Bakgrund Som en följd av den ökade globaliseringen strävar normgivare ständigt efter en harmonisering av internationella redovisningsstandarder. I maj 2014 publicerade normgivaren IASB (International Accounting Standards Board) en ny standard för intäktsredovisning – IFRS 15. Vid framtagning av nya redovisningsstandarder ska normgivare utgå från en generell föreställningsram. Det faktum att kapitalmarknadens aktörer under de senaste åren har fått betydligt mer inflytande skulle kunna påverka IASB:s förhållningssätt till föreställningsramen. Vid framtagning av en ny redovisningsstandard ställs IASB också inför ett svårt avgörande gällande mängden upplysningar. Dagens komplexa ekonomiska verklighet kräver omfattande upplysningar, samtidigt som det visat sig att det kan bli för mycket. Då uppstår vad som benämns som disclosure overload. Syfte Studiens syfte är att skapa en förståelse för hur IFRS 15 förhåller sig till IASB:s föreställningsram och hur synpunkter från aktörer på kapitalmarknaden påverkat förhållningssättet. Studien syftar även till att undersöka hur IASB:s arbete med IFRS 15 ställer sig i relation till begreppet disclosure overload. Metod Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ studie där vi använt oss av sekundärdata. Vidare har vi haft en iterativ strategi och utgått från såväl befintlig forskning på ett deduktivt sätt, men även sökt bidra med ny kunskap i enlighet med en induktiv ansats. Slutsatser Studien konstaterar att IFRS 15, i jämförelse med tidigare standarder för intäktsredovisning, har ett bättre förhållningssätt till IASB:s föreställningsram. Aktörer på kapitalmarknaden har i vissa fall bidragit till ett bättre förhållningssätt, medan de i andra fall har gått emot föreställningsramen. Begreppet disclosure overload är komplext, samtidigt som IFRS 15 anses vara upplysningstung. Framtagningen av IFRS 15 kan anses ligga fel i tiden, med tanke på de pågående projekt som syftar till bättre upplysningskrav i finansiella rapporter. / Background As a result of the increased globalization, Standard-setters constantly strive to harmonize international accounting standards. In May 2014 IASB (International Accounting Standards Board) published a new standard revenue recognition - IFRS 15. With the development of new accounting standards, IASB must keep within a general mindset, commonly known as Conceptual Framework. The fact that the actors on the capital market in recent years have had considerable more leverage, could influence the IASB's approach to the general Framework. Another problem IASB faces while establishing a new accounting standard is disclosure. Today's complex economic reality requires extensive disclosures. Mean while it may appear there are too many disclosures, this is known as disclosure overload. Purpose The study's purpose is to create an understanding of how IFRS 15 relates to the IASB's Conceptual Framework and how the views of actors on the capital market have affected the approach. This study also aims to examine how the IASB's work on IFRS 15 stands in relation to the concept of disclosure overload. Methodolgy We conducted a qualitative study in which we have used secondary analysis. Furthermore, we have had an iterative approach and used current research in a deductive manner, we also searched new knowledge in accordance to an inductive approach. Conclusions This study concludes that IFRS 15, in comparison with previous standards for revenue recognition have a better approach to the Conceptual Framework. Actors on the capital market have in some cases contributed to a better approach, while in other cases have gone against the Conceptual Framework. The concept disclosure overload is complex and IFRS 15 will reqire accountants to use many disclosures. In view of the ongoing projects aimed at improving disclosure requirements, development of IFRS 15 can be regarded as bad timing.

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Expressive Writing (EW) involves writing in an emotionally expressive manner about an experienced event, and has been shown to be related to increases in psychological and physical well-being. The purpose of the current study was to extend previous work by examining how self-presentation affects psychological and physical gains following the EW task. Forty one participants who have experienced a traumatic event were recruited from the community and given either an EW or control activity. Measures assessing self-presentation and various indices of health were administered at baseline and again at one month follow-up to determine changes in symptomatology. Results indicated that higher levels of perfectionistic self-presentation were significantly associated with less improvement in symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress. Further, a nonsignificant moderation trend emerged whereby higher levels of perfectionistic self-presentation were associated with more improvement in symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress in the EW group but not control group.

Expressive Writing (EW) involves writing in an emotionally expressive manner about an experienced event, and has been shown to be related to increases in psychological and physical well-being. The purpose of the current study was to extend previous work by examining how self-presentation affects psychological and physical gains following the EW task. Forty one participants who have experienced a traumatic event were recruited from the community and given either an EW or control activity. Measures assessing self-presentation and various indices of health were administered at baseline and again at one month follow-up to determine changes in symptomatology. Results indicated that higher levels of perfectionistic self-presentation were significantly associated with less improvement in symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress. Further, a nonsignificant moderation trend emerged whereby higher levels of perfectionistic self-presentation were associated with more improvement in symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress in the EW group but not control group.

This dissertation critically analyses the role of disclosure in strengthening corporate governance and accountability to determine whether a prescriptive system of disclosure is of greater efficacy than a voluntary regime. The research undertaken has been done on a qualitative and theory building basis. The purpose of the study is to examine how current and future legal reform can curb corporate governance shortcomings and contribute to a new more dependable mode of corporate governance. This requires a comparative analysis of the South African and English models which are voluntary ('comply or explain') regimes compared to the prescriptive American model of corporate governance ('comply or else'). The foundational basis, definition and jurisdictional evolution of corporate governance is examined and analysed to ascertain the role of disclosure in relation to good governance. To facilitate this investigation a critical review of the legislative framework and reforms enacted locally (and offshore where applicable) is also undertaken. Disclosure as a concept is probed in terms of both a mandatory disclosure and voluntary disclosure regime to determine the more prudent mode of dissemination and how it impacts the efficacy of corporate governance and accountability. To ensure a holistic VIew of the role of disclosure is comprehensively critiqued its influence on corporate social responsibility is embarked upon. It is contextualized against the shareholder (contractarian) theory of governance versus that of the stakeholder (communitarian) theory of governance. This will involve a study of the competing requirements of disclosure in terms of these two theories and its impact on securing accountability. The tenuous relationship between shareholders and directors is considered to determine whether corporate governance regimes safeguard shareholder rights and how these measures contribute to strengthening governance. The codified role of directors in enhancing disclosure to shareholders is also undertaken. To exatrune the interplay between these concepts corporate governance failures are dissected to determine the shortcomings of disclosure practice. The recommendation of this dissertation is that a mandatory disclosure regime is of greater efficacy in strengthening corporate governance and accountability but to remedy recurring corporate governance shortcomings a disclosure regime that is holistic and principles based is required. It should also be supported by a dedicated and empowered regulatory system with sufficient penal measures to curb fraudulent behaviour but sufficient flexibility so as not to curtail industrial fortitude. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

在2008年金融危機過後，除了短期獲利狀況外，投資人越來越重視企業對環境、社會風險的回應能力。為了回應投資人的期待與本身管理需求，越來越多企業開始主動編製社會責任報告書。透過揭露更多企業社會責任報告書裏非財務面的相關資訊，將促成各利害關係人共贏的局面。 綜上所述，企業社會責任的報導和揭露之重要性已不言而喻。過去的文獻指出，公司透過揭露企業社會責任的資訊能夠降低分析師盈餘預測差異、降低資金成本、提升公司價值，吸引更多具有社會責任觀的投資人投資。 本研究係以我國電子業與金融保險業之上市櫃公司為研究對象，透過內容分析法與統計分析法，發現之結果如下： 一、 「公司規模」、「產業別」、「獲利能力」會顯著影響公司的企業社會責任揭露程度。 二、 電子業於企業社會責任報告書中之「環境」衡量構面揭露資訊程度顯著大於金融保險業。

近期許多針對中國大陸的研究顯示，關聯交易除了是一個重要的盈餘管理工具外，也同樣是控制股東挹注與挪用公司資源的主要手段，此外中國與關聯方有關的資訊披露規定在近年來也有非常明顯的變化。基於前述兩項原因，本文首先整理相關法規的延革，接著引用一家上市企業的年度報告做為個案分析。此項個案分析的結果顯示上市公司很可能因控制股東的安排，而將資源輸往與控制股東有關的關聯方或形式上獨立的非關聯方。換言之，控制股東可藉隱匿關聯交易資訊或關聯交易隱形化的方式進行對上市企業的掏空行為。 / Recently, many studies have shown that related party transaction in China is an important tool of earnings management, and it also has been approved to be a primary mean for controlling shareholders propping up or tunneling the company. Therefore, because of the two reasons given above, the thesis studies and systematizes changes of related party disclosure requirements in China, and does analysis on a selected listed company’s annual report as an example of related party transaction disclousure. The analysis finds that, through related party transactions, controlling shareholder may tunnel the listed company and benefit the selected parties which are directly or indirectly controlled by controlling shareholder. That is, controlling shareholder can tunnel through invisible related party transactions or through concealment of transaction information from stakeholders.

This thesis builds on the literature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. The following three chapters study the potential impacts of disclosing voluntarily negative information in a company’s own CSR communication within the contexts of pharmaceutical, textile and chocolate companies, respectively. Incorporating survey and experimental methodologies, these studies aim to help identify effective solutions for ethical issues by revealing the appropriate contexts in which companies can discuss them transparently and, thus, be rewarded for responding and acting in good faith and due diligence. Our results suggest that companies might benefit from voluntary disclosure of ethical issues if they also intend to disclose their specific actions for eliminating such infractions. Additionally, we highlight the role of public awareness in how negative information by the relevant stakeholders is evaluated. These studies reinforce the concept that acknowledging ethical issues would lead to higher levels of ethical behavior in business. / La siguiente tesis se basa en la literatura sobre comunicación de responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC) de empresa. Se analizan los posibles efectos de divulgación voluntaria de información negativa en la comunicación (RSC) en contextos de empresas farmacéuticas, textiles y de chocolate. Estos estudios tienen como objetivo ayudar a identificar soluciones efectivas a cuestiones éticas al revelar los contextos donde las empresas puedan debatir de manera transparente, y ser recompensadas por responder y actuar de buena fe y con diligencia. Los resultados sugieren que las empresas pueden beneficiarse de la divulgación voluntaria de aspectos éticos negativos si también divulgan sus acciones específicas para la eliminación de tales infracciones. Además, se destaca el papel de la sensibilización del público sobre como la información negativa se evalúa por las partes interesadas. Estos estudios refuerzan la idea de que reconocer problemas éticos conduce a niveles más altos de comportamiento ético en el mundo empresarial.

The present study proposed to investigate the effects of level of acculturation and of language of the therapy interview on self-disclosure by Mexican-American women. It was predicted that self-disclosure would be affected by both level of acculturation and by the language of the initial therapy interview. The principal implication of this finding is that for the first-generation Mexican-American woman, that is, a woman who has not acculturated to the mainstream society, the language in which therapy is conducted constitutes a significant factor in predicting whether she is likely to self disclose and thereby benefit from the therapy. The findings of this study suggest that less acculturated Mexican-American women would be more likely to utilize mental health services if they are available in Spanish.

O atendimento às informações obrigatórias que integram pronunciamentos emitidos por órgãos normativos vem sendo tema de estudos nacionais e internacionais, que buscam identificar os níveis de divulgação de determinados mercados ou setores da economia. Alinhado a este cenário, o objetivo do presente estudo é analisar o nível de evidenciação das demonstrações financeiras divulgadas no ano de 2012 pelas empresas listadas na Bolsa de Valores, Mercadorias e Futuros de São Paulo (BM&FBOVESPA) em relação aos requisitos exigidos no CPC 27, que estabelece o tratamento contábil para ativos imobilizados. Foi elaborado um índice para apurar o nível de cumprimento da divulgação, denominado de Índice de Não Divulgação (IND) que obteve 32,9% como resultado. Para identificar as características que poderiam influenciar o índice encontrado, foram desenvolvidas hipóteses atreladas ao porte da empresa, à emissão de American Depositary Receipt (ADR), à empresa de auditoria prestadora do serviço e ao segmento de mercado. Os testes de diferenças de média apontaram que todas as características utilizadas podem explicar o cumprimento das informações obrigatórias para ativo imobilizado. Para se alcançar o pleno atendimento aos requisitos obrigatórios, as empresas demandam um período de adequação, bem como para os reguladores do mercado ampliarem a orientação e fiscalização, adquirindo a confiabilidade das informações divulgadas.