The results of small business operations play a significant economic role in developed economies, yet in the United States, approximately 50% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years of operation. Some small business owners embark on small business initiatives without the cash management strategies necessary to sustain their businesses. Grounded on financial literacy theory, this multiple-case study identified the strategies that owners of small businesses used to manage cash in their daily operations. The population included 3 owners of small tavern business in southeast Alaska who have implemented cash management strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, supplementary documentation, and reflective journal notes. Data were analyzed using methodological triangulation, coding, and thematic analysis. Three themes emerged from data analysis: cash management capabilities, internal controls and employee accountability, and cash management opportunities. The findings of this study may contribute to positive social change by improving the ability of leaders of small businesses to increase job availability and contribute to economic stability in communities, thereby improving local and regional economies and enhancing the standard of living for individuals and households.

The diploma thesis review issues of cash pooling and its application to the company with global presence. It deals with both the advantages and disadvantages of real and notional cash pooling and further focuses on the legal framework of cash pooling in Czech Republic, Germany and the Slovak Republic. The main aim is to bring forward the suitable pooling structures for the needs of the chosen company, evaluate them according to the goals set up by the management and withdraw the optimal solution.

The thesis describes the effects of physical cash pooling implementation in a multinational company. The aim is to establish a general methodological framework for evaluating the costs and benefits of physical cash concentration. The basis is a theoretical overview of the cash concentration, which includes the definition of the main concepts and the methodical procedure for the implementation of this liquidity management tool in the company. In the empirical part there is a concrete application of the methodical procedure, internal and external environment analysis, as well as discussion of the effects of cash pooling implementation. The final chapter sets out a general assessment framework for the costs and benefits of physical cash pooling.

Kontanter har använts i flera århundranden och är ett sedvanligt betalningsmedel mellan privatpersoner och på inköpsstället. I takt med teknikens framfart har alltfler betalningsmedel utvecklats och anpassats till marknaden. Idag sker cirka 70 procent av alla köp i butik med kort. Detta gör att kontanternas användning plötsligt ifrågasätts och därmed väljer majoriteten av Sveriges storbanker att succesivt avveckla den manuella kontanthanteringen. Tanken är att försöka lära konsumenter och företag att använda alternativa lösningar som utgör substitut till kontanter. Dock beror efterfrågan på kontanter utav en demografisk utveckling. Kontantanvändningen är högre bland äldre och de har också format sina vanor under längre tid. För andra grupper såsom landsbygdsföretag, funktionshindrade, papperslösa och turister är kontanter essentiella, vilket gör att de hamnat i kläm vid avvecklandet. Andra har personliga preferenser till kontanters nytta såsom integritet, förtroende, tid, vana eller andra värderingar. Problemet blir således en demokratisk fråga där alla skall ha rätt till grundläggande betaltjänster. Studiens syfte är därför att förstå denna process och vilka effekter som uppstår när de flesta storbanker väljer att avveckla den manuella kontanthanteringen. Syftet har delats in i tre huvudproblem:      Vems ansvar är det när en av de grundläggande betaltjänsterna försvinner i samhället?      Vilka blir konsekvenserna med en minskad kontanthantering?      Vilka alternativa lösningar finns det för problemen? Sammanfattningsvis kom studien fram till att bankernas avveckling av kontanthantering har skett snabbare än nya lösningar har introducerats i samhället. Effekterna av denna avveckling har medfört problem för flera grupper. Resultaten visar även att bankerna kunde ha effektiviserat och avgiftsbelagt kontanter innan avvecklingen skedde. / Cash has been used for centuries and is a customary mean of payment between individuals and on the place of purchase. As technology progresses, a growing number of different payment services has developed and been adapted to the market. Today, approximately 70 percentages of all purchases in the stores is made by card. This has suddenly challenged the use of cash and therefore the majority of Sweden’s major banks have chosen to gradually phase out the manual cash management. The idea is to try to get consumers and businesses to use alternative solutions, which are substitutes for cash. However, the demand for cash depends on demographical conditions. The use of cash is more frequent among eldest and they have also shaped their habits over a longer time. For other groups, such as small firms on the countryside, disabled, undocumented migrants and tourists, cash is essential, so they are left in a jam. Others have personal preferences related to the use of cash such as integrity, trust, time, habits, or other values. Everyone is entitled to basic payment services, thus becomes the problem a question of democracy. The purpose of the study is to understand this process and to be aware of the effects that arise when most of the major banks will interrupt their manual cash management. The purpose has been divided into three main parts:  Whose responsibility is it when one of the basic payment services disappears in the society?  What are the consequences when there is a reduction of cash?  What are the alternative solutions? Overall, the study concluded that the banks' reduction of cash has been faster than the introductions of new solutions have been introduced into society. The effect of this decision has caused problems for several groups. The results of the study show that the banks could have improved the efficiency and they could also have introduced a fee on cash before the settlement was made.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att kartlägga vilka krisåtgärder och vilken likviditetshantering som företag inom besöksnäringens boendesektor tillämpat för att överleva under Covid 19-krisen. Detta för att generera en djupare förståelse för vilka lärdomar som kan dras för att möta framtida kriser på ett mer effektivt sätt. Metod: Denna kvalitativa studie baseras på semistrukturerade intervjuer med informanter från företag inom besöksnäringens boendesektor. Resultat: Studiens slutsats är att företagen i studien har drabbats i olika hög utsträckning av pandemins ekonomiska följder. Företagens omsättning, beläggning samt lönsamhet har för många av verksamheterna kraftigt reducerats till följd av krisen och dess restriktioner. Företagen har arbetat på ett flertal olika sätt för att förändra sina verksamheter och hantera sin likviditet och de ekonomiska följderna under Covid-19 pandemin. Några av de åtgärder som har vidtagits är att reducera verksamhetens kostnader, tagit del av statliga stöd, diskuterat och omförhandlat villkor med leverantörer och långivare, säkrat likviditeten genom en ökad upplåning, introducerat nya koncept och attraherat nya målgrupper, sänkt försäljningspriset, ett ökat arbete med kampanjer samt skapat förutsättningar för att möjliggöra trygga upplevelser som besökare. Kunskapsbidrag: Studien undersöker en aktuell och pågående kris med nedstängningar av en karaktär som aldrig tidigare skådats i modern tid. Krisen har drabbat samhället, näringslivet samt många företag och medarbetare väldigt hårt särskilt inom besöksnäringen där många företag gått i konkurs och många medarbetare blivit uppsagda. Genom att kartlägga de krisåtgärder och den likviditetshantering som verksamheterna har tillämpat under krisen kan en djupare förståelse för de lärdomar som kan dras för att hantera framtida kriser på ett mer effektivt sätt.

The purpose of this dissertation is to be an introductory examination of whether the use of the Prudent Person Rule in place of legal list investment restrictions could have a significant difference upon the return on investment that a state or local government may receive through its cash management practices. The dissertation will examine this issue by studying the effect of the Prudent Person Rule and legal list limitations on state-run local government investment pools in the United States. The specific question to be asked in this study will be: "Is there a difference in the return on investment yield performance of state-run local government investment pools among those operating under the Prudent Person Rule fiduciary standard, those operating under a legal list fiduciary standard, and those operating under a combination legal list/Prudent Person Rule fiduciary standard, for the five-year period beginning with Fiscal Year 1992 and ending with Fiscal Year 1996? It appears from this brief examination that there may be a difference in return among state-run pools operating under different fiduciary standards. However, because of various factors that might affect the results, the author believes that this is just a preliminary study, and that further research must be done on this important topic in public cash management. / Ph. D.

Betalsystemet är en av de viktigaste delarna vi har i den finansiella infrastrukturen, störningar i systemet skulle snabbt kunna leda till allvarliga konsekvenser för både individen, företagen och samhället i stort. Syftet med studien är att ge inblick i hur beredskapen ser ut idag, att hantera dessa störningar. Vidare syftar studien till att reda i vilka åtgärder som behövs för att säkerställa betalsystemets funktion vid en allvarlig störning, där digitala betalmetoder inte är fungerande. För att utföra studien har en kvalitativ metod använts, underlaget för studien har varit intervjuer med sju sakkunniga personer från Finansinspektionen, Riksbanken, Swedbank, Bankomat AB, Regeringskansliet, MSB och Bankgirot. Detta i kombination med relevant teori. Av resultatet kan vi se att genom att skapa en starkare motståndskraft och bättre förmåga för systemen att återhämta sig, blir samhället mer förberett på hanteringen av en framtida kris. Vidare framgår det att samhället inte skulle klara av ett längre avbrott i betalsystemet i dagsläget. Det blir också tydligt att bristande rutiner och en oklar fördelning av ansvaret leder till ett instabilt betalsystem i ett krisläge. Det är oklart vem som står för kostnaderna, om aktörer och myndigheter behöver rusta upp sina system, men detta förväntas bli tydligare i samband med ny kommande lagstiftning. För att säkerställa ett fungerande betalsystem både i ett krisläge och i ett normalläge, behövs ett mer robust system, med tydligare rutiner och ansvarsfördelning. / The payment system is one of the most important functions in our society’s financial infrastructure. Disruptions in the system would rapidly lead to serious consequences for individuals, businesses, and society as a whole. The purpose of the thesis is to provide a better understanding of what the emergency preparedness process looks like in dealing with mentioned disruptions, what actions are needed, and how the different actors address the issue and what risks society faces in the event of prolonged interruptions in the payment system. The study was conducted using a qualitative method, with interviews with seven experts from Finansinspektionen, Riksbanken, Swedbank, Bankomat AB, Government Offices of Sweden, The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and Bankgirot as the primary foundation and combining this with the relevant theory. Conclusions that can be drawn are that by strengthening the resilience and preparing society we give our systems a better ability to recover from a future crisis in our payment systems. Furthermore, that the society would not manage to retain control of the payment system in case of extensive disruption. It also became clear that insufficient routines and an indistinct division of responsibilities, lead to an unstable payment system in the event of a crisis. At this time, it is not clear who would pay the costs, if actors and authorities need to enhance their payment systems, but this uncertainty is intended to diminish with forthcoming new legislation. To ensure a functioning payment system in both a crisis and a normal situation, a sturdier system is required, with adequate routines and a division of responsibilities.

Cash decision-making involves the simultaneous consideration of financing and investment opportunities over a short-term planning horizon. Decision variables include timing, amount, and source of cash transactions. Decisions can be made regarding these variables such that the worth of the firm (i.e. outstanding investments less financing) at the end of the planning horizon is maximized. Because cash decision-making is often of critical importance to small business, this study focuses directly on the small business environment. Alternatives available to the small business are limited, as are the resources to evaluate alternatives. This stv.dy takes these factors into account by building a cash decision model which is specifically tailored to the small business, and implementing this model on a low-cost, high-powered microcomputer. The model itself is formulated as a linear program with a simple procedure included for handling noncontinuous variables. The model makes use of input generators for ease of implementation. A practical example problem is provided to illustrate the workings of the model. / Master of Science

Since its inception in the early 1980s, the global market for swaps has grown to over $3 trillion in notional principal outstanding, leading some regulators and others to express concern about risks posed for the financial system. Notional principal, however, is not a measure of the risks of swaps. As a result, it is important to both businesses using swaps and regulators to develop appropriate measures of these risks. For credit risk, for example, current replacement cost measures the credit exposure in the event of default today, but does not account for the possibility of default in the future. Additional measures are required. This thesis focuses on estimating the credit risk of swaps, accounting for both current and potential future exposure, and measuring the sensitivity or credit risk to changes in volatility. The model used is based on Monte Carlo techniques, drawing on Mark Ferron and George Handjinicolaou's article "Understanding Swap Credit Risk: The Simulation Approach". The model provides an estimate of the expected replacement cost of a swap, averaging across numerous interest rate scenarios. The sensitivity of the model's estimate of swap credit risk to different volatility assumptions is also determined and compared to the results of Ferron and Handjinicolaou. This analysis demonstrates that swap credit risk is highly sensitive to volatility. For example, starting with a 15% volatility level, a 100 basis point increase in volatility results in a 6.7% increase in the estimate of expected replacement cost. More generally, a given increase in volatility (e.g. from 20% to 25%) results in a proportional increase in replacement cost. / Master of Arts

Cash management is a process for controlling the flow of money into and out of an organization for the purpose of optimizing its financial position. The benefits of cash management - a more complete understanding of financial standing, a stronger financial position, and an improved ability to plan and fund activities and expenditures - are just as relevant to the non-profit organization as to its government or business counterpart. This study explores the extent to which this argument is valid within a sample of religiously affiliated non-profit organizations by identifying and evaluating the patterns of cash management techniques they use. This research demonstrates that part of the religious non-profit subsector employs a variety of cash management techniques ranging from simply depositing incoming money daily to preparing cash budgets and investing surplus funds. On the whole, however, this use is not very sophisticated. Nevertheless, significant sophistication differences between denominations indicate that while there are no inherent subsector structural barriers to cash management implementation, implementation is related to other factors including the type of accounting system used and the size of the organization’s budget. This thesis also develops an index that reflects the relative sophistication of cash management implementation in the organizations studied. The index reflects categories of cash management techniques culled from the literature while for the first time weighting those tools based on their relative level of implementation difficulty and sophistication. This index allows comparisons between organizations within and between sectors. / Master of Urban Affairs