<p><em><p>“Money is controlled by a market; I trust the government has control. I do not think you are right, of course the government has the control and they would not do like this, it cannot be true that my savings is not real, I work hard for them! But just stop it I just do not want to make these kinds of questions to myself; I just need a house, go traveling and have some fun, I do not want to go around and worrying”.(Anonym comment)</p><p>This comment by a person with university degree in business and middle manager at one of the larger Swedish companies, when discussing the thesis you are about to read, without the person having reading it in advance, actually seems representative for the overall knowledge about what is really going on in the financial system today and the willingness of people question it. The knowledge you will obtain and the result you will experience after finished your reading is challenges of basic “taken for granted assumptions” of businessmen, academics or people in general within the society today, for the purpose of understanding the system and its role in society. You will experience a unique critical presentation of the financial system today, and also discover that this knowledge about the financial system is not a knowledge the majority should possess, even one of the important principles of the system might be just that the majority do not possess this knowledge.</p><p>The financial system, when the time of writing, suffer from large global problems. This thesis is examining the foundation of the system, such as the concept of money, and the forces and principles within the system. The research goes from how the system has developed historically to how it is constructed and maneuvered today. Money is described as trading tools which value is only an illusion of value for persons in the society. The financial system is further broken down into three different subsystems in order to understand the term financial system. From the perspective of the three subsystems the financial system is described as a deceiving system fooling the participants that they possess value in forms of bank notes and coins. Further the thesis shifts the focus to how the system looks today by categorizing actors and tools in the system, how state authorities is trying to maneuver the system and create a network model of the Swedish financial system, the conclusion became that no one can escape the system and do not have a chance not to enter the system, the chapter also reveals how no one really has the power to control and influence the system. Finally the thesis provides foundations for the reader to make his own opinion if the gambling within the system has been taken to long, if the financial system could be labeled as a pyramid scheme, if the system has provided more benefits than drawbacks to society and finally some speculation in consequences if the system would crash and speculation of how historians in the future would describe the present version of the financial system. But before starting reading, think about the message from the director Alan Alda:</p><em><p>“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in”</p><p>(Citation: Alan Alda, Quoteland, n.d)</p></em></em></p>

“Money is controlled by a market; I trust the government has control. I do not think you are right, of course the government has the control and they would not do like this, it cannot be true that my savings is not real, I work hard for them! But just stop it I just do not want to make these kinds of questions to myself; I just need a house, go traveling and have some fun, I do not want to go around and worrying”.(Anonym comment) This comment by a person with university degree in business and middle manager at one of the larger Swedish companies, when discussing the thesis you are about to read, without the person having reading it in advance, actually seems representative for the overall knowledge about what is really going on in the financial system today and the willingness of people question it. The knowledge you will obtain and the result you will experience after finished your reading is challenges of basic “taken for granted assumptions” of businessmen, academics or people in general within the society today, for the purpose of understanding the system and its role in society. You will experience a unique critical presentation of the financial system today, and also discover that this knowledge about the financial system is not a knowledge the majority should possess, even one of the important principles of the system might be just that the majority do not possess this knowledge. The financial system, when the time of writing, suffer from large global problems. This thesis is examining the foundation of the system, such as the concept of money, and the forces and principles within the system. The research goes from how the system has developed historically to how it is constructed and maneuvered today. Money is described as trading tools which value is only an illusion of value for persons in the society. The financial system is further broken down into three different subsystems in order to understand the term financial system. From the perspective of the three subsystems the financial system is described as a deceiving system fooling the participants that they possess value in forms of bank notes and coins. Further the thesis shifts the focus to how the system looks today by categorizing actors and tools in the system, how state authorities is trying to maneuver the system and create a network model of the Swedish financial system, the conclusion became that no one can escape the system and do not have a chance not to enter the system, the chapter also reveals how no one really has the power to control and influence the system. Finally the thesis provides foundations for the reader to make his own opinion if the gambling within the system has been taken to long, if the financial system could be labeled as a pyramid scheme, if the system has provided more benefits than drawbacks to society and finally some speculation in consequences if the system would crash and speculation of how historians in the future would describe the present version of the financial system. But before starting reading, think about the message from the director Alan Alda: “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in” (Citation: Alan Alda, Quoteland, n.d)

Inledning: Vi lever i en föränderlig värld, det ekonomiska tillståndet skiftar från land till land och när en stor finansiell kris bryter ut så drabbas de flesta länderna. Företag möter varje dag utmaningar, det är dock under en finansiell kris som dessa utmaningar är som svårast. Det gäller i dessa situationer att företagen sätter upp verklighetsbaserade mål, som under de förutsättningar som råder går att uppnå. Samtidigt ska företagen balansera sina mål gällande lönsamhet och tillväxt så att både ledning och aktieägarna blir nöjda och får det som de efterfrågar. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur företagen uppnår en balanserad mållinje med hjälp av nyckeltalen för tillväxt och lönsamhet. Uppsatsens syfte är även att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar den balanserade mållinjen. Metod: Uppsatsen kommer att ske i en kvantitativ ansats, genom att undersöka företag och hur deras finansiella mål ser ut samt hur företaget arbetar med dem. Information som behövs i undersökningen kommer vi få från de tre undersökta företagens årsredovisningar. Resultat: Den finansiella krisen som bröt ut år 2008 har påverkat de tre undersökta företagen negativt. De målen som företagen satt ut för lönsamhet och tillväxt har varit för höga och under de tre senaste åren har dessa ibland inte uppnåtts. Då finansiella kriser i allmänhet kännetecknas av att många företag går i konkurs eller har det dåligt ställt, borde målen kring lönsamhet och tillväxt hos de tre undersökta företagen varit lägre satta så att de kunde möta den hårda verkligheten. / Title: Profitability and growth, does the companies balance their financial goals? Authors: Christina Pierre and Paulina Kaim Supervisor: Maria Smolander Background: We live in a changing world, the economic situation varies from country to country and when a major financial crisis breaks out most of the countries suffer. Companies face challenges every day, but it is during a financial crisis that these challenges are hardest. In these situations it is important to set up reality based targets, which under the circumstances can be achieved. Simultaneously the companies must balance their goals regarding profitability and growth so that both management and shareholders will be satisfied and get what they want. Aim: The purpose of this paper is to examine how companies achieve their balanced goal line by using the keywords growth and profitability. The purpose of this study is also to investigate which factors influence the balanced goal line. Method: The paper will be done in a quantitative approach, by examining the companies and how their financial goals look like and how the companies work with them. The information that is needed in this study will be taken from the three investigated companies annual reports. Results: The financial crisis that erupted in 2008 has affected the three studied companies negatively. The goals that the companies have set out for profitability and growth have been too high and over the past three years these have not been achieved. Financial crises are generally characterized by the fact that many companies go bankrupt or have it poorly. Therefor the goals regarding profitability and growth should have been set lower so that they would be prepared for the harsh reality. Keywords: "The internal financial system", the balanced goal line, agent theory and the pecking order theory.

De svenska fastighetsbolagen har en stor betydelse för den svenska finansiella stabiliteten. Dessa bolag står för omkring 10–25 procent av de svenska bankernas privata utlåning. När inflationen ökar innebär det även att utlåningsräntorna ökar, vilket påverkar fastighetsbolagen betalningsförmåga och på så sätt även det svenska finansiella systemet. Riksbanken ökar styrräntan i syfte att minska fluktuationer i den svenska ekonomin, däremot innebär en ökad ränta att investeringsefterfrågan minskar då risken ökar som i sin tur innebär att avkastningskraven blir högre och fastighetsvärden lägre. Inflationens påverkan på fastighetsbolagens finansiella beslutsfattande är mångdimensionellt då det påverkar deras finansierings- och investeringsbeslut. Den låga räntenivån som uppstod efter finanskrisen 2008–2009 innebar att fastighetsbolag började vända sig till kapitalmarknaden mer än till bankerna, på grund av gynnsamma finansieringsvillkor. Denna studie syftar till att beskriva hur fastighetsbolagens finansiella beslutsfattande påverkas av den ökade inflationsnivån. Studiens utförande var en deskriptiv tvärsnittsstudie med sex fastighetsbolag som undersökningsobjekt. Primärdata som samlats in har hämtats från de semistrukturerade intervjuer som utförts i syfte att besvara forskningsfrågan. Sekundärdata i form av årsrapporter och litteratur har inhämtats för att i analysen förklara och skapa förståelse för primärdata. Studiens resultat påvisar att fastighetsbolagen agerar utifrån ett rationellt beslutsfattande, men att investerarna på kapitalmarknaden och säljarna på fastighetsmarknaden agerar irrationellt. Rationaliteten utformas av att bolagen aktivt väljer att finansiellt arbeta långsiktigt och försiktigt i syfte att gardera sig för förändrade marknadsförhållanden. Kapital- och fastighetsmarknadens irrationella tendenser utformas av att det råder asymmetrisk information till följd av den ökade inflationsnivå, vilket skapar osäkerheter och informationsövertag för bolagen gentemot investerare och säljare. Sammanfattningsvis dras slutsatsen att räntenivån är en viktig faktor som påverkar bolagens finansiella beslutsfattande. Slutsatsen bygger på att räntenivån påverkar lånevillkoren för både banklån och kapitalfinansiering, vilket vidare påverkar hur bolagen väljer finansiera sig under förändrade marknadsförhållanden. / The real estate companies are of great importance for Swedish financial stability. These companies account for around 10-25 percent of the Swedish banks´ private lending. An increased inflation results in increased lending rates which effects the commercial real estate companies’ ability to pay back the loans and thus also the Swedish financial system. The Riksbank increases the policy rate when inflation reaches higher levels to reduce fluctuations in the Swedish economy. However, an increased rate leads to lower investment demand because of the growing risk, which in turn means that yield requirements increase, and property values lowers. The impact of inflation on the real estate companies´ financial decision-making is multidimensional as it affects their financial and investment decision. The low level of interest rates that arose after the financial crisis of 2008-2009 meant that real estate companies began to turn to the capital market more than to the banks, due to favourable financing decisions. This study aims to describe how the real estate companies´ financial decision-making is affected by the increased level of inflation. The study carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study with six real estate companies as subjects of investigation. The primary data collected has been taken from the semi-structured interviews conducted to answer to research question. Secondary data in the form of annual reports and literature have been collected to explain and create an understanding of the primary data in the analysis. The results of the study demonstrate that the real estate companies act based on rational decision-making while investors and sellers act irrational. The rationality is shaped by the fact that the companies actively choose to work financially long-term and cautiously to guard against changing market conditions. The capital- and real estate markets irrational tendencies are shaped by heightened asymmetric information that is a result of the increased level of inflation. Asymmetric information creates uncertainties and information superiority for the companies in relation to investors and seller. In summary, the study concludes that the interest rate is an important factor that affects companies´ financial decision-making. The conclusion is based on that the interest rate affects the loan terms for both bank loans and capital financing, which further influences how the companies choose to finance themselves under changed market conditions.