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SAMMANFATTNING Genom de skandaler som revisionsbranschen mött har ökande krav på branschen uppkommit. Det kan finnas risker i dagens samhälle som inte existerat eller varit aktuella tidigare men på grund av de förändringar som skett i samhället nu framträtt. Vi ville studera hur revisionsbyråerna förhåller sig till dessa samt hur de finner en väg att hantera dem. Studiens syfte var undersöka om det finns något aktivt arbete med att hantera de risker som är förknippade med accepterandet av klienter, det lyder: Syftet med vår uppsats är att studera om det finns ett aktiv arbete med Risk Management på revisionsbyråerna samt i så fall hur detta går till och vilka risker som de då främst vill undvika vid accepterande av klienter. Vi vill även studera hur revisionsbyråerna hanterar de risker som de väljer att acceptera. Då vi hade uppfattningen att det är ohållbart för revisionsbyråerna att inte på något vis hantera de risker de ställs inför föll det sig troligt för oss at de större byråerna aktivt arbetar med Risk Management. Vi ville för det första kontrollera om vår uppfattning stämde och om så var fallet även klarlägga vilka risker revisionsbyråerna i huvudsak avser att undvika. Uppsatsens problem formulerades enligt följande: Vilka risker vill revisionsbyråerna främst undvika genom sitt arbete med Risk Management, vid accepterande av klienter? Datainsamlingen genomfördes genom intervjuer med revisorer som arbetar med Risk Management men i olika roller och i olika omfattning. Detta material har sedan jämförts med vad vi i litteraturen funnit kring risker, riskhantering samt accepterande av klienter. De slutsatser vi först och främst har kunnat dra är att ett aktivt arbete med Risk Management hos de större revisionsbyråerna bedrivs. Vidare har vi funnit tre riskområden som byråerna främst avser att undvika med Risk Management, byråns risk, revisorns risk samt risken för tredje man.

Sammanfattning Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur fastighetsbolag värderar historisk ekonomisk information och information från kompletterande källor vid kreditbedömning av aktiebolag som hyresgäster. Utgångspunkten för studien var att de på grund av den komplexa kreditgivningen fastighetsbolagen har, så måste de ta hänsyn till en rad faktorer. Förutom att ta hänsyn till historisk ekonomisk information, så bör fastighetsbolagen även ta hänsyn till ickefinansiella källor som t.ex. hyresgästens affärsidé och hyresgästens kompetens som företagsledare. Vi ville även undersöka om det fanns upparbetade rutiner för kreditbedömningen och om fastighetsbolagen gjorde skillnad vid kreditbedömningen av nystartade och etablerade företag. I studien undersökte vi förekomsten av upparbetade rutiner för kreditbedömningen i fastighetsbolagen och om kreditgivaren gör skillnad i kreditbedömningen av nystartade respektive etablerade företag. För att besvara frågeställningen genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med de tre personer som gör kreditbedömningarna på respektive fastighetsbolag. Alla fastighetsbolag är för övrigt verksamma i Östersundsområdet. Studien visar att fastighetsbolagen inte tillämpar hela det teoretiska underlaget vid kreditbedömningen. Även kreditbedömarens utbildnings- och yrkesbakgrund påverkar valet av information. En annan slutsats är att fastighetsbolagen vid kreditbedömningen av nystartade företag, baserar kreditbedömningen på ickefinansiella källor. Dessa källor kan vara till exempel rekommendationer från respondentens kontaktnätverk eller bedömning av den presumtive hyresgästens marknadsplan eller budget. Undersökningen visar att det, ur ett ägar- och koncernperspektiv, finns skillnader i rutiner och kredithanteringspolicys. Vi anser att fastighetsbolagen är reducerat rationella med kreditbedömningsprocessen, och att de i första hand väljer att prioritera andra riskfaktorer. / Abstract The purpose with this essay was to investigate how real estate companys, value historical economic information and information from other sources at credit appraisal of corporation as tenants. The starting point of the study was as a result of the complexed granting of credits the real estate company has, which means they have to consider many factors. Other then considering the historical economic information, the real estate company also should consider non-financial sources such as tenant´s business idea and the tenant´s competence as a business leader. We also wanted to investigate if the real estate companys had any policys or rutines they had to follow in their credit analysis and if they make any different judgement in their credit analysis between new- and already established companys. To answer these questions we made three semistructured interviews with the person that makes the credit analysis at each real estate company, which are all located in Östersund. The results of the investigation show that the real estate companys doesn´t use all the theoretical basis there is, when they make the credit analysis. The information they use and value depends on their backgrounds, former experience and education. Another conclusion is that real estate companys at credit analysis of a new started company base their credit analysis on non financial sources. These sources could for example be recommendations from respondent´s network of contacts or the judgemet of the presumptive tenant´s market plan or financial budget. The investigation also shows that from an owner – and concernperspektive there´s divergence in rutines and credit management policys. We consider that the real estate companys are reduced rational with the credit management process and that they choose to prior other risk factors.

Introduction: Recent years’ globalization and expanding currency markets have increased the importance of financial managers.  A multinational company handles different currencies through export and imports, and is thus exposed to currency fluctuations. Awareness and assessment of risk management are issues more important not to ignore. Research question: How does the multinational company SCA indentify currency risk exposure, and how does the financial management relate to it? Purpose: The aim of this study is to get a deeper understanding of the currency risk management at a Swedish multinational company and how the individual manager identifies exposure. Furthermore, what means that exist for assessing the exposure and how the management choose to reduce the risk will be investigated. Method: This case study has a qualitative approach, and is mainly based on two unstructured interviews that have been conducted with the financial mangers of SCA. Findings: The authors found that SCA identifies different kinds of exposures related to currency risk. SCA is equipped with organizational strategies as well as practical methods for reducing the risk exposure and positioning themselves in line with company framework and policies. Conclusion:                   Currency risk management is a subject of great complexity since exposures interrelate and alternates with time and as global economy changes. A company could hold a framework of policies, strategies and instruments that will provide their financial managers with means for risk assessment and management. Ultimately the responsibility is still in the hand of the managers.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the currency risk management at Superfos and analyse how it can be improved.

Risk has become a key concept in social theory and has had a significant impact across academic disciplines including criminology. On the one hand, several criminologists argue that the rise of risk has fundamentally reconfigured the operations of courts, corrections, and policing. Many claim that, over the last few decades, crime control has moved away from the old rehabilitative and retributive approaches of the past and towards more actuarial approaches based on risk management – crime has become a risk to be managed in aggregate terms rather than a moral transgression in need of rectification. On the other hand, while risk-based approaches to governing crime have grown significantly, cultural criminologists and sociologists of sport have noted a heightened emphasis on risk-taking by urban graffiti writers, illegal street racers, extreme sports enthusiasts, and illicit drug users. For these people, the risk-averse logic of actuarial governance – risk as potential harm to be avoided – is inverted such that risk is positively embraced for the excitement it affords. What is particularly characteristic about the present, then, is that a politics of risk management is colliding with a culture of risk-taking. In attempts to make sense of this puzzling paradox, in this thesis I offer a primarily theoretical investigation of the dominant approaches used in the study of risk management (chp. I) and risk taking (chp. II & III) in sociology and criminology. After exploring how the rise of risk has reconfigured crime control over the last quarter century in Chapter one, in Chapter two I develop the argument that orthodox criminology provides two dominant images of criminal risk-taking. While dispositional theories explain criminal risk-taking as the pathological behaviour of individuals with particular body types, low-self control, or of lower-class origin, situational theories conceive of criminal risk-taking as the (ir)rational decisions of necessarily risk-averse actors. Despite differences between dispositional and situational theories, both leave no room for risk-taking that is controlled and intentional. In Chapter three I enlist the work of Jack Katz on the seductions of crime and of Stephen Lyng on the sociology of risk-taking to develop a third, cultural approach to risk-taking that is voluntary and cross-class. I illustrate how, for Katz’s and Lyng’s actors, risk is approached as a challenge rather than seen as a deterrent. Lastly, I add to the historicity of the cultural approach to risk-taking by tracing its roots in a romantic worldview that arose out of 19th century disenchantment with the bureaucratic rationalism and alienation of capitalist modernity. In conclusion, I summarize the main argument of the thesis and outline some potential avenues for future research.

Hybrid pension plans offer employees the best features of both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. In this work, we consider the hybrid design offering a defined contribution benefit with a defined benefit guaranteed minimum underpin. This study applies the contingent claims approach to value the defined contribution benefit with a defined benefit guaranteed minimum underpin. The study shows that entry age, utility function parameters and the market price of risk each has a significant effect on the value of retirement benefits. We also consider risk management for this defined benefit underpin pension plan. Assuming fixed interest rates, and assuming that salaries can be treated as a tradable asset, contribution rates are developed for the Entry Age Normal (EAN), Projected Unit Credit(PUC), and Traditional Unit Credit (TUC) funding methods. For the EAN, the contribution rates are constant throughout the service period. However, the hedge parameters for this method are not tradable. For the accruals method, the individual contribution rates are not constant. For both the PUC and TUC, a delta hedge strategy is derived and explained. The analysis is extended to relax the tradable assumption for salaries, using the inflation as a partial hedge. Finally, methods for incorporating volatility reducingand risk management are considered.

The hotel industry prides itself in its welcoming attitude towards its guests by offering hospitality, comfort and privacy. At the same guest safety and security has been argued to be of primary concern in the industry. The aim of this thesis is a) to study how hoteliers develop and implement risk management plans and procedures to ensure safe hotel operations, and b) to study how it is possible to gap the bridge between providing hospitable services, which at the same time are safe and secure. A qualitative, cross-case study has been applied. The study builds on theories composed primarily of established step-by-step risk management processes. In-depth interviews were carried out with four managers at different hotels across Sweden. The study found that the hotel industry in Sweden lacks a common risk management framework for which to implement consistently and coherently. A common framework would enable hotels to embrace risk management and be able to utilize it in their operation. Furthermore, it was found that risk management ought to be integrated in all organizational activities and processes. It should not be an isolated event, but rather implemented on an on-going basis. It is imperative for hoteliers to realize that hospitality is not only related to offering qualitative services, but also that ensuring guests of their safety/security is a major part of the overall service. In addition, providing hospitable services that are safe at the same time necessitates that risk management is implemented consistently by regularly aiming to raise current standard. Hence, continuous improvement ought to be of fundamental importance in any organization that is fully committed to risk management. This thesis, therefore, suggests a model that interlinks risk- and quality management.

Hybrid pension plans offer employees the best features of both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. In this work, we consider the hybrid design offering a defined contribution benefit with a defined benefit guaranteed minimum underpin. This study applies the contingent claims approach to value the defined contribution benefit with a defined benefit guaranteed minimum underpin. The study shows that entry age, utility function parameters and the market price of risk each has a significant effect on the value of retirement benefits. We also consider risk management for this defined benefit underpin pension plan. Assuming fixed interest rates, and assuming that salaries can be treated as a tradable asset, contribution rates are developed for the Entry Age Normal (EAN), Projected Unit Credit(PUC), and Traditional Unit Credit (TUC) funding methods. For the EAN, the contribution rates are constant throughout the service period. However, the hedge parameters for this method are not tradable. For the accruals method, the individual contribution rates are not constant. For both the PUC and TUC, a delta hedge strategy is derived and explained. The analysis is extended to relax the tradable assumption for salaries, using the inflation as a partial hedge. Finally, methods for incorporating volatility reducingand risk management are considered.

The aim of this paper is to present the outcomes of the cargo theft, for example the cost of goods replacement, the crisis of fracturing material and the reputation of the enterprise. The hotspots where occur the heist of cargo theft are truck yards, hubs for commercial fright carriers and port cities. This study is based on the in-depth interview and the questionnaire and through the establishment of the standard operation procedures to analyze the operating situation of the container and understand the content and characteristic of the management. We can also figure out external and internal factor to control efficiently the vehicle dispatching and other potential crisis. By instituting the crisis prevention and alarm system and combining a complete organization to control the crisis in the shortest time and reduce the loss of goods, advance the operating rate, and most important, to lower the cargo theft opportunity. Risk management is an important issue of the corporate governance. To recover the reputation and build up the mutual confidence, we have to start developing strict standard operating procedures. Through case study of crisis management which happened in an enterprise, in order to reduce the chances of crisis, we have to understand when the crisis happened? How to deal with the crisis? How to avoid the crisis?