M.Com. (Computer Auditing) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Com. (Accounting) / This study examines the disclosure of taxation in company financial statements. The following aspects were discussed: (a) The taxation expense in the income statement comprises of a current tax charge and deferred tax provision. (b) The extent of the recognition of the tax effects of timing differences in company financial statements. (c) The alternative measurement methods which can be applied to either partial or full allocation. (d) The effect of tax allocation on company financial statements 1n the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America. (e) Discounting of the deferred tax credit. (f) The development of generally accepted accounting practice ln South Africa relating to tax allocation. The discussion indicates that the South African statement with regard to the disclosure of taxation, promotes the usefulness of published financial information even though it is not free of criticism. A number of recommendations are made by which the problems currently being encountered with the South African statement on the disclosure of taxation in company financial statements, can be addressed.

M.Com. (International Accounting) / This study is conducted as a result of the increased focus on integrated reports (IRs), more specifically focusing on the current integrated reporting practices within the mining industry of South Africa. There has been a rapid increase in accountability pressures on companies due to financial crises across the globe, accounting and remuneration scandals, and suspicion about the social and environmental implications of businesses (Kolk, n.d.:2). Accountability is specifically discussed by the Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa (SA IRC) as follows: Now, in the context of the global financial crisis and amidst increasing evidence that the current economic model is socially and environmentally unsustainable and that current reporting practice is not delivering, it is time for new and more effective forms of accountability (SA IRC, 2011:1). This form of accountability also flowed over into the mining industry in which the current reporting practice is not having a significant impact on the perception of the mining industry. The South African mining industry is also currently in crisis, and the market fears further disruption of mining output due to the uncooperative trade unions (Kantor, 2013). Current reporting practice is not highlighting these issues or the long-term impact thereof on the mining industry and individual companies. The two major obstacles that any mining company has to overcome are, firstly that the board of directors needs to report to a wide range of stakeholders with different needs and expectations, and secondly the directors have to report on the sustainability of the industry while managing the mining company’s risk and generating a return on shareholders’ and investors’ investments. Union leaders, investors, and shareholders do not currently share the opinion that the mining industry is in crisis as there are clear mismatches between what the union leaders demand, what the shareholders and government can offer, and what the industry can afford (Kantor, 2013). The mining companies’ extraction of scarce resources is not sustainable and this can have a direct and indirect impact on various stakeholders.

M.Com. (International Accounting) / One would be hard-pressed to find an accountant who does not know about the Enron collapse which took place over a decade ago. The scandal was the largest the corporate world had seen at the time, and its impact was significant. Shareholders of the company lost tens of billions of dollars (Jickling, 2002), 4,000 employees lost their jobs (Bratton, 2002), the reputational damage suffered by their auditors Arthur Andersen was severe enough to break up the firm (Fearnley, Brandt & Beattie, 2002) and members of the public stood in awe that this was even possible. This incident was succeeded in following years by more high-profile international corporate scandals involving Tyco International, WorldCom and Parmalat, each one affecting a variety of stakeholders and broader society. The common thread that weaves these corporate collapses together appears to be seized opportunities to misreport financial information. Corporate failures of companies as big as Enron are inclined to give cause for future business regulation (Bratton, 2002). As noted by FearnIey et al. (2002), the Enron collapse provided regulators with an opportunity to reconsider fundamental issues associated with the regulatory framework for corporate financial reporting. Bratton (2002) explains that numerous regulatory-related concerns had been implicated prior to the completion of the Enron investigation. As with the demise of the other companies, the cause thereof involved questionable practices, particularly relating to the accounting treatment of transactions and the reporting of the financial position and performance to the users of financial statements. The result was that stakeholders of the entities did not have access to accurate and complete information regarding the entity in order to make sound economic decisions. This phenomenon is referred to as information asymmetry (Gaffikin, 2008).

Please read the abstract (Summary) on pp264-265 of this document / Thesis (DCom (Accounting))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Accounting / unrestricted

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines the construction and comparability of Value Added Statements published by listed industrial companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange during a two-year period starting in 1999. No Accounting Standard is presently available for preparing the Value Added Statement. Therefore, this study has as its aim the encapsulation of the various faulty recordings of different items in the statement. The published financial statements for 1999 and 2000 of more than 200 companies were analysed and compared to a previously developed standardised statement to ascertain items incorrectly included or omitted. The inclusion or extraction of these items in the standardised statement determines the actual value added by a company. The study also accurately identifies those items that are mostly recorded incorrectly and which contribute to the inadequacies of the Value Added Statement. For the Value Added Statement to put the wealth created by an organisation in a proper perspective, the comparability thereof will have to be enhanced by the constant application of a methodical and uniform model that incorporates clearly defined entries. Users of Value Added Statements should thus be able to compare the results in a statement of an entity over a given period of time to evaluate trends and cycles and should furthermore, be able to compare the statements of various companies in order to determine the relative performance of a company in the creation of wealth. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die konstruksie en vergelykbaarheid van Toegevoegdewaardestate wat gepubliseer is oor 'n tydperk van twee jaar, beginnende 1999, deur industriële maatskappye wat op die Johannesburgse Effektebeurs genoteer is. Geen Rekeningkundige Standpunt is tans beskikbaar vir die opstel van Toegevoegdewaardestate nie. Gevolglik het hierdie studie dit ten doel om die foutiewe inskrywings van verskeie items te identifiseer. Die gepubliseerde finansiële state vir 1999 en 2000 van meer as 200 maatskappye is geanaliseer en vergelyk met 'n gestandaardiseerde staat wat vooraf ontwikkel is. Die doel van hierdie analise was om items te identifiseer wat verkeerdelik ingesluit is of weggelaat is in die betrokke state. Die werklike waarde wat toegevoeg is, word gevolglik bepaal deur die insluiting of weglating van die items in die gestandaardiseerde staat. Die studie identifiseer ook daardie items wat die meeste verkeerdelik gerapporteer word en wat die grootste bydrae lewer tot die vermindering in die aanwending en waarde van die Toegevoegdewaardestaat. Om werklik perspektief te plaas op die rykdom wat geskep word deur 'n organisasie, sal die vergelykbaarheid van die Toegevoegdewaardestaat verbeter moet word deur die deurlopende toepassing van 'n sistematiese en konstante model wat duidelik omskryfde inskrywings inkorporeer. Die gebruikers van Toegevoegdewaardestate moet dus in staat gestel word om 'n vergelyking te tref tussen die resultate van 'n entiteit oor 'n gegewe tydperk ten einde tendense en siklusse te evalueer, asook om die resultate van verskillende maatskappye te vergelyk ten einde 'n maatskappy se relatiewe werksverrigting te bepaal aangaande waardetoevoeging.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 1993. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The success rate of an undertaking is normally measured against the industrial average of the specific undertaking. In theory it is very easy, but in practice many problems arise which must be overcome before any ratio analysis becomes meaningful. All companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange were measured against the definition of a conglomerate. After the selection there were efforts to divide all the South · African conglomerates into homogeneous groups according to an article by Amit & Livnat (1990: 65-100) of the United States of America "Grouping of Conglomerates by their segments' economic attributes: Towards a meaningful ratio analysis." Thereby a more meaningful ratio analysis can be devised. A method of selection was devised to select the conglomerates from the universe which consisted of all listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on 1 February 1993. Out of 685 companies 44 were selected as conglomerates. When the USA article was applied to South Africa it appeared that, due tot various problems, it was impossible to apply the USA article directly to the South African situation. Therefore the South African situation was approached differently. Due to the fact that guidelines only existed according to which conglomerates report their financial information segmentally, there were efforts to determine which methods were applied by the 44 conglomerates and whether any uniform measures existed in the segmental reporting. After the analysis of the separate companies it was found that 19 of the 44 companies which were selected as conglomerates report financial figures for their operational segments; 16 companies disclose no segmental reporting; 17 companies only mentioned certain segmental information in the directors' reports and 2 companies reported financial information for their subsidiaries instead of operational segments. From the research it becomes clear that segmental reporting was practiced in less than 50% of South African conglomerates. It appears that company management avoid segmental reporting to ensure that opposition companies cannot benefit from it. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die mate van sukses van 'n onderneming word normaalweg aan die gemiddelde van die industrie waarin die onderneming homself bevind, gemeet. Teoreties is dit baie maklik, maar in die praktyk ontstaan daar vele probleme wat oorkom moet word voordat enige verhoudingsanalise enigsins betekenisvol kan wees. Alle maatskappye wat op die Johannesburgse Effektebeurs genoteer is, is aan die definisie van 'n konglomeraat gameet. Na die seleksie is daar aan die hand van 'n aftikel deur Amit & Livnat (1990: 65·'00) van die Verenigde State van Amerika "Grouping of Conglomerates by their segments' economic attributes: Towards a more meaningful ratio analysis" . gepoog om die Suid·Afrikaanse konglomerate in homogene groepe te deel. Sodoende word 'n meer sinvolle verhoudingsanalise daargestel. 'n Seleksiemetode is gevind om die konglomerate uit die universum, wat bestaan uit alle maatskappye wat op 1 Februarie 1993 op die Johannesburgse Effektebeurs genoteer was, te selekteer. Met die toe passing van die VSA-artikel op Suid-Afrika het dit egter geblyk dat dit weens verskeie probleme onmoontlik sou wees om die VSA-artikel direk op die Suid-Afrikaanse situasie toe te pas. Daar is toe van die VSA-artikel afgewyk en die Suid-Afrikaanse situasie is op 'n ander manier benader. Aangesien daar slegs riglyne bestaan waarvolgens konglomerate segmentele rapportering in hul finansiële state doen, is daar toe gepoog om te bepaal watter metodes die 44 konglomeraatmaatskappye volg en of daar enigsins 'n mate van eenvormigheid in hul segmentele rapportering bestaan. Nadat die verskillende bedryfsegmente van elk van die 44 maatskappye geïdentifiseer is, is elkeen se finansiêle state sorgvuldig ontleed sodat daar vasgestel kon word of daar enigsins finansiële rapportering in die verskillende bedryfsegmente plaasvind. Uit die ontleding van die onderskeie maatskappye is daar gevind dat 10 van die 44 maatskappye wat as konglomerate geselekteer is, wel finansiële syfers in segmentele verband rapporteer; 16 maatskappye doen geen segmentele rapportering nie; 7 maatskappye maak slegs in hul direkteursverslag melding van sekere segmentele inligting en 2 maatskappye rapporteer finansiële inligting in filiaalverband in plaas van bedryfsegmente. Uit die ondersoek blyk dit dat segmentele rapportering in minder as 50% van SuidAfrikaanse konglomeraatmaatskappye voorkom . Dit wil egter voorkom of maatskappybestuur hul van segmentele finansiële rapportering in hul jaarverslae weerhou uit vrees dat hul opposisiemaatskappye bevoordeel mag word .

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.

The earnings per share ratio is often quoted in financial publications as an indictor of how well a company has performed financially. However, there is much controversy over the usefulness of earnings per share information, especially in respect of its potential for manipulation by the preparers of financial information. Recent changes to South African accounting standards through the International Harmonisation Project resulted in a revision of the Statement of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice 104: Earnings per Share (AC104). Significant changes to the method of calculation and disclosure of both basic and diluted earnings per share were implemented. Unit trusts have gained popularity in South Africa over the past decade. Members of the public prefer to invest on the Johannesburg .Stock Exchange through intermediaries such as unit trusts rather than undertake investment decisions personally. Unit trust portfolio managers are in an important and a responsible position: they wield significant power on the stock exchange with their daily dealings in shares but they also carry the responsibility of making sound investment decisions. Research has tended to focus more on earnings than earnings per share. A review of literature and prior research revealed several controversial issues: the usefulness of earnings in making investment decisions, the susceptibility of both earnings and earnings per share to manipulation, the predictive value of earnings, the use of earnings in the valuation of securities and the use of earnings and earnings per share in performance measurement. The research problem was thus developed as follows: are the earnings per share disclosures of South African listed companies sufficient to meet the needs of equity unit trust portfolio managers in South Africa as a performance indicator, and if not, what additional information do they require? In addressing the research problem, the following four objectives were formulated: (i) to determine what changes have been made to earnings per share calculation and disclosure by the issue of the new ACI04, (ii) to determine what characteristics South African equity unit trust portfolio managers regard as indicative of a good financial performance indicator, (iii) to determine what impact the changes made to the earnings per share calculation and disclosure by the new AC104 has had on the use of earnings per share information by South African unit trust portfolio managers as a performance indicator, and (iv) to determine the extent of use of other similar performance indicators, such as headline earnings per share and cash flows per share, as compared to earnings per share. In order to meet these objectives, it was necessary to conduct a survey of South African equity unit trust portfolio managers. The descriptive survey method was identified as being appropriate and a mailed survey was undertaken. The main conclusions to this research were that: (i) the characteristics of a useful performance indicator are related to reliability, consistency, comparability, adequate disclosure and ease of computation and understanding, (ii) equity unit trust portfolio managers regard the changes to the calculation and disclosure of basic earnings per share to be improvements to the standard but their use of basic earnings per share as a performance indicator has remained unchanged, (iii) equity unit trust portfolio managers regard the changes to the calculation and disclosure of diluted earnings per share to be improvements to the standard and their use of diluted earnings per share as a performance indicator has, as a result, increased, (iv) headline earnings per share and diluted earnings per share are considered to be better performance indicators and are used more frequently as performance indicators than basic earnings per share. Thus the research project achieved its objectives. In addition, interesting findings in respect of other issues were identified. Further areas for research were also identified. / Thesis (M.Acc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.