Title: Key Performance Indicators - Refine, adjust or remove Level: Final assignment for bachelor's degree in business administration. Author: Isabelle Nilsson and Maria Bäckström  Supervisor: Niklas Bomark Date: Autumn - 20  Aim: The aim of this study is to seek understanding of how the change process of KPIs works and whether information asymmetry and conflicts of interest can arise in the interaction between managers and group leaders in process. Method: The study is based on a qualitative research design and an interpretive hermeneutic research methodology. The empirics are collected through semi-structured interviews with managers and group leaders in a fintech company. A total of 4 managers and 5 team leaders have contributed to the content of the empirics. Secondary data have been collected from previous scientific research. The analysis is structured according to themes that have been compiled based on our research questions as well as collected data from previous research and empirics. Result & Contribution of the thesis: We have come to the conclusion that the process of changing KPIs goes through four different phases; 1. Problems are identified, 2. Measures are taken, 3. Delegation and 4. Evaluation. In connection with this, we have seen that conflicts of interest and/or information asymmetry can arise between managers and group leaders, which should be taken into account in the change process. The study has also found that conflicts of interest may in themselves cause a need to change KPIs. Suggestion for future research: - A longitudinal study could contribute to a deeper understanding of the changing process, by looking at the phenomenon for a longer time and doing repeated analyzes to detect any deviations or patterns. - The possibilities of the study could be broadened by not only measuring the end goal but also the ongoing process in sales, and for example look at factors such as customer satisfaction, returning customers or customer recommendations and references.

In this paper, we explore drivers and mitigators of agency conflicts inherent in the fund manager-fund investor relationship through the lens of the principal-agent model. By engaging in abductive qualitative research, we apply both deductive and inductive inquiry to complement and extend previous literature with insights from parties directly involved in the Swedish mutual fund market. Hence, data is collected from eight semi-structured interviews with four senior fund managers, three institutional investors and one fund investment association, all operating in Sweden. The results of the study show that agency conflicts and mitigators found in previous studied principal-agent settings are also in large part found in the fund manager-fund investor setting in Sweden. However, this study has extended previous research by generating knowledge about drivers and mitigators of agency conflict found in the real world, which have been left unexplored in previous studies.

Share-based incentive programs have become increasingly common in Sweden. At the same time, there is criticism of whether these have a positive effect on companies or not. The programs are intended to solve the so-called principal-agent problem, which arises when the ownership and control in a company are separated. Share-based incentive programs are intended to solve this dilemma by making the employees who participate in the program’s shareholders of the company. This study has examined whether share-based incentive programs benefit the companies’ shareholders. The study investigates this by using a first-difference method, based on the publicly traded companies at Nasdaq Stockholm. The study takes support from the principal-agent theory, the managerial power theory, and other studies within the field. The result from the study shows that there is no significant difference between the companies that use the share-based incentive programs and the companies that do not. Based on this result, it is concluded that share-related incentive programs do not benefit shareholders. / Aktierelaterade incitamentsprogram blir allt vanligare i Sverige. Samtidigt finns det kritik mot huruvida dessa har en positiv effekt för företag eller inte. Programmen är tänkta att lösa det så kallad agentproblemet, som uppstår när ägandet och kontrollen i företag är separerade. Aktierelaterade incitamentsprogram är tänkta att lösa detta dilemma genom att göra de anställda som deltar i programmen till aktieägare i företaget. Denna studie har därför valt att undersöka huruvida aktierelaterade incitamentsprogram gynnar bolagets aktieägare. Studien undersöker detta genom att använda sig av en first-difference metod som baseras på bolagen på Stockholmsbörsen. Studien tar stöd från agentteorin, managerial power teorin samt tidigare forskning inom området. Resultatet från studien visar att det inte finns någon signifikant skillnad mellan bolagen som använder sig av de aktierelaterade incitamentsprogrammen och bolagen som inte använder sig av programmen. Utifrån detta resultat dras slutsatsen att aktierelaterade incitamentsprogram inte gynnar aktieägare.

This study explores the impact of ESG Scores on firm performance and seeks to establish whether the impact increased since the 2008 financial crisis. This is done by performing regressions on ESG Scores, and the respective pillars of Environmental, Social, and Governance, and firm performance, measured as both accounting-based performance, using ROA, and market-based performance, using Tobin’s Q. The study adopts a quantitative approach, utilising a random-effects model to analyse panel data across two sample periods - a pre-crisis period, from 2003-2006, and a post-crisis period, from 2010-2019. In addition, t-tests were performed to see if the impact changed significantly from the pre-crisis to post-crisis period. The study analyses data from 218 firms from the STOXX Europe 600 index, with four smaller sub-samples. The results indicate that ESG Scores have a positive impact on firm performance, with market-based firm performance being significantly correlated both before and after the crisis. Accounting-based performance, however, was only significantly correlated with ESG Scores before the crisis. In addition, the Environmental pillar was positively correlated with both measures of performance before and after the crisis, and the same was true for the Social pillar, except for with post-crisis accounting-based performance. Interestingly, the Governance pillar was not significantly correlated with performance in any of the regressions. Finally, while the average ESG Score among the observed companies increased in the post-crisis period, the impact of ESG performance on firm performance did not change significantly. The results of this study are supportive of the stakeholder theory perspective over the principal-agent theory, and show that ESG performance does indeed positively impact firm performance. Future research could explore whether other events have played a significant role in the rising importance of ESG, or if the results of the present study can be replicated across different time periods and geographical regions.

Bakgrund: Idag pågår en debatt om huruvida gränsvärdena för revisionsplikt ska höjas eller sänkas. FAR, enda branschorganisationen för revisorer, hävdar att revisionsplikten i de minsta aktiebolagen borde återinföras. Som stöd för detta har de en rapport från Riksrevisionen som visar att effekterna av intentionerna med avskaffandet av revisionsplikten för de minsta aktiebolagen i stort har uteblivit och att det istället fått negativa konsekvenser. Samtidigt hävdar flera bransch- och företagarorganisationer att Sverige kan hantera småföretagens redovisning utan att återinföra revisionsplikten och anser snarare att gränsvärdena bör höjas. Eftersom nästan alla Sveriges företag är småföretag med färre än tio anställda där ägare och ledning är samma person menar de att behovet av en oberoende kontrollfunktion som revision saknas. Det är tydligt att nuvarande situation inte är önskvärd. De mindre företagen har behov av tjänster som möjliggör att de kan utnyttja sina resurser på bästa sätt samtidigt som staten har behov av att säkerställa att lagar efterföljs, att skatt inte undandras och att ekonomisk brottslighet förhindras. Frågan kvarstår hur dessa båda behov bemöts på bästa sätt. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva yrkesverksamma revisorers syn för att identifiera hur hög redovisningskvalitet kan upprätthållas utan revision och revisionsplikt som den är utformad idag, så att redovisningen fortfarande blir tillförlitlig. På så sätt syftar vi till att öka lagstiftares och standardsättares förståelse för hur lagar och standarder ska utformas så att detta kan uppnås. Metod: I studien har en kvalitativ metod använts med utgångspunkt i en abduktiv forskningsansats. För att kunna besvara studiens frågeställningar har semistrukturerade intervjuer av åtta stycken yrkesverksamma revisorer på både större och mindre revisionsbyråer i Skaraborg genomförts. Slutsats: Studien visar att någon form av granskning/kontroll kan behövas i mindre företag för att hög redovisningskvalitet ska kunna upprätthållas utan revision. I de allra minsta företagen verkar behovet av rådgivning och fokus på att redovisningen är rätt gjord kunna vara mer viktig än en helt oberoende revision. Denna uppfattning är mest framträdande bland revisorer från mindre revisionsbyråer. Befintlig revisionsstandard resulterar i för mycket dokumentation och checklistebaserat fokus i de mindre företagen varvid större fokus borde läggas på revisorns professionella omdöme, för att revisionen ska bli kostnadseffektiv. / Background: There is an ongoing debate whether or not the thresholds for mandatory audit in Sweden should be increased or decreased. FAR, the only trade association for auditors claims that the mandatory audit for the smallest companies should be reinstated. In support of their positions, they have a report from the Swedish National Audit Office which shows that the effects of the intentions with the abolition of the mandatory audit for the smallest companies have failed in general, and that it instead has had negative consequences. At the same time, several trade associations claim that Sweden can handle the small companies accounting without reinstating the mandatory audit and rather that the mandatory audit thresholds should be increased. Since most of Sweden’s companies are small companies with fewer than ten employees where the owner and management is the same person, they claim that there is no need for an independent control function as the audit. It is clear that the current situation is not desirable. Small companies need services which enable them to utilize the resources in the best possible way, whereas the government needs to ensure that laws are followed, tax is not avoided and that economic crime is prevented. The question remains how these two needs are best addressed.        Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe professional auditors’ view in order to identify how high accounting quality can be maintained without the audit and the mandatory audit in its current form and still maintain the reliability of the accounting. In this way we aim to increase legislators’ and standard setters’ understanding on how laws and standards should be designed in order to achieve this. Method: In this study, a qualitative method based on an abductive research approach has been used. In order to answer the research questions of the study, semi structured interviews of eight professional auditors in Skaraborg, Sweden have been conducted at both smaller and larger audit firms.    Conclusion: The study shows that some form of review/control may be needed in smaller companies in order to maintain high accounting quality without auditing. In the smallest companies the need for advice and focus on that the accounting is done correctly seems to be more important than a completely independent audit. This view is most prominent among auditors from smaller auditing firms. Existing auditing standard results in too much documentation and checklist-based focus in smaller companies, wherein greater emphasis should be placed on the auditor’s professional judgment in order for the audit to be cost-efficient.

In the last decade measuring a company´s performance exclusively financially has been heavily criticised. Consequently, different performance measurement systems including the Balanced Scorecard, the Performance Pyramid, and the Quantum Performance were developed, discussed and implemented in industry. Besides the financial perspective, additional perspectives (e.g. customers, processes, employess, etc) have been considered. Organisational performance is assumed to be a multidimensional phenomenon today. Hence one important aspect of the discussion of several concepts of performance measurement has been the selection of the right measures. This paper focused the problemof measuring multidimensional organisational performance. Based on the multitask agency theory we enhanced the approaches of Holmstrom/milgrom and Austin by introducing extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, cost of measurement and uncertainty of measurement into the model.

Leasing är en populär finansieringsmetod. Redovisningen av leasing har dock kritiserats för att inte redovisa en rättvisande bild. Åtgärder för att försöka förbättra leasingredovisningen var en av de punkter som stod på agendan för IASB och FASB konvergensprojekt. Den främsta kritiken riktas till företag som redovisar under US GAAP där standarden lätt låter sig kringgås. Detta eftersom de medvetet klassificerar leasingavtalen som operationella. De operationella leasingarna ger en missvisande bild eftersom de inte går igenom balansräkningen. Det blir missvisande om de produkter eller tjänster som finansieras genom leasing skapar intäkter för företaget och bör därför ses som en tillgång.Syftet med studien är att föra en fördjupad diskussion kring den kommande leasingstandarden och dess effekt. Eftersom standarden inte ännu införts bidrar studien till ökade kunskaper inom området inför kommande standard. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ ansats med såväl kvantitativ som kvalitativ data. Den omfattar flera olika tillvägagångssätt för information. Empirin behandlar beräkningar på den förväntade effekten av en ny standard samt diskussioner med respondenterna.Resultatet visar på att den nya standarden får en markant påverkan på de företag som har stor andel operationella leasingavtal som redovisar under US GAAP. Det visar även hur nyckeltal som soliditet och skuldsättningsgrad försämras vid en kapitalisering av operationella leasingavtal. Resultat visar på en mer rättvisande bild vid ny leasingsstandard. Däremot kan den rubbas om alternativa finansieringsmetoder uppkommer.Studien behandlar en fördjupad diskussion kring ett mycket omtalat ämne men det var först i januari i år som den nya standarden presenterades. Därför bidrar studien med relevant information om den slutliga produkten av konvergensprojektet för leasing och diskussion kring alternativa finansieringsmöjligheter. / Leasing is a popular financing method and has received a lot of criticism for its accounting because it is not representing a true and fair view. This problem was one of the things on the agenda of the convergence project between IASB and FASB. The prime criticism is aimed for those companies that report under US GAAP where the standard is easy to manipulate by classify the leases as operating. The operating contracts are providing a deceptive picture by avoiding the balance sheet. The reason way this is deceptive are because the leased asset generates income for the company.The purpose of the study is to conduct a deeper discussion about the future leasing standard and its impact. Since the standard has not yet been put into use, the study contributes to increase knowledge in the area for the future standard. The study is based on a qualitative approached with quantitative and qualitative data. Different approached has been considered when collecting empirical data. The empirical data process information about leasing and calculations on the expected impact of the new standard and also discussions with the respondents.The result indicates that the new standard have a significant influence on the companies that have a large proportion of operating leases. The outcome also indicates how the key figures solidity and debt to equity ratio is being impaired through a capitalizing of operating leases. The outcome gives an increased true and fair view of the leasing standard. However financial engineering can disrupt the true and fair view.The study covers a deeper discussion about a controversial subject, but it was not until January this year the standard was publicly presented. The study therefore contributes with relevant information to the final product of the convergence project for leasing and a discussion about alternative financial engineering.This thesis is written in Swedish.

臺北市勞動檢查處為配合近年來「宣導、檢查、輔導」三合一策略提升防災效能，自民國87年開始將檢查業務部分轉換為「自主管理」模式，並將臺北市的營建工地分級管理，依不同等級有不同的自主檢查頻率，並派員實施不同程度的稽查。 依相關自主管理計畫的規定，若某營造廠加入計畫獲得「優等」或「特優級」的認證標章，除非發生災害、遇專案檢查及市民檢舉等情形外，檢查員不主動前往實施勞動檢查，但仍由機關中技正層級以上人員組成機動小組，不定期以輔導方式實施督導；所以該營造廠只要依規定之檢查流程及制式表格填寫按時回報，就幾乎不受規範所拘束。 但是近年參加自主管理計畫的營造工地發生職業災害的頻率，並未如預期下降，不符機關績效目標；因此，本研究重點在探究勞動檢查運用自主管理政策工具績效不佳的原因，是否這些營造廠的工地在申請獲得「優等」或「特優級」認證後，負責職業安全衛生工作的人員或主管，其責任及權限的移轉後造成行為與態度轉趨鬆懈？ 研究結果發現在實施自主管理計畫後，在營造廠中依不同的層次有不同的結果，部分負責人確實發生了道德風險（Moral Hazard）行為，而負責職業安全衛生工作的人員，礙於利潤及工期等眾多因素，鬆懈了安全衛生工作，部份發生了道德風險行為，致未達組織預設的目標。 / Taipei Labor Inspection Office adopted a strategy that combined advocacy, inspection and counseling to enhance the effectiveness of occupational hazards prevention. Since 1998, it began to change the policy from “inspection strengthening” to “self-management”. With hierarchical management of the construction sites in Taipei according to this strategy, construction sites of different levels have different inspection frequency and different degrees of inspection. In accordance with the self-management program, if an construction site in Taipei who joined this program obtains "excellent" or "Premium Class" certification, unless occupational accident happened, or special inspection project is launched, or citizens report, or other dangerous situations occur, the inspection personnels will not do labor inspection, but will still occasionally provide unscheduled counseling by official chief. As long as the construction company fills out the report form on time according to the program of the standard inspection flow, this company is nearly unregulated. But the occupational accident rate of those sites who applied to self-management program did not fall as expected, it does not achieve the goal as set by official performance indicators; therefore, this study aims to explore the reasons why those sites who obtain "excellent" or "Premium Class" certification, have shown that their behaviors and attitudes toward occupational safety and workers’ health have become more lax after joining the program? This study found that after the implementation of self-management program, moral hazard behaviors occur in different hierarchical levels of organizations. Construction company’s directors do show moral hazard behavior, while those in charge of occupational safety and health work, some do have moral hazard behavior, out of profit motive and time concern of the construction project among many other factors. All together explains why this self-management program does not achieve the goal set by official performance indicators.

政府機關委外執行民意調查已成為民主國家治理的趨勢之一；但民意調查的高度專業性和特殊性質，導致過程中有許多「看不見的黑手」介入的機會，故如何監督、控制民調的品質以確保信效度遂成為一項重要課題。全國各級政府機關中，以台北市在委外執行民調業務上的規定最為公開、完備，不僅訂有專法，更獨步全國成立「民意調查諮詢委員會」，協助各局處在委外執行民調過程中把關調查品質、解決問題。在這種「一個委託人（委託局處）、兩個代理人（執行廠商和民調諮詢委員）」的架構之下，本研究從交易成本理論出發，探討台北市的委託局處在這套委外與審查機制下必須付出的交易成本類型、背後的影響因素、與調查品質之間的關係。 本研究深度訪談5位民調諮詢委員、5個委託局處、研考會和4家執行民調的廠商共17人次，輔以次級資料分析，發現各局處在委外執行民調過程中的作法、程序和重視程度皆不一，付出的交易成本類型眾多，其中的「事前審查成本」、「搜尋廠商成本」、「事後審查成本」、「控制成本」在邏輯關係上較能對應後續之民調品質，其多寡深受「委託局處的重視程度」、「廠商的執行能力」影響。此外，為提昇調查品質，委託局處若付出較多事前成本（包括：事前審查成本和搜尋廠商成本）後能先行把關委託局處的需求與調查規格，且規模比起事後成本（包括控制成本、事後審查成本）來說較為減少許多，對調查品質將有正面影響；若未付出事前審查成本，則需於決標後耗費更多時間、精力與資源才有辦法確保調查品質。 然而，研究結果卻顯示民調諮詢委員會不見得能達到提昇調查品質的目的，仍有執行能力不佳、圖謀不軌的廠商無法達到審查委員的要求而遭到解約。因此，本研究歸納「民調諮詢委員會」兩項主要的缺失，包括未能事前把關調查規格與執行預算之間的合理性，無法克服「逆向選擇」執行廠商的問題；加上定位不明，難以保證可以完全發揮把關之功能與職責，委託局處未必完全依照委員的意見來要求廠商修正，以致淪為無人負責的窘境。 最後，本研究提出主要的政策建議，包括研考會的角色應更加積極、強化，確立民調諮詢委員會的定位，嚴肅思考業界委員協助審查的必要性，民調諮詢委員協助審查調查案的預算編列和招標文件；委託局處需掌握整個流程和民調諮詢委員的功能，顧及調查規格和預算的合理性並不以預算為唯一考量，與民調諮詢委員、執行廠商和研考會保持密切關係。

Komponentavskrivning är ett relativt nytt redovisningssätt för den offentliga sektorn. 2014 kom Rådet för kommunal redovisning med nya direktiv om att införa komponentavskrivning i de kommunala verksamheterna. Harmonisering har visat sig vara en grund till de nya direktiven, vilket påverkar de svenska kommunerna. Syftet med studien är att försöka identifiera om det finns faktorer som påverkar om en kommun har implementerat komponentavskrivning eller inte. Den teoretiska referensramen, innehållandes av relevanta teorier och begrepp, har hjälpt till att uppnå syftet. Det huvudsakliga metodvalet var att samla in data från årsredovisningar på samtliga 290 kommuner. För att komplettera svaren utfördes en telefonenkät som 57 kommuner svarade på. Resultatet visade att endast ett fåtal faktorer påverkar implementeringen av komponentavskrivning. Något som tydligt påverkar valet att implementering är den fria strukturen och ekonomichefernas eget intresse. Studiens resultat antyder att kommunerna inte följer lagen och det finns indikationer på att alla kommuner inte kommer följa lagen fullt ut i framtiden. Resultatet visade även att det finns en osäkerhet i vad för nytta komponentavskrivning skulle ge. Studien ökar förståelsen kring den offentliga sektorns redovisning med inriktning på hur i vilken utsträckning kommuner har implementerat komponentavskrivning. Enkätundersökningen visade att teorin och praktiken inte överensstämmer med varandra. Studien gav även indikationer på att det finns osäkerhet hos kommunerna vilket bidrar till att de gärna tar lärdom av varandra. Framtida forskning skulle kunna ge djupare kunskaper i varför komponentavskrivning inte har införts. / Component depreciation is a relatively new accounting method for the public sector. 2014, the Swedish Council of Municipal Accounting introduced new directives about component depreciation in municipalities. Harmonization has proved to be the basis for the new directives, which affects the Swedish municipalities. The purpose of the study is to identify if there are factors that affect whether a municipality has implemented component depreciation or not. The theoretical framework, containing relevant accounting theories and concepts, has helped to achieve the purpose. The main methodology was to collect data from annual reports in all 290 municipalities. To complete the answers, a telephone survey was performed, where 57 municipalities responded. The result showed that only few factors affect the implementation of component depreciation. Something that clearly affects the choice of implementation is the accounting choice and the CFOs own interest. The results of this study indicate that municipalities do not comply with the law and there are evidence that all municipalities will not fully comply with the law in the future. The results also showed that there is uncertainty about what benefits component depreciation would provide. The study increases the understanding of the public sector accounting, focusing on in which extent municipalities have implemented component depreciation. The survey showed that the theory and practice did not match. The study provided indications that there are uncertainties in the municipalities, which means they would like to learn from each other. Future research could provide deeper knowledge of why component depreciation has not been introduced.