Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Technology: Cost and Management Accounting, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / Property, plant and equipment (PPE) constitute a significant portion of total assets of South African public higher education institutions. It is therefore important to keep proper records of the assets and to account for them accurately in the Annual Financial Statements. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate the accounting treatment of property, plant and equipment at public higher education institutions (PHEIs) in South Africa. The following objectives were addressed in this study, to: determine how assets are classified; find out how asset transactions are recorded; and to determine the accounting treatment of assets in terms of cost, depreciation, impairment and disposal. Based on the International Financial Reporting Standards, this study used a mixed-methods research approach to collect data regarding the accounting treatment of PPE at the 23 PHEIs in South Africa. Analysis of results indicated that some institutions: apply different useful lives for the same asset classes; use threshold amounts for the recording and depreciating of assets; use the same value for the recording and depreciating of assets while others record at one value but depreciate at a higher value; and depreciate PPE at different rates as they apply varying useful life to different asset classes. This study also found that while some institutions do impairment testing on an annual basis, others do not, as they do not have a policy in place for impairment testing. Given that the activities or business of educational institutions are similar in nature, this study recommends that PHEIs need to apply consistent recording of assets in terms of their useful life as the useful life of an asset has direct correlation with the surplus or deficit of an institution. This study makes further recommendations regarding the accounting treatment of PPE at PHEIs in South Africa based on the findings of this study. Suggestions for further research are also presented.

Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: Begreppet effektivitet har blivit ett allt större fokus inom verksamhetsstyrningen och idag letar företag efter det bästa sättet att genomföra processer på. En process som företag idag lägger stora resurser på är hanteringen av leverantörsfakturor där det tack vare IT:s utveckling finns stora möjligheter till effektivisering. I kontrast med strävan att effektivisera denna process står de resurskrävande kontrollaktiviteter som behövs för att upprätthålla en kvalitativ hantering. Syfte: Denna studie syftar till skapa en förståelse för processen avseende hanteringen av leverantörsfakturor på Södra för att komma med förslag på hur processen kan göras mer effektiv i förhållande till de interna kontrollaktiviteter företaget har. Metod: Uppsatsen är en fallstudie på processen för leverantörsfaktura hanteringen på Södra. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom intervjuer med chefen för Leverantörscenter, chefen för Servicecenter samt ekonomiassistenter som arbetar inom och med processen. Författarna har även tagit del av organisationsdokument som har tillhandahållits av fallföretaget. Slutsatser: Det har identifierats att det finns icke-värdeskapande aktiviteter i processen som går att minimera eller eliminera. Ett urval av dessa aktiviteter är hantering av pappersfakturor, hantering av vilda fakturor och manuell matchning av orderfakturor mot inköpsorders / Background and Problem Discussion: In recent times the term efficiency has become a dominating discussion topic within the management control field and most companies today actively look for ways improve processes. The management of Accounts Payable is one such process that many companies experience claim more resources than necessary. With today’s IT solutions however there are ways to streamline this process making it more efficient. Although there are possibilities to streamline and improve the Accounts Payable process there is still a need for internal control activities to ensure that this process is executed with high quality. Purpose: This thesis aims to create a detailed understanding of the accounts payable operation of the Swedish company Södra Skogsägarna Ekonomisk Förening and contributes with proposals of how this process can be made more efficient with regards to the internal control activities that characterizes this process. Method: This thesis is a case study of the accounts payable of Södra Skogsägarna Ekonomisk Förening. The empirical material has been acquired through interviews with the managers of the accounts payable department and the servicecenter responsible for this process. Interviews have also been conducted with accounting assistants working within the accounts payable process. The authors have also had access to organizational documents provided by the case company. Conclusion: Non-value adding activities that are possible to reduce or eliminate have been identified within the process. A selection of these activities include the handling of 6 physical paper invoices, handling of so called “wild invoices” and the manual work of matching order invoices against their corresponding purchase orders.

The goal of this thesis is compilation of financial statements under IFRS and Czech law, focusing on the establishment of two major financial statements. First and second chapter deal with theoretical requirements the compilation of reports according to Czech legislation and IFRS. The work focuses on theoretical and practical description of the selected areas for exploring the activities to be carried out prior to financial close. The final chapters are to describe differences between IFRS and Czech accounting, billing scheme to capture the differences and copy of statements of financial position and financial performance in terms of IFRS, the balance sheet and profit and loss statement in terms of Czech accounting.

The goal of this thesis is analysis of the existing situation of accounting statements in chosen enterprise, evaluation of processing and analysis of data usage for enterprise management. In the second part the company SILON s.r.o. which is chosen for the second part of this thesis is described. Subsequently the closure operations which SILON s.r.o. performs by the end of the year are introduced and closure of the accounting books is depicted. Final closing of the accounts is evaluated via analysis of the absolute ratios, analysis of the ratio indicators and bankrupt and creditworthy model is also used.

This research focused primarily on exploring the talk of mothers of daughters with Anorexia Nervosa, paying specific attention to their emic perceptions of the underlying causes of Anorexia Nervosa. The research sought to reveal the discourses underpinning participants talk. Further, the way in which these discourses serve to construct Anorexia Nervosa in particular ways as well as the function these discourses serve were explored. This study is qualitative and exploratory in design and provides a unique understanding of Anorexia Nervosa in the form of emic accounts gleaned from mothers' own experiences. The findings of this research suggest that mothers of daughters with Anorexia Nervosa primarily reproduce a discourse on the causality of Anorexia Nervosa that is family or biomedically focused. Through analysis of the discourses embedded in participants’ talk, it became evident that participants reproduce discourses of gender and femininity and are influenced by societal pressure as well as the constructions of womanhood and motherhood. Insight into a side of the mother of the Anorectic, often concealed in the literature, was revealed through a semi-structured interview process with nine urban, middle-class, white South African mothers of daughters with Anorexia Nervosa. Interviews were then transcribed and analysed according to Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. Incorporating the silenced voices of mothers of daughters with Anorexia Nervosa appears to have allowed for the emergence of a more generous view of the mother and has contributed to a larger set of discursive repertoires through which to understand Anorexia Nervosa. This research further gave rise to the realisation of a need for a critical education program whereby taken for granted notions can be revealed and actively engaged. This program would ideally seek to free the anorexic woman as well as the mother from the constraints of the uncritically constructed conceptualisations of Anorexia Nervosa and femininity.

O objetivo do presente trabalho é avaliar a possibilidade de utilização dos fundos de investimento em direitos creditórios no financiamento de micro e pequenas empresas. O estudo parte da problemática teórica da assimetria de informações e faz um panorama do mercado brasileiro de crédito, com ênfase nas micro e pequenas empresas. A partir da análise da legislação pertinente a esses fundos, nota-se que não existe impedimento legal à constituição de FIDCs que objetivem fomentar os micro pequenos negócios. No final de 2005, cinco fundos de investimento em direitos creditórios para financiamento de micro e pequenas empresas entraram em funcionamento no Brasil. Por meio da análise do desempenho dos fundos em atividade, percebe-se que esta nova modalidade de financiamento se mostra como uma alternativa viável e promissora no provimento de crédito a micro e pequenos empresários, pois além de aumentarem o acesso desse segmento de mercado a empréstimos, o faz a taxas menores do que aquelas praticadas pelas instituições financeiras convencionais. / The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the possibility of financing micro and small enterprises by means of accounts receivables investment funds. The study starts with a review of the asymmetric information problem and makes a review of the Brazilian credit market, with a special emphasis on micro and small enterprises. Analyzing the legislation of those funds, it can be noted that there is no legal impediment to constitute funds with a focus on fomenting micro and small businesses. At the end of 2005, five funds to finance micro and small enterprises were constituted in Brazil. Analyzing the performance of those funds in activity, it can be stated that this new modality of financing is a viable and promising one. It allows the access of this segment to the credit market at smaller rates than those practiced by conventional financial institutions.

[pt] A presente dissertação pretende abordar os aspectos empíricos da atuação do Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU) no Brasil desde o início da vigência da Constituição de 1988 até 2010. Para tanto, o trabalho se inicia com uma abordagem teórica sobre a prestação de contas estatais, representada por meio do fenômeno da accountability, sendo utilizada a análise realizada por diversos cientistas políticos, notadamente no contexto latino americano. Em um segundo momento, passa-se ao estudo da figura dos Tribunais de Contas, sintetizando as características de alguns modelos base de órgãos de controle externo existentes em outros países, discorrendo-se, posteriormente, sobre breves aspectos históricos do TCU – com ênfase para os debates da Constituinte de 87-88 -, desembocando nos aspectos normativos e institucionais da Corte de Contas no Brasil. Por fim, o trabalho revela as reais feições da atuação do TCU, demonstradas por meio da comparação jurídica sucessiva interna, realizada sob dois principais aspectos norteadores referentes ao Tribunal (a apreciação anual das contas prestadas pelo Presidente da República e o exercício de algumas atividades ordinárias do TCU, tais como fiscalizações, recebimento de denúncias, cobrança executiva, dentre outras), recobrindo o período de 1989 a 2010. / [en] This essay intends to cover the empirical aspects of the performance of the Federal Audit Court (Tribunal de Contas da União - TCU) since the beginning of the Constitution of 1988 to 2010. To this end, the work begins with a theoretical approach on the state accountability, represented by the accountability phenomenon, analyzed by several political scientists, especially in the context of Latin America. In a second moment, we pass to the study of the figure of the Audit Courts, summarizing the characteristics of some base models of external control agencies in other countries, writing, after that, about brief historical aspects of TCU - with emphasis on the debates of the 87-88 Constituent - and culminating in the regulatory and institutional aspects of the Federal Audit Court in Brazil. Finally, the work reveals the real features of the action of TCU, demonstrated by the legal successive internal comparison, carried out under two main guiding aspects related to the Court (the annual review of accounts rendered by the President and the exercise of some ordinary activities of TCU, such as inspections, receiving complaints, executive lawsuits, among others), covering the period from 1989 to 2010.

Ao apresentar o relato da trajetória de vida de duas mulheres ceramistas japonesas, Shoko Suzuki e Mieko Ukeseki, inserindo-o em seu contexto histórico e sociocultural, este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar as construções históricas, representações culturais, experiências pessoais e subjetividades envolvidas na construção da sua identidade. A partir da análise do discurso e da prática destas ceramistas, recolhidos a partir dos preceitos definidos por Daniel Bertaux (1997) como récits de vie (relatos de vida), pretende-se compreender os processos pessoais envolvidos na construção da identidade cultural das duas ceramistas, marcados pela vivência transcultural decorrente da imigração para o estado de São Paulo, Brasil, nas décadas de 1960 e 1970 respectivamente. A história da cerâmica japonesa toma aqui papel relevante para a construção das imagens de japonesidade, traduzidas no discurso e na prática das ceramistas. Contudo, é na apropriação e reinterpretação destas representações em diálogo com suas subjetividades e experiências pessoais que a identidade cultural é recriada. Ao lançar luz sobre o relato pessoal da trajetória de vida de duas ceramistas japonesas no Brasil, esta pesquisa pretende também contribuir para iluminar vários aspetos da história, sociedade e cultura do Japão e do Brasil do último século, em especial, a situação das mulheres na cerâmica nipônica, a imigração de artesãos e artistas japoneses para o Brasil, os processos de construção da identidade cultural japonesa através do artesanato e da cerâmica e os processos pessoais envolvidos na criação de uma identidade nipo-brasileira / By presenting the life-story account of two Japanese women potters, Shoko Suzuki and Mieko Ukeseki, inserting it in its historical and sociocultural context, this work aims to present the historical constructions, cultural representations, personal experiences and subjectivities involved in the construction of their identity. From their discourse and practice analysis, collected from the precepts defined by Daniel Bertaux (1997) as récits de vie (\"life story accounts\"), we intend to understand the personal processes involved in the construction of their cultural identity, marked by the transcultural experience due to the immigration to Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s respectively. The history of Japanese ceramics takes here an important part for the construction of images of \"Japaneseness\", which are translated in the discourse and practice of these potters. However, it is in the appropriation and reinterpretation of these representations in dialogue with their personal experiences and subjectivities that cultural identity is recreated. By shedding light on the personal account of the life stories of two Japanese women potters in Brazil, this research also aims to contribute to illuminate various aspects of the history, society and culture of Japan and Brazil in the last century, in particular, the situation of women in Japanese ceramics, the immigration of Japanese artists and craftsmen to Brazil, the processes involved in the construction of a Japanese cultural identity through craft and pottery and the creation of a Japanese-Brazilian identity

A presente pesquisa discute a legitimação da autoridade de normatização da contabilidade aplicada ao setor público para a Secretária do Tesouro Nacional (STN), a atuação dos Tribunais de Contas no processo de convergência às International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) e a preparação para a atuação com Auditoria Financeira em municípios. A convergência para normas internacionais de contabilidade levou ao questionamento da autoridade na regulação contábil aplicada ao setor público em meados de 2009, e passou a demandar a estruturação da função de Auditoria Financeira no nível sub-nacional, dada a necessidade de consolidação do Balanço do Setor Público Nacional (BSPN) e a expectativa de melhoria do grau de accountability. Procedeu-se análise documental e foram realizadas 25 entrevistas com atores chave. A resposta dos diversos Tribunais de Contas quanto ao processo de Auditoria Financeira tem sido incentivar a criação de Controles Internos nos municípios / This research discusses the legitimation of authority on accounting standardization applied to the public sector to the Treasury (STN), the role of Courts of Accounts in the process of convergence with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and the preparation for the acting with Financial Audit on municipalities. The convergence with international accounting standards led to the questioning of the authority on the accounting regulation applied to the public sector in mid-2009, and went on to demand the structuring of the Financial Audit function in the sub-national level, given the need to consolidate the Whole of Government Acounts (BSPN) and the expectation of improving the level of accountability. Proceeded to documental analysis and were carried out 25 interviews with key actors from the reform process. The response of the various Courts of Accounts on the financial audit process has been encouraging the creation of Internal Control in municipalities

Frère de Louis IX, comte de Poitiers et de Toulouse, Alphonse de Poitiers est à la tête de la plus grande principauté de royaume au milieu du XIIIe siècle. Resté dans l'ombre du roi, ce prince a peu attiré l'attention des historiens. Les sources sont abondantes, publiées pour la plus grande partie, mais restées peu exploitées, ou tout du moins rarement pour mener une étude précise du gouvernement de ce prince. Il s'agit pour l'essentiel de documents de gestion – mandements, comptes, livres de fiefs – qui éclairent le fonctionnement des institutions travaillant à l'exploitation des domaines. La nature et l'ampleur de ce fonds sont d'autant plus intéressants qu'ils ne connaissent pas d'équivalent dans les archives royales, la comptabilité ayant disparu dans l'incendie de la Chambre des comptes de Paris en 1737. Cette thèse s'attache à mettre à jour pour partie nos connaissances concernant le comte de Poitiers, et plus particulièrement à donner une vision la plus globale possible de son administration. L'objectif ne se limite pas à identifier les rôles et pouvoirs de chaque officier, mais à donner une compréhension profonde de la conception même du pouvoir dont témoigne l'organisation territoriale. L'exposé aborde ainsi trois niveaux du pouvoir – le prince, l'administration locale, l'administration centrale – qui sont trois occasions de développer un aspect particulier de l'administration, à savoir les enjeux politiques ou idéologiques, les équilibres avec les élites locales et les instruments d'exercice du pouvoir (les officiers et les documents). Face à l'abondance des sources, l'administration locale est essentiellement étudiée à partir des comtés de Poitou et de Saintonge. Une place toute particulière est laissée à l'étude de la comptabilité qui forme le coeur de ce travail. En effet, outre le volume d'étude et d'annexe, la thèse propose l'édition de la quasi totalité de la comptabilité domaniale de l'administration d'Alphonse de Poitiers, à l'exception des sénéchaussées méridionales. Ce fonds est le seul exemple connu pour le règne de Louis IX présentant une complémentarité suffisante des différents types de comptes pour permettre une véritable compréhension de la procédure comptable issue des domaines capétiens. L'étude propose une interprétation tant des mécanismes que des conceptions intellectuelles qui fondent cette procédure. / Alphonse of Poitiers, count of Poitiers and Toulouse, brother of the king of France Louis IX, rules the most important principality of the realm in the middle of XIIIth century. Despites this and because of the charisma of his brother, historians were never very interested in studying him. Many sources are available and published for most. Still they are not been used very often or at least barely to study the administration of the prince in detail. These documents had been mostly designed to manage the domain (writs, accounts, feudal registers) and show how worked the different parts of the administration in charge of it. The fact that we have no equivalent in the archives for the royal domain since the accounts burned in 1737 gives to these documents their utmost value.This thesis tries to renew part of what we know about the count of Poitiers, and claims in particulary for a global approach of his administration. The purpose is not only to describe the precise duty of every officers, but to understand the intellectual ground on which the domanial administration is based. The demonstration follows a logicial division between the prince, his local administration and his central administration in order to deal with three aspects of the same question : political or ideological issues, balance between the prince and local elites, the ressources (people and documents) used to rule. Because sources are too abundant, the local administration is mostly studied in Poitou and Saintonge only. A great part is dedicated to the accounts which are at the very heart of this work. Besides the study and the appendices, the thesis is made of a thick edition of almost all the domanial accounts of the prince, except those which concern the southern part of the principality. These archives are the only ones known in France which are complete enough to allow a real understanding of the capetian accounts process. This study gives an interpretation of the mechanisms and conception of this process.