This dissertation focuses on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ('OECD') transfer pricing methods and its application to Multinational Enterprise ('MNE') groups in the financial sector. This study examines whether the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ('BEPS') Action Plan 9 is an appropriate framework for MNE groups in the banking sector or whether it creates further challenges. Additionally, the dissertation scrutinises MNE groups in the financial sector that are involved in the business of global trading of financial instruments. It further explores the functions of a global trading entity, the arm's length principle and the OECD BEPS Action Plan 9. This dissertation concludes that the global trading of financial instruments using the integrated trading model is challenged when the OECD traditional transfer pricing methods are applied. Multinational financial institution groups in the banking sector that are involved in the business of global trading of financial instruments are subject to rigid regulations. Furthermore, the report concludes that these rigid regulations mitigate some of the complications that arise when applying the OECD BEPS Action Plan 9. Taxing authorities need to focus greater attention on the global trading of financial instruments by multinational financial institutions groups. As South Africa's financial institutions expand across borders, the concerns over transfer pricing and BEPS are likely to intensify. It is therefore imperative that the South African revenue authorities prioritise the recruitment of skilled personnel in order to address the complexities posed by the global trading of financial instruments by multinational financial institution groups.

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This study intended to explore the effectiveness of finance committees at schools. A qualitative design, using interviews with purposely selected participants made up of fifteen school principals and ten finance officers in the Sedibeng Districts of the Gauteng Department of Education was used for data collection. This was aimed at exploring how effective school finance committees are and to recommend ways of improving their effectiveness in executing their financial management function. The literature study exposed the conceptual framework and essence of the functional effectiveness of school finance committees, which laid the basis for the empirical study. The empirical study was based on the social constructivist paradigm with the phenomenological approach as the strategy of enquiry. Findings of the study indicate that school finance committees are generally structured in line with policy directives. It was also found that the performance and attitudes of office-bearers of finance committees affected the effectiveness of finance committees. Firstly and for various reasons, principals as ex-officio members generally played a dominant role in finance committees. Reasons include their perceived ‘high‘ level of knowledge regarding financial management and the lack of knowledge and skills of other finance committee members to execute their responsibilities. Secondly, finance committee effectiveness was found to be negatively affected by poor budgetary processes – from the planning process to the implementation and monitoring, which include weaknesses in financial administration and reporting as well as evaluation of the budget implementation process. As a result, the management of funds was often characterised by budget variances and the need for virement. Recommendations of the study address the need for intensive capacity-building for finance committee members in specific areas of their roles and functionality. This must be accompanied by constant monitoring by Departmental development and support officers responsible for school governance. In this regard, there must be a feedback and system that enables corrective action to be taken as soon as signs of poor performance emerge. Finally, it is recommended that the structure of the finance committee be reviewed, especially as it concerns office-bearers. In this regard, it is recommended that finance officers be charged with the responsibility of financial administration and not double up as secretaries of school governing bodies. / MEd (Education Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

This study intended to explore the effectiveness of finance committees at schools. A qualitative design, using interviews with purposely selected participants made up of fifteen school principals and ten finance officers in the Sedibeng Districts of the Gauteng Department of Education was used for data collection. This was aimed at exploring how effective school finance committees are and to recommend ways of improving their effectiveness in executing their financial management function. The literature study exposed the conceptual framework and essence of the functional effectiveness of school finance committees, which laid the basis for the empirical study. The empirical study was based on the social constructivist paradigm with the phenomenological approach as the strategy of enquiry. Findings of the study indicate that school finance committees are generally structured in line with policy directives. It was also found that the performance and attitudes of office-bearers of finance committees affected the effectiveness of finance committees. Firstly and for various reasons, principals as ex-officio members generally played a dominant role in finance committees. Reasons include their perceived ‘high‘ level of knowledge regarding financial management and the lack of knowledge and skills of other finance committee members to execute their responsibilities. Secondly, finance committee effectiveness was found to be negatively affected by poor budgetary processes – from the planning process to the implementation and monitoring, which include weaknesses in financial administration and reporting as well as evaluation of the budget implementation process. As a result, the management of funds was often characterised by budget variances and the need for virement. Recommendations of the study address the need for intensive capacity-building for finance committee members in specific areas of their roles and functionality. This must be accompanied by constant monitoring by Departmental development and support officers responsible for school governance. In this regard, there must be a feedback and system that enables corrective action to be taken as soon as signs of poor performance emerge. Finally, it is recommended that the structure of the finance committee be reviewed, especially as it concerns office-bearers. In this regard, it is recommended that finance officers be charged with the responsibility of financial administration and not double up as secretaries of school governing bodies. / MEd (Education Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

There seems to be a definite need for financial literacy education and training, especially under young people. The lack of financial literacy seems to be from a lack of sufficient financial education. A lack in personal financial skills seems to be an international problem. The primary aim of this research is to evaluate the financial literacy competencies of university students, and to make recommendations on improving their competencies, if necessary. Financial literacy was defined as: "a financially literate individual should have a positive attitude towards his/her finances and learning, the understanding to take control of his/her own finances; the ability to discern good from bad financial decisions, and the skills to make it practical." The advantages of being financially literate seem to be overwhelming. Financial education or training seems to have a positive effect on individuals. The timing of financial literacy education, what and how to provide financial literacy education about, seems to play a vital role. It seems to have a positive impact if this training is provided early in life. There seems to be certain topics that form a vital part when compiling a personal finance curriculum, such as financial planning, budgeting, credit, investments and retirement A questionnaire was completed by third-year students from the North-West University's Potchefstroom Campus. Respondents in this study indicated that they viewed learning more about personal finance as important. Also, the respondents in this study do not appear to be financially competent in all areas. They lacked knowledge in the fields of banking, taxation, financial planning, interest rates, inflation and legal matters in terms of financial matters. Students from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences performed best and students from the Faculty of Health Sciences performed worst. Students who did a short course in personal finance had an advantage and students who were only exposed to this at school level performed worst. The challenge to educate scholars and students to be responsible, economic participants is great and a call is made to role players to attend to this as soon as possible. / Thesis (M.Com. (Forensic Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

There seems to be a definite need for financial literacy education and training, especially under young people. The lack of financial literacy seems to be from a lack of sufficient financial education. A lack in personal financial skills seems to be an international problem. The primary aim of this research is to evaluate the financial literacy competencies of university students, and to make recommendations on improving their competencies, if necessary. Financial literacy was defined as: "a financially literate individual should have a positive attitude towards his/her finances and learning, the understanding to take control of his/her own finances; the ability to discern good from bad financial decisions, and the skills to make it practical." The advantages of being financially literate seem to be overwhelming. Financial education or training seems to have a positive effect on individuals. The timing of financial literacy education, what and how to provide financial literacy education about, seems to play a vital role. It seems to have a positive impact if this training is provided early in life. There seems to be certain topics that form a vital part when compiling a personal finance curriculum, such as financial planning, budgeting, credit, investments and retirement A questionnaire was completed by third-year students from the North-West University's Potchefstroom Campus. Respondents in this study indicated that they viewed learning more about personal finance as important. Also, the respondents in this study do not appear to be financially competent in all areas. They lacked knowledge in the fields of banking, taxation, financial planning, interest rates, inflation and legal matters in terms of financial matters. Students from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences performed best and students from the Faculty of Health Sciences performed worst. Students who did a short course in personal finance had an advantage and students who were only exposed to this at school level performed worst. The challenge to educate scholars and students to be responsible, economic participants is great and a call is made to role players to attend to this as soon as possible. / Thesis (M.Com. (Forensic Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Aim of this thesis is to design a financial plan of new settled company. The first part discusses the theoretical basis of financial planning. The second part focuses on the company itself and its analysis of the current situation. Consequently, it is proposed financial plan for the years 2017 - 2019 in the optimistic and pessimistic variant and an assessment of the financial plan.

This study investigates the relationship between financial literacy and financial risk tolerance among finance students at the University of Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka, a  developing country. The research focuses on understanding how financial literacy influences financial risk tolerance within this specific student population. The majority of students exhibit similar levels of financial literacy and financial risk tolerance, with notable variations in financial knowledge compared to other dimensions of financial literacy such as financial attitude and financial behaviour. Correlation analysis reveals a strong positive relationship between financial literacy and financial risk tolerance, with financial knowledge showing a particularly strong association. Financial attitude and financial behaviour show moderate correlations with risk tolerance. Regression analysis indicates that financial attitude is the most influencing factor affecting financial risk tolerance.Furthermore, controlling variables like age, gender, and year of study does not significantly impact financial literacy levels among the participants. When comparing with previous studies, it shows that financial literacy and financial risk tolerance are crucial regardless of a country's development status and both types of nations showing a positive link between them. While developed countries often focus on gender's role in finance, developing onestend to minimize its significance by highlighting the need for strategies to enhance financialliteracy in each country. Thus, this study provides valuable understanding about thedynamics of financial literacy and risk tolerance among university students in Sri Lanka bycontributing to the existing literature on financial education and decision-making behaviours.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Martin Seay / Retirement savings and income projections are among the most financially complex calculations individual Americans will encounter. The movement towards self-directed employer retirement plans has shifted the responsibility for securing an adequate retirement increasingly to the employee, who may lack the financial understanding needed for proper calculations and decisions. There is an expressed preference among employees for the delivery of financial education in the workplace, where a majority of their financial knowledge is obtained. However, adoption of workplace comprehensive financial education programs has been slow due to the cost, time commitment, and lack of empirical support for their value. While there have been some mixed findings, literature has generally supported associations between financial education programs and improved literacy and behaviors. A great deal of these mixed results can be explained by the lack of consistency among definitional frameworks for financial literacy, the lack of consistent measures, and the variety of topics and methods used, all of which limit the ability to establish causal support for the educational program’s effectiveness. However, the preference for financial education in the workplace among employees suggests both the need and desire for more comprehensive financial education offered by employers. The purpose of this research was to investigate and test the links between the components in the framework for financial literacy by testing participation in a worksite comprehensive financial education program. In Essay One, the link between financial education and change in financial literacy was tested. Essay Two tested the link between the financial education program and financial well-being. In Essay Three, the link between financial literacy and financial behavior was explored. The results indicated associations between all three links in the financial literacy model, utilizing both primary research employing quasi-experimental methods, and secondary research from a larger national data sample. For financial educators who are interested in developing and facilitating comprehensive financial education programs for employee or other groups, this research can help provide support and guidance for those efforts. If comprehensive financial education programs can be better positioned to help improve the levels of financial literacy among Americans, fewer negative associated behavioral effects, such as lack of planning and under saving for retirement, may occur.

Consumers need to acquire financial knowledge and confidence in order to take effectual actions to accumulate adequate retirement wealth and improve their overall financial well-being. Thus, quality financial education programs are needed to empower consumers to achieve these goals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Utah State University (USU) Retirement and Savings Seminar as measured by participant satisfaction and participants‘ financial knowledge, financial confidence, and financial behavior change compared to a similar group of non-participants. The program evaluation was guided by a logic model developed for the seminar. Data for this study were collected with three online questionnaires emailed to USU employees who enrolled in the seminar as well as a comparison group matched by gender and employment category. A total of 188 individuals responded to the surveys, with subsamples of 54 treatment group participants and 134 comparison group participants. Results from chi-square crosstabulations and an independent samples t test revealed that age, total household income, and current retirement assets were the only significant group differences between seminar participants and non-participants. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the Retirement and Savings Seminar is a beneficial program. Overall, seminar participants reported that they were very satisfied with the seminar and would recommend it to other university employees in the future. Results from the hierarchical regression models found a significant increase in seminar participants‘ financial knowledge and financial confidence from the pretest to the posttest. Additionally, seminar participants improved their financial knowledge and financial confidence scores more than non-participants above and beyond group differences in age, total household income, and pretest scores. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA found that financial behavior also increased more for seminar participants than for non-participants two months after completing the seminar. According to the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), individuals progress through five stages of behavior change to modify a problem behavior or acquire a positive behavior. Consistent with this theory, a Wilcoxon signed-ranks test indicated that the seminar helped seminar participants to progress to a higher TTM stage of change more than non-participants.