Varje företag behöver ta ställning till val av kapitalstruktur där olika finansieringsmöjligheter finns att tillgå. Det förekommer flertalet faktorer som kan påverka företagets skuldsättningsgrad vilket kan skilja sig åt mellan olika länder. Valet av kapitalstruktur har sedan länge varit ett omdebatterat ämne där resultaten förändras över tid och är beroende av vald metod samt urval. Denna studie kommer att studera de företagsekonomiska faktorerna lönsamhet, tillväxt, företagsstorlek och tillgångsstruktur vilka är de mest frekvent använda variablerna för att studera förhållandet till ett företags belåningsgrad. Kapitalstruktur kan förklaras utifrån flera teorier som delvis motsäger varandra vilket leder till att vi kommer utgå från teorin av Modigliani och Miller, pecking order-teorin, trade-off teorin samt agentteorin för att förklara variablernas effekt på skuldsättningsgraden. Föreliggande studie kommer att studera företag i Finland, Danmark, Norge och Sverige. Tvärsnittsstudier har utförts mellan länder för att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar skuldsättningsgraden. Den amerikanska marknaden är väl studerad samt länder runt om i Europa och utvecklingsländer. Tidigare empiri hävdar att trots att det är vanligt att samma slags faktorer påverkar skuldsättningsgraden så korrelerar dessa olika starkt vilket leder till att varje land bör ses som en enskild enhet. Såväl företagsspecifika- som landsfaktorer kan komma att påverka kapitalstrukturen eftersom olika förutsättningar råder i skilda länder. Vi har funnit tidigare studier som väljer att studera de nordiska länderna i ett kluster på grund av deras kulturella likheter eller rättssystem. Vi ställer därför följande frågeställning: Med avseende på ett företags kapitalstruktur; påverkar de fyra företagsspecifika faktorerna den långfristiga skuldsättningsgraden på samma sätt i länderna Danmark, Finland, Norge och Sverige eller existerar det en landseffekt? Utifrån sekundärdata som har inhämtats från Worldscope har en kvantitativ metod tillämpats för att besvara ställda hypoteser. Det empiriska materialet har sedan analyserats med en multipel regression där utförlig regressionsdiagnostik har tillämpats. Resultatet visade att Norge skiljer sig åt från de andra länderna på flera punkter. Korrelationsgraden är heller inte uniform mellan Finland, Danmark och Sverige trots att själva sambandet med skuldsättningsgraden är likartat. Mellan lönsamhet och skuldsättningsgrad finner vi ett positivt samband i Finland, Danmark och Sverige medan det är negativt i Norge. Gällande tillväxt finner vi ett negativt förhållande i Danmark och Finland men ett positivt förhållande i Norge och Sverige. Företagsstorlek påvisar ett positivt samband till skuldsättningsgrad i samtliga länder förutom Norge. Slutligen finner vi ett positivt samband med tillgångsstruktur gällande alla länder.

This thesis investigates the performance of Swedish listed family-controlled firms using re-turn on assets (ROA) and Tobin’s Q as performance measures. Results show that found-ing-family firms perform 6.1 % better than other firms for ROA. Firm-specific knowledge of the founder-CEO is the main cause of the enhanced performance. The results are not robust to residual testing which suggests caution when drawing conclusions from these re-sults. The main contribution of this thesis is an empirical analysis of family insider repre-sentation and the relation to ROA and Tobin’s Q in a sample consisting entirely of Swedish firms.

Background: Since the financial crisis in 2008, the inflows into index funds havedramatically increased compared to actively managed funds. When discussing indexfunds in a global context there are three big players, Blackrock, Vanguard, and StateStreet which are described as permanent universal owners. The reason for this isbecause index funds cannot by themselves determine when to sell a stock. Additionally, the inflows into these funds have led to a more concentrated ownership structure. For example, 88 percent of S&P 500 firms have the Big Three as the largest owner. Therefore, many questions have been raised about how the Big Three act as owners. Purpose: The purpose with this study is to explain how the Big Three act as owners infirm specific corporate governance at their Swedish holdings. This thesis can hopefully contribute to the previous inconclusive evidence in the literature if the Big Three influence firm specific corporate governance, but from a Swedish setting. Method: This quantitative study uses an explanatory and deductive research approach. The empirical data was collected from the Holdings database as well as from the annual reports for our selected sample. Additionally, multiple statistical tests were conducted toanalyse the empirical material. Findings: The findings from this thesis shows that the Big Three are active owners anddo influence firm specific corporate governance at their Swedish holdings. The findings indicate that the Big Three are not as passive of an owner as many scholars previously thought.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第21325号 / 経博第583号 / 新制||経||287(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 塩地 洋, 教授 田中 彰, 准教授 坂出 健 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

Financial reporting conservatism enjoys a long-standing place of prominence in accounting principles and practices. Its prevailing influence justifies the considerable attention conservatism has, and continues to receive in accounting research. A growing body of recent research suggests that, in time series, financial reporting has become more conservative. Whilst this evidence is intuitive on a number of levels, the notion of conservatism appears to be incongruent with the continual spate of corporate collapses that plague our financial world and the outward rejection of conservatism as a desirable qualitative characteristic of financial reporting by Australian and U.S. standard setters. Existing empirical research indicates that conservatism continues to be evident in accounting and serves a positive function in contracting efficiencies with evidence, inter alia, of conservatism mitigating agency conflicts and therefore reducing the cost of debt and improving corporate governance (Watts 2003a). However, little evidence exists regarding its economic consequences in terms of its impact on the cost of equity capital. This thesis empirically examines the relationship between conservatism and the cost of equity capital under a framework supported by Signalling Theory rather than Agency (Contracting) Theory, consistent with the theoretical propositions modelled by Gietzmann and Trombetta (2003) and Bagnoli and Watts (2005). The primary research question of this thesis explores the influence of conservatism on the cost of equity capital and thus asks if the firm’s decision to adopt conservative reporting practices has economic consequences. At the same time, research has seen a plethora of studies that investigate the capital market impacts of the firm’s disclosure policy. Existing empirical research provides evidence in part indicating that the cost of equity capital is reducing in disclosure levels, however, existing empirical research does not provide evidence on how conservatism and disclosure interact. Therefore, the second research question seeks to explore this interaction and investigates the conditional influence of disclosure on the primary relationship between conservatism and the cost of equity capital. Using a sample of U.S. listed entities for the period 1984 to 1994, this thesis investigates the individual (unconditional) and joint (conditional) impact of conservatism and disclosure on the cost of equity capital. The thesis makes several contributions. First, the findings provide considerable new evidence in support of the prediction that the cost of equity capital is decreasing in the level of conservatism. Consistent with the theoretical propositions in Gietzmann and Trombetta (2003) and Bagnoli and Watts (2005), it is argued that by signalling of firm quality through adoption of conservative reporting practices, firms have the ability to reduce non-diversifiable firm-specific information risk and hence will benefit from a resulting decrease in the cost of equity capital. Second, this thesis re-examines the relationship between disclosure and the cost of equity capital with evidence indicating that the cost of equity capital is decreasing in the disclosure level as measured by the comprehensive disclosure score. Third, this thesis explores new ground in its investigation of the interaction between conservatism and disclosure and their joint influence on the cost of equity capital. The findings provide considerable support for the prediction that the value of conservatism is diminished in environments of low information asymmetry (high disclosure). It is conjectured that because there is little private information in environments of low information asymmetry, there are no signalling benefits to be gained. Finally, the results provide consistent evidence of an inverse relationship between conservatism and disclosure. The findings suggest that conservatism and disclosure are therefore strategy substitutes in the overall reporting strategy. The findings of this thesis provide considerable support for the benefits of conservatism and provide a further explanation for the continued observation of conservatism evidenced in prior empirical research. Further, the findings provide support for the conjecture that conservatism and disclosure each have a role to play in the financial reporting strategy of the firm. Overall, the findings of thesis provide new evidence indicating that the firm’s decision to adopt conservative reporting practices has the potential to reap real economic benefit in terms of reduction in the cost of equity capital and that conservatism has a positive role in accounting principles and practices.

Bakgrund: Om tio till tolv år väntas 40 % av Sveriges 500 000 familje- och ägarledda bolag att säljas enligt en uppskattning gjord av PwC år 2012. Många små och medelstora onoterade bolag kommer därför inom den närmaste tiden att behöva värderas inför försäljning. De modeller som används vid företagsvärderingar är i dagsläget inte  anpassade för mindre onoterade bolag och dess företagsspecifika risker varför författarna valde att utföra studien. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att ta fram en praktiskt användbar modell för att skatta ett mindre onoterat bolags avkastningskrav. Modellen ska ta hänsyn till de företagsspecifika risker som är kopplade till mindre onoterade bolag. Metod: Studien bygger på en kvalitativ undersökning där intervjuer med personer som dagligen arbetar med värdering av eller rådgivning för alternativt arbetar inom mindre bolag. Utifrån data insamlad från studiens intervjuer samt teorier kring ämnet har en praktiskt funktionell modell utformats för att stödja företagsvärderares arbete i praktiken. Slutsats: BRACE-modellen (Business Risk Adjusted Cost of Equity) består av två huvudkomponenter, en CAPM-premie som mäter marknadsrisken samt en företagsspecifik riskpremie. Den företagsspecifika risken hänförs till bolagets storlek och illikviditet samt kvantifieras i en poängbedömningsskala där ett mindre bolags specifika risker tas hänsyn till. / Background: In ten to twelve years, 40 % of Sweden's 500 000 family- and owner led firms will be up for sale according to an estimation done by PwC in 2012. Many small and medium sized firms will therefore need to be valued within the near future. The models and theories used in todays' business valuations are not applicable for small private firms why the authors chose to conduct this study. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to design a practically useful model in terms of assessing the owners' required rate of return in a small private firm. The model should include the firm-specific risks that are linked to private firms. Methodology: This study uses a qualitative research method where data is collected through interviews with people who on a daily basis, work with, value and advise small private firms. From the data collected through the interviews as well as theories regarding the subject the authors have designed a practical model with the intentions to support private firm valuations. Conclusion: The BRACE-model (Business Risk Adjusted Cost of Equity) consists of two main components, a CAPM-premium and a firm-specific risk premium. The firm-specific risk premium is derived from the firm's size and illiquidity and is further quantified with a point system where a small private firm's specific risks are considered.

本篇論文的研究重心，在於希望能找到一種機制，使老闆不會因為員工年老後生產力衰退而將其開除；老公不會因為老婆生完小孩身材變形而將其拋棄。我們利用一個二工人、一老闆的二期模型，假設工人的生產力會因為年紀的增長而衰退，而且有努力投入的工人衰退的情形更為嚴重，並設存在一個補償c，當老闆要將員工解雇時，必須要支付給員工。我們的研究發現，只要投入的成本i小於某範圍時，無論學習效果的大小、工人為風險中立或趨避、是否假設有限責任下，均存在最佳狀況 ，廠商的行為與社會福利最大下的結果相一致；但若i大於此一範圍時，便不存在最佳狀況，且可能會產生廠商為了自身利益而做出違背社會福利最大狀況下的行為，此時便需要透過政府的介入，使廠商的行為回復到社會福利最大下的狀況。若想要達到我們所希望的員工投入，老闆不將其解雇的情形 ，唯有在契約中明訂員工必須要投入大於一定的範圍且員工的議價能力很強下，才能保護員工不會被廠商任意的解雇。在此契約下，老闆只賺得正常利潤，而員工則成為剩餘價值的要求者(residual claimant)。

Financial reporting conservatism enjoys a long-standing place of prominence in accounting principles and practices. Its prevailing influence justifies the considerable attention conservatism has, and continues to receive in accounting research. A growing body of recent research suggests that, in time series, financial reporting has become more conservative. Whilst this evidence is intuitive on a number of levels, the notion of conservatism appears to be incongruent with the continual spate of corporate collapses that plague our financial world and the outward rejection of conservatism as a desirable qualitative characteristic of financial reporting by Australian and U.S. standard setters. Existing empirical research indicates that conservatism continues to be evident in accounting and serves a positive function in contracting efficiencies with evidence, inter alia, of conservatism mitigating agency conflicts and therefore reducing the cost of debt and improving corporate governance (Watts 2003a). However, little evidence exists regarding its economic consequences in terms of its impact on the cost of equity capital. This thesis empirically examines the relationship between conservatism and the cost of equity capital under a framework supported by Signalling Theory rather than Agency (Contracting) Theory, consistent with the theoretical propositions modelled by Gietzmann and Trombetta (2003) and Bagnoli and Watts (2005). The primary research question of this thesis explores the influence of conservatism on the cost of equity capital and thus asks if the firm’s decision to adopt conservative reporting practices has economic consequences. At the same time, research has seen a plethora of studies that investigate the capital market impacts of the firm’s disclosure policy. Existing empirical research provides evidence in part indicating that the cost of equity capital is reducing in disclosure levels, however, existing empirical research does not provide evidence on how conservatism and disclosure interact. Therefore, the second research question seeks to explore this interaction and investigates the conditional influence of disclosure on the primary relationship between conservatism and the cost of equity capital. Using a sample of U.S. listed entities for the period 1984 to 1994, this thesis investigates the individual (unconditional) and joint (conditional) impact of conservatism and disclosure on the cost of equity capital. The thesis makes several contributions. First, the findings provide considerable new evidence in support of the prediction that the cost of equity capital is decreasing in the level of conservatism. Consistent with the theoretical propositions in Gietzmann and Trombetta (2003) and Bagnoli and Watts (2005), it is argued that by signalling of firm quality through adoption of conservative reporting practices, firms have the ability to reduce non-diversifiable firm-specific information risk and hence will benefit from a resulting decrease in the cost of equity capital. Second, this thesis re-examines the relationship between disclosure and the cost of equity capital with evidence indicating that the cost of equity capital is decreasing in the disclosure level as measured by the comprehensive disclosure score. Third, this thesis explores new ground in its investigation of the interaction between conservatism and disclosure and their joint influence on the cost of equity capital. The findings provide considerable support for the prediction that the value of conservatism is diminished in environments of low information asymmetry (high disclosure). It is conjectured that because there is little private information in environments of low information asymmetry, there are no signalling benefits to be gained. Finally, the results provide consistent evidence of an inverse relationship between conservatism and disclosure. The findings suggest that conservatism and disclosure are therefore strategy substitutes in the overall reporting strategy. The findings of this thesis provide considerable support for the benefits of conservatism and provide a further explanation for the continued observation of conservatism evidenced in prior empirical research. Further, the findings provide support for the conjecture that conservatism and disclosure each have a role to play in the financial reporting strategy of the firm. Overall, the findings of thesis provide new evidence indicating that the firm’s decision to adopt conservative reporting practices has the potential to reap real economic benefit in terms of reduction in the cost of equity capital and that conservatism has a positive role in accounting principles and practices.

The choice of a corporation’s capital structure is a complex process determined by several factors. The academia and the business industry have both been enamored with finding the determinants of capital structure, as there has been evidence that the profitability of firms is influenced by financing decisions. Nevertheless, the determinants are so far inconclusive. Moreover, they are dependent on both internal and external factors. However, previous research has generally focused solely on internal or external factors. Therefore, this thesis aims to capture a combination of firm-specific factors and macroeconomic variables affecting capital structure decisions. We focus on Swedish firms listed on Nasdaq OMX. To investigate which internal and external factors affect the capital structure, an unbalanced fixed effects data multiple linear regression was performed. The regression tested several hypotheses derived from previous studies, where the trade-off theory and the pecking order theory were used as a base. Our results indicate that for internal factors, the pecking order theory is superior at explaining financial decisions in Swedish companies compared to the trade-off theory. When it comes to external factors, the pecking order theory provides a more accurate framework. However, it should be noted that the results are not unambiguous. The ambiguity of the results suggests one very important conclusion. Neither of these two theories have the capability to fully explain how firms decide their capital structure. Each model contributes with some pieces of the puzzle, but both contain limitations.

Bakgrund Key Audit Matters infördes år 2016 i Sverige som en del av den utökade revisionsberättelsen med syfte att göra revisionsberättelsen mer informativ samt företagsspecifik. Key Audit Matters ska tas upp i revisionsberättelsen där revisorn upplyser om de områden som anses vara de mest betydelsefulla riskerna i företaget. Storbritannien var en av de första länderna som införde en utökad revisionsberättelse år 2013. Debatter och diskussioner hägrar i Sverige angående om den nya revisionsberättelsen med KAM uppfyller sitt syfte med att vara företagsspecifik eller om risken finns att den nya revisionsberättelsen blir standardiserad. Syfte Studiens syfte är att utforska om det sker en standardisering av Key Audit Matters. Metod I studien har en deduktiv ansats använts med ett eklektiskt angreppsätt. Studien är kvantitativ och använder sig av sekundärdata som dess empiri. Studiens sekundärdata kommer från två olika år samt två olika länder. Slutsats Studiens slutsats är att det inte sker någon statistisk säkerställd standardisering. Dock slår studien fast att det finns skillnader i graden standardisering mellan Sverige och Storbritannien. / Background Key Audit matters were introduced in Sweden in 2016 as a part of the expanded audit report with the purpose of being more informative and firm specific. Key audit matters are a section in the audit report where the auditor uses the professional judgement to disclose the most vital parts of the audit. Great Britain was one of the first countries to establish the expanded audit report in 2013. Debates and discussions in Sweden are occurring about whether Key Audit Matters are living up to its purpose of being firm specific or is there a risk that the new audit report will be standardized. Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate if a standardization of Key audit matters is occurring. Method In this study a deductive and eclectic approach. The study is also quantitative and uses archival data for the empirical data. The empirical data consists of data from two different years and two different countries. Conclusion The conclusion of this study is that there is no proof that there is a standardization occurring, but the study gives proof that there are differences in the degree of the standardization between Sweden and Great Britain