The following pages of my master thesis aim to acquaint the reader with the major changes brought about by Basel III banking regulation. This new regulatory framework was created in response to the financial crisis (beginning in 2007), which revealed some weaknesses in the original Basel II regulation, and its purpose is to prevent future similar situations in the financial market by increasing the stability and resilience of the banking sector. Impacts of Basel III are reflected primarily in increased demand for quality capital used by banks and maintaining sufficient liquidity. As shown by the results of the analysis, these factors have further effect on interest spread of banks and the real economy.

Software as a service (SaaS) has become a common business model for application providers. However, this success has lead to scalability issues for service providers. Their user base and processing needs can grow rapidly and it is not always clear how a SaaS provider should optimally scale their service. This thesis summarizes the technological (both software and hardware) related solutions to scaling, but will also cover financial and managerial aspects of scalability. Unfortunately, there is no existing out of the box solution for managing scalability, every situation and application is currently viewed as a unique problem, but there exists a lot of good advice from many sources about scaling. Obviously there are practical solutions to scaling, as there are successful SaaS providers, but it is not clear if there exists some fundamental principles that every SaaS provider could use to address the issue of scalability. This thesis seeks to find such fundamental principles though previous research, articles and finally a case analysis of Quinyx FlexForce AB. The thesis concludes that there are many principles of scaling a 3-tier web system and that most principles can be applied by SaaS providers. / Software as a Service (SaaS) har blivit en allt vanligare lösning för företag. Detta har dock lett till skalbarhets problem för många leverantörer av SaaS. En SaaS leverantör kan få problem med skalning ifall deras användarbas eller beräkningsbehov växer för snabbt. Denna avhandling sammanfattar de tekniska (mjukvara och hårdvara) relaterade lösningar på skalning. Avhandlingen kommer även kortfattat att omfatta ekonomiska och administrativa aspekter av skalbarhet. Tyvärr finns det inga befintliga universallösningar för hantering skalbarhet utan varje situation och tillämpning måste ses som ett unikt problem. Det finns många goda råd från många källor om skalning och uppenbarligen finns det praktiska lösningar på att skala, då det finns framgångsrika SaaS leverantörer. Det är dock oklart om det finns några grundläggande principer som varje SaaS-leverantör kan använda för att underlätta skalbarhet. Avhandlingen syftar till att hitta sådana grundläggande principer och grundar sig på tidigare forskning, aktuella artiklar och avslutats med en analys av Quinyx FlexForce AB. Avhandlingen drar slutsatsen att det finns grundläggande principer som SaaS leverantörer kan tillämpa vid skalning av ett ”3-tier” webserver system.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a tier-2 combined oral narrative and expository language intervention on kindergarteners' narrative and expository skills in comparison to an alternate decoding intervention and no treatment control condition. This study included 54 kindergarten students. After being administered the PEARL Kindergarten Screener at the beginning of the school year, eight students were found as at-risk for future reading comprehension difficulty and were matched to nine students not-at-risk, and all assigned to a language treatment group. Additional students not-at-risk for future reading comprehension difficulty were randomly assigned to an alternate decoding treatment group (n = 9) and to a no treatment control group (n = 9). Narrative intervention took place for approximately four months biweekly for 15 minutes, then expository language intervention was provided for approximately two months biweekly for 15 minutes. Students across all conditions were administered narrative and expository measures at the conclusion of the study. Results indicated that the typically developing students had significantly higher narrative and expository outcomes when compared to the typically developing students in the alternate decoding treatment and no treatment condition. Additionally, we found that the at-risk students who received oral language intervention were able to catch up to their typically developing peers in both narrative and expository outcomes with a trajectory that suggested that they would eventually meet grade level narrative language benchmark expectations. Early oral language intervention is the first step in reducing the poor reading comprehension outcomes across the nation. By targeting oral language comprehension, even young kindergarten students can improve both decoding and comprehension, better preparing them for future academic success.

Bank regulators limit the amount of deferred tax assets includable in the capital ratio calculations which measure the bank’s financial health. The increased balances in bank deferred tax assets after the beginning of the financial crisis raised concerns that applying this deferred tax asset regulatory capital limitation may contribute to the need for banks to raise more capital. Value relevance is the ability of information disclosed in the financial statements to capture and summarize firm value. Deferred tax value relevance literature generally omits the regulated industries. Because fair value accounting plays a much larger role the banking industry, the market value of a bank has a different relationship to its book value than its unregulated counterparts. Using annual bank data from 2004 through 2012 for publicly held banks in the United States, this study empirically examines the value relevance of the banks’ net deferred tax assets and liabilities over time (pre-crisis versus crisis periods). Findings indicate that although the deferred tax liabilities are value relevant in both the pre-crisis and crisis periods, the value relevance of the net deferred tax assets is limited to crisis period (increased net deferred tax asset balances). An additional test shows that investors view the increased levels of net deferred tax assets in relation to total assets as concerns about the bank’s financial health. This study also examines the whether investors value the net deferred tax assets of less financially healthy banks (low Tier I capital ratios) differently from the healthier banks. Findings indicate that the coefficient of net deferred tax assets for the less financially healthy banks is negative and significant. Using another measure of financial health (high probability of failure) finds similar results. This study extends the value relevance literature to the deferred tax accounts of commercial banks. It also shows that the deferred tax asset accounts are valued differently than the other assets, supporting the deferred tax asset limitation for capital ratio calculations. Finally, this study provides information useful to analysts’ valuations of the banks’ deferred tax accounts.

The purpose of the research investigation is to consider the potential opportunities through which corporate governance may be developed to better suit the developing commercial culture within Poland. In order to do this, I formulate the following research questions: ‘What are the weaknesses of the Polish corporate governance system?’, ‘What changes should be made to corporate governance in Poland?’, and ‘Is a hybrid corporate governance model a choice for Poland?’ The concept of hybridisation is fairly new, and involves combining different approaches to corporate governance, eg it embraces combining elements of the board management and monitoring models. I examine several changes to corporate governance that can be called hybrid. They were implemented in South Africa, Japan, Malaysia, the UK and the US. The main focus, however, is put on Polish corporate governance, which I investigate from the angle of those changes. Doctrinal research is combined with a set of interviews conducted with business practitioners in Poland. Interviewees are asked to express their opinion about corporate governance in Poland. Questions are asked in the context of changes that were made to corporate governance in countries mentioned above. The interviews produce results that overlap with the doctrinal research. Polish companies have a highly consolidated share ownership structure, which has a negative influence on the allocation of power between corporate organs. The supervisory board is an organ through which the controlling shareholders extend their power. Under the Company Code 2000, the supervisory board usually appoints and removes members of the management board, and instructs them in the decision making process. The statutes might give a broader scope of powers to the supervisory board. All this results in various forms of expropriation in companies, such as, for example, stealing of profits by governing bodies, overpaying executives, or installing unqualified family members in managerial positions. In general, interviewees are pleased with the currently binding corporate governance in Poland. The majority of them are pessimistic about implementing such large changes in Poland as, for example, a one-tier board system. A significant number of interviewees propose minor changes to the Polish system of corporate governance. It should be highlighted that several non-managerial interviewees turn out to have more liberal approaches to potential changes to corporate governance in Poland. The research fills a gap in knowledge on hybrid corporate governance, as this issue has hardly been touched by the Polish legal doctrine. It also systematises and develops knowledge on hybrid corporate governance worldwide, and develops knowledge on legal transplant.

Global supply chains feature multi-tier systems encompassing many geographically dispersed and sequential partners operating across diversified product chains. This research attempts to examine the different mechanisms that reinforce the management of sustainability throughout complex multi-tier supply chain. Using a multi-case study of a sample of eight firms and relying on the foundations of complexity theory, this research recognises the complex operating environment of global multi-tier supply chains and reveals various mechanisms to effectively manage and facilitate the relationships with first- and lower-tier suppliers. Although institutional controls are important to manage the sustainability of first-tier suppliers, the findings posit that due to the inherent complexities of global multi-tier supply chains, duplicating institutional controls to lower-tier suppliers might not be effective. Therefore, firms should attempt to foster modest mechanisms that reinforce adaptation and self-organisation, for example, collaboration and guiding mechanisms, to effectively manage the sustainability of lower-tier suppliers. The research contributes to multi-tier sustainable supply chain management literature by exploring the different mechanisms to manage multi-tier supply chains and the inherent complexities that may impact on firms’ endeavours in achieving their sustainability goals. Managers can utilise different contingent mechanisms to effectively manage the relationships with suppliers that are beyond their immediate visibility.

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資本適足率（capital adequacy ratio，即實業界所稱之BIS比率）為金融界評估商銀風險之重要指標，在反映資本結構以至於倒閉風險的意義上，相較於財務分析常用的權益值對總資產比率，BIS比率應是一個更精確的指標。本研究先藉資本市場銀行股長天期窗口超額報酬率反映投資人所要求報酬中之風險貼水，探討投資人是否可以引用資本適足率衡量國內商銀的倒閉風險與流動性風險。此外，本研究亦針對壞帳費用與票券買賣損益兩項富裁量空間之科目，分析國內商業銀行策略性操縱帳面盈餘與資本問題。最後，就現行我國資本適足率規定之缺失，作進一步之檢討，並檢測調整部份風險性資產之風險權數後，對資本適足率解釋投資人所要求必要報酬間關係之影響。 實證結果發現，不論是商銀呈報金融主管機關之資本適足率，或是就銀行所發布資料，儘可能比照公訂資本適足率核算辦法所自行設算、不含資產負債表外風險性資產所計算之比值，甚至自行設算、僅考慮自有資本中之第一類資本（Tier 1 Capital）估算值，均與商銀股市超額報酬有顯著之負血關係，顯示資本適足率對投資人而言，屬攸關資訊，能幫助評估銀行倒閉風險，進而決定其所要求之必要報酬率。又國內商銀中，民營銀行股超額報酬對資本適足率之迴歸係數，較公營銀行更具負向關係，而民國八十一年後新成立之銀行對資本適足率之迴歸係數，亦較八十一年前成立之舊銀行更具負向關係，而景氣較蕭條時，資本適足率與報酬間之關係並未較繁榮期敏感。 在盈餘與資本調控部份，或因使用不同調控工具之成本差異，致使商業銀行在帳面資本不足時，傾向于增加提列壞帳費用；另一方面，銀行似乎為了損益平穩化之目的，而以多實現或少實現票券買賣損益作為調控當期盈餘之工具，此兩項潛在之盈餘調控工具，彼此間有著相互替代代，惟因實現票券買賣損益之成本因時而異，國內商業銀行引用此兩項工具相互替補的程度實隨資本市場榮枯而改變。在估算國內商銀壞帳費用不可裁量部份時，本研究發現以上期壞帳、本期逾催收款、應收匯兌承兌款及無擔保放款餘額估計壞帳，比過動國外文獻所採變數組更恰當。 / This thesis empirically examines the explanatory power of capital adequacy ratio (BIS ratio) to Taiwan's commercial bank long-windowed returns minus risk-free rates (hereafter excess return), investigating whether the ratio serves to measure the level of risk of these banks equity securities. Findings indicate the followings: (1) ceteris paribus, long-windowed bank returns negatively correlate with each and every measure of BIS ratio in this study. These results are consistent with the notion that capital adequacy ratio conveys relevant information regarding the bank shareholders risk; (2) required rate of security returns appears to be more (less) sensitive to the BIS ratio for banks founded after (prior to) 1992 and for non-state-owned (state-owned) commercial banks; (3) there is not corroborative evidence that macro-economic variables have incremental explanatory power to the regression coefficient for the BIS ratio. Further, by identifying and examining the potential discretionary components of Taiwan's commercial bank loan loss provisions (LLPs) and securities gains and losses (RSGs), this study aims at exploring these banks' accruals management practices. Robust against various sensitivity tests, empirical findings support the notion that commercial banks strategically increase their LLPs to avoid unfavorable capital adequacy ratios. On the other hand, this study finds these banks smooth reported earnings via RSGs. Moreover, our evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that LLPs and RSGs serve as substitutes for each other in commercial bank accruals management. However, the extent these banks exercise discretion via either measure varies with domestic capital market performance. For tests in this study, the specification of simultaneous equations outperforms the competing ordinary least square regression models. This study also provides an innovative design for estimating bank loan loss provisions. As compared with competing designs, our model, which relates commercial bank LLPs to non-performing assets, unsecured loans, accrued acceptances and prior-period loan loss provisions, produce a more efficient predictor for Taiwan's commercial bank LLPs.

Haustiere wurden von uns so geschaffen, dass sie uns brauchen und wie wir sie brauchen. Das ist die These der von Viktoria Krason und Dr. Christoph Willmitzer kuratierten Ausstellung.

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