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Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a relatively recent financial innovation receiving much attention from investors and media due to its low administrative costs. Literature related to ETF performance presents no sizeable records as a result of its brief history.This study contributes to the literature on ETF performance by comparing ETFs to their respective tracking indices as well as to comparable passive unit trusts (PUTs) and active unit trusts (AUTs) after administrative costs. Data used involved ETFs that are derived from securities listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) that track FTSE/JSE indices. PUTs and AUTs were selected on the basis that they use the same FTSE/JSE indices, as the ETFs, as a benchmark.The results indicate that ETFs have a slightly lower tracking error than PUTs due to lower administrative costs. On average, ETFs and PUTs present statistically insignificant net return differences and it can be inferred that they have very similar return records. Furthermore, ETFs and AUTs, on average, also present statistically insignificant net return differences and it can be inferred that they have very similar return records. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This study compares and contrasts operational expenses of district-owned to privately owned school bus services operated in Wichita, Clay, Montague, Jack, Wilbarger, Throckmorton, Baylor, Palo Pinto, Young, and Archer counties within the state of Texas.

Human capital is a major resource controlled by a company, but is not recognised as an asset by traditional accounting practices. An alternative accounting treatment of human capital, using the human resources scorecard as a guide, is suggested in this study. The study comprises a literature review as well as an empirical study to that end. The empirical research of this study focuses on how human capital affects important financial figures and ratios of a company when employee-related costs are recognised as an asset rather than as an expense. A corresponding liability was recognised to make provision for an annual cash outflow relating to employee related costs. The annual financial statements of ten companies listed on the JSE were examined in order to determine the impact on the reported results, had human capital been treated as an asset. A methodology whereby asset values for human capital can be calculated was introduced. The influence on several core financial ratios of a company is analysed. A large increase in assets and liabilities was noted in both 2010 and 2011 when human capital was recognised as an asset rather than as an expense on a company’s financial statements. Assets for the companies analysed increased on average between 58.62% and 414.78% and liabilities increased between 204.84% and 748.26%. Due to the large increase in assets and liabilities, the recognition of human capital as an asset had a significant impact on the financial ratios of the companies analysed. This is directly linked to the decision making of company stakeholders. Throughout this study, it becomes evident that there are some general inadvertencies and inconsistencies regarding the human capital and employee costs recognition and reporting on companies’ financial statements. The way in which human capital is reported varies from company to company. The capitalisation of human capital has an impact on the financial performance of a company that cannot be ignored. There are several advantages to comprehensive human capital reporting which includes workforce motivation as well as an enhanced reputation of a company. Whether human capital is treated as an asset or as an expense, companies should invest in broad, comprehensive human capital reporting in their financial statements. The study concludes with recommended human capital disclosure in financial statements. / MCom (Management Accountancy)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

Human capital is a major resource controlled by a company, but is not recognised as an asset by traditional accounting practices. An alternative accounting treatment of human capital, using the human resources scorecard as a guide, is suggested in this study. The study comprises a literature review as well as an empirical study to that end. The empirical research of this study focuses on how human capital affects important financial figures and ratios of a company when employee-related costs are recognised as an asset rather than as an expense. A corresponding liability was recognised to make provision for an annual cash outflow relating to employee related costs. The annual financial statements of ten companies listed on the JSE were examined in order to determine the impact on the reported results, had human capital been treated as an asset. A methodology whereby asset values for human capital can be calculated was introduced. The influence on several core financial ratios of a company is analysed. A large increase in assets and liabilities was noted in both 2010 and 2011 when human capital was recognised as an asset rather than as an expense on a company’s financial statements. Assets for the companies analysed increased on average between 58.62% and 414.78% and liabilities increased between 204.84% and 748.26%. Due to the large increase in assets and liabilities, the recognition of human capital as an asset had a significant impact on the financial ratios of the companies analysed. This is directly linked to the decision making of company stakeholders. Throughout this study, it becomes evident that there are some general inadvertencies and inconsistencies regarding the human capital and employee costs recognition and reporting on companies’ financial statements. The way in which human capital is reported varies from company to company. The capitalisation of human capital has an impact on the financial performance of a company that cannot be ignored. There are several advantages to comprehensive human capital reporting which includes workforce motivation as well as an enhanced reputation of a company. Whether human capital is treated as an asset or as an expense, companies should invest in broad, comprehensive human capital reporting in their financial statements. The study concludes with recommended human capital disclosure in financial statements. / MCom (Management Accountancy)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

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A partir das demonstrações contábeis publicadas, com a utilização de modelagem econométrica, esta tese teve como objetivo principal estimar a composição da estrutura de custos e despesas que tiveram rentabilidade e lucratividade operacional acima da média dos setores selecionados. Extraíram-se inferências sobre a composição da estrutura de custos e despesas das empresas e efetuou-se uma análise relacionando essa estrutura com a rentabilidade e a lucratividade operacional acima da média de cada setor selecionado dentro do período de 2005 a 2009. As variáveis de análise foram extraídas da base de dados Economática. Foram selecionados os setores Têxtil e Siderurgia/Metalurgia, porque apresentaram maior quantidade de dados completos no período estudado. A técnica de modelagem quantitativa empregada foi a análise de regressão com dados em painel, com utilização do modelo de efeito fixo, com coeficiente angular constante e intercepto variando entre as entidades. A partir dos dados dos modelos, foi calculada a composição média de custos e despesas fixas (CDF) e custos e despesas variáveis (CDV) sobre o total de custos e despesas totais (CDT). Paralelamente, também foi calculada a margem operacional média (MO) e a rentabilidade operacional média (RO) dessas empresas para o mesmo período estudado. Além disso, uma breve discussão das características individuais de cada setor e uma análise do contexto econômico do período de 2005 à 2009 foi realizada para compreender possíveis influências no desempenho das empresas nos setores pesquisados. Desta análise constatou-se que o período com menor participação de CDF foi o ano de 2008, coincidindo com o período de intensificação da crise financeira nos mercados maduros. Com base na pesquisa realizada, constatou-se uma correlação forte e negativa entre CDF e os indicadores de desempenho (MO e RO). Constatou-se ainda que a estrutura de custos e despesas do setor Siderúrgico/Metalúrgico permite maior participação de CDF do que a do setor Têxtil. No setor Siderúrgico/Metalúrgico o intervalo da proporção de CDF nas empresas com desempenho acima da média no período foi de 30,34% a 30,60%, enquanto que no setor Têxtil foi de 20,15% a 20,76%. / The main objective of this dissertation is to estimate the composition of the cost and expense structure of companies using their published financial statements, with the use of econometric modeling. Inferences was drawn up for the composition of cost and expense structure of the companies and an analysis was made linking this structure with return on assets and operating profitability above average of each selected industry within the period 2005 to 2009. The variables of analysis have been extracted from Economática database. The Textile and Steel/Metallurgy industries were selected because they presented more complete data in the period investigated. The quantitative modeling technique employed was regression analysis with Panel data, using the fixed effect model with constant angular coefficient and intercept ranging between entities. Data from the models was calculated as the average composition of fixed costs and expenses (CDF) and variable costs and expenses (CDV) on the total costs and expenses (CDT). In parallel, was also calculated the average operating margin (MO) and the average operating return on assets (RO) of these companies for the same period. In addition, economic scenario data of the period was reviewed in order to identify if there was any possible significant influence on the variation of costs and expenses structure. The study results show that the period with lower participation of CDF was in 2008, coinciding with the period of intensification of the financial crisis in mature markets. Also the cost and expense structure with less participation of CDF is related to greater MO and RO. It was also found that the cost and expense structure of Steel/Metallurgical industry allows greater participation of CDF than the textile sector. In the Steel/Metallurgical industry, the percentage range of CDF in companies with above-average performance in the period was of 30.34% to 30.60%, while in the Textile sector was of 20.15% to 20.76%.

Earnings have numerous properties that can be investigated, including earnings smoothness, abnormal accruals after modelling the accruals process and asymmetric timely loss and gain recognition. In latest decades, as earnings are the main source of firm-specific information for investors, earnings quality has become a significant focus in the financial accounting field. Moreover, high-quality financial reporting helps investors improve decisions and better evaluate firm performance because capital markets depend on the credibility of financial accounting information. The aim of this study investigates the impact of the mandatory adoption of IFRS on earnings quality in term of earnings management and accounting conservatism in consideration of eleven European countries (Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, Norway and the United Kingdom) as a sample study. Then to test whether investors could predict a company's future performance efficiently based on deferred tax expense as one of the accruals components before and after the mandatory adoption of IFRS. Since the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) required by the European Union (EU) Parliament, numerous research studies have examined whether earnings management has been reduced due to the mandatory adoption. Chapter two of this study examines whether the board of directors is more effective in constraining earnings management after the mandatory application of IFRS. More specifically, the study explored ways that two board characteristics, board independence and the existence of an audit committee, have impacted earnings management since 2005. The empirical results with eleven European countries (Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, Norway and the United Kingdom) showed evidence of an inverse relationship between the strength of corporate governance and the extent of earnings management. This negative association suggests that firms that apply IFRS with a high level of corporate governance standards are less likely to be involved in earnings management. This study indicates that board independence and the existence of audit committees play important and effective roles in reducing earnings management after the introduction of IFRS. The results also provide evidence that the internationally uniformed accounting regulatory framework significantly contributes to the effectiveness of the two corporate governance mechanisms. Chapter three examines the impact of the mandatory IFRS adoption on the asymmetrically timely gain and loss recognition (accounting conservatism). The findings provide evidence of the importance of the mandatory adoption of IFRS in increasing of accounting conservatism in pooled samples and separate samples. Chapter four investigates whether investors could predict a company's future performance efficiently based on deferred tax expense as one of the accruals components before and after the mandatory adoption of IFRS. Moreover, whether or not the predictions could be generalised to other European countries was examined. The results imply that an accrual anomaly exists in pooled samples before and after mandatory IFRS adoption and the study prove that deferred tax expense as a determinant factor of accounting accruals is overweighed by stocks prices before and after IFRS adoptions.

abstract: Public institution facility operations and maintenance is a significant factor enabling an institution to achieve its stated objectives in the delivery of public service. To meet the societal need, Facility Directors must make increasingly complex decisions managing the demands of building infrastructure performance expectations with limited resources. The ability to effectively measure a return-on-investment, specific to facility maintenance indirect expenditures, has, therefore, become progressively more critical given the scale of public institutions, the collective age of existing facilities, and the role these institutions play in society. This research centers on understanding the method of prioritizing routine work in support of indirect institutional facility maintenance expense through the lens of K-12 public education in the state of Arizona. The methodology documented herein utilizes a mixed method approach to understand current facility maintenance practices and assess the influence of human behavior when prioritizing routine work. An evidence-based decision support tool, leveraging prior academic research, was developed to coalesce previously disparate academic studies. The resulting process provides a decision framework for prioritizing decision factors most frequently correlated with academic outcomes. A purposeful sample of K-12 unified districts, representing approximately one-third of the state’s student population and spend, resulted in a moderate to a strong negative correlation between facility operations and student outcomes. Correlation results highlight an opportunity to improve decision making, specific to the academic needs of the student. This research documents a methodology for constructing, validation, and testing of a decision support tool for prioritizing routine work orders. Findings from a repeated measures crossover study suggest the decision support tool significantly influenced decision making specific to certain work orders as well as the Plumbing and Mechanical functional areas. However, the decision support tool was less effective when prioritizing Electrical and General Maintenance work orders. Moreover, as decision making transitioned away from subjective experience-based judgment, the prioritization of work orders became increasingly more consistent. The resulting prioritization, therefore, effectively leveraged prior empirical, evidence-based decision factors when utilizing the tool. The results provide a system for balancing the practical experience of the Facility Director with the objective guidance of the decision support tool. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Construction Management 2019

<p> </p><p>This study concerns the implications of the discretion in the cut-off point in the accounting method for research and development. Our research problem targets the issues to reduce the existing research gap:</p><ul><li>- "Does the choice of accounting method for research and development matter when a creditor evaluates a company for a credit granting decision?"</li><li>- "How does the accounting method for research and development matter in a credit granting decision?"</li></ul><p>Our study aims to answer these questions by investigating and analyzing the credit granting assessment and by interviewing creditors at the major banks in Sweden. Fictitious case scenarios provide in-depth information about how the accounting methods matter for a credit granting decision.</p><p>We develop this study by gathering existing material regarding accounting standards, the accounting method and the credit granting assessment. Previous studies about credit granting and the accounting methods supplement the theoretical material.</p><p>The approach to this study is a hermeneutic approach that tries to grasp the entire picture of the respondents' opinion about the accounting methods. To gain detailed and extensive information from the respondents, we use a qualitative research with semi-structured interviews. The research sample consists of experienced creditors at the largest banks in Sweden. This is to ensure relevant and informative answers on our questions. We utilise the four case scenarios to encourage the respondents to elaborate upon the accounting methods for R&D. This provides detailed knowledge about how the accounting methods matter for a credit granting decision.</p><p>The respondent states that abnormal values in the R&D account are suspicious and that investigation and adjustments of these values occurs if necessary. From this summarised statement, we draw the conclusion that the accounting methods for R&D matter in a credit granting decision. However, we also establish that other factors are more influential on the decision. Furthermore, we find that the creditors examine the content of the R&D account because the methods and its content have different impact on the financial statements. The expense method indicates a negative impact on the credit granting decision if the company cannot carry the costs, while the recognition method gives an appearance of stronger financial statements. However, the recognition method also gives rise to suspicions if the company relies on previous achievements. We conclude that depending on the amount of R&D both methods can be perceived as an advantage and a disadvantage for a credit granting decision, however, our main finding suggests that a revaluation of the abnormal values in the R&D account occurs.</p><p>From the support of our findings, we believe that our research has accomplished the objective of the study and we therefore believe that we have contributed to the existing knowledge in the subject.</p><p> </p>