Obesity during childhood and adolescence is a serious public health concern in Canada and globally. Obesity is a complex disease with genetic, environmental, social, and behavioural determinants. However, our understanding of obesity and its development is limited by a reliance on proxy measurements of adiposity such as body mass index (BMI) and cross-sectional study designs that limit our ability to assess temporality. In this dissertation, I present the first set of body fat percent (BF%) accrual and velocity percentile curves for Canadian children and youth, investigate the relationship between BMI- and BF%-based definitions of obesity, and examine the longitudinal influence of sedentary time, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and caloric intake on the development of BF%. My analyses are based on the UBC Healthy Bones III Study (HBSIII), a mixed longitudinal study of boys and girls aged 8-12 years at baseline, measured between 1999 and 2012. In HBSIII, adiposity was measured directly as BF% from total body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans and MVPA and sedentary time were measured objectively using accelerometers. For the first study in my dissertation, I used generalized additive models for location scale and shape (GAMLSS) to develop sex- and ethnic-specific BF% accrual and velocity percentile curves. I present separate curves for Asian and Caucasian boys and girls aged 9-19 years at the 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 95th, and 97th centiles. In this descriptive study, I found materially different shaped BF% percentile curves for Asian and Caucasian girls but not for boys. Second, I examined the relationship between BMI- and BF%-based definitions of obesity for Asian and Caucasian boys and girls aged 9-19 years. I used multivariable regression models, sensitivity and specificity analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and Youden’s Index to explore this relationship. I found that BMI identified <50% of those classified with obesity based on BF%, and that classification performance of BMI differed significantly by age and sex subgroups for Asian and Caucasians. In my third analysis, I explored the longitudinal relationship between BF% and sedentary time, MVPA, and caloric intake as boys and girls mature. I fit polynomial multilevel models using MO (years from age at peak height velocity, APHV) as the time variable. Rate of change in BF% across maturity differed between boys and girls and differences in MVPA, sedentary time, and caloric intake between individuals influenced BF% at APHV (MO=0) and rate of change in BF% across maturity. Together, these studies advance our understanding of how body fat accrues as children and youth mature, and highlight the heterogeneity in predictors of adiposity and adiposity measurement accuracy across age, sex, and ethnic groups. / Graduate

The theoretical part is focused on the definition of the basic concepts of the assets, cash and accrual bases. In addition to profit, its components and its differences from the tax base. Much of the work deals with different concepts of costs and revenues in accordance with accounting regulations and tax law. The work deals with the various costs and revenues in terms of tax efficiency and impact on adjustments to the tax base.The practical part is devoted to empirical research, the proportion of tax on profit for the sampled companies.

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Conceitos e técnicas são ensinados em ambientes educacionais e deveriam ser aprendidos; porém, os exames nacionais de larga escala têm mostrado resultados indesejados, evidenciando uma lacuna na aprendizagem dos nossos alunos. Segundo Sanchez (2013), nos cursos de graduação em Ciências Contábeis, os principais erros conceituais cometidos pelos estudantes são: uso equivocado dos conceitos de caixa e competência e erros matemáticos. A definição de erro conceitual é referida na literatura sobre misconceptions (Chi, 1992) em que existe uma apresentação padrão na forma em que o erro desponta e um relacionamento incompatível entre os conceitos novos, a serem aprendidos pelos alunos, e os conceitos prévios, já existentes. Os erros conceituais têm seis características: são robustos, consistentes, persistentes, homogêneos, recapitulados e sistemáticos. Por isso, são difíceis de serem corrigidos. Chi et al (1994) utilizam da teoria da estruturação do conhecimento, em que definem que os conceitos são classificados em categorias ao serem aprendidos. Porém, conceitos que são classificados erroneamente transformam-se em erros conceituais robustos: são difíceis de serem aprendidos, pela dificuldade em transpor o conceito para a categoria adequada. Com base na definição de misconception e da estruturação dos conceitos em categorias, buscou-se entender como os estudantes formam os erros conceituais e, com base nestes tipos de erro encontrados e nas seis características dos padrões de erros, coletamos evidências da formação e superação dos erros por parte dos alunos. Estas evidências nos auxiliaram na criação de uma estratégia de ensino, construída com base na estruturação do conhecimento e, que seja diferente da estratégia \"comum\" de aula de Contabilidade Introdutória, que é o primeiro contato dos estudantes da área de negócios com contabilidade, com intuito de responder a nossa questão de pesquisa: \"Qual o impacto (proporção e sentido) da adoção desta estratégia de ensino baseada em erros conceituais no aprendizado dos estudantes?\" O impacto da estratégia foi motivacional, pois fez os alunos refletirem sobre os erros conceituais, mas insuficiente para aumentar a proporção de acertos nas avaliações realizadas. / Concepts and techniques are taught in educational settings and should be learned; however, large-scale national exams have shown undesirable results, evidencing a learning gap in our students. According to Sanchez (2013), in the undergraduate courses in Accounting, the main misconception made by students are: misuse of concepts of cash and accrual and mathematical errors. The definition of misconception is referred to in the literature (Chi, 1992) in which there is a standard presentation in the form in which the error emerges and an incompatible relationship between the new concepts to be learned by the students and the prior knowledge already existing. Misconception have six characteristics: they are robust, consistent, persistent, homogeneous, recapitulated and systematic. Therefore, they are difficult to correct. Chi et al. (1994) use the theory of knowledge structuring, where they define that concepts are classified into categories when they are learned. However, concepts that are misclassified become robust conceptual errors: they are difficult to learn because of the difficulty in transposing the concept into the appropriate category. Based on the definition of misconception and the structuring of concepts into categories, we sought to understand how students form misconception and, based on these types of errors found and on the six characteristics, we collect evidence of the formation and overcoming of errors on the part of the students. These evidences helped us in creating a teaching strategy, based on the structuring of knowledge and that is different from the \"common\" strategy of First Accounting Class, which is the first contact of the students of the business area with accounting, with In order to answer our research question: \"What is the impact (proportion and signal) of adopting this teaching strategy based on conceptual errors in learning?\" The impact of the strategy was motivational, as it made the students reflect on the conceptual errors, but insufficient to increase the proportion of correctness in the realized evaluations.

The financial difficulties following the Covid-19 pandemic have been many. Typically in situations of financial distress, firms are incentivized to utilize earnings management techniques to alter the picture of their financial situation, due to market-based pressure. However, studies have shown that in times of crisis, institutional and macroeconomic factors may be more influential as increased scrutiny and an acceptance of abnormal results may make it less attractive to engage in such practices. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the use of earnings management with a sample of 942 firms, amounting to 5 652 firm-year observations between the years of 2015-2020. The results show a statistically significant increased amount of income-decreasing accrual-based earnings management, indicating the use of “big bath” accounting. This suggests that managers were incentivized to utilize earnings management techniques in an attempt to present boosted earnings to the market in future periods, by exploiting the pandemic and reporting worse than necessary numbers. However, the study does not find any significant changes in the use of real earnings management, which could be due to managerial limitations in making operational decisions during severe financial distress.

Världen drabbades av ett smittsamt virus i slutet på 2019 som växte till en global pandemi med namnet coronapandemin. Pandemin har orsakat stora förluster för företagen genom restriktioner, försämrade leveranskedjor och nedstängningar. Forskare konstaterat ett samband mellan krissituationer och resultatmanipulering.  Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om coronapandemin har påverkat resultatmanipuleringen i svenska noterade bolag. Tre modeller som mäter resultatmanipulering tillämpas på ett urval om 356 svenska noterade bolag och 2136 årsobservationer mellan 2016–2021. Resultatmanipulering före coronapandemin (2017–2019) jämförs med resultatmanipulering under coronapandemin (2020–2021) för att se om det föreligger signifikant skillnad mellan perioderna. Efter utförda tester visar det sig att företag tillämpar mer resultatmanipulering genom periodiseringar och inte genom aktiva val. Specifikt handlar det om resultatmaniskande periodiseringar som möjliggör för företagen att redovisa lägre resultat under pandemiperioden. Detta görs för att företagen ska kunna redovisa oförväntad återhämtning efter pandemiperioden med starkare resultat och kallas för big bath strategin. / The world was affected by a contagious virus at the end of 2019 that grew into a global pandemic with the name corona pandemic. The pandemic caused big loses for firms through restrictions, worsened supply chain and shutdowns. Researchers have established a relation between times of crisis and earnings management. The purpose of this study is to investigate if the corona pandemic affected earnings management in Swedish listed companies. Three models that measure earnings management are employed on a sample of 356 Swedish listed firms with 2136-year observations. Earnings management before the pandemic (2017-2019) is compared with Earnings management during the pandemic (2020-2021) to see whether there is a significant difference between the periods.  After the tests are done it is found that firms engage in more earnings management through accruals and not real earnings management. Specifically, income decreasing accruals that enable firms to report lower earnings during the pandemic. This is done so that firms can report unexpected recovery after the pandemic period through stronger earnings and is called big bath strategy.

Performance and accrual-based financial management systems as envisaged in the 1990 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act, the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), the 1996 Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA) and related legislation have been in place since prior to the turn of the millennium. Nevertheless, although performance has been measured and financial accountability improved in U.S. federal government agencies, there remains a gap in reporting on operational efficiency and effectiveness. This dissertation extends research into performance management to determine the extent to which performance measurement systems report on operational efficiency and effectiveness and thereby further facilitate performance management. It examines outputs as the unit-of-analysis within the input-output-outcome framework of performance measurement and reporting systems and their integration with accrual-based financial management systems in assessing government operations. It challenges the predominantly outcomes-focused reporting system as insufficient to the objective of improved operational efficiency and effectiveness. The research methodology employs qualitative analysis of selected agency performance reports, interviews of selected agency senior managers and oversight officials, analysis of previous research on performance reporting, and analysis of GAO survey data. The research examines an increased focus on output reporting as a means to improve operational efficiency and the linkage of outputs to outcomes as an effectiveness measure. The research leads to the conclusion that very little output efficiency or effectiveness measurement and reporting is occurring. The failure to measure performance in this manner is to the considerable detriment of operational efficiency, effectiveness and cost reduction in the federal government. / Ph. D.

Titel: Hur ser sambandet mellan Corporate Social Responsibility och Earnings Management ut bland börsnoterade företag i EU?  Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Felix Lindeborg och Rikard Eriksson Handledare: Jan SvanbergDatum: 2024 - Januari Syfte: Undersöka sambandet mellan Corporate Social Responsibility och Earnings Management bland börsnoterade bolag inom Europeiska unionen. Baserat på syftet har den här studien som ambition att identifiera i vilken grad företag arbetar med CSR-relaterade frågor och hur detta påverkar deras benägenhet att manipulera resultatet. Metod: Det här är en kvantitativ studie som genomförts på börsnoterade bolag inom den Europeiska unionen mellan åren 2018–2022. Den finansiella sekundärdata som inhämtats till studien är hämtad från databasen Refinitive Eikon. Sekundärdata har sedermera analyserats i Excel och statistikprogrammet SPSS för att genom regressionsmodeller och tabeller redovisa resultaten från studien. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet från studien visar på ett positivt men inte signifikant samband mellan CSR och Earnings management bland börsnoterade företag i EU. Tidigare studier i EU har identifierat ett negativt samband. Slutsatsen är att företag balanserar kortsiktiga resultat med långsiktiga hållbarhetsmål för att möta aktieägarnas krav samtidigt som de bibehåller legitimitet mot intressenter.  Examensarbetets bidrag: Examensarbetet har genom att identifiera och förklara det positiva men insignifikanta sambandet mellan CSR och EM, fördjupat insikterna om sambandet mellan CSR och EM. Denna ökade förståelse av sambandet mellan CSR och EM kan användas av intressenter såsom företagsledare, investerare och myndigheter som underlag för strategiska beslut. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vi uppmanar till fortsatt forskning på området genom forskning på om, och i så fall hur, sambandet mellan CSR och EM skiljer sig mellan olika sektorer i EU. Vidare bör en mer omfattande studie med fler kontrollvariabler, observationer och sektorer genomföras i syfte att fördjupa kunskapen kring hur dynamiken mellan CSR och EM tar sig uttryck bland företag i EU.  Nyckelord: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Earnings Management (EM), Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), Accrual Earnings Management (AEM), Real Earnings Management (REM) och den modifierade Jones modellen.

Titel: Cooking the Books: En analys av resultatmanipulering vid svenska börsintroduktioner. Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Rasmus Bergman Enarsson &amp; Isak Larsson. Handledare: Jan Svanberg. Datum: 2024-05-28. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att analysera om resultatmanipulering förekommer i samband med börsnoteringar på den svenska aktiemarknaden. Metod: Denna studie har tillämpat en kvantitativ strategi för att analysera förekomsten av resultatmanipulering vid börsnoteringar. Finansiella data samlades in från Retriever för företag noterade på First North, NGM Equity, Spotlight och Nasdaq STHLM under perioden 2018–2022. Analysen gjordes i IBM SPSS Statistics. Resultat och slutsats: Vår studie finner signifikanta bevis för att företag manipulerar sina resultat uppåt under perioden före, under och efter en börsnotering. Examensarbetets bidrag: Det finns lite till ingen forskning om sambandet mellan börsnoteringar och förekomsten av resultatmanipulation på den svenska aktiemarknaden. Denna studie bidrar med värdefulla insikter för marknadens olika intressenter, i syfte av att minska de risker och felaktiga värderingar som kan uppstå vid börsnoteringar. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Framtida forskning kan utöka tidsramen och inkludera fler variabler. Marknadens reaktioner på resultatmanipulation kan dessutom utforskas. Den kassaflödesbaserade resultatmanipulationen kan också beaktas. Till sist vore det även intressant att tillämpa Dechows et al. (2012) metodik i andra kontexter, som under covid-19-pandemin. Nyckelord: Redovisning; Redovisningsval; Periodiseringar; Periodiseringsbaserad resultatmanipulering; Resultatmanipulering; Börsintroduktioner. / Title: Cooking the Books: An analysis of earnings management among Swedish IPOs.  Level: Degree project at first level (bachelor’s degree) in the subject Business Administration.  Authors: Rasmus Bergman Enarsson &amp; Isak Larsson.  Supervisor: Jan Svanberg.  Date: 2024-05-28.  Aim: The purpose of this study is to analyze whether earnings management occurs in context with IPOs on the Swedish stock market.  Method: This study has applied a quantitative strategy to investigate earnings management in the context of Swedish IPOs. Financial data from 2018–2022 were collected from the database Retriever for companies listed on First North, NGM Equity, Spotlight, and Nasdaq STHLM. The analysis was conducted with IBM SPSS Statistics.  Results and conclusions: This study provides evidence that firms inflate their earnings during the period before, during, and after an IPO.  Contribution of the thesis: There is little to no research on the relationship between IPOs and the practice of earnings management in the Swedish stock market. This study provides valuable insights for the various market stakeholders, aiming to reduce the risks and inaccurate valuations that can arise during IPOs.  Suggestions for future research: Future research can extend the analysis timeframe and include more variables. Additionally, market reactions to earnings management can be explored. Real activities management can also be considered. Finally, it would be interesting to apply the methodology of Dechow et al. (2012) in other contexts, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Key words: Accounting; Accounting choices; Accruals; Accrual-based earnings management; Earnings management; Initial public offerings.

This dissertation deals with the possibilities of using the teaching methods offered by the concept of teaching through problem solving in accounting education in business academies and economic lyceums. The main aim of this type of teaching should be above all the introduction of accounting as an important part of the students' economic thinking. The use of problem-based teaching is especially useful when explaining topics fundamental for the understanding of the basic principles of accounting. Accrual Basis Accounting being one of these topics, the thesis presents didactic material suited for problem-based teaching of this subject matter. It falls into the area of didactics of accounting, i.e. a scientific discipline deriving from the didactics of economic subjects.