Inom redovisning pågår det ständigt utvecklingsarbeten för att förbättra och förnya finansiellarapporter. Den ökade globaliseringen av kapitalmarknaden väcker många frågor hosinternationella normgivningsorgan och hos allmänheten. IASB publicerade under 2013 ettdiskussionsunderlag (DP/2013/1) mot bakgrund av föreställningsramen för finansiellrapportering, i vilket IASB föreslagit möjliga förändringar av standarderna. I uppsatsen varfokus på den föreslagna definitionen av tillgång och skuld som presenteras idiskussionsunderlaget. Fram till och med januari 2014 har IASB mottagit remissvar angåendeDP/2013/1. Det har inkommit sammanlagt 243 remissvar av olika omfattning och i dennauppsats har 29 av dessa behandlats.Syftet med uppsatsen har varit att undersöka och redogöra för vilka argument som tas upp iremissvaren om förslaget huruvida en tillgång och en skuld ska definieras. Studien har ävensyftat till att analysera IASBs tänkbara mål med att revidera föreställningsramen. Uppsatsenär en kvalitativ innehållsanalys med en induktiv forskningsansats där empirin har bestått av debehandlade remissvaren.Remissinstanserna har framfört åsikter och kritik mot förslagen som tas upp i DP. Deteoretiska områden som studerats närmare är även IASBs normgivningsprocess, väsentligaegenskaper i finansiella rapporter, internationella standarder och den befintliga definitionen avtillgång och skuld. Resultatet visar att huvudparten av utvalda remissinstanserna i studien ärpositivt inställda till att en förändring av definitionen av tillgång och skuld ska ske. En stormajoritet är även positiv till revidering av föreställningsramen. Flera remissinstanser anser attden befintliga definitionen av tillgång och skuld behöver förbättras. Det vore lämpligt attpublicera ett ED för att visa konflikten mellan nuvarande och föreslagna standarder i enreviderad föreställningsram. Vår slutsats med hänsyn till remissinstansernas synpunkter är attIASB med största sannolikhet kommer att publicera ett ED. / Around the world, the increase in globalization of capital markets raises many issues forinternational standard-setters. Constant work is being done to develop and renew financialstatements internationally. In 2013, IASB published a DP: A review of the ConceptualFramework (DP/2013/1) for public comment, exploring possible changes to the IASBsConceptual Framework for Financial Reporting. The DP is the first step towards issuing arevised Conceptual Framework. In this paper the focus was on the proposed definitions ofassets and liabilities. The DP has received a total of 243 responses, 29 of these have beenanalysed.The purpose of this paper was to examine and report on the responses of how assets andliabilities should be recognised. Additionally, emphasis was placed on analysing the IASB'spossible objectives of revising The Conceptual Framework. This reflects a quantitativecontent analysis using an inductive research approach composed of empirical data consistingof the received responses.The responses have raised opinions and criticisms of proposals regarding DP. In addition toDP, further emphasis was placed on IASB standard-setting process, essential qualities infinancial statements, international standards and the existing definition of an asset and aliability. Results showed a positive trend towards a change in the definition of assets andliabilities as well as the development of The Conceptual Framework. The above resultsindicate that improvements are needed and that it would be useful to publish an ED toillustrate the conflict between current and proposed standards. In conclusion, with thecomment letters, the IASB most likely will publish an ED.(This essay is written in Swedish).

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This paper examines the popular philosophical theory of moral relativism. Traditionally, the theory argues that communities have their own conceptual frameworks of morality that are inaccessible to those outside of the community. Thus, one community cannot give another community a moral reason to change a practice. In this paper, I will examine David Velleman’s version of the theory presented in his book Foundations for Moral Relativism. This version posits that the drive towards mutual interpretability is a universal drive among human communities. From this drive stem all the practices and moral values of communities. However, Velleman does not believe that this implies that communities can understand each others’ conceptual frameworks. In this way, his account remains a normal version of moral relativism. I will argue that there are some cases in which a person can understand a different community’s conceptual framework enough to provide a reason for that community to change a practice. Importantly, my argument will not say that the reasons for change are moral reasons. They will be practical reasons based on the normative fact that human communities should strive towards mutual interpretability. Thus, my account will also maintain the crucial tenets of moral relativism. If accomplished, this argument will add a great power to the theory.

This study measures brand loyalty of banking clients in South Africa. To do so, the study employs the newly developed brand loyalty conceptual framework of Moolla (2010) from the fast–moving consumer good industry as point of departure, and firstly, test its applicability to banking clients, secondly, adapt the framework where needed, and thirdly, used the adapted framework to measure the brand loyalty levels of the banking clients. The results show that the Moolla model could be used with minor adaptations in the banking industry, and that the reliability as measured by Cronbach alpha coefficients are acceptable. In measuring the brand loyalty levels, it is clear banking clients are not very loyal, scoring low on all the brand loyalty influences except customer satisfaction (which falls in the fair to good margin). / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The age of industrialisation in the nineteenth century and the subsequent emergence of large corporations called for new approaches to the way in which organisations are managed. Business today operates in a world of constant change. Technology and society are changing more rapidly than ever before. The workplace has become increasingly diverse, as pressure is mounting for the previously disadvantaged and women to ascend the echelons of organisations. Concern for the environment has forced companies to think about how their actions affect the quality of the air, land, and water. Competition is more fierce than ever, because companies from all over the world now try to sell their products and services to the same customers. All these changes not only require of those who manage these organisations to be in procession of relevant professional skills, but it also require of them to be competent in conducting their business of managing. The aim of the study was to construct a conceptual framework to measure the identified skills for management competence. The study builds a conceptual framework using identified skills and also presents the interrelationships between the skills. The primary theoretical background and concepts about skills for managerial competence for this study, range from the historical perspective of MBA education as it is the cutting edge of business education to management models identified from the literature. The extensive review of the literature and three different management models and the key common managerial competencies led to the development of an initial model based on the literature wherein the required skills for managerial competence were identified as self awareness skills (SA), self directed career planning skills (SP), general interactive skills (IS), planning and control skills (PC), organising skills (OS), leading skills (LS), and managing change skills (MC). The empirical study which followed was conducted among a sample of 395 business administration students from the three campuses of the North West University business school in Mafikeng and the Potchefstroom Business School. The empirical study based on the seven skills for managerial competence yielded results that measured the strength of each managerial skill and the interrelationship among different skills. The results were analysed by the process of factor analysis and it was clear from the analysis that there are a number of unreliable factors which led to a number of questions having to be discarded. As a result the original model had to be restructured to develop an alternative managerial skill model. After the initial model was restructured, the results wherein thirteen factors loaded heavily on the factor were realised. Of the thirteen factors, factor 1 had nineteen factors that loaded heavy and had to be restructured again in order to make sense of the data. Once a further restructuring was done the results were that factor 1 had three sub factors that loaded heavy on the factor which led to the conclusion that the alternative managerial skill model comprised thirteen factors wherein factor 1 had three sub factors. The value of the study lies in the fact that managerial models identified in the literature are orthodox in nature, and they do not progress further to explore skills for managerial competence. Given the orthodox nature of models identified in the literature, this study purports to suggest a framework that could be adapted to measure skills for management competence. This study further contributes to the discipline of organisational leadership and management, particularly with regard to practices regarding leader and manager development within the context of a dynamic, changing organisational environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

This study measures brand loyalty of banking clients in South Africa. To do so, the study employs the newly developed brand loyalty conceptual framework of Moolla (2010) from the fast–moving consumer good industry as point of departure, and firstly, test its applicability to banking clients, secondly, adapt the framework where needed, and thirdly, used the adapted framework to measure the brand loyalty levels of the banking clients. The results show that the Moolla model could be used with minor adaptations in the banking industry, and that the reliability as measured by Cronbach alpha coefficients are acceptable. In measuring the brand loyalty levels, it is clear banking clients are not very loyal, scoring low on all the brand loyalty influences except customer satisfaction (which falls in the fair to good margin). / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The age of industrialisation in the nineteenth century and the subsequent emergence of large corporations called for new approaches to the way in which organisations are managed. Business today operates in a world of constant change. Technology and society are changing more rapidly than ever before. The workplace has become increasingly diverse, as pressure is mounting for the previously disadvantaged and women to ascend the echelons of organisations. Concern for the environment has forced companies to think about how their actions affect the quality of the air, land, and water. Competition is more fierce than ever, because companies from all over the world now try to sell their products and services to the same customers. All these changes not only require of those who manage these organisations to be in procession of relevant professional skills, but it also require of them to be competent in conducting their business of managing. The aim of the study was to construct a conceptual framework to measure the identified skills for management competence. The study builds a conceptual framework using identified skills and also presents the interrelationships between the skills. The primary theoretical background and concepts about skills for managerial competence for this study, range from the historical perspective of MBA education as it is the cutting edge of business education to management models identified from the literature. The extensive review of the literature and three different management models and the key common managerial competencies led to the development of an initial model based on the literature wherein the required skills for managerial competence were identified as self awareness skills (SA), self directed career planning skills (SP), general interactive skills (IS), planning and control skills (PC), organising skills (OS), leading skills (LS), and managing change skills (MC). The empirical study which followed was conducted among a sample of 395 business administration students from the three campuses of the North West University business school in Mafikeng and the Potchefstroom Business School. The empirical study based on the seven skills for managerial competence yielded results that measured the strength of each managerial skill and the interrelationship among different skills. The results were analysed by the process of factor analysis and it was clear from the analysis that there are a number of unreliable factors which led to a number of questions having to be discarded. As a result the original model had to be restructured to develop an alternative managerial skill model. After the initial model was restructured, the results wherein thirteen factors loaded heavily on the factor were realised. Of the thirteen factors, factor 1 had nineteen factors that loaded heavy and had to be restructured again in order to make sense of the data. Once a further restructuring was done the results were that factor 1 had three sub factors that loaded heavy on the factor which led to the conclusion that the alternative managerial skill model comprised thirteen factors wherein factor 1 had three sub factors. The value of the study lies in the fact that managerial models identified in the literature are orthodox in nature, and they do not progress further to explore skills for managerial competence. Given the orthodox nature of models identified in the literature, this study purports to suggest a framework that could be adapted to measure skills for management competence. This study further contributes to the discipline of organisational leadership and management, particularly with regard to practices regarding leader and manager development within the context of a dynamic, changing organisational environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The dissertation involves an investigation into the circumstances of international competitiveness and how it is pursued by firms from different sugar producing and marketing nations. Understanding of competitiveness has primarily been pursued in terms of economic variables and market conditions. The roles of the government, the socio-cultural-political context in international business, and their effects on competitiveness have largely been ignored. This study integrates perspectives from strategic management, the resource-based view of the firm, and international business to propose a conceptual framework of international competitiveness. The work advances understanding of competitiveness in international business in two ways. First, it develops a conceptual framework that captures the socio-political element of a nation's industry and the crucial role it plays in achieving international competitiveness. Second, it combines firm, industry, strategy, and socio-political influences. Those are involved in a multi-level hierarchical process between firms, industry and the nation that effectively generates competitiveness. The dissertation employs a qualitative method of comparative analysis between Australia, Brazil and the European Union, which are the three dominant sugar producing and exporting economies in the world. A series of propositions are presented on the four identified influences on international competitiveness. How firms from different nations pursue these is highlighted. After considering the varied approaches for attaining international competitiveness, implications for further research and for theory, policy and practice are outlined.

This study determined how stakeholders of heritage attractions apply strategic management for their business planning and development. A conceptual framework for strategic heritage planning was created and applied within the case of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The framework provided a new way of interpreting whether effective strategies were used within the heritage management sector. In addition to offering a lens to view policy planning, the framework led to a stakeholder analysis determining who was governing the heritage sites within thecity. The literature review revealed that studies about planning for heritage are neither prescriptive nor descriptive. Instead, they commonly reviewed challenges in planning with valuation, policy learning, implementation and maintenance for safeguarding sites. The new conceptual framework was created based on the gaps, challenges, issues and recommendations presented in the literature for heritage preservation. Each stage is operational and can be used as a guide for good practice or as an audit instrument. Critical realism was the most appropriate research approach because the study was practical and investigated how stakeholders process policy planning in the heritage sector. This study used purely qualitative methods and considered the stakeholders' experiences to give meaning to the situation. Purposive sampling was used and the questions created for the semi-structured interviews focused on stakeholder involvement throughout the phases of the framework. Accordingly, the Interview questions focused on assessment, creation and implementation of policy. Nine stakeholders were interviewed who were directly involved in the policy planning for heritage in Plovdiv. Document analysis was also used assessing the planning strategies highlighted in the Municipal Policy Document for Plovdiv 2014-2020.In terms of the strategic planning and development process of the heritage sites, the findings revealed that managers pay more attention to the assessment and 3 creation phases rather than the implementation phase. With regards to stakeholder involvement, the research showed that few of them were involved at certain stages of the process due to the hierarchy of governance. Academic andmanagerial recommendations are further discussed in the study.

Den internationella aspekten av redovisning har på senare tid blivit allt mer betydande då många företag utformar sina finansiella rapporter för en internationell publik. Det finns dock väsentliga skillnader i redovisning mellan länder som kan försvåra jämförbarheten. Det har växt fram en medvetenhet kring dessa skillnader och olika försök mellan länder har gjorts för att eliminera dessa. IASB och FASB påbörjade år 2002 ett samarbete för att minska antalet skillnader mellan deras redovisningsstandarder, för att sedan försöka göra dem mer enhetliga. Detta samarbete utmynnade även i ett annat projekt som fokuserade mer på respektive normgivares föreställningsram. Detta samarbete avbröts dock år 2010 och endast en liten del av föreställningsramarna hann revideras samstämmigt. Medan FASBs föreställningsram består av fem olika dokument som ursprungligen utgavs mellan år 1984 och 2010 och som sedan har uppdaterats, gav IASB ut en helt ny och reviderad föreställningsram i mars år 2018. Dessa händelser har lett fram till studiens syfte. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur harmoniserade IASBs och FASBs föreställningsramar är genom att jämföra vilka avsnitt som behandlas i respektive föreställningsram samt undersöka de likheter och skillnader som finns i de gemensamma avsnitten. Dessutom syftar studien till att presentera möjliga förklaringar till den identifierade graden av harmonisering. Genom att jämföra dessa gemensamma delar har vi kunnat ta fram en approximativ grad av harmonisering vilken ligger till grund för den gjorda teoretiska reflektionen och analysen. De slutsatser som kan dras av studien är att föreställningsramarna främst innehåller likheter, fastän det också finns flera skillnader. Trots att olikheter kunde identifieras har den samman-fattande bedömningen av de fyra delarna varit att det råder en relativt hög grad av harmonisering. Vår bedömning är att graden av harmonisering skulle kunna förklaras ur ett legitimitets-perspektiv, då normgivarna vill försäkra sig om att de uppfattas som legitima av utomstående. Det kan även ses ur ett isomorfiskt perspektiv som menar att organisationer tenderar att efter-likna andra organisationer inom samma bransch som de uppfattar som mer framgångsrika. Vår studie bidrar med litteratur om harmonisering av IASBs och FASBs föreställningsramar. Studien är även högst aktuell då ingen liknande studie med IASBs nyligen publicerade föreställningsram har hunnit göras. / During the last decades, the international aspect of accounting has become more important due to the fact that a lot of companies prepare their financial statements to an international audience. Despite this, a lot of differences related to accounting exist between different countries, which can obstruct the comparability among companies. Awareness about these differences has emerged and different attempts have been made to eliminate them. In year 2002, the IASB and the FASB entered upon a cooperation to eliminate the differences between their accounting standards to eventually make them more homogenous. The cooperation resulted in another project with a greater focus on the organisations conceptual frameworks. This project was suspended in 2010 due to more urgent projects and only a part of the conceptual frameworks was revised in a consistent manner. While the conceptual framework of the FASB consists of five different documents that originally was published between 1984 and 2010 and after that has been updated, the conceptual framework of the IASB consists of one document that was revised and published in March 2018. Those events have led to the purpose of this study. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the conceptual frameworks of the IASB and the FASB are harmonized. This will be done by comparing which parts that are dealt with within the conceptual frameworks and by examine the similarities and differences between those parts among the conceptual frameworks of the IASB and the FASB. Beside this, the study aims to present explanations to the identified extent to which the IASBs and the FASBs conceptual frameworks are harmonized. By an extensive comparative textual analysis of the conceptual frameworks we have been able to distinguish parts that are seen as common. Those common parts have then been compared where similarities and differences have been identified. In this way, we have been able to compile an approximate degree of harmonization, which has served as the basis for the theoretical reflection and analysis. The result of the study shows that the conceptual frameworks mostly contain of similarities, despite that some differences have been identified. Although some differences exist, the overall assessment of the four parts that have been analyzed has been that there is a relatively high degree of harmonization between the IASB and the FASB. Our assessment is that the degree of harmonization could be explained from a legitimacy perspective, as the organizations want to make sure they are perceived as legitimate by third parties. It can also be seen from an isomorphic perspective, which means that organizations tend to emulate other organizations in the same industry that they perceive as more successful. IVOur study contributes with literature about harmonization of the conceptual frameworks of the IASB and the FASB. The study is also highly relevant, as no similar study with the revised conceptual framework of the IASB has yet been made.