This thesis focus on short-term assets and their management. The theoretical part contains basic informations about the company's assets, short -- term assets, its characteristics and it describes in details the options valuation methods of assets and inventory management. Practical part contains analyzes of current assets management system in selected company, compare findings with the competition, it identifies potential deficiencies and recommends changes for improvement.

Diploma thesis is focused on the profession of auditors, accountants and tax advisers. Introductory chapters are devoted to the basic characteristics of professions, prerequisite for the activity in this area and by law, relating to the issue. The main goal of this thesis is to describe the professional responsibility of auditors, accountants and tax advisers, and its relation to the infringement. Part of the thesis are selected court rulings on professional responsibility. Finally, it is also dedicated to the comparison of observed professions.

Digitalisering har identifierats som en av de viktigaste trenderna som påverkar och förändrar dagens samhälle. Denna genomslagskraft har vidare gjort det nödvändigt för organisationer att följa med i denna snabba samhällsutveckling. Redovisningsbranschen har påverkats av digitalisering i stor utsträckning och tillväxten av digitalisering inom branschen förväntas öka ytterligare i framtiden. För att framtida förändringar hänförliga till digitalisering ska bli framgångsrika är det således relevant att beskriva och förklara vad som kännetecknar en framgångsrik digitaliseringsprocess.  Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva och förklara vad som kännetecknar en framgångsrik digitaliseringsprocess inom redovisningsbranschen genom att jämföra stora och små redovisningsbyråer. För att uppfylla studiens syfte och därigenom besvara studiens undersökningsfrågor genomfördes en kvalitativ fallstudie i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med redovisningskonsulter på olika redovisningsbyråer. Detta metodval genererade goda möjligheter för att erhålla en djupare förståelse för digitaliseringsprocessen, vilken vidare utgjorde studiens fall.  Studiens resultat och slutsatser framhåller att digitaliseringsprocessen kan förstås och beskrivas som en förändringsprocess bestående av fyra viktiga delar; planering, kompetens, resurser och motivation, vilka vidare är centrala för en framgångsrik digitaliseringsprocess. Vidare visas att dessa delar ska ha vissa specifika kännetecken för att anses som en framgångsfaktor, vilka vidare skiljer sig åt beroende på redovisningsbyråns storlek. Studiens resultat och slutsatser framhåller vidare att dessa skillnader mellan stora och små redovisningsbyråer kan förklaras av variationer i grad av digital mognad och olika praktiska förutsättningar. Slutligen visas att givet att respektive del klassificeras som en framgångsfaktor kommer de, oavsett redovisningsbyråns storlek, att leda till ökad effektivitet, ökad trygghet, förenkling samt en omgivning som främjar förändring. / Digitalization has been identified as one of the most important trends affecting and changing today's society. This trend has made it necessary for organizations to follow in this rapid development of society. The accounting profession has been greatly affected by digitalization and the growth of digitalization within the profession is expected to increase further in the future. In order for future changes related to digitalization to be successful, it is relevant to describe and explain what characterizes a successful process of digitalization. The purpose of this study is to describe and explain what characterizes a successful process of digitalization in the accounting profession by comparing large and small accounting firms. In order to fulfill the purpose of the study and thereby answer the study's research questions, a qualitative case study was conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews with accountants at various accounting firms. This choice of method generated good opportunities for gaining a deeper understanding of the process of digitalization, which constituted the case of this study. This study's findings and conclusions emphasize that the process of digitalization can be understood and described as a process of change consisting of four important parts; planning, competence, resources and motivation, which are central for a successful process of digitalization. This study's findings and conclusions also emphasize that these parts must have certain specific characteristics in order for them to be classified as a success factor, which differs depending on the size of the accounting firm. This study's results and conclusions also shows that these differences between large and small accounting firms can be explained by variation in degree of digital maturity and different practical presumptions. Finally, given that each part is classified as a success factor, they will regardless of the size of the accounting firm lead to increased efficiency, increased security, simplification and an environment conducive to change.

Bakgrund: The Big Four anses, likt tidigare år, vara en bland de 100 mest attraktiva arbetsgivarna i Sverige vilket indikerar att det fortfarande är av stort intresse att arbeta med revision. Att arbeta med revision innebär att alla anställda arbetar tillsammans, och en revisor kan ses som en länk mellan det företag som de reviderar och företagets intressenter. Titeln auktoriserad revisor är skyddad och kräver dels en teoretisk- och en praktisk utbildning som ges från en ekonomiutbildning samt teoretisk och praktisk erfarenhet på en revisionsbyrå. Tidigare forskning har belyst problematiken mellan olika uppfattningar kring förväntningar från revisionsbyråer och nyutexaminerade ekonomers kompetens. Problemformulering: Vilket gap existerar mellan revisionsbyråers förväntningar och nyutexaminerade ekonomers erhållna kompetens, ställt mot den kompetensen som erhållits från en ekonomiutbildning på kandidatnivå? Syfte: Studien syftar i att utforska hur väl förbereda nyutexaminerade ekonomer är utifrån revisionsbyråernas förväntningar på deras kompetens. Samt om det finns en eventuell avsaknad på den förväntade kompetensen ställt mot akademins utbildning, genom att undersöka om den kompetens som nyutexaminerade ekonomer erhållit från sin utbildning överensstämmer med vad medlemmar i redovisningskollegiet anser att de ska ha erhållit vid examen. Metod: I studien har en kvalitativ metod använts och det empiriska materialet samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. De intervjuade informanterna representerar tre olika grupper: rekryteringsansvariga, revisorsassistenter samt medlemmar i ett redovisningskollegie på en högskola. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att det finns en förväntan på att de nyutexaminerade ekonomerna ska besitta grundläggande redovisningskunskaper samt att det finns en klyfta mellan vilka färdigheter som ska erhållits vid examination från en ekonomiutbildning på kandidatnivå och vilka som därefter uppnås på revisionsbyråerna. Detta leder fram till att en förändring måste ske, antingen av utbildningsplanen eller av innehållet i utbildningen. / Background: As in previous years is The Big Four considered one of the 100 most attractive employers in Sweden, which indicates that it is still of great interest to work with auditing. Working with auditing means a teamwork, and an auditor can be seen as a link between the company they audit and the company's stakeholders. The Swedish title for certified public accountant is protected and requires both a theoretical and a practical education, in the form of bachelor’s degree in economics and additional theoretical education according with RI studies curricula and practical at an auditing firm. Previous research has highlighted the problem of differing perceptions of expectations from audit firms and the skills of newly graduated economists. Question: What gap exists between the auditing firms expectation and graduate economics view of acquired competence, compared to the competence gained from an bachelor of economics? Purpose: The study aims to explore how well prepared newly graduated economists are based on the auditing firms expectations of their competence. As well as whether there is a possible lack of the expected competence placed against the education of the academy, by examining whether the skills that newly graduated economists obtained from their education correspond to what members of the accounting college believe they should have obtained at the degree. Method: In this study, a qualitative method was used, and the empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews. The interviewees interviewed three different groups: recruiters, assistant auditors and faculty members of the Accounting College of a university. Results and conclusions: The results of the study shows that there is an expectation, that the newly graduated economists should possess basic accounting knowledge and that there is a gap between the received competences obtained at the examination from the bachelor studies and which are subsequently obtained at the accounting firms. A change needs to be made, either by the educational plan or by the content of the education.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of accounting firms’ visual portrayal.  Theoretical perspectives: Institutional theory, stereotype theory, legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, and framing theory have, together with earlier literature, been applied to the empirical findings to fulfill the purpose of this thesis.  Methodology: Images in the annual reports of the Big 4 accounting firms in Sweden have been analyzed over a ten-year period. In total, 654 images have been coded and analyzed based on seven concepts. The first three concepts, namely gender, ethnicity, and age, are based on a visual content analysis. For the remaining concepts: professionalism, environmental sustainability, technology, and well-being, inspiration has been drawn from a visual grading analysis. In addition, secondary data concerning various events on a firm, institutional, and macro level that are related to the concepts of this thesis have, in essence, been collected from online news articles and annual reports of the Big 4 accounting firms in Sweden.  Findings: The findings show that the portrayal of professionalism is rather high but that a downward trend can be observed for most accounting firms. Instead, more room is given to the portrayal of other aspects which mainly revolves around environmental sustainability and well-being. The portrayal of ethnicity and young people show an upward trend for most accounting firms whereas there is a rather high portrayal of women in most years. Furthermore, the portrayal in accounting firms’ annual reports seem to be somewhat related to internal as well as external events.

Entreprenörskap är en viktig del av samhällets utveckling eftersom det skapar möjligheter till fler jobb, innovation och ekonomisk tillväxt. En entreprenör bör besitta många olika kunskaper och färdigheter, där finansiell kompetens blir allt viktigare för att nå ekonomisk trygghet i dagens ständigt föränderliga finansiella landskap. En entreprenör kan dock inte kunna allt och nätverket blir därför en värdefull resurs för entreprenörens kompetensutveckling. I detta avseende antas revisorer och redovisningskonsulter vara vanliga och viktiga resurser för entreprenörer som söker rådgivning i finansiella frågor. Tidigare forskning har till största del fokuserat på att revisorer och redovisningskonsulter har betydelse för entreprenörens finansiella kompetens, men det finns fortfarande begränsad forskning kring hur samspelet kan förstås. Syftet med denna studie är därför att förstå vilken roll samspelet mellan entreprenören och deras revisor samt redovisningskonsult spelar för entreprenörens finansiella kompetensutveckling.  Studien utgår från en abduktiv ansats och tillämpar en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Den empiriska datan består av totalt 11 intervjuer, varav 7 entreprenörer från SME i Halland samt 2 revisorer och 2 redovisningskonsulter. För att analysera den insamlade empiriska datan används Gioia-metoden. Empirin visar att revisorerna och redovisningskonsulterna i olika omfattning har varit bidragande till entreprenörernas finansiella kompetensutveckling. Ett ömsesidigt förtroende och förmåga att anpassa språk anses vara särskilt viktiga faktorer för en långvarig relation och ett välfungerande samarbete. De entreprenörer som inte använde sin revisor eller redovisningskonsult som kunskapskälla hade istället andra personer i sitt nätverk som de använde som bollplank.  Studien fann att samspelet mellan parterna spelar en betydande roll för entreprenörernas finansiella kompetensutveckling. Faktorer såsom entreprenörens inställning och kompetensmässiga fas samt språkbruket mellan entreprenör och rådgivare påverkar samspelet. Studien fann även att entreprenörer och entreprenörskap är heterogena fenomen, vilket har en påverkan på samspelet och kompetensutvecklingen. För att uppnå ett effektivt samspel som främjar entreprenörens finansiella kompetensutveckling bör samtliga parter vara medvetna om dessa faktorer för att gemensamt anpassa kommunikationen därefter. / Entrepreneurship is an important component of societal development as it creates opportunities for more jobs, innovation, and economic growth. An entrepreneur should possess a diverse set of knowledge and skills, with financial competency becoming increasingly important in order to achieve financial security in today's ever-changing financial landscape. However, an entrepreneur cannot be expected to know everything, and therefore, networking becomes a valuable resource for an entrepreneur's competence development. In this regard, auditors and accountants are assumed to be common and important resources for entrepreneurs seeking advice on financial matters. Previous research has largely focused on the significance of auditors and accounting consultants for an entrepreneur's financial literacy, but there is still limited research on how the interaction between the entrepreneur and their auditor or accountant can be understood. The purpose of this study is therefore to understand the role that the interaction between the entrepreneur and their auditor or accountant plays in the entrepreneur's financial literacy development.  The study adopts an abductive approach and applies a qualitative research method. The empirical data consists of a total of 11 interviews, including 7 entrepreneurs from SMEs in Halland and 4 auditors and accountants. The Gioia method is used to analyze the collected empirical data. The empirical evidence shows that the auditors and accounting consultants have contributed to the entrepreneurs' financial literacy development to varying extents. Mutual trust and the auditors' and accountants’ ability to adapt their language are considered to be particularly important factors for a long-lasting relationship and a well-functioning cooperation. Additionally, the interaction is considered to be influenced by the phase the entrepreneur is in regarding their financial competence and the entrepreneur's attitude towards their financial competence. Entrepreneurs who did not use their auditor or accountant as a source of knowledge instead had other individuals in their network who they used as sounding boards. The findings indicate that the interaction between the parties plays a significant role in the development of entrepreneurs’ financial literacy. Factors such as the entrepreneur’s attitude and competence level, as well as the language used between the entrepreneur and advisor, influence the interaction. The study also found that entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship are heterogeneous phenomena, which impact the interaction and financial literacy development. In order to achieve effective interaction that promotes the entrepreneur’s financial competence development, all parties should be aware of these factors and adjust their communication accordingly.

Forskningsfrågor: - Hur har förändringar inom redovisningsprofessionen påverkat vad som anses vara en legitim redovisningskonsult?- Hur arbetar redovisningskonsulter för att etablera och bevara sin legitimitet?- Hur väl representerar auktorisationen legitimiteten av dagens redovisningskonsult? Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vad som utgör en legitim redovisningskonsult i dagens arbetsklimat, vad förändringen har haft för påverkan och hur väl auktorisationen representerar det legitima anseendet.   Metod: En kvalitativ metod i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts, urvalet bestod av redovisningskonsulter som uppfyller kraven för att bli auktoriserade.    Slutsats:  Studien visar att redovisningskonsulter arbetar aktivt för att signalera ut ett legitimt anseende samt sociala och samarbetsvilliga förmågor är det som utgör en legitim redovisningskonsult på grund av förändringar i arbetsklimatet. Arbetar redovisningskonsulten för en väletablerad redovisningsbyrå kommer det att få en påverkan på den individuella redovisningskonsulten. Kunder tenderar att anlita redovisningsbyråer och inte individen. Auktorisationen anses som en kvalitetsstämpel internt inom redovisningsbranschen men externt är det en okunskap kring vad auktorisationen innebär och därmed efterfrågas den inte. / Research questions: - How have changes in the accounting profession affected what is considered a legitimate accounting consultant?- How do accounting consultants work to establish and maintain their legitimacy?- How well does the authorization represent the legitimacy of today's accounting consultant? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate what constitutes a legitimate accounting consultant in today's work climate, what impact the change has had and how well the authorization represents the legitimate reputation.   Method: A qualitative method in the form of semi-structured interviews has been carried out, the sample consisted of accounting consultants who meet the requirements to become authorized.    Conclusion:  The study shows that accounting consultants work actively to signal a legitimate reputation and social and cooperative abilities are what make up a legitimate accounting consultant due to changes in the work climate. If the accounting consultant works for a well-established accounting firm, it will have an impact on the individual accounting consultant. Clients tend to hire accounting firms and not the individual. The authorization is considered a quality seal internally within the accounting industry, but externally there is a lack of knowledge of what the authorization entails and thus it is not in demand.

Recently, a variety of machine learning techniques have been applied to different healthcare sectors, and the results appear to be promising. One such sector is healthcare planning, in which patient data is used to produce statistical models for predicting the load on different units of the healthcare system. This research introduces an attempt to design and implement a privacy-preserving synthetic data generation method adapted explicitly to patients’ health data and for healthcare planning. A Privacy-preserving Conditional Generative Adversarial Network (PPCGAN) is used to generate synthetic data of Healthcare events, where a well-designed noise is added to the gradients in the training process. The concept of differential privacy is used to ensure that adversaries cannot reveal the exact training samples from the trained model. Notably, the goal is to produce digital patients and model their journey through the healthcare system. / Nyligen har en mängd olika maskininlärningstekniker tillämpats på olika hälso- och sjukvårdssektorer, och resultaten verkar lovande. En sådan sektor är vårdplanering, där patientdata används för att ta fram statistiska modeller för att förutsäga belastningen på olika enheter i sjukvården. Denna forskning introducerar ett försök att utforma och implementera en sekretessbevarande syntetisk datagenereringsmetod som uttryckligen anpassas till patienters hälsodata och för vårdplanering. Ett sekretessbevarande villkorligt generativt kontradiktoriskt nätverk (PPCGAN) används för att generera syntetisk data från hälsovårdshändelser, där ett väl utformat brus läggs till gradienterna i träningsprocessen. Begreppet differentiell integritet används för att säkerställa att motståndare inte kan avslöja de exakta träningsproven från den tränade modellen. Målet är särskilt att producera digitala patienter och modellera deras resa genom sjukvården.

This study revolves around the admissibility of electronic evidence obtained during forensic accounting investigations. Electronic evidence is problematic for the forensic accountant, in that the courts have difficulties with the admissibility of electronic evidence. The research method used in this dissertation is a literature study or literature review. Firstly, the study aims to define a forensic accountant. The need for the forensic accountant is determined, as well as the definition and the roles and responsibilities of the forensic accountant. The study further aims to establish how the forensic accountant is regulated in South Africa. Secondly, this study aims to provide a historical overview of South African legislation that addresses electronic evidence. Applicable legislation is the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, the Law of Evidence Amendment Act 45 of 1988, the Civil Proceedings Evidence Act 25 of 1965 and the repealed Computer Evidence Act 57 of 1983. To determine the challenges that arise from electronic evidence, it is critical to understand how electronic evidence is classified in terms of the traditional forms of evidence. Documentary evidence, real evidence and evidence as the product of an apparatus, with specific reference to electronic evidence, is discussed for the purpose of this study. Hearsay evidence, the originality of electronic evidence, as well as the authenticity and reliability of electronic evidence hamper the admissibility of electronic evidence. The impact of legislation on the aforementioned difficulties is considered in this study. The problematic nature of electronic evidence already creates challenges during legal proceedings. The forensic accountant can follow certain steps and procedures to better the chances of the admissibility of electronic evidence. This study establishes how electronic evidence should be gathered, stored and analysed by the forensic accountant in order to be admissible legal proceedings. Lastly, this study aims to determine how the UNCITRAL model, on which the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 has been based, compares to the act (25 of 2002) itself. The legislation addressing electronic evidence in Canada and Australia is also considered. / MCom (Forensic Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014.

There are various factors that accounting educators should consider when involved in accounting education. These include: A continuous changing business environment; A new generation of learners studying at universities; A lack of skills among learners; Accounting educators resisting changes in accounting education; and The requirements for continuing professional education. From the literature it seems that much research has been done in the field of accounting education, but that it did not find practical application in the classroom. It is therefore necessary to think creatively in order to find practical solutions for the challenges facing both lecturers and facilitators. In the study the following elements of the teaching-learning environment were identified: Learners; The lecturer/facilitator; The milieu; The subject content (including technical content and competencies); and the Teaching methodology. Each of these elements were investigated during the research in order to identify factors from literature that could be included in an improved teaching plan. As part of the plan (methodology) a board game "Commercium™" was developed to meet the requirements of the teaching-learning environment. The board game was evaluated by first year learners at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. The evaluation proved to be very positive. The learners indicated that technical skills, understanding of the roles of the accountant, soft skills as well as knowledge of the subject content improved as a result. What should especially be noted is their positive reaction due to the fact that the game simulated the business environment and linked theory to practice. They also enjoyed the social and group work aspects of the assignment. The learners further had a general positive attitude towards the game. The highest evaluated positive experiences were described as good, exciting and fresh. On the negative side words such as unhappy, uncomfortable and tensed were recorded. The learners were thus required to move outside their comfort zones. Learners were also required to summarise the project in one word. Two thirds of the remarks were positive, with the number one remark being the word "interesting". The largest negative comment was that the project was confusing at the start. This could, however, be addressed in future projects. In conclusion it can thus be said the Commercium™ game meets the requirements of an effective teaching-learning environment by providing an effective teaching methodology. Lecturers now have an empirically proven effective teaching tool for introductory accounting, based on research of the requirements of the teaching-learning environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Accounting))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.