This study used protocol analysis to identify key variables in the venture capital investment decision-making process. The study used a fictional business plan which was based on six actual business plans. This fictional business plan was presented to ten venture capitalists who were asked to review it to decide whether to interview the investee. The protocols obtained from these subjects were analyzed to determine patterns within the subjects' review. The sections of the business plan which were commonly reviewed first were the deal structure, the executive summary, and the management section. The management section was used by the greatest number of subjects. The market section was used the greatest number of times. The data were also organized by type of operators used in each subject's protocols. Information Search/Retrieval operators were most common, followed by Task Structuring/Set Goal operators. When classified into the four major categories of Task Structuring/Set Goal, Information Acquisition, Analytical/ Inferential, and Choice operators, Analytical/Inferential operators were used most frequently. Choice operators were least used. The phrases were analyzed by the relevant section in the business plan. The market received the greatest number of references, followed by references to the product and to management. However, when references to the income statement and balance sheet were combined as phrases relevant to the financial statements, the financial statements were referred to more frequently than the product or the people. The subjects appeared to use an unidentified choice program within which certain models could be identified as subroutines. The subjects used an elimination-by-aspects model to screen the business plan. If the business plan met the criteria within the elimination-by-aspects model of the subject, the subject used an additive/nonlinear model for the remainder of the review. The results of this study indicate that financial statements provide information important in the venture capital investment decision-making process. This finding is contrary to the advice usually given to potential venture capital investees.

M.Com. (International Accounting) / This minor dissertation assesses the extent to which South African public companies that are engaged in agricultural activities are complying with the recognition, measurement and disclosure requirements of IAS 41, Agriculture, as well as whether they are providing any additional voluntary disclosures about their biological assets. Sixteen large South African public companies with material holdings of biological assets in their statements of financial position were selected for analysis. The study used the last published annual financial statements for reporting periods beginning before 1 January 2013 in order to assess compliance with IAS 41 prior to the implementation of IFRS 13. The financial statements of these companies were analysed to identify the existence of both the compulsory disclosures listed in IAS 41, as well as the extent of any voluntary disclosures relating to their biological assets. The results of the analysis show that the majority of South African agricultural companies are using fair value to measure their biological assets at initial recognition as well as at the end of each reporting period. None of the companies, however, is using the quoted price in an active market as the fair value for these assets, implying that companies need to incur additional costs to obtain fair valuations which comply with the requirements of IAS 41. While companies also state that they are using fair value to value their agricultural produce, none of them is providing any further information on how the fair values for their agricultural produce ar e calculated. Most of these companies are complying with the compulsory disclosure requirements of IAS 41, and are also providing certain of the recommended disclosures listed in IAS 41. In total, companies with material holdings of plants as biological assets are complying more fully with the compulsory disclosure requirements of IAS 41 than those with livestock. These companies are also providing more detailed voluntary disclosures about their biological asset holdings than the companies with material holdings of livestock as biological assets. The study concludes that the measurement methods used by companies to value their biological assets and the nature and extent of both compulsory and voluntary disclosures of these assets are sector-specific. This is consistent with the findings of previous research. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing a baseline on the financial reporting of agricultural entities in South Africa prior to the implementation of IFRS 13.

M.Comm. / The study is an examination of current practices with regard to financial reporting to employees. International developments and disclosure requirements are examined at the outset. Generally Accepted Accounting Practice in South Africa, like in most other countries of the world, does not require disclosure of financial information to employees. The study clearly showed that employees do have a need for financial information and that this need deserves to be addressed, while taking the skills levels of the South African labour force into consideration. The study suggests a reporting framework geared to the specific needs of the employee as one of the many users of financial information. It is suggested that the value-added statement and employment report be part of reporting to the employees of a company. The value-added statement reports on income earned by a widely defined group of people, whereas the income statement reports on income earned for the shareholders. The value-added statement quantifies value added to the organisation by employees of the organisation. The employment report enables employees to measure returns and risks within their employer organisation in order to evaluate expectations regarding years of service, for example. The practical implications of such a reporting framework are considered. Various benefits and disadvantages of the value added statement and employment report are examined. The writer looks at the employee report of Alusaf Limited and evaluates the report given the information needs of employees. South Africa has a huge labour force to utilise and therefore each organisation should strive to meet the reasonable information needs of labour in South Africa. An honest effort to disclose relevant information to employees will be a positive step in creating better relationships with labour considering the volatile labour relations in South Africa during recent years. At the end of the study the writer comes to the following conclusions: • Employees with their specific information needs, as AC 000 defined users of financial statements, should be recognised. • The different competency levels of employees should be considered when publishing an employee report. • There are advantages for both companies and employees when publishing financial information to employees. • The value-added statement and employment report will contribute to the information needs of employees being met. • There are companies in South Africa who are concerned about the information needs of their employees. • It is no longer a matter of acting politically correct, it is essential for companies in South Africa to publish financial information for their employees.

Syfte: De immateriella tillgångarna är svårvärderade och diffusa tillgångar. Det har länge pågått en diskussion angående huruvida hantering av de immateriella tillgångarna påverkar värderelevansen och användbarheten av de finansiella rapporterna. Syftet med studien är att undersöka värderelevansen av de redovisade immateriella tillgångarna för kapitalmarknaden utifrån ett redovisningsperspektiv. Metod: Metoden grundas i Ohlson-modellen. Data från årsredovisningar har samlats in och sedan analyserats genom flera multipla regressioner och en korrelationsanalys.  Resultat & Slutsats:Resultatet av studien visar att det finns ett positivt signifikant samband mellan de totala immateriella tillgångarna och aktiepriset. Resultatet av denna studie visar således att de redovisade totala immateriella tillgångarna ger värderelevant information till kapitalmarknaden. Dock visar sig endast posterna FoU och patent vara värderelevanta för kapitalmarknaden när värderelevansen av de immateriella tillgångarna uppdelat i specifika poster undersöks. Förslag till fortsatt forskning:  Ett fåtal tidigare studier undersöker tillförlitligheten av de redovisade immateriella tillgångarna. Då tillförlitlighet precis som värderelevans är en av de fundamentala egenskaper redovisningsinformation bör besitta är det intressant att även undersöka hur tillförlitlig kapitalmarknaden anser att de redovisade immateriella tillgångarna är. Då tidigare forskning hävdar att det är svårt att mäta de immateriella tillgångarna på ett tillförlitligt sätt vore det relevant att undersöka om detta stämmer. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien ger bevis för att de totala redovisade immateriella tillgångarna är värderelevanta. Det huvudsakliga praktiska bidraget med studien är att den kan ge intressenter en bättre förståelse för hur redovisningsinformation om de immateriella tillgångarna påverkar aktiepriset.

Nowadays, we can meet with the connection of businesses throughout the globalized world making the consolidation of an increasingly gains importance. The thesis focuses on a group of bakeries that shares are publicly traded on the capital market in EU. That is why they have to prepare the consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS at the end of the reporting period. The thesis is divided into two thematic parts. The first part is focused on explaining the process of consolidation. Readers will learn the definitions, how to prepare consolidated financial statements and its purpose. The second part, which I regard as crucial, is focused on explaining the problems of loss of control. Both parts are explained in the illustrative examples for better understanding.

The work deals with the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by the companies, with the theory of the conversion of financial statements prepared in accordance with Czech legislation to the financial statements being in accordance with IRFS and the work also provides an overview of the most significant differences between the two treatments. The differences in selected areas covered by their own standards are described in detail to illustrate the problem.

"The purpose of this paper is to analyze the problem created by a rising price level as it affects accounting and to appraise in the light of the broad social responsibility of accounting certain proposals for giving effect to price-level changes in accounting statements"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1958." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: John E. Champion, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references.

As a consequence of financial analysts' joint role as information intermediaries and firm monitors, I investigate analysts' responses to opportunistic corporate earnings management as firm mispricing increases. While firms' management have capital markets and executive equity incentives to manage earnings, financial analysts have trading volume, investment banking, and management information incentives which result in analysts' optimism bias. However, prior research also finds that analysts have reputational incentives, which motivate them to provide accurate and profitable outlooks. Using a generalized linear model (GLM), I estimate analysts' stock recommendation (price targets) responses for earnings management firms. I use the residual income model to compute fundamental value and I add proxies for earnings management to my analyst-responses models.... The main implications of my findings are that analysts use corporate earnings management and firm fundamental value in their stock recommendations (price targets) responses. In addition, my results provide evidence that, after controlling for earnings quality, analysts' stock recommendations (price targets) are consistent with strategies based on residual income models. These findings will be of interest to shareholders, regulators, and researchers as well as to finance and accounting practitioners. / by Jomo Sankara. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

As normas contábeis brasileiras estabelecem algumas opções de classificação na Demonstração dos Fluxos de Caixa (DFC), especificamente os fluxos de caixa relacionados aos juros, dividendos e juros sobre capital próprio (JCP) pagos e recebidos. Tais fluxos de caixa podem ser classificados na DFC em três diferentes atividades: operacional (FCO), de investimento (FCI) ou de financiamento (FCF). Por um lado, essa flexibilidade de classificação permite que uma informação mais fidedigna seja divulgada, uma vez que a apresentação da DFC poderá ser adaptada às circunstâncias específicas de cada empresa. Por outro lado, abre espaço para comportamentos oportunistas, ao permitir a escolha da opção que gera a informação mais conveniente. Este trabalho busca identificar incentivos, relacionados às características das empresas não financeiras do mercado de capitais brasileiro, que influenciaram as escolhas de classificação dos juros, dividendos e JCP na DFC, no período de 2008 a 2014. As hipóteses resultantes desse objetivo referem-se a: classificação dos fluxos de caixa de acordo com o encorajamento do CPC 03; identificação de uma possível padronização das classificações na DFC entre empresas com aspectos semelhantes (mesmo setor ou firma de auditoria); relação entre mudanças de classificação dos juros pagos com a troca de auditor; e, o efeito da escolha de classificação dos juros, dividendos e JCP na DFC sobre o FCO, de acordo com características financeiras e de desempenho das empresas. Para fins de mensuração do efeito sobre o FCO, tomou-se por referência o parágrafo 34A do CPC 03, que encoraja a classificação dos juros recebidos ou pagos, dos dividendos recebidos e JCP recebidos como FCO; assim como os dividendos pagos e JCP pagos como FCF. Para análise do referido efeito, foram utilizados dados em painel e duas regressões com as seguintes variáveis dependentes: 1) a diferença em reais entre o FCO divulgado e o valor que seria o FCO ao seguir as opções encorajadas pelo CPC 03; e, 2) a escolha de classificação dos juros pagos (variável dummy). Considerou-se os juros pagos, pois, entre as alternativas, trata-se daquela que aumenta o FCO caso não seja seguida a classificação recomendada pelo CPC. Com uma amostra de 352 empresas, 2.290 relatórios analisados e 3.764 dados levantados, os resultados apontaram que: i) a maior parte das empresas brasileiras segue as classificações encorajadas pelo CPC 03, exceto quanto ao item dividendos/JCP recebidos; ii) alguns setores seguiram uma classificação predominante em todos ou parte dos itens que possuem flexibilidade de apresentação na DFC; iii) há classificações predominantes para empresas que possuem determinadas firmas de auditoria; iv) as mudanças de classificação dos juros pagos ocorreram independentemente da troca de auditor; e, v) há evidências de que o endividamento influencia na divulgação de um FCO em montante diferente do que seria se a recomendação de classificação do CPC fosse seguida. Os resultados alcançados trazem evidências sobre a relação entre características das empresas brasileiras e o FCO divulgado decorrente da escolha de classificação na DFC. / Brazilian accounting standards establish some classification options in the Statement of Cash Flows (SCF), specifically the cash flows related to interest, dividends and interest on capital paid and received. Such cash flows can be classified in the SCF in three different activities: operating (FCO), investment (FCI) or financing (FCF). This flexibility of classification, on the one hand, allows the disclosure of a more accurate information, since the presentation of SCF can be adapted to the specific circumstances of each company. On the other hand, it makes room for opportunistic behavior by allowing choice of which option to generate the most suitable information. This study aims to identify incentives related to the characteristics of non-financial companies in the Brazilian capital markets, which influenced the choices of classification of interest, dividends and interest on capital in the SCF, from 2008 to 2014. The resultant hypothesis from the objective refer to: cash flows classification according to the encouragement of the CPC 03; identification of a possible standardization of classifications in SCF among companies with similar features (same sector or audit firm); relationship between classification shift of the interest paid with the change of auditor; and, the effect on the FCO of the classification choice of interest, dividends and interest on capital in the SCF, according to financial characteristics and performance of companies. For the measurement purposes of the effect on the FCO, the paragraph 34A of CPC 03 is taken as reference, which encourages the classification of interest received or paid, dividends received and interest on capital received as FCO; as well as dividends paid and interest on capital paid as FCF. For analysis of that effect, panel data and two regressions with the following dependent variables have been adopted: 1) the difference in reais between the disclosed FCO and the amount that the FCO would be if the options encouraged by the CPC 03 had been followed; and, 2) the classification choice of interest paid (dummy). The interest paid was considered because, among alternatives, it is that which increases the FCO if the classification recommended by the CPC is not followed. With a sample of 352 companies, 2.290 reports analyzed and 3.764 data collected, the results show that: i) the most Brazilian companies follow the classifications encouraged by CPC 03, except those related to dividends/interest on capital received; ii) some sectors followed a predominant classification in all items or part of them that allow flexibility of presentation in SCF; iii) there are prevalent classifications for companies with certain audit firms; iv) classification shift of the interest paid occurred regardless of the change of auditor; and, v) there is evidence that the debt influences the disclosure of an FCO in an different amount than if the CPC classification recommendation had been followed. The achieved results provide evidence on the relationship between characteristics of Brazilian companies and the FCO released due to the choice of classification in the SCF.

Esta tese investiga a influência do ambiente competitivo, medido pelo grau de competição, na qualidade das demonstrações contábeis. Para medir a qualidade dos números contábeis divulgados, foram utilizadas quatro métricas distintas que capturam diferentes propriedades da informação contábil: relevância, tempestividade, conservadorismo e gerenciamento de resultados. Estudos que investigaram a qualidade da informação contábil identificaram que firmas com mecanismos mais rígidos de governança corporativa divulgam números contábeis com qualidade superior e que a contabilidade pode exercer função contratual (LOPES, 2009). Por outro lado, a competição no mercado exerce efeito disciplinador na discricionariedade dos executivos (FAMA, 1980) e firmas com melhor desempenho e menores custos de agência teriam preço das ações mais altos (MANNE, 1965). Dessa maneira, a competição no mercado poderia ser um canal de influência na qualidade da informação contábil. Ainda incipiente na literatura, pesquisadores identificaram a influência da competição em duas das propriedades contábeis aqui analisadas: gerenciamento de resultados (MARCIUKAITYTE; PARK, 2009; TINAIKAR; XUE, 2009) e conservadorismo (DHALIWAL et al, 2008). Considerando-se que a competição no mercado pode melhorar a qualidade da informação contábil divulgada, com base nos fundamentos da Organização Industrial e na perspectiva de Stiglitz e Nalebuff (1983) sobre avaliação comparativa, o grau de competição de uma indústria aumentaria o fluxo de informações sobre as firmas e facilitaria a comparação entre seus pares, disciplinando as escolhas contábeis dos executivos. Para a execução deste estudo, utilizou-se uma amostra com base nos dados das companhias abertas listadas na BM&FBOVESPA, no período de 1996 a 2006, para construir as variáveis dos modelos de relevância, tempestividade, conservadorismo e gerenciamento de resultados, além das demais variáveis consideradas nos modelos (governança corporativa, ADR, tamanho, oportunidades de crescimento, endividamento e o índice de Herfindahl que mede o grau de competição). Como a estrutura dos dados (painel não balanceado) e da variável de interesse, a competição, capturam fatores das indústrias (setoriais), foram utilizadas regressões com erros-padrão robustos clusterizados nas indústrias. Os resultados obtidos, em geral, indicam que firmas em ambientes com alta competição não aumentam a relevância dos números contábeis; por outro lado, aumentam a tempestividade das informações contábeis, aumentam o grau de conservadorismo, mas não reduzem as práticas de gerenciamento de resultados. Por outro lado, observou-se que a interação do ambiente de alta competitividade em que as firmas estão inseridas com a adoção de práticas diferenciadas de governança corporativa, produzem efeitos sobre a discricionariedade contábil proporcionando incentivos (ou disciplinando as escolhas contábeis) para que as firmas divulguem números contábeis de qualidade superior. / This thesis investigates the influence of firms competitive environment, measured by the degree of competition, on the quality of financial statements. To measure the quality of the accounting numbers, I used four metrics that capture different properties of accounting information: value relevance, timeliness, conditional conservatism and earnings management. Studies of the quality of accounting information have identified that firms with enhanced corporate governance practices (strong mechanisms) disclose more reliable accounting numbers (LOPES, 2009). Furthermore, market competition exercises a disciplinary influence on executives discretionary power (FAMA, 1980) and firms with better performance and lower agency costs tend to have higher share prices (MANNE, 1965). Therefore, market competition can influence the quality of accounting information. Although the literature is still incipient, researchers have identified the influence of competition on two of the accounting properties analyzed here: earnings management (MARCIUKAITYTE; PARK, 2009; TINAIKAR; XUE, 2009) and conservatism (DHALIWAL et al, 2008). Since competition can improve the quality of the accounting information disclosed based on the tenets of industrial organization and the perspective of Stiglitz and Nalebuff (1983) on comparative valuation, a higher level of competition in an industry should increase the flow of information on firms and facilitate comparison with peers, disciplining the accounting choices of executives. To investigate this conjecture in the Brazilian setting, I used the accounting data from a sample of companies listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa, now BM&FBovespa) in the period from 1996 to 2006 to construct the variables of the models to measure value relevance, timeliness, conservatism and earnings management, along with other variables considered in the models (corporate governance, dual-listing through ADRs, size, growth opportunities, leverage and the Herfindahl index, which measures the level of competition). Since the structure of the data (unbalanced panel) and the variable of interest competition capture factors of industries (sectors), I used clustered regressions with robust standard errors in the industries. The results obtained in general indicate that firms in highly competitive industries do not have more relevant accounting numbers, while they are more timely in their disclosures and more conservative in the accounting practices followed. The results also indicate there is no effect of competition on earnings management. Finally, the interaction of high competitiveness and the adoption of enhanced corporate governance practices appears to reduce the discretion of management in disclosing accounting numbers, thus improving the quality of firms accounting figures.