Titel: Mind the Gap: Generations at Risk Författare: Samuel Hansson och Fabian Stenseth Handledare: Zahida Sarwary  Bakgrund: Efter en tid av positiv avkastning har förändringar i omvärlden lett till ökad inflation. Investerare från Generation Z upplever sin första tid på börsen i en ekonomisk oro, medan Generation X upplever det igen efter finanskraschen 2008. Dessa generationers riskbenägenhet vid finansiella beslut har inte kunnat kartläggas i modern tid, och därmed har en kunskapslucka identifieras.     Syfte: Studien ämnar undersöka och kategorisera riskbenägenhet utifrån börspsykologiska faktorer mellan Generation X (personer födda 1965–1980) och Generation Z (personer födda 1997–2012), där investerarna har en eftergymnasial utbildning inom ekonomi.  Metod: Studien har tillämpat en kvantitativ metod, bestående av en deduktiv ansats. Empiriska data har utförts via en enkätundersökning och ett slumpmässigt urval. Empirin bestod av 105 användbara svar, varav 46 svar från Generation X och 59 svar från Generation Z. Empiriska data analyserades utifrån deskriptiv statistik, t-tester, korrelationsmatris, samt multipel linjär regressionsanalys.  Resultat: Analysen redovisade en signifikant positiv samvariation mellan generationerna vid olika börspsykologiska faktorer, där mental accounting påverkade Generation X och överkonfidens påverkade Generation Z.  Slutsats: Studiens resultat påvisade en positiv signifikant samvariation för Generation Z gällande överkonfidens, vilket innebär att högre överkonfidens leder till en högre riskbenägenhet. För Generation X påvisades en positiv signifikant samvariation för mental accounting, vilket leder till en högre riskbenägenhet.  Nyckelord: Behavioral finance, investment, mental accounting, herding bias, overconfidence, financial literacy, cognitive reflection ability / Title: Mind the Gap: Generations at Risk Authors: Samuel Hansson and Fabian Stenseth Supervisor: Zahida Sarwary  Background: After a period of positive returns, changes in the environment have led to increased inflation. Investors from Generation Z are experiencing their first time in the stock market during economic uncertainty, while Generation X is experiencing it again after the 2008 financial crisis. The risk propensity of these generations in financial decision-making has not been adequately studied in modern times, creating a gap in knowledge. Purpose: The study aims to examine and categorize risk propensity based on behavioral finance factors between Generation X (individuals born between 1965 and 1980) and Generation Z (individuals born between 1997 and 2012), with investors having a post-secondary education in finance and economics. Methodology: The study applied a quantitative method with a deductive approach. Empirical data was collected through a survey and random sampling, resulting in 105 usable responses of which 46 respondents from Generation X and 59 respondents from Generation Z. The empirical data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, correlation matrices, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The analysis revealed a significant positive association between the generations in various behavioral finance factors, with the risk propensity being affected by mental accounting for Generation X and overconfidence for Generation Z. Conclusion: The study's results demonstrated a significant positive association for Generation Z regarding overconfidence, indicating that higher overconfidence leads to a greater risk propensity. For Generation X, a significant positive association was found for mental accounting, which also leads to a higher risk propensity. Key words: Behavioral finance, investment, mental accounting, herding bias, overconfidence, financial literacy, cognitive reflection ability

Submitted by Leonardo Barcellos (lpbarcellos@gmail.com) on 2017-06-20T00:02:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Final version - Dissertation paper - Leonardo Barcellos.pdf: 2615722 bytes, checksum: c5b3c3f34e1c9b8347aec530d34e7f74 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ÁUREA CORRÊA DA FONSECA CORRÊA DA FONSECA (aurea.fonseca@fgv.br) on 2017-06-21T16:00:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Final version - Dissertation paper - Leonardo Barcellos.pdf: 2615722 bytes, checksum: c5b3c3f34e1c9b8347aec530d34e7f74 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-05T12:25:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Final version - Dissertation paper - Leonardo Barcellos.pdf: 2615722 bytes, checksum: c5b3c3f34e1c9b8347aec530d34e7f74 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-07 / This dissertation paper gathers three studies on the relationship between accounting practice and certified public accountants’ (CPAs) cognitive reflection abilities (CR-ability). The first chapter summarizes the three studies, presenting contextual information about how the research ideas and identification strategies relate to my doctoral studies. The study in the second chapter maps Brazilian CPAs’ CR-abilities to demographic characteristics, providing not only the foundational insights for the studies in the next chapters but also evidence that male and younger CPAs tend to present higher CR-abilities than female and older CPAs, as well as that employer firm size may determine CR-abilities of preparers and managers. The study in the third chapter applies a quasi-experimental approach to examine whether auditing practice is more likely to prevent CR-abilities decline than financial reports elaboration practice. The paper explores the unique counterfactual opportunity provided by the accounting setting to find that aging leads human beings to adapt information processing strategies towards Type 1 of reasoning in detriment of Type 2. But auditing practice may curb this trend. These findings make several contributions to psychology and accounting fields. The paper in the fourth chapter examines the influence of stable CPAs’ individual characteristics, i.e., CR-ability and professional experience in pressured firms, on the professional judgments behind the recognition of assets and cash flows arising from audiovisual content (AV-content). The findings suggest that CR-ability drives differential AV-content assets and cash flows classification at recognition and, ultimately, incomparable financial statements, but professional experience in pressured firms is likely to refrain such differences in the case of assets. Finally, I present my concluding remarks in the fifth chapter.