In this report listed buildings, according to the Swedish Heritage Conservation Act, have been studied with a focus on cases where economical compensation has been given to the owner of the building and cases where the listing of the building has been appealed by the owner. In order for a building to become listed it needs to be particularly valuable from a cultural and historical standpoint.   The listed buildings are protected through a list of regulations that determines which parts of the building can or cannot be changed, what methods and materials should be used for changes and repairs, and how the building should be maintained. These regulations should as far as possible be formulated in agreement with the owner, but a building can become listed against the owners will. To decrease the damage this causes the owner he can in some cases have the right to economical compensation. There is also a possibility for the owner to appeal the listing of the building. From the report, however, it is clear that it is very rare that compensation is given to the owner or that the owner appeals the listing. This is probably due to the fact that the list of regulations is formulated in agreement with the owner and the fact that there is a possibility to apply for, and receive, a contribution from the government to cover the increased maintenance cost that a listing of a building can cause.   The cases where compensation has been given to the owner that has been studied in the report have in common that the owner is not a private person and that the buildings are not normal houses, but facilities. The investigated cases where the listings were appealed also had other owners than private persons. / I den här rapporten har byggnadsminnesförklaringar enligt kulturminneslagen studerats och fokus har främst legat på att undersöka fall där ersättning utgått till fastighetsägaren och fall där byggnadsminnesförklaringen har överklagats av fastighetsägaren. För att en byggnad eller anläggning ska förklaras för byggnadsminne måste den vara synnerligen märklig och ha ett stort kulturhistoriskt värde. Byggnadsminnet och dess kulturhistoriska värde bevaras genom ett antal skyddsbestämmelser som bland annat reglerar vilka delar av byggnadsminnet som får eller inte får ändras, vilka metoder och material som ska användas vid ändring eller reparation av byggnadsminnet, samt hur byggnadsminnet skall vårdas och underhållas. Skyddsbestämmelserna ska så långt möjligt utformas i samförstånd med fastighetsägaren, men en byggnad kan förklaras för byggnadsminne mot ägarens vilja. För att minska skadan som detta kan orsaka fastighetsägaren kan han i vissa fall ha rätt till ersättning. Det finns även möjlighet för fastighetsägaren att överklaga beslutet om byggnadsminnesförklaring. Av rapporten framgår emellertid att det är mycket ovanligt att ersättning betalas ut till fastighetsägaren eller att byggnadsminnesförklaringsbeslutet överklagas. Detta beror troligtvis på att skyddsbestämmelserna utformas i samförstånd med fastighetsägaren samt att det finns möjlighet att söka bidrag för att täcka kulturhistoriskt motiverade överkostnader som en byggnadsminnesförklaring kan medföra. De ersättningsfall som studerats i rapporten har gemensamt att de inte ägs av privatpersoner och att de är anläggningar. Inte heller de studerade överklagade fallen ägs av privatpersoner.

The study investigates the relationship between the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Listing Status and performance of selected South African private Hospital Operators covering a 10- year period from 2008-2017. The selected proxies for the hospital performance measured were: Total Annual Revenue, Revenue per Bed per Day, Total Number of Hospital Beds, and EBITDA margin while controlling for Healthcare Inflation and Medically Insured Population, respectively. The specified regression equation was expanded to include simultaneous equations for the proxies of hospital performance. From this system of simultaneous equations, the study estimated the panel regression model using Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR). The findings showed that (1) JSE-listed Hospital Operators command higher Total Annual Revenues generated, superior Hospital Bed Numbers, and higher Revenue per Bed per Day compared to their unlisted peers, but their operating efficiency is not superior to that of their unlisted peers. In addition, the study found (2) a positive and statistically significant relationship between JSE Listing Status and Private Hospital Operator Performance for the performance proxies of Total Annual Revenue, Revenue per Bed per Day and Total Number of Hospital Beds, but a positive statistically insignificant relationship in respect of EBIDTA margin, the operating efficiency measure of performance; (3) a positive statistically significant relationship between Medically Insured Population and Private Hospital Operator Performance for the performance proxies of Total Annual Revenue, Revenue per Bed per Day, Total Number of Hospital Beds, but a positive statistically insignificant relationship in respect of the operating efficiency measure of performance; (4) a negative statistically insignificant relationship between Healthcare Inflation and Private Hospital Operator Performance for the performance proxies of Total Annual Revenue, Revenue per Bed per Day, Total Number of Hospital Beds, but a positive also statistically insignificant relationship in respect of the operating efficiency measure of performance. These results corroborate the theoretical predictions and are supported by previous studies. The study has important implications for public bourse listing as a strategic organisational consideration in terms of funding mobilisation for corporate performance and growth strategy. The sizeable macroeconomic contribution of the private hospital sector, and the importance of the medical insurance-private hospital performance nexus, behoves policy makers to ensure that the proposed universal health fund in South Africa must not totally crowd out the development of private health insurance.

To supplement earnings reported under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), public companies often voluntarily report alternative measures of earnings called non-GAAP earnings (NGE). These companies assert that NGE exclude the effect of non-recurring transactions, thereby helping users of financial information to better assess the company's past performance and prospects. Because NGE measures are not well defined, managers can exploit the inherent discretion in calculating NGE to mislead users. Prior studies provide arguments and evidence on the informative as well as opportunistic use of NGE. However, the studies have examined the characteristics and informativeness of NGE with a focus on U.S. companies. The results of studies that consider the NGE disclosure by U.S. companies may not be generalizable to the cross-listed companies because foreign financial reporting standards are different from the U.S. GAAP. Further, prior studies report a difference in earnings quality of U.S. firms and cross-listed firms, which can also result in a difference in the informativeness of their NGE. To fill this gap in literature, I examine whether the informativeness of NGE of cross-listed companies is different from that of U.S. companies. This study contributes to the debate on the informativeness of NGE. It provides evidence that in general, NGE are equally informative for U.S. and foreign companies but foreign companies are more opportunistic in excluding recurring items from NGE. The results of this study are of potential interest to investors, regulators, and academics who are interested in and interact with cross-listed companies.

ivABSTRACTBusinesses must overcome a variety of difficulties as a result of the considerable changersin the global economy. Due to import limitations, excessive inflation, and ongoing foreignexchange troubles in the economy. Sri Lankan industries, particularly food markers, arecurrently experiencing extremely difficult times. For many people in the nation, the foodbusiness is crucial. A nation’s ability to succeed economically and politically depends onthe availability of cheap, nutritious food that is also in good supply. The government isaware that consumers care about the cost and safety of the food they eat. Everyone alsoseems to be becoming more concerned about the origin of their food, how it is raised orcultivated, and whether it is sufficiently nutrient-dense. The food sector is tightly regulatedto ensure everything runs smoothly due to the necessity to supply food safety and value. Inmost sectors, of the company's inventory makes up a sizeable portion of its current assets.It's beneficial for the business process to manage such inventories in order to prevent lossesbrought on by stock shortfalls and surpluses. There were several examples where companieswere collapsed due to mismanagement of their inventories. Thus, this research expected toexamine the impact of inventory management on profitability of listed food manufacturingcompanies in Sri Lanka as this sector operation is highly relied on the inventories.A quantitative research strategy was adopted for this study and financial data was obtainedfrom the published annual reports of 14 listed food manufacturing companies on theColombo Stock Exchange for a period of 5 years from 2016/2017 to 2020/2021 to conductthe analysis. In this regard descriptive, correlation and regression analysis were conductedto analyze the data by using Statistical package for the social science (SPSS) software.Inventory turnover, number of inventory days and gross margin return on inventory havebeen identified as dimensions to measure the independent variable of inventorymanagement. Company profitability has been identified as the dependent variable and itwas measured through return on equity and return on assets. Six hypotheses wereestablished and tested to ascertain how inventory management affects profitability based onthese five variables. Results of the study show that inventory turnover has a significantnegative impact on return on assets and medium negative impact on return on equity. Thestudy also reveals that the number of inventory days and gross margin return on inventoryhas no significant impact on return on assets and return on equity. The study's findings willbe crucial in advising policy makers, operational managers of food manufacturingcompanies for the efficient inventory management which lead to enhance the profitabilityof those companies.

In the finance literature determinants of Capital structure have been widely debated. Previous studies have mainly focused on microeconomic determinants in countries outside Sweden and research on the Swedish market has been sparse. This study aims to analyze how microeconomic determinants such as profitability, firm size and tangible assets affect the capital structure and further how the determinants from the Swedish macroenvironment like inflation, tax rate and interest rate affect capital structure. The study considers previous theories on capital structures relevance and evaluates the Swedish firms support for the Irrelevance Theory, Pecking order and the Trade-off theory. In other words, by evaluating how the determinants affect the capital structure we were able to see connections between theory and how Swedish firms determine their financing decision.  Based on a review of the literature and theories, the determinants, the quantitative approach,  and collection method was decided. The data was collected over a 10-year period between  2010 - 2019 and amounted to 1116 firms and 44 632 observations. A multiple regression  method was performed where the dependent variable the debt ratio was split into short-term,  long-term, and total debt to get a better understanding of the results.  Analysis of the results demonstrated that Swedish firms' total debt ratio had a significant negative relation towards profitability. This indicates that Swedish firms choose to finance their operation with internal funds rather than with debt which supports the Pecking order Theory. However, the determinant growth show significant negative relationship to the  debt ratio which is in support for the Trade-off theory. The results imply Swedish firms conflicting support for theories on capital structure. Our results from a change in the  Swedish macroenvironment show that inflation causes firms long-term debt ratio to  decrease, which potentially demonstrates the fear of higher interest rates as inflation hits  and an unwillingness to finance with debt when the cost of financial distress increases.   Considering previous studies has shown contrasting results on the determinants effect on capital structure. We consider our findings to be in line with overall expectations and believe we add further knowledge which can be applied to the Swedish business environment.

Tidigare studier har undersökt relationen mellan utdelning och olika typer av ägande, till exempel utländskt ägande, familjeägande och koncentrerat ägande. Undersökningarna har väckt en del intressanta frågor inom området och därför är syftet med denna studie att undersöka om ägarstrukturen har någon påverkan på utdelningen. Ägarstrukturen definieras som den ägaren med största procentuella aktiepost med hänsyn till både kapital- och röstandel. Undersökningen inkluderar 168 börsnoterade bolag och behandlar perioden 2012– 2022. Arbetets ekonometriska tillvägagångssätt innefattar två delar. I första delen utförs olika typer av paneldataregressioner avseende hela perioden. Därefter delas undersökningsperioden in i två olika tidsperioder, ett genomsnitt för varje bolag och period tas ut för att kunna behandlas som två tvärsnittsregressioner. Regressionerna utvärderas och tolkas främst utifrån signifikansnivå, koefficientvärden och determinationskoefficienter. Studien påvisar en positiv relation mellan största röstandel och utdelningsnivån, största kapitalandel har dock en negativ relation till utdelningsnivån. Dessa värden är statistiskt signifikanta men förklaringsgraden är låg och det bör tas i beaktning vid tolkning av resultaten. / Prior research has looked at the connection between dividends and various ownership structures, including family, foreign, and concentrated ownership. The goal of this study is to determine whether ownership structure affects dividends, as some intriguing questions in this area have been brought up by surveys. The owner holding the highest percentage of shares in this scenario, for both capital and voting shares, will be in the ownership structure. The survey spans the years 2012–2022 and comprises 168 listed companies. There are two components to the work's econometric approach. Several panel data regressions are carried out with respect to the full period in the first section. After splitting the survey period into two distinct time periods, an average is calculated for each company and period, which are then used to create two cross-sectional regressions. The significance level, coefficient values, and coefficients of determination are the main criteria used to evaluate and interpret the regressions. The study shows a positive relationship between the largest voting share and the dividend level; however, the largest capital share has a negative relationship with the dividend level. These values are statistically significant, but the degree of explanation is low, and this should be considered when interpreting the results.

A company’s board of directors is ultimately responsible for putting effective corporate governance (CG) structures in place as mechanisms to enhance its accountability to stakeholders. An audit committee (AC), which is a subcommittee of the board, is one component of the company’s CG structures. In South Africa, legislation, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listing requirements, and the King code and report of Governance for South Africa 2009 (King III) deal with the composition and responsibilities of ACs. As the shares of AltX listed companies, which are categorised as high-growth potential, small to medium-sized listed companies, are traded publicly, they are required to comply with the Companies Act and to establish an AC according to the Act’s composition requirements to fulfil mandatory responsibilities. In terms of the JSE listing requirements, AltX listed companies must appoint an AC or explain their reason(s) for not doing so. As the total market capitalisation of AltX listed companies has increased by 87% over the past three years, greater numbers of stakeholder groups are being affected. Since stakeholder groups are protected when companies implement effective CG processes, the purpose of this study is to understand the way in which the AC of an AltX listed company, as an example of a high-growth potential, small to medium-sized listed company, adds value to the company and its stakeholders. Attributes that contribute to the value added by ACs were identified as being the characteristics of AC members; the fulfilment of responsibilities through optimised activities; and the fulfilment of responsibilities by maintaining healthy relationships with the board and information providers. An explorative qualitative case-based research design was applied in terms of which a single AltX listed company was selected according to predetermined selection criteria. Data were collected using individual semi-structured interviews, field notes and company documents. Descriptive open coding techniques were used for data analysis with the findings of the study subsequently being presented in terms of a theoretical framework of the attributes that influence the extent to which the AC adds value. The findings of the study confirm that these attributes of the AC facilitate its ability to add value to the AltX listed company investigated and its stakeholders in terms of enlightened shareholder theory. / Auditing / M. Com. (Auditing)

A company’s board of directors is ultimately responsible for putting effective corporate governance (CG) structures in place as mechanisms to enhance its accountability to stakeholders. An audit committee (AC), which is a subcommittee of the board, is one component of the company’s CG structures. In South Africa, legislation, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listing requirements, and the King code and report of Governance for South Africa 2009 (King III) deal with the composition and responsibilities of ACs. As the shares of AltX listed companies, which are categorised as high-growth potential, small to medium-sized listed companies, are traded publicly, they are required to comply with the Companies Act and to establish an AC according to the Act’s composition requirements to fulfil mandatory responsibilities. In terms of the JSE listing requirements, AltX listed companies must appoint an AC or explain their reason(s) for not doing so. As the total market capitalisation of AltX listed companies has increased by 87% over the past three years, greater numbers of stakeholder groups are being affected. Since stakeholder groups are protected when companies implement effective CG processes, the purpose of this study is to understand the way in which the AC of an AltX listed company, as an example of a high-growth potential, small to medium-sized listed company, adds value to the company and its stakeholders. Attributes that contribute to the value added by ACs were identified as being the characteristics of AC members; the fulfilment of responsibilities through optimised activities; and the fulfilment of responsibilities by maintaining healthy relationships with the board and information providers. An explorative qualitative case-based research design was applied in terms of which a single AltX listed company was selected according to predetermined selection criteria. Data were collected using individual semi-structured interviews, field notes and company documents. Descriptive open coding techniques were used for data analysis with the findings of the study subsequently being presented in terms of a theoretical framework of the attributes that influence the extent to which the AC adds value. The findings of the study confirm that these attributes of the AC facilitate its ability to add value to the AltX listed company investigated and its stakeholders in terms of enlightened shareholder theory. / Auditing / M. Com. (Auditing)

Purpose This paper analyses the use of marketing metrics and marketing information and metrics contained in 2006/7 annual reports of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The assumption is that the annual reports are the vehicle whereby listed companies communicate to their shareholders and other stakeholder constituencies. Methodology The assessment criteria is based on Ambler’s (2003) suggested marketing metrics and qualitative data is based on a checklist compiled from various academic sources. The elements which are assessed pertain to brand equity, other customer metrics, segmentation, competition, innovation and environmental and strategic aspects. The information obtained is compared to information required by investors and rating is done based on a grand total maturity. Findings Research results indicate that the use of quantitative metrics and qualitative data is very limited. The majority of companies display a lack of information pertaining to marketing. The results reflect a bi-modal tendency. Half (53%) of the companies do not provide any or poor information on their brand whereas 26% of companies supplied good and excellent information. The grand total score indicates that nearly two thirds (60%) of companies obtain a score of less than 50%, providing insufficient information. On the other hand, 27% of companies provide good and excellent information. Segmentation metrics are generally not reflected in annual reports, neither are competitors. Innovation and environmental aspects influencing market trends are covered by two thirds, however a third provides insufficient information. Other findings include that no standard reporting format exists. Information pertaining to marketing is spread throughout the annual reports. None of the companies provide a glossary of marketing definition or brand terminology. Research implications More in-depth research needs to be conducted on various industry sectors and amongst investors as to their needs. Originality/ value The paper is of value to corporate executives, marketing and communication practitioners who seek to improve communication and to convey optimal information for the investment community. The aim is to stimulate executive management to revise their relationship towards customers, the brand, marketing strategy and investors. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

Duties of so-called quoted joint-stock companies This diploma thesis draws attention to information duties of the so-called listed joint- stock companies. The goal of this thesis is to introduce the legal regulation of selected information duties of the so-called listed joint-stock companies and to analyse the development of the selected duties with regard to harmonization of capital markets regulation. The goal of this thesis is also to analyse whether the selected information duties help the capital market to function more efficiently. The thesis is divided into seven chapters, introduction and conclusion. The introduction defines which goals are to be achieved by this thesis and which methods are used by the author. The first chapter defines what a so-called quoted joint-stock company means under the Czech law. The second chapter introduces the importance of capital markets for the whole economy and briefly explains the specific evolution of the capital market in the Czech Republic since the 1990s until now, which was influenced by privatization and transformation. The third chapter follows the second chapter and introduces the evolution of legal environment of capital market protection. The third chapter also includes several important terms such as regulated market or quotation. The fourth...