Homeownership is widely advocated and believed to contribute towards economic activity, employment, wealth creation, economic, political, and neighbourhood stability and financial independence. Despite government’s interventions to advance homeownership there is currently a declining trend in homeownership and an increase in renting experienced in South Africa. As the government does not have the resources to provide adequate housing to all South Africans, identifying the factors which attribute to non-subsidised homeownership will assist in implementing interventions and strategies to increase access to non-subsidised homeownership and reduce reliance on government subsidised housing. The main objective of this study was to determine the comparative odds of variables contributing to non-subsidised homeownership in South Africa from secondary data obtained from a South African household survey. Compared to the heuristic model, the following variables were found to align closely with the expectation created; non-subsidised homeownership attainment was most likely for households within high-income groups and least for households within the low-income groups, more likely for households who have access to credit than those without, more likely for households with no accounts in arrears than those with accounts in arrears, more likely for households with an ability to save than those without, most likely for households consisting of seven or more household members and least likely for single member households, most likely for households where FKP (Financially Knowledgeable Person) has completed a tertiary education level and least likely for households with primary not completed education levels, most likely for households where the FKP is older (aged 65 and older) and least likely for young FKP households (aged between 18 and 24), most likely for households residing in rural areas and least likely for households residing in metropolitan areas, most likely for female FKP households and least likely for male FKP households. Unexpectedly the regression model indicated that non-subsidised homeownership is most likely for households where the Financially Knowledgeable Person (FKP) is not economically active (for example pensioners) and least likely for employed households, most likely for households from the African population group and least likely for Indian households, most likely where the FKP is never married or single and least likely for separated or divorced FKP households (which is expected) and most likely for households residing in Limpopo (which is expected) and least likely for households residing Western Cape. / Financial accounting / M. Phil. (Accounting Science)

Background and problem: There is a need for more research that is specific to a particular branch of industry when it comes to capital budgeting. Especially when it comes to mapping how companies within the Swedish forest industry proceed capital budgeting when investing in tangible fixed assets. The reason for this is that the research regarding the subject within the industry is either made abroad, focusing only on a few companies or excluding the non-financial considerations that are made during the capital budgeting process. It is not reasonable to not take these considerations into account, due to the fact that it has a great impact on the capital investment decision. Besides this, it is through both the financial and the non-financial consequences that the complex reality can be captured. In other words, capital budgeting can only be studied in large when including both financial and non-financial considerations at the same time as there is a need to delimit the research to one industry and one country.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to map how companies within the Swedish forest industry handle capital budgeting when investing in tangible fixed assets. The mapping will be done by determining which calculation methods that are frequently used and what financial and non-financial considerations that are made. The purpose is also to define the reasons as to why the Swedish forest companies prioritize precisely these considerations when managing capital budgeting. The ambition is to make sure that the research’s conclusions depict capital budgeting in the industry and trought that contribute to a greater understanding of the practical application of capital budgeting within Swedish forest industry.  Method: The thesis is primarily described as a qualitative research that is based on interviews. The empirical data is mostly gathered through semi structured interviews with respondents from different Swedish forest companies and the interviews are supplemented with information from various websites, annual reports and internal documents.  Conclusions: Swedish forest companies are influenced by a number of factors which in turn affects how they handle capital budgeting when investing in tangible fixed assets. The financial considerations are mainly found through the usage of different investment calculation methods, where the payback method followed by the net present value method are most commonly used. The non-financial considerations are mainly characterized by industry specific conditions together with a focus on environment, security and competitiveness.