing element of the influence of the concentration of votes and the divergence between rights over the accounting earnings informativeness, it was not confirmed. At last, comparing informativeness of accounting earnings and dividends, evidences emerged: (i) when the divergence for rights were conditioned, there was a difference in statistics between informativeness of accounting earnings and dividends, and (ii) whereas, unexpectedally, under the influence of the divergence within rights, accounting earnings informativeness increased and informativeness dividends decreased.

1 Legal Aspects of EU Funding and Financial Mechanisms in the Czech Republic Abstract This dissertation examines legal aspects of EU funding and the financial contributions from the EFTA countries (financial mechanisms) in the Czech Republic. The main goal of the paper is divided into several objectives. First one is to provide an overall overview of taxonomy of legal aspects of financial relationships between recipients of financial law. Secondly, I strive to evaluate these aspects from the perspective of legal principles with the help of methods of interpretation such as linguistic meaning, historical or teological interpretation. Thirdly, the reflection of the real life needs in law is a subject to examination. Finally, I propose solutions of problematic areas. To be able to meet this goal I needed to find something which would make a link among legal entities and units directly or indirectly involved into the process of EU funding and financial contributions from the EFTA countries. Therefore, for the purpose of my dissertation, I define financial information as information about rights, powers and obligations of recipients of financial law established while budgeting and providing funds and information about secondary subject of the legal relationships which are funds. I compared the financial rules...

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第21291号 / 経博第579号 / 新制||経||286(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 徳賀 芳弘, 准教授 草野 真樹, 教授 藤井 秀樹 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DFAM

Background: For decades, CSR has been a central issue in the academic literature regarding how corporate, social and environmental responsibility affects investment. According to the literature, continuing to invest in CSR activities can be seen as a global trend and the opportunities it can generate continue to receive attention among most of the world's largest economies. Despite the level of popularity of CSR among various practitioners, researchers have still not reached a unified perspective on whether CSR actually improves companies' financial results and thus creates value, but also how to value sustainability aspects in the acquisition process. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to create an understanding of how the acquirer handles sustainability aspects in acquisitions and investments. Method: The thesis has been carried out via an interview study where the acquirer within M&amp;A has been the primary main focus. The thesis has adopted a qualitative research strategy with semi-structured interviews. The method describes how the collection of the empirical material has been carried out. Conclusion: The acquirer's corporate strategy affects the management and valuation of sustainability aspects within the M&amp;A process. If M&amp;A is an additional value driver, sustainability aspects are handled after a completed M&amp;A transaction. If, on the other hand, it is an investment company, the aspects are dealt with on an ongoing basis. The target company should have a strong financial background and well-functioning management, as this is important to be considered actively working with the sustainability aspects. The thesis also demonstrates the lack of complete information and tools regarding sustainability aspects. This is something that is still being developed, which makes it difficult to evaluate sustainability at present. Instead, they act based on a future growth opportunity.