The purpose of this study is to explore how IFRS 15 have influenced Swedish auditors and financial analysts’ understanding of companies’ revenue transactions. How accounting structural changes under IFRS 15 contribute to potential informational effects remains a largely unexplored topic. By applying asymmetric information theory, behavioral decision theory and the concept of uniformity versus uniqueness, this study explores potential factors that influence information intermediaries’ understandability of companies’ revenue transactions. This study uses an explorative approach consisting of 8 semi-structured interviews with Swedish auditors and financial analysts working in the telecommunication and construction industry. From a practical point of view, this study may assist the IASB and other regulators in obtaining a better understanding of information intermediaries’ ability to appropriately interpret and use financial information under IFRS 15. From a theoretical standpoint, the findings can provide areas of potential future studies in the field of accounting information research. Although the implementation of IFRS 15 has a limited quantitative accounting effect, this study finds that the implementation contributes to informational effects on financial analysts and auditors’ information environment. The findings indicate that the perceived informational effects are dependent on entities' application of the standard; intermediaries’ accounting knowledge and experience; as well as companies' transparency and manipulating incentives.

European greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have decreased by 24% between 1990 and 2019 according to a report by the European Commission. Yet, the Paris agreement set a target of 55% by 2030 to prevent the effects of climate change and prepare for carbon neutrality by 2050. Achieving this goal requires decarbonization efforts to be four times faster than current rates, and carbon accounting will play an essential role for identifying emission sources and developing emission reduction strategies. However, carbon accounting still suffers a lack of consistency and standardization due to different methods and incomplete scope, leading to confusion and incomparability. This thesis proposes a comprehensive and innovative methodology for carbon accounting that ensures transparency, comparability, accuracy, and completeness. Using an iterative approach and a unique representation for carbon architecture, the methodology covers crucial steps such as identifying emission sources, selecting emission factors, determining calculation methods, displaying results, and simulating emission reduction scenarios. A new reliability measurement is also introduced to assess the quality of each emission estimate. The methodology was successfully implemented in the concrete example of a company seeking to reduce the carbon impact of its activities. The limitations of the thesis are addressed in the conclusion. / Europeiska växthusgasutsläpp har minskat med 24% mellan 1990 och 2019 enligt en rapport från Europeiska kommissionen. Trots detta har Parisavtalet satt upp ett mål på 55% till år 2030 för att förhindra klimatförändringarnas effekter och förbereda för koldioxidneutralitet år 2050. För att uppnå detta mål krävs att avkolningsansträngningarna fyrdubblas i jämförelse med nuvarande takt, och koldioxidredovisning kommer att spela en avgörande roll för att identifiera utsläppskällor och utveckla strategier för utsläppsminskning. Dock lider koldioxidredovisning fortfarande av brist på konsekvens och standardisering på grund av olika metoder och ofullständig omfattning, vilket leder till förvirring och bristande jämförbarhet. Denna avhandling föreslår en omfattande och innovativ metodik för koldioxidredovisning som säkerställer transparens, jämförbarhet, noggrannhet och fullständighet. Genom att använda en iterativ ansats och en unik representation av koldioxidarkitektur täcker metoden viktiga steg såsom att identifiera utsläppskällor, välja utsläppsfaktorer, bestämma beräkningsmetoder, visa resultat och simulera scenarier för utsläppsminskning. En ny pålitlighetsmätning introduceras också för att bedöma kvaliteten på varje utslagsuppskattning. Metoden implementerades framgångsrikt i det konkreta exemplet med ett företag som sökte minska den koldioxidpåverkan av sina verksamheter. Begränsningarna med avhandlingen diskuteras i slutsatsen.

Climate change presents financial risks for banks and must therefore be treated accordingly. To assess and manage these risks, banks are expected to apply scenarioanalysis and adopt the TCFD’s recommendations on climate-related risk disclosures. This study analyzes how climate scenario analysis is implemented and reported in the Swedish banking sector. Empirical data has been collected through interviews with six banks, as well as through public annual and sustainability reports. The results of the study indicate that banks are in a learning phase characterized by uncertainty and lack of data, resulting in careful considerations in making strategic decisions based on the scenario analysis and when disclosing climate related information. Thus, banks do not disclose their scenario analysis as transparently as the TCFD suggests, thereby affecting the comparability within the sector. Further improvements related to more accessible and granular data are needed. In addition, many banks consider this to be a governmental issue where regulations are beneficial for establishing standardized models and common practices, which in turn could increase transparency and comparability. / Klimatförändringar medför finansiella risker som banker behöver beakta. För att bedöma och hantera dem bör banker genomföra scenarioanalyser samt följa de rekommendationer som TCFD gett ut gällande klimatrelaterad rapportering. Denna studie ger en nulägesanalys av hur scenarioanalys implementeras och rapporteras inom den svenska banksektorn. Studien bygger på empirisk data från intervjuer med sex banker, samt från publika års- och hållbarhetsredovisningar. Resultatet av studien visar att bankerna är i en lärandefas präglad av osäkerhet, där bland annat datatillgänglighet är ett stort problem. Bristfälligheterna medför att bankerna är försiktiga med att fatta strategiska beslut utifrån scenarioanalyserna samt med vad de rapporterar publikt, vilket påverkar transparensen och jämförbarheten inom sektorn. Dessutom anser många banker att detta är en samhällsfråga där regleringar kan bidra till ökad standardisering av data och modeller samt etablering av gemensamma standarder, vilket även kan ha en positiv inverkan på rapporteringen och således öka transparensen och jämförbarheten inom sektorn.

The broad aim of this research was to assess the decision-usefulness of environmental reports produced by South African companies that are listed on the Johanessburg Securities Exchange (JSE) to users of the reports. The study was motivated by a lack of research on the decision-usefulness of environmental reports in South Africa. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase in form of a content analysis evaluated the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports of top 100 JSE-listed South African companies using a control list and a judgement scale. The second phase in form of a questionnaire survey was aimed at determining, the information needs of users of environmental reports produced by South African companies (that are listed on the JSE), the extent to which they read and employ the reports for making decisions. In addition, this phase was meant to ascertain the degree of users' satisfaction with the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports as well as elicit their suggestions on ways of improving the reports. Furthermore, the second phase was aimed at determining the users’ perception of the relative importance of environmental reports as well as ascertaining whether there was an expectation gap between the users and the preparers of the reports with regard to their decision-usefulness. The results of the content analysis phase of the study indicate that the environmental reports of the sampled companies were decision-useful, however their decision-usefulness varied widely. Although decision-useful, the environmental reports of the sampled companies were not comparable. In addition, the environmental reports of companies from sectors with a significant impact on the environment, and those of large companies were more decision-useful than the reports of companies from sectors with an insignificant impact on the environment and those of smaller companies. The results of the questionnaire survey phase of the study indicate that users prefer balanced environmental reports that disclose both negative and positive aspects that identify and describe key relevant issues, that are specific and contain accurate information, and that provide future oriented information. In addition, users prefer environmental reports that identify and address key stakeholders and their concerns, demonstrate the integration of environmental issues into core business processes, and that compare quantitative impacts against best practice. Furthermore, the results also indicate that users do read environmental reports, mostly from companies’ websites Portable Document Format (PDF) annual reports and that they mostly use the environmental reports for research, their own knowledge, and to hold companies accountable. However, users are not fully satisfied with the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports as they feel that there is a need to improve the reports in order to make them more decision-useful. The results also indicate that users perceive environmental reports to be more important than any other type of reports, most notably the financial reports. Comparing the responses of the users to those of preparers on various issues pertaining to the decision-usefulness of environmental reports, significant differences were found between the views of the two groups. These differences provide ample evidence that is consistent with the existence of an environmental reporting expectation gap in South Africa. This study makes several original contributions to environmental reporting literature, most notable of which is that, it is the first study in the South African context to empirically evaluate the quality (decision-usefulness) of environmental reports in line with the accounting conceptual frameworks and the GRI guidelines combined. By so doing, the study introduces to the academic literature an extensive five dimensional qualitative characteristic framework for evaluating the quality (decision-usefulness) of environmental reports. In addition, the study uniquely employs the decision-usefulness theory to provide insights into the environmental reporting practices of South African companies that are listed on the JSE. In so doing, it re-contextualises the theory that is typically employed in explaining financial reporting, and demonstrates its applicability in explaining the decision-usefulness of the environmental reporting practices of South African companies that are listed on the JSE. / Accounting / D. Com. (Accounting)

The aim of this paper is to investigate if it is compatible with the free movement of capital (Article 63 TFEU) to levy a withholding tax on Swedish-sourced dividends paid to non-EU investment funds with legal personality (in the paper referred to as investment companies). This question is of relevance since several Swedish intermediaries do not pay any income tax on dividends, either due to a formal tax exemption or to de facto practice. As such, it is clear from CJEU case law that non-EU investment companies should also be exempt from withholding tax on dividends, provided that they are in an objectively comparable situation with any of these Swedish entities and that no justification ground is applicable.   The conclusion of the thesis is that there are indications of that the current Swedish lower court practice, which is to deny comparability between non-EU investment companies and Swedish tax-exempt investment funds with reference to that the foreign entities have a different legal form, is contrary to EU law. Alternatively, it is possible to find discriminatory treatment when comparing the dividend tax treatment of a non-EU investment company with the dividend tax treatment of a Swedish fiscal investment enterprise (investmentföretag). For this reason, it is welcome that leave to appeal was recently granted by the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden in one of the lower court cases dealing with this issue.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T18:39:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luciano Aparecido dos Santos.pdf: 931046 bytes, checksum: 9a7552d3cb9b9621ebbb5cf772fb8851 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-06 / As a reflex of the changes happened in the last decades in the process of globalization of the economy and of the development of the international markets, it was necessary a change in the process of generation of the accounting information in which accounting has been pressed by the demands of new markets, its potential investors and analysts to supply financial statements in an efficient and effective way for the best interpretation and decision in this market in high performance. As we insert the accounting in this globalization context, the accounting information becomes more and more relevant and of great importance in the decision process. Faced with the economic globalization of the markets, it is necessary the adoption of rules and accounting patterns globally used and accepted, allowing a comparative of the accounting information for the decisorial process. The IASB (International Accounting Standard Board) was responsible for the elaboration of international rules already in convergence process in more than 100 countries all over the world. In Brazil, with the publication of the Law number 11.638/07, being in force from January 1st, 2008, and later with the changes coming from the Law number 11.941/09, there was an important step in the process of convergence of their rules with the international patterns through the creation of the Committee of Accounting Pronouncements (CPC), responsible organ for the emission of accounting pronouncements in consonance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This study aims to identify the materiality of the impacts of the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in financial statements and in companies performance, presenting the significant differences in accounts of Balance Sheet and of Incoming Statement, aiming to answer to the central question: Has the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) generated impact on Equity and Profit and Loss Statement of the open capital entities listed in BOVESPA, Air Transport segment? To such purpose, it was chosen the methodology of research and of exploratory nature with descriptive studies, which provides to the researcher a larger inclusion of the occurred facts in relation to a direct research. The comparative analysis of the financial statements of the companies object of this study demonstrates that the financial statements elaborated in agreement with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) present a larger level of disclosure when compared with the old adopted pattern BR GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). The obtained conclusion is that the process of adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has generated impacts in the Equity and Profit and Loss Statement and in several processes and controls of the companies object of this study / Como reflexo das mudanças ocorridas nas últimas décadas no processo de globalização da economia e do desenvolvimento dos mercados internacionais, fez-se necessário uma mudança no processo de geração das informações contábeis, em que a contabilidade tem sido pressionada por meio das exigências dos novos mercados, seus potenciais investidores e analistas a fornecer demonstrações contábeis de forma eficiente e eficaz para a melhor interpretação e tomada de decisões neste mercado em alta performance. Ao inserirmos a contabilidade neste contexto de globalização, a informação contábil torna-se cada vez mais relevante e de suma importância no processo decisório. Frente à globalização econômica dos mercados, faz-se necessária a adoção de normas e padrões contábeis utilizados e aceitos mundialmente, permitindo um comparativo das informações contábeis para o processo decisorial. O IASB (International Accounting Standard Board) ficou responsável pela elaboração de normas internacionais que já estão em processo de convergência em mais de 100 países em todo o mundo. No Brasil, com a publicação da Lei n.º 11.638/07, vigorando a partir de 1.º de janeiro de 2008, e, posteriormente, com as alterações emanadas da Lei n.º 11.941/09, deu-se um importante passo no processo de convergência de suas normas com os padrões internacionais por meio da criação do Comitê de Pronunciamentos Contábeis (CPC), órgão responsável pela emissão de pronunciamentos contábeis em consonância com as Normas Internacionais de Contabilidade (IFRS). O estudo tem por objetivo identificar a materialidade dos impactos da adoção das Normas Internacionais de Contabilidade (IFRS) nas demonstrações contábeis e no desempenho das empresas, apresentando as diferenças significativas em contas do Balanço Patrimonial e da Demonstração de Resultados, buscando responder à questão-problema: A adoção das Normas Internacionais de Contabilidade (IFRS) gerou impacto no Patrimônio Líquido e no Resultado do Exercício das Entidades de capital aberto listadas na BOVESPA do segmento de Transporte Aéreos? Para tanto, foi escolhida a metodologia de pesquisa de natureza exploratória com estudos descritivos, que proporciona ao pesquisador uma maior cobertura dos fatos ocorridos em relação a uma pesquisa direta. A análise comparativa das demonstrações contábeis das empresas-objeto deste estudo evidencia que as demonstrações financeiras elaboradas de acordo com os padrões IFRS apresentam um nível de divulgação maior quando comparadas com o antigo padrão adotado BR GAAP. A conclusão obtida é que o processo de adoção das Normas Internacionais de Contabilidade (IFRS) gerou impactos no Patrimônio Líquido e no Resultado do Exercício e em diversos processos e controles das empresas-objeto de estudo

Diese Dissertation umfasst drei Papiere, die sich mit den Konsequenzen von verpflichtend aufzustellender finanzieller Berichterstattung befassen. Die erste Studie beschäftigt sich mit einer Gesetzesänderung, die Investoren betrifft, deren Stimmrechtsanteile offenzulegen sind. Sie untersucht, welche Investoren ihre Unternehmensanteile anpassen, nachdem die Gesetzesänderung, die in einer Herabsetzung des Eingangsschwellenwerts für Stimmrechtsmitteilungen resultiert, in Kraft tritt. Die Ergebnisse sind konsistent mit einer Umschichtung in der Eigentümerstruktur von Unternehmen. Sie zeigen, dass Investmentfonds und, in etwas geringerem Maße, Banken ihre Anteile reduzieren während nichtfinanzielle Unternehmen ihre Anteile erhöhen. Die zweite Studie befasst sich mit der Rolle von Offenlegungsinstrumenten für Portfolioentscheidungen von einem speziellen Investorentyp, Investmentfonds. Sie analysiert, ob die Vergleichbarkeit von Rechnungslegungsinformationen mit der Zugehörigkeit zu Portfolios von Investmentfonds assoziiert ist. Die Ergebnisse stehen im Einklang mit der Bedeutung von Vergleichbarkeit in der Rechnungslegung für die Selektion von Portfoliounternehmen. Investmentfonds nehmen Unternehmen mit einer größeren Wahrscheinlichkeit in ihr Portfolio auf, wenn die Rechnungslegungsinstrumente dieser Unternehmen eine höhere Vergleichbarkeit mit den Rechnungslegungsinstrumenten anderer Portfoliounternehmen aufweisen. Die dritte Studie legt die Aufmerksamkeit auf Fachkräfte in der Rechnungslegung, die die Erstellung von Offenlegungsinstrumenten unterstützen, Wirtschaftsprüfer und Berater. Sie betrachtet Determinanten ihrer Entscheidung, temporär innerhalb der Unternehmensstrukturen zu migrieren, mit Bezug auf länder- und berufsspezifische Charakteristika. Die Ergebnisse deuten an, dass Unterschiede in der Rechnungslegungs- und Steuerregulierung Migrationsentscheidungen beeinflussen können. / This dissertation comprises three papers on the consequences of mandatory, financial disclosures. The first study focuses on a rule change which applies to investors who are required to disclose their ownership in firms. It investigates which investor types adjust their holdings in response to this rule change, the introduction of lower reporting thresholds. Results are consistent with a reshuffling of the ownership structure of firms. Precisely, they show that mutual funds and, to a lesser extent, banks decrease their holdings while non-financial corporations increase their holdings. The second study concentrates on the role of disclosures in portfolio decisions of one particular investor type, mutual funds. It analyzes whether comparability of firms’ accounting disclosures is associated with their membership in mutual funds’ portfolios. Results are in line with accounting comparability mattering for portfolio selection. Specifically, mutual funds are more likely to include a firm in their portfolio if the firm is more comparable, in accounting terms, to existing portfolio peers. The third study shifts the attention to accounting professionals who assist in the preparation of financial disclosures, auditors and consultants. It studies country-level as well as occupation-specific determinants of the decision to temporarily migrate within firms. Results suggest that differences in accounting and tax rules across countries can affect migration decisions of these professionals.

Jämförbarhet i hållbarhetsrapporten är en nödvändighet för att informationen ska vara användbar för användarna. För att främja jämförbar information ska svenska företag följa hållbarhetslagen som bygger på EU-direktivet om hållbarhetsrapportering. Till sin hjälp kan företagen tillämpa internationella frivilliga ramverk som exempelvis Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). I och med att det finns ett flertal frivilliga ramverk att tillämpa kan företagen välja ifall dem vill följa något ramverk, med det utgör inget krav, för att uppfylla hållbarhetslagen. Detta utrymme av frivillighet bidrar till den stora variation i antalet resultatindikatorer som företagen lämnar upplysningar om i hållbarhetsrapporten, vilket gör att informationen inte blir jämförbar. Denna studie vill bidra med kunskap till forskningsfältet genom att (1) kartlägga jämförbarheten i hållbarhetsrapporter i form av hur utförligt företagen noterade på Stockholmsbörsen Large Cap tillämpar resultatindikatorer till rapporteringskravets kategorier och (2) förklara och analysera sambandet mellan företagens branschtillhörighet, företagens andel kvinnor i styrelsen och utförlighetsnivån i hållbarhetsrapporter som omfattas av hållbarhetslagen. För att besvara studiens syfte genomfördes en kvantitativ innehållsanalys av samtliga företag som uppfyllde kriterierna för hållbarhetsrapportering och GRI:s ramverk på Stockholmsbörsen Large Cap. Resultatet visade att båda sambanden var relativt svaga. Sambandet för företagens branschtillhörighet visade sig något starkare jämfört med andelen kvinnor i styrelsen. Det tyder på att det finns andra underliggande faktorer som påverkar jämförbarheten i hållbarhetsrapporten. / The comparability in the sustainability report is a necessity to serve its main purpose, which is to be useful for the stakeholders. To encourage comparable information in the sustainability report, Swedish companies must comply with the national sustainability law, which is based on the EU directive of sustainability reporting. To comply with the national sustainability law companies can apply international voluntary frameworks such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), but there is no imperative requirement. All the voluntary frameworks may contribute to the observed differences of indicators disclosed in the sustainability reports, which makes the information not comparable. This study contributes to the field of research by (1) mapping the comparability in the sustainability reports of firms listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange Large Cap by investigating the level of completeness for the reporting requirements categories and (2) explain and analyse the correlation between the company´s sector, board diversity and the level of completeness of firms that are covered by the national sustainability law. Therefore, a quantity content analysis was conducted on all companies in our sample. The findings display a weak relationship between the investigated variables. This suggest that there are other underlying factors that may affect the comparability in the sustainability reports.

The broad aim of this research was to assess the decision-usefulness of environmental reports produced by South African companies that are listed on the Johanessburg Securities Exchange (JSE) to users of the reports. The study was motivated by a lack of research on the decision-usefulness of environmental reports in South Africa. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase in form of a content analysis evaluated the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports of top 100 JSE-listed South African companies using a control list and a judgement scale. The second phase in form of a questionnaire survey was aimed at determining, the information needs of users of environmental reports produced by South African companies (that are listed on the JSE), the extent to which they read and employ the reports for making decisions. In addition, this phase was meant to ascertain the degree of users' satisfaction with the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports as well as elicit their suggestions on ways of improving the reports. Furthermore, the second phase was aimed at determining the users’ perception of the relative importance of environmental reports as well as ascertaining whether there was an expectation gap between the users and the preparers of the reports with regard to their decision-usefulness. The results of the content analysis phase of the study indicate that the environmental reports of the sampled companies were decision-useful, however their decision-usefulness varied widely. Although decision-useful, the environmental reports of the sampled companies were not comparable. In addition, the environmental reports of companies from sectors with a significant impact on the environment, and those of large companies were more decision-useful than the reports of companies from sectors with an insignificant impact on the environment and those of smaller companies. The results of the questionnaire survey phase of the study indicate that users prefer balanced environmental reports that disclose both negative and positive aspects that identify and describe key relevant issues, that are specific and contain accurate information, and that provide future oriented information. In addition, users prefer environmental reports that identify and address key stakeholders and their concerns, demonstrate the integration of environmental issues into core business processes, and that compare quantitative impacts against best practice. Furthermore, the results also indicate that users do read environmental reports, mostly from companies’ websites Portable Document Format (PDF) annual reports and that they mostly use the environmental reports for research, their own knowledge, and to hold companies accountable. However, users are not fully satisfied with the decision-usefulness of the environmental reports as they feel that there is a need to improve the reports in order to make them more decision-useful. The results also indicate that users perceive environmental reports to be more important than any other type of reports, most notably the financial reports. Comparing the responses of the users to those of preparers on various issues pertaining to the decision-usefulness of environmental reports, significant differences were found between the views of the two groups. These differences provide ample evidence that is consistent with the existence of an environmental reporting expectation gap in South Africa. This study makes several original contributions to environmental reporting literature, most notable of which is that, it is the first study in the South African context to empirically evaluate the quality (decision-usefulness) of environmental reports in line with the accounting conceptual frameworks and the GRI guidelines combined. By so doing, the study introduces to the academic literature an extensive five dimensional qualitative characteristic framework for evaluating the quality (decision-usefulness) of environmental reports. In addition, the study uniquely employs the decision-usefulness theory to provide insights into the environmental reporting practices of South African companies that are listed on the JSE. In so doing, it re-contextualises the theory that is typically employed in explaining financial reporting, and demonstrates its applicability in explaining the decision-usefulness of the environmental reporting practices of South African companies that are listed on the JSE. / Accounting / D. Com. (Accounting)

Hållbarhetsredovisning är ett sätt för företag att redogöra för hur de arbetar med samhällsansvar. Detta ansvar benämns Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) och speglar tre dimensioner, miljömässigt, socialt, och ekonomiskt ansvar. Intressenter ställer allt högre krav på företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar, då det finns en ökad trend och en ökad medvetenhet kring detta ansvar i samhället. I och med detta krav har företagen i sin tur efterfrågat riktlinjer att förhålla sig till i denna typ av redovisning. Den ledande organisationen som upprättar riktlinjer kring detta är Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), de har gett ut riktlinjer i fyra generationer, där de senaste publicerades 2015. Dessa riktlinjer är inte lagstadgade utan endast en rekommendation, som företag kan välja att använda sig av, samt att företag kan välja i vilken utsträckning de vill använda sig av riktlinjerna. Detta är ett av skälen till att hållbarhetsrapporter skiljer sig åt, ett annat skäl är att olika branscher definierar hållbarhet olika. För att öka transparensen och öppenheten i rapporterna har GRI upprättat ett antal innehålls- och kvalitetsprinciper som företag ska ta hänsyn till när de framarbetade sin hållbarhetsrapport i enlighet med deras riktlinjer. Dessa principer har vi haft som grund till vår studie.Syftet med vår studie är att generera kunskap om skillnader som förekommer i hållbarhetsrapporter. Detta har vi gjort genom att jämföra hur företag arbetar kring de innehålls- och kvalitetsprinciper som GRI:s upprättar som hjälpmedel i framarbetandet av hållbarhetsrapporter. Samt att hitta skillnader som eventuellt kan hänföras till att olika branscher definierar hållbarhet olika.Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ dokumentanalys, där vi granskat sju svenska företag som är listade på den svenska börsen Nasdaq Stockholm. De rapporter vi använt är utgivna för år 2015 och upprättade i enlighet med GRI:s G4 riktlinjer.Resultatet av vår studie visar att det förekommer variationer av innehåll samt kvalitetsskillnader i företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar. Att det varierar i innehåll uppstår av naturliga skäl, då företag har olika intressenter i olika branscher. Skillnaderna som förekommer i rapporternas kvalitet grundas mycket i företagens val av språk och att det brister då det inte finns ett standardiserat formulär av rubriker samt mätmetoder. / Sustainability Reporting is a way for companies to describe how they work with social responsibility. This responsibility is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and reflects three dimensions; environmental, social, and financial responsibility. When there is an increasing trend and awareness of this responsibility in society, stakeholders make higher demands on the sustainability reports which is issued by companies. With this requirement, companies have asked for guidelines to remain in this type of accounting. The leading organization that establishes guidelines for this is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), they have issued guidelines for four generations, where the latest were published in 2015. These guidelines are only a recommendation and not a statutory requirement, which companies can choose to use and that the companies can choose the extent to which they wish to use of the guidelines. This is one of the reasons why sustainability reports differ, another reason is that different industries define sustainability differently. In order to increase transparency into the reports, GRI has established a number of content and quality principles that companies should consider when developing their sustainability report in accordance with their guidelines. Five of these principles have been the basis of our study.The aim of our study is to generate knowledge about differences that occur in sustainability reports. We have done this by comparing how companies is working around the principles for content and quality, which GRI establish in the work of the sustainability reports. As well as finding differences that may be attributable to different industries defining sustainability differently.We have conducted a qualitative document analysis, in which we examined seven Swedish companies listed on the Swedish Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stockholm. The reports we used were issued for the year 2015 and established in accordance with GRI's G4 guidelines.The results of our study show that there are variations of content as well as quality differences in companies' sustainability reports. The variations in content arises naturally, as companies have different stakeholders in different industries. The differences that arise in the quality of the reports are very much based on the company's choice of language, and that it lacks a standardized form of headings and measurement methods.