A Demonstração do Valor Adicionado (DVA) tornou-se obrigatória para as companhias de capital aberto que atuam no mercado brasileiro, a partir de 2008. Com cunho econômicosocial e com o objetivo de mostrar a riqueza adicionada pela empresa à economia do país, a DVA mostra a estrutura de remuneração dos fatores de produção adotada pela companhia. As informações da DVA compõem um dos indicadores do modelo GRI de Balanço Social. Esse modelo tem levado algumas empresas a divulgarem suas DVAs inserindo uma linha com os investimentos sociais dentre as linhas de distribuição de valor adicionado. Nesse contexto, esta tese buscou investigar quais as condições para os investimentos socioambientais serem considerados distribuição de valor adicionado na DVA. Para responder às questões de pesquisa, foram realizadas pesquisa teórica, sobre DVA e sobre responsabilidade social corporativa, e pesquisa empírica, com análise de conteúdo dos Relatórios de Sustentabilidade de 22 companhias abertas no Brasil. Os investimentos socioambientais identificados, na pesquisa empírica, foram analisados sob a ótica dos conceitos econômicos relacionados a valor adicionado e sob a ótica do IBGE, responsável pelo cálculo do produto nacional no país. Como conclusão, propõe-se a inclusão de uma linha na DVA, na parte de distribuição do valor adicionado, para os investimentos socioambientais que atendam às seguintes condições: (i) haver dispêndio por parte da empresa investidora, além daqueles gerados pelo próprio processo produtivo; (ii) haver benefício para a comunidade, além daqueles proporcionados pela simples existência da empresa; (iii) o consumo final do bem ou serviço, objeto de investimento social, ocorrer na comunidade; (iv) o dispêndio não representar compensação de externalidades negativas geradas pelo processo produtivo; (v) o dispêndio não representar consumo de bens ou serviços usados no processo produtivo; e (vi) não haver aproveitamento de incentivo fiscal caracterizado como dedução do tributo devido. Contudo, mudar a estrutura de uma demonstração contábil envolve muita discussão e muitas simulações para análise dos impactos da mudança. Esta tese dá início à discussão. É importante que a mudança não desestimule a realização de projetos sociais bem-sucedidos, mas é necessário incentivar maior transparência na divulgação dos projetos socioambientais das empresas. Como limitações do trabalho, destacam-se, principalmente, o uso de amostra intencional não representativa da população e o uso de Relatórios de Sustentabilidade, documento não obrigatório e, em sua maioria, não auditado. Por fim, acredita-se que o trabalho tenha contribuído para aproximar a DVA dos conceitos da Contabilidade Nacional. / Value Added Statement (VAS) became a mandatory practice for all publicly traded companies in Brazil since 2008. Bearing a economic and social value and having the objective to show the benefits the company has added to the domestic economy, the Value Added Statement discloses the companys own structure for the remuneration of production factors. The information brought up by the VAS compose an indicator of the GRI model of Social Report. Maybe it is due to this model that some companies have released VASs including a line with social investments amongst the lines of value added distribution. In such context, this thesis investigates what are the conditions that might allow environmental and social investments to be considered added value distribution in the VAS. In order to answer the research question a theoretical research on VAS and corporate social responsibility was conducted, as well as an empirical research based on the Sustainability Reports of 22 publicly traded companies in Brazil. The environmental and social investments identified in the empirical research were analyzed through the means of economic concepts related to value added by the IBGE, which is responsible for the publishing of the countrys national gross product. The conclusion of this investigation proposes the inclusion of an VAS line, at the value added distribution part, for environmental and social investments that show the following requirements: (i) there has to be an expense on the part of the investment company, besides those generated by the production process; (ii) there has to be benefits to the community, besides those brought by the mere existence of the company; (iii) the final consumption of the good or social service has to occur inside the community; (iv) the expense cannot represent the compensation of negative externalities created by the production process; (v) the expense cannot represent the consumption of goods or services used in the production process; and (vi) there cannot be any sort of tax incentive characterized as deduction of the due amount. It is worth noting that any change in an accounting statement structure demands discussion and many simulations so as to evaluate its impact. This thesis initiates the discussion. It is important to point out that the proposed changes should not prevent well succeeded social projects to happen, but rather increase their transparency. Among the limitations of this investigation are the use of samples that do not represent a population and the use of Sustainability Reports that are not audited or mandatory documents. At any rate, this work aims at bringing the concepts of VAS closer to National Accounting.

Os tratados internacionais firmados após a segunda metade do século XX, em particular aqueles que pretendem superar os tradicionais acordos de livre comércio ou união aduaneira, seguem desafiando o direito contemporâneo. Por serem mais ambiciosos, ultrapassam a clássica forma de cooperação entre países soberanos e exigem uma estrutura institucional mais elaborada, capaz de fazer emergir a vontade expressa nos tratados e de estabelecer as liberdades que serão asseguradas nesse novo ambiente, uma vez que a máxima um povo, um governo, um território, não o define. A experiência mundial bem sucedida que conseguiu erigir um mercado comum, assim compreendido como um espaço sem fronteiras em cujo interior circulam livremente pessoas, serviços, mercadorias e capitais, foi a vivenciada pelas Comunidades Europeias. A clareza dos objetivos traçados, a capacidade de superar as fases de estagnação, a solidez das instituições e, sobretudo, o reconhecimento da supremacia do direito comunitário foram determinantes para o êxito europeu. O triunfo assentou-se, dentre tantos outros pilares, no processo de harmonização das legislações tributárias dos países membros, em especial as que alcançam o consumo de bens e serviços, razão pela qual é reconhecido, pela doutrina e jurisprudência comunitárias, como um dos principais motores da União Europeia. Após vários fracassos nas tentativas de aproximação dos países na América Latina, o Mercado Comum do Sul (MERCOSUL) foi idealizado para atingir o patamar de um mercado comum e reconhecer, entre os seus membros, as quatro liberdades fundamentais de um mercado integrado. Como a harmonização das legislações fiscais constitui uma etapa fundamental para a consecução desse espaço econômico sem fronteiras, a tese analisa as espécies tributárias que alcançam o consumo de bens e serviços nos países membros do MERCOSUL e avalia a possibilidade de avanço rumo à integração regional iniciada pela assinatura do Tratado de Assunção. Nesse sentido, demonstra em quais aspectos o sistema tributário brasileiro representa um importante entrave à integração no âmbito do MERCOSUL. / The international treaties signed after the second half of the 20th century , especially those meant to supersede the traditional free trade agreements or customs union, still challenge contemporary law. Given that they are more ambitious, they override the classic mode of cooperation between sovereign countries and survive on a more carefully elaborated institutional structure, capable of making the wills expressed in the treaties emerge and establish the freedoms that will be guaranteed in this new environment, once the maxim a people, a government a territory does not define it. The well succeeded world experience that led to the creation of a common market, construed as a space with no boundaries, within which people, services, goods and capital circulate freely, was experienced by the European Union. The clarity with which the aims were set forth, the power to overcome stagnation spells, the solvency of the institutions and, above all, the recognition of the supremacy of the communitarian law were decisive in the consolidation of the European success. Triumph, among so many other pillars, played a role in the process of harmonization of the tax law of the member countries, especially the law that contemplates the consumption of goods and services, which is the reason why it is known for its communitarian doctrine and jurisprudence, as one of the compelling forces of the European Union. After a succession of frustrated attempts to bring together the Latin American counties, the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) was conceived to attain the status of a common Market and recognise, among its members, the four fundamental freedoms of an integrated Market. As the harmonization of the fiscal laws is a stage of prime importance in the construction of this boundless economic space, the thesis analyses the types of taxes that affect the consumption of goods and services in the MERCOSUR member-countries and evaluates the possibility for is advancement towards the regional integration set on train with the signature of the Asunción Treaty. In this sense, it highlights which aspects of the Brazilian tax system pose a serious barrier to integration within the context of MERCOSUR.

M.Com. (Computer Auditing) / In the wake of the economic catastrophes and corporate disgraces such as Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat, and other corporations at the turn of the 21st Century, the United States Senate adopted the Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency Act, which became known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (hereafter the SOX Act). The concluding bill, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, was accepted and approved by the United States Senate on July 25, 2002. The primary motive of the SOX Act is to safeguard shareholders of public corporations by improving, cultivating and ultimately ensuring the reliability and accuracy of corporate disclosure of financial and non-financial information. More than a decade later, many corporations have enhanced their compliance capabilities and competencies, having learned from prior experience and/or earlier SOX fiascos. The envisioned benefits of the SOX Act were to provide the charter and contextual information needed to implement, monitor and review operational and financial processes, reinforce internal controls, and enhance corporate financial reporting. Since the SOX Act forces corporations to conform and comply, the question is; whether SOX compliance can essentially benefit the company’s everyday business as it affects virtually every line of work with the unequivocal purpose of reinstating public confidence in the disclosures included in annual financial statements. The study focuses on how to approach the rudimentary SOX compliance checklist and possibly transform it into an actual value added service for stakeholders and furthermore, how to leverage off the knowledge garnered through complying with the SOX Act – ultimately creating a more effective and resourceful corporation in all financial spheres. By aligning the SOX compliance process with the actual improvement of internal controls, financial processes and ultimately financial reporting, an unprejudiced ambition to identify and manage “real world” risks can be achieved. Ultimately, to comply with the SOX Act might not be an option for public corporations; however, being SOX compliant doesn’t have to be without substantial benefit to a corporation, Senior Executive Management and eventually and ultimately the shareholders.

This research addresses the application of Value Stream Mapping in the automotive component industry. The goal of this research is to investigate how Value Stream Mapping can identify waste, and to evaluate its benefits on a specific application instance. Value Stream Mapping is used to first map the current state and then used to identify sources of waste and to identify lean tools to try eliminate this waste. The future state map is then developed with lean tools applied to it. A South African company, Federal Mogul South Africa (FMSA), has experienced the impact of globalisation and the need to become globally competitive first hand. FMSA will be used as a case study to illustrate the impact of using Value Stream Mapping as a tool for identify waste and the need for improving the performance of a company’s value stream in achieving the international goals set for the company and its supply chain.

Abstract This study examines value creation by value added resellers (VARs) in the context of the enterprise systems business, with particular respect to product lifecycle management (PLM) systems. The purpose of the study is to increase theoretical and empirical understanding of value creation in this specific context by integrating the enterprise systems theory, the software ecosystems theory, the software business model theory, and the value creation theory. The theoretical framework assumes the perspective of the VARs, and examines their interactions with customers and suppliers during the value creation process. The customers and suppliers are the parties that perceive the value created by the VAR. The primary objective is to determine how and why the VAR creates value in the perception of its customers and suppliers. The method includes a qualitative case study research strategy in which empirical data were collected primarily through interviews with highly knowledgeable informants within three VAR organizations, five customer organizations, and five supplier organizations. Each source viewed the scope of the research questions from a diverse perspective. As a result of the empirical analysis, value creation by the VAR value was connected to the VAR type, the value creation strategy, and the business model. The VAR's strategy results from synergy and synchronization with its PLM system. The customer-perceived value is, in part, the value created by the VAR-customer business relationship. It is also partially specific to the customer type. A VAR creates value for its customers because its product and service offerings fulfill customer needs, and because it offers abilities, knowledge, expertise, and experience of interest to its customers. The most advanced value creation occurs when the business relationship is a source of co-value creation that creates value for both parties. The supplier-perceived value is also partially specific to the supplier type. The VAR- supplier business relationship creates value for suppliers because the VAR extends the supplier’s market presence, offers market and customer knowledge, and creates new business opportunities. This study is context-dependent and geographically and culturally focused on Nordic countries. The results reflect the contexts of the three research cases and their geographical and cultural areas, and as such are not generalizable. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimus keskittyy lisäarvoa tuottavien jälleenmyyjien (VAR) arvontuotantoon yritysjärjestelmien liiketoimintakontekstissa ja siinä erityisesti tuotteen elinkaaren hallintajärjestelmien liiketoimintakontekstissa. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus on lisätä sekä teoreettista että empiiristä ymmärrystä arvontuotannosta integroimalla yritystietojärjestelmä-, ohjelmistoekosysteemi-, ohjelmistoliiketoimintamalli- ja arvontuotantoteorioita. Teoreettisen viitekehyksen näkökulma on VAR:t sekä niiden vuorovaikutus asiakkaiden ja toimittajien kanssa arvontuotantoprosessin aikana. Asiakkaat ja toimittajat ovat niitä osapuolia, jotka havaitsevat VAR:n arvontuotannon. Tutkimuksen päätarkoitus on ymmärtää miten ja miksi VAR luo lisäarvoa asiakkailleen ja toimittajilleen. Tutkimusstrategia on laadullinen tapaustutkimus. Empiirinen materiaali on kerätty pääasiassa tekemällä haastatteluja kolmessa VAR-yrityksessä, sekä viidessä asiakasyrityksessä ja viidessä toimittajayrityksessä. Haastateltavilla oli hyvä ymmärrys tutkimuksen kohteesta. He arvioivat siihen liittyen tutkimuskysymyksiä useista eri näkökulmista. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että VAR:n arvon tuottaminen on riippuvainen VAR:n tyyppistä, sen arvontuotantostrategiasta sekä sen liiketoimintamallista. VAR:n strategia on synkronoitu sen PLM järjestelmätoimittajan strategiaan. Asiakkaan havaitsema arvo muodostuu osittain asiakkaan ja VAR:n välisen liikesuhteen tuottamasta arvosta. Lisäksi se on riippuvainen asiakkaan tyypistä. VAR tuottaa arvoa asiakkailleen, jos sen tuote- ja palvelutarjonta vastaa niiden tarpeita. Lisäksi se tuottaa arvoa, jos sillä on kyvykkyyksiä, tietämystä, asiantuntemusta ja kokemusta, joita sen asiakkaat tarvitsevat. Edistyneintä arvontuotantoa edustaa liikesuhteen mahdollistama yhteinen arvontuotanto, josta hyötyvät molemmat osapuolet. Arvontuotanto on osittain riippuvainen toimittajan tyypistä. VAR tuottaa arvoa toimittajilleen, koska se laajentaa niiden läsnäoloa markkinoilla, tuntee markkinat ja niiden asiakkaat sekä luo uusia liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia. Tutkimus on kontekstiriippuvainen. Se on maantieteellisesti ja kulttuurillisesti keskittynyt Pohjoismaihin. Tutkimuksen tulokset heijastavat kolmea tutkimustapausta ja niiden maantieteellistä ja kulttuurillista taustaa eikä sen takia ole sellaisenaan yleistettävissä.

Abstract The era of mobile communications and mobile services has begun. The ongoing mobile revolution has dramatically and fundamentally changed our daily lifestyles, and it will continue to do so in a foreseeable future. For the next generation, mobile service end users have more demands for such services. This thesis examines the challenging user perspectives in designing and developing high value added mobile services. The aim of this research is to develop reference models and elicit user requirements for 3G and beyond mobile services in order to improve the quality of mobile services. This thesis first examines the existing architectures and models for high value added mobile services, followed by the contributions of the thesis. In this thesis, a Cyberworld model, which is a contribution to the WWRF reference modeling initiative and a specification of the WSI reference model, was developed and it serves as a basis for 3G and beyond mobile services design and development. A series of definitions of the Cyberworld model and a roadmap of the enabling technologies were also built up. The emphasis of this part is on how to describe and model user participation in mobile services. For this purpose, a model of the communication element to represent the components of the wireless world was created. Both static and dynamic reference modeling steps were established to better describe and understand user participation in mobile services. The validation was achieved through the CyPhone navigation mobile service. In order to enhance mobile service mobility, personalisation, and security, an ontology based model was developed to extend the Cyberworld model functionalities. The innovative ontology based mobile system will greatly increase service mobility, personalisation and security, thus improving the quality of mobile services. The ontology based model was illustrated and validated using a healthcare mobile service. A Quality Function Deployment (QFD) approach was adopted in this research in order to elicit, weigh and prioritise actual user requirements and link them to technical design requirements of mobile services. Traditionally QFD is employed in manufacturing industry. This approach is now extended to the mobile service industry for the first time. In this thesis, a detailed step by step QFD approach was proposed for designing high value added mobile services. As a result, the developed mobile services will better meet users' wants and needs which also means that the quality of mobile services will be significantly improved. The QFD approach was validated through a mobile e-learning service and another dedicated healthcare service for senior citizens. Through development of reference models and examination of user requirements for 3G and beyond mobile services from user perspectives, this thesis contributes to the design and development of high value added mobile services.

M.Bibl. / Television producers form a unique user group that mainly requires information regarding audio-visual material in order to produce or to enhance a television programme Information services can contribute to the successful completion of a programme by making information available. The aim of this study is to determine whether information services can enhance information for producers by adding value. The question is also asked which value-added level of information is required. A literature study was done to -examine the term "value-added" in order to be able to apply it to the information needs of television producers; -study the work environment of television producers in order to determine their information needs. An empirical investigation was executed by means of a layered random sampling test. Structured interviews were conducted by means of a questionnaire with a random portion of the television producer corps of the SABC. Personal details were gathered, as well as the use of information sources and services within the SABC and to which value- added level of information they require for a production. Value-added levels were based on Taylor's value-added continuum which consists of information that is enhanced to level two, Information Knowledge, followed by level three, Productive Knowledge, which leads to level four, Action. A television production is completed in four phases, that is the planning and research phase, filming phase, editing phase and final mixing phase .. The results showed that during the planning and research phases television producers require access to all possible information sources and services within the SABC. The information specialist can add value to the first level of value adding. In certain cases the television producers require information during the editing phase, during which the information specialist can add value up to the third level. The results of the research were distilled into a matrix, structured to indicate the levels of added-value to the television producer. Recommendations were made in order to provide a better information service.

In the last few decades, educational research has largely demonstrated the effects of the socio-economic background on academic performance. Traditionally, researchers have used the so-called contextualised value-added (CVA) concept, implemented via multilevel statistical models, to assess variation in learning outcomes arising from schools and pupils. Depending on the stakeholders they intend to inform, two basic types of CVA models can be defined: models for school accountability and models for school choice. School accountability models can be further distinguished according to the ‘recipient’ of the information: internal models provide information for school authorities to improve their own practices, while external models provide information for government officials to assess school performance for policy-making purposes. Despite the evidence in favour of the use of more complex models for school accountability, government practice in Chile has been restricted to the use of raw school averages in standardised tests as indicators of effectiveness, which have been used indiscriminately for the purposes of school accountability and school choice. Using data from the Chilean National Pupil Database (SIMCE 2004-2006), this thesis demonstrates how the traditional CVA (2-level) models fall short in addressing the complex phenomenon of academic performance, especially in the context of a developing and highly unequal country, such as Chile. The novelty of the CVA modelling in this thesis is that it extends and improves the traditional models insofar as they explicitly assess the variation between pupils, classrooms, primary schools, secondary schools and local authorities, as well as the correlation between Mathematics and Spanish Language at all levels. This is done by implementing two univariate 4-level CVA models for progress in Mathematics and Spanish fitted separately via maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and a bivariate 5-level cross-classified CVA model for progress in both subjects fitted via Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation. External school accountability measures were derived from the extended univariate and multivariate models and compared to measures derived from a model akin to the traditional approach. A number of key differences were found, leading to the conclusion that further adjustments to the traditional CVA models are not negligible. The univariate 4-level CVA models provide more insight into school accountability than the traditional approach in a straightforward fashion, while the bivariate 5-level model encompasses a more reliable and ultimately comprehensive view on school performance. With regard to internal school accountability, further models were specified with the purpose of analysing pupils' heterogeneity to inform school improvement processes. The concept of "cultural capital" (Bourdieu, 1977) was chosen to shed light on the matter. Since cultural capital is essentially immeasurable, a latent variable was constructed from a group of manifest variables related to access and use of reading materials. From a substantive point of view, this thesis shows how access to all sorts of reading materials and reading habits can have not only a relevant impact on pupils' progress in Language, but also in Mathematics. Finally, this thesis concludes around three main ideas: firstly, school value-added models for school accountability, either external or internal, need to take into account the complexity of influences affecting pupils' academic progress as thoroughly as possible, in order to make a fair assessment of schools' performance and/or to inform school improvement policies. Secondly, school effectiveness is not a unidimensional process, which implies that school value-added models should ideally (when there are available data) reflect upon the multidimensionality of the phenomenon and take into consideration the relationship between different subjects, as well as non-academic outcomes. Thirdly, CVA models can also be used to inform internal school accountability by analysing the effects of meaningful modifiable factors and potentially serve as drivers of school improvement policies.

It is important to distinguish between types of commercial and residential property for value-added tax (VAT) purposes. The reason for this is because the supply of residential property may be exempt from VAT in certain cases, whereas the supply of commercial property is a taxable supply. One of the aims of this treatise was to generate some characteristics that can assist vendors to distinguish between types of commercial and residential property for VAT purposes. SARS proposed numerous changes to the VAT Act with regards to fixed property in 2011. This treatise explains the reason for the changes made and also comments on them. Firstly, property developers previously had to account for an output tax adjustment when they changed the use of their property i.e. from a taxable use (selling the completed units) to a non-taxable use (renting the completed units as a residential dwelling). This „output tax adjustment‟ sometimes places developers in a financial dilemma, especially in times of an economic depression. SARS therefore provided „developers‟ as defined with a short term solution. This short term solution provides property developers with a 36 month temporarily relief period, before they have to account for the „output tax adjustment‟. Therefore, the new section 18B was proposed to assist property developers in times of an economic recession. Secondly, in the past a vendor who acquired a property from a non-vendor to make taxable supplies was allowed a notional input tax deduction, limited to the transfer duty paid. SARS has however "delinked VAT from transfer duty‟, which means that the notional input tax deduction will no longer be limited to the transfer duty paid. This change may benefit vendors as they may now be allowed a bigger input tax deduction. Furthermore, the treatise also compares the VAT treatment of the above issues to that of the goods and services tax treatment in New Zealand. The treatise concludes with a summary of all distinguishing characteristics identified and other findings noted.

The thesis deals with individual  measures of administrative cooperation of tax authorities to combat tax evasion on VAT, which is at present used in European Union. The most common administrative measures may include exchange of information on request or without prior request, electronic database VIES, multilateral controls and decentralized network Eurofisc. The main objective is  summary of individual measures with an emphasis on administrative cooperation and effectiveness evaluation in combating tax evasion. Part of the work is devoted to types of tax evasion and policy instruments which are put into practice  against them in the Czech Republic.