<p>This thesis consists of an introductory chapter and four self-contained essays on the value relevance of financial statement information.</p><p>Essay 1: The purpose of this essay is to examine relevance of environmental information from an investor’s perspective. The study proposes that the market value of companies will reflect both financial and environmental performance. The theoretical foundation of the study is the accounting based valuation theory outlined by Ohlson (1995). This study provides new insights into how environmental performance is reflected in the market value of Swedish companies listed on the Swedish Stock market.</p><p>Essay 2: In financial accounting research, much effort has been devoted to study the relation between accounting earnings and stock prices. The primary purpose of the second essay is to investigate the effect of alternative return-earnings model specifications to the estimated returns-earnings relation, that is, the earnings response coefficients. The returns-earnings models investigated include the traditional earnings levels and changes, and models including analysts’ earnings forecasts based on Ohlson’s (1995) extended residual income model.</p><p>Essay 3: Fundamental analysis research that focuses on the use of accounting information to estimate equity value, has surfaced as a central theme in market based accounting research of the 1990s (Lee, 1999). The purpose of third essay is to compare two different approaches to valuation based on the theory presented in Ohlson (1995) in terms of explanatory and predictive power of the value estimates. Both approaches are implemented with and without the use of analysts forecasts. </p><p>Essay 4: In this essay data from the Swedish stock market is used to investigate the profitability of two different types of investment strategies based on fundamental-to-value ratios and past insider trading activity. The purpose of the research is to explore four related research questions: (i) Do accounting based trading strategies generate abnormal returns on the Swedish stock market?; (ii) Do trading strategies based on insider trading behaviour generate abnormal returns on the Swedish stock market?; (iii) Do insiders who buy stocks tend to favour value stocks and do insiders who sell stocks tend to dispose growth stocks?; and (iv) Are insiders able to discriminate between temporary high/low fundamentals and temporary low/high prices when buying/selling value stocks and growth stocks? </p>

<p>Koncernbidrag är en transaktion som syftar till att genom vinstöverföring mellan bolag i en koncern jämna ut förluster och därmed minska koncernens totala skatt. Redovisning av koncernbidrag i Sverige saknar direkt reglering, utan har utlämnats till praxis och rekommendationer, som visar sig vara oeniga om huruvida koncernbidrag ska redovisas över resultaträkningen eller direkt i balansräkningen. Från och med 2005 ska alla börsnoterade bolag, i enlighet med EU-lagstiftningen, upprätta sina koncernredovisningar enligt International Accounting Standards Board:s föreskrifter. Studien visade hur övergången till redovisning enligt IASB:s regler har påverkat de noterade bolagen i deras redovisning av koncernbidrag genom att utreda om IASB har några uttalade regler för hur koncernbidrag ska redovisas, till vilken kategori i redovisningen koncernbidrag kan hänföras, om standard saknas eller om de enligt IASB inte ska ingå i redovisningen överhuvudtaget?</p><p>Syftet var att kartlägga vilken historisk utveckling regleringen av koncernbidragsredovisning har genomgått, vilken redovisningspraxis som finns och hur den förhåller sig till svenska och internationella regler. Dessutom skulle ett försök till att framställa ny kunskap om hur koncernbidrag ska redovisas om det saknades en standard för detta.</p><p>Uppsatsens metod var en blandad kvalitativ utredning, där omfattande tolkning av sekundär data utgjorde den kvalitativa studien. Det empiriska materialet hade kvantitativa egenskaper eftersom det var en presentation av årsredovisningar av de bolag som är noterade på Stockholmsbörsen och finns på Large Cap-listan. Empirin syftade till att ge en bild över praxis och utgjorde inte en statistisk undersökning.</p><p>Slutsatsen var att koncernbidrag bör redovisas direkt mot eget kapital hos både givare och mottagare. Detta motiverades av att det rör sig om en transaktion mellan ett företag och dess ägare samt att det är svårt att definiera och därmed erkänna det som en intäkt eller kostnad i enlighet med fundamentala redovisningsteorier. Detta sätt att redovisa transaktionen strider varken mot IASB:s föreställningsramar eller mot svensk normgivning.</p> / <p>Group contributions are transactions with the aim to redistribute losses evenly within a corporate group by transferring profits and thereby decreasing the total amount of tax to be paid. In Sweden, accounting for group contributions is not directly regulated, but has been left to practice and recommendations, that in turn have proven to be in disagreement whether group contributions should be accounted for in the income statement or in the balance sheet. Since 2005, all listed companies, in accordance with European Union law, shall produce their consolidated financial statements according to the guidelines set forth by the International Accounting Standards Board. This study showed how the transition to accounting according to the rules of the IASB has affected the listed companies in their accounting of group contributions by examining if the IASB have any clear rules for how group contributions shall be accounted for, which category in the financial statements they can be assigned to, if there is no standard or if they according to the IASB should be left out of the financial statements altogether.</p><p>The purpose was to survey what historical development the regulation of accounting for group contributions have gone through, what practice there is and how it relates to Swedish and international rules. Furthermore, an attempt was made to produce more knowledge about how group contributions should be accounted for, if a standard was lacking.</p><p>The method of the study was a mixed methods research, where the qualitative study consisted of a comprehensive interpretation of secondary data. The empirical material had quantitative attributes, since it was a presentation of the financial statements by the companies from the Large Cap list of the Nasdaq OMX Nordic Stockholm market. The purpose of the empirical study was to present the practice and was therefore not a statistical study.</p><p>The conclusion was that group contributions should be accounted directly towards equity in the giving as well as the receiving company. This was motivated by the fact that it is a transaction between a company and its owners and that it is hard to define and thereby acknowledge it as a revenue or cost in accordance with fundamental theories of accounting. This way of accounting for the transaction is not in violation of either the conceptual framework of the IASB or Swedish norms.</p>

Background: To maintain or increase the trust in the market, companies can disclose more voluntary information in the annual reports. According to prior research the annual report is the primary source of information for small shareholders and investors. Thus, it is of interest to investigate why companies chose to report the voluntary information inquired by this group. Purpose: We investigate some company-specific factors to decide whether these determine the extent of voluntary information, particularly inquired by small shareholders and investors, in the annual reports of listed Swedish companies. We also aim to discuss underlying causes for our result. Procedure: With statistical methods we have tested hypotheses on relations between company-specific factors and the extent of voluntary information in the annual reports. Results: It is significant that profitability, industry type and quotation status have relations with the extent of voluntary information inquired by small shareholders and investors. No relations have been found between the extent of voluntary disclosure and company-size, ownership dispersion, investments in tangible assets or share issues.

Koncernbidrag är en transaktion som syftar till att genom vinstöverföring mellan bolag i en koncern jämna ut förluster och därmed minska koncernens totala skatt. Redovisning av koncernbidrag i Sverige saknar direkt reglering, utan har utlämnats till praxis och rekommendationer, som visar sig vara oeniga om huruvida koncernbidrag ska redovisas över resultaträkningen eller direkt i balansräkningen. Från och med 2005 ska alla börsnoterade bolag, i enlighet med EU-lagstiftningen, upprätta sina koncernredovisningar enligt International Accounting Standards Board:s föreskrifter. Studien visade hur övergången till redovisning enligt IASB:s regler har påverkat de noterade bolagen i deras redovisning av koncernbidrag genom att utreda om IASB har några uttalade regler för hur koncernbidrag ska redovisas, till vilken kategori i redovisningen koncernbidrag kan hänföras, om standard saknas eller om de enligt IASB inte ska ingå i redovisningen överhuvudtaget? Syftet var att kartlägga vilken historisk utveckling regleringen av koncernbidragsredovisning har genomgått, vilken redovisningspraxis som finns och hur den förhåller sig till svenska och internationella regler. Dessutom skulle ett försök till att framställa ny kunskap om hur koncernbidrag ska redovisas om det saknades en standard för detta. Uppsatsens metod var en blandad kvalitativ utredning, där omfattande tolkning av sekundär data utgjorde den kvalitativa studien. Det empiriska materialet hade kvantitativa egenskaper eftersom det var en presentation av årsredovisningar av de bolag som är noterade på Stockholmsbörsen och finns på Large Cap-listan. Empirin syftade till att ge en bild över praxis och utgjorde inte en statistisk undersökning. Slutsatsen var att koncernbidrag bör redovisas direkt mot eget kapital hos både givare och mottagare. Detta motiverades av att det rör sig om en transaktion mellan ett företag och dess ägare samt att det är svårt att definiera och därmed erkänna det som en intäkt eller kostnad i enlighet med fundamentala redovisningsteorier. Detta sätt att redovisa transaktionen strider varken mot IASB:s föreställningsramar eller mot svensk normgivning. / Group contributions are transactions with the aim to redistribute losses evenly within a corporate group by transferring profits and thereby decreasing the total amount of tax to be paid. In Sweden, accounting for group contributions is not directly regulated, but has been left to practice and recommendations, that in turn have proven to be in disagreement whether group contributions should be accounted for in the income statement or in the balance sheet. Since 2005, all listed companies, in accordance with European Union law, shall produce their consolidated financial statements according to the guidelines set forth by the International Accounting Standards Board. This study showed how the transition to accounting according to the rules of the IASB has affected the listed companies in their accounting of group contributions by examining if the IASB have any clear rules for how group contributions shall be accounted for, which category in the financial statements they can be assigned to, if there is no standard or if they according to the IASB should be left out of the financial statements altogether. The purpose was to survey what historical development the regulation of accounting for group contributions have gone through, what practice there is and how it relates to Swedish and international rules. Furthermore, an attempt was made to produce more knowledge about how group contributions should be accounted for, if a standard was lacking. The method of the study was a mixed methods research, where the qualitative study consisted of a comprehensive interpretation of secondary data. The empirical material had quantitative attributes, since it was a presentation of the financial statements by the companies from the Large Cap list of the Nasdaq OMX Nordic Stockholm market. The purpose of the empirical study was to present the practice and was therefore not a statistical study. The conclusion was that group contributions should be accounted directly towards equity in the giving as well as the receiving company. This was motivated by the fact that it is a transaction between a company and its owners and that it is hard to define and thereby acknowledge it as a revenue or cost in accordance with fundamental theories of accounting. This way of accounting for the transaction is not in violation of either the conceptual framework of the IASB or Swedish norms.

This thesis presents a new methodology based on directly measuring user behavior and making decisions based on experimental results. I have built and tested a tool which will enable researchers to use the methodology to determine whether particular financial statement presentations are more beneficial than others. The tool records user movement on a computer screen with mouse tracking, which allows researchers to track user behavior in greater detail than ever before. The methodology was tested on a subject pool of non-professional financial analysts and junior professionals, who were presented with a company’s financial data in the current GAAP and a new proposed FASB presentation format. The results show that this methodology could be useful in differentiating between present GAAP and proposed alternatives.

<p>Background: To maintain or increase the trust in the market, companies can disclose more voluntary information in the annual reports. According to prior research the annual report is the primary source of information for small shareholders and investors. Thus, it is of interest to investigate why companies chose to report the voluntary information inquired by this group. </p><p>Purpose: We investigate some company-specific factors to decide whether these determine the extent of voluntary information, particularly inquired by small shareholders and investors, in the annual reports of listed Swedish companies. We also aim to discuss underlying causes for our result. </p><p>Procedure: With statistical methods we have tested hypotheses on relations between company-specific factors and the extent of voluntary information in the annual reports. </p><p>Results: It is significant that profitability, industry type and quotation status have relations with the extent of voluntary information inquired by small shareholders and investors. No relations have been found between the extent of voluntary disclosure and company-size, ownership dispersion, investments in tangible assets or share issues.</p>

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Konstanz, 2001.

Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis and financial ratios are all managerial accounting and financial accounting tools that can help managers to make informative business decisions within their organisations. In addition, certain strategic tools such as Porters five forces, SWOT analysis, identifying of core principles, the compilation of the vision and mission statement will empower the small to medium business to be successful as an entrepreneurial venture. The problem arises in many small to medium business (SMEs), that once growth occurs and important decisions needs to be made, which may include relocation of the business and buying of capital equipment. The owners of these ventures struggle to make informative decisions. The general objective of this research is to apply financial and managerial accounting principles as well as strategy principles to a small business called Envirocare Laboratories. The aim of this research is to empower the small business owner with these tools to ensure success in future ventures. Literature on financial, managerial and strategic principles advises that the objectives, measurements and targets should be aligned with the SMEs long-term goals and performance. An empirical study done with the owner of the SME called Envirocare, has indicated serious shortcomings in terms of understanding how long-term goals are defined and the objectives achieved. The most important conclusion includes that certain capital expenditure projects have been viable, that the SME has been adding value to the economy and that the current strategy needs to be revised to include long-term goal planning. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis and financial ratios are all managerial accounting and financial accounting tools that can help managers to make informative business decisions within their organisations. In addition, certain strategic tools such as Porters five forces, SWOT analysis, identifying of core principles, the compilation of the vision and mission statement will empower the small to medium business to be successful as an entrepreneurial venture. The problem arises in many small to medium business (SMEs), that once growth occurs and important decisions needs to be made, which may include relocation of the business and buying of capital equipment. The owners of these ventures struggle to make informative decisions. The general objective of this research is to apply financial and managerial accounting principles as well as strategy principles to a small business called Envirocare Laboratories. The aim of this research is to empower the small business owner with these tools to ensure success in future ventures. Literature on financial, managerial and strategic principles advises that the objectives, measurements and targets should be aligned with the SMEs long-term goals and performance. An empirical study done with the owner of the SME called Envirocare, has indicated serious shortcomings in terms of understanding how long-term goals are defined and the objectives achieved. The most important conclusion includes that certain capital expenditure projects have been viable, that the SME has been adding value to the economy and that the current strategy needs to be revised to include long-term goal planning. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how capital markets interpret accounting disclosure. In three empirical studies, I evaluate the role that accounting disclosure plays in evaluating financial prospects and facilitating pricing decisions. The present thesis contains three essays that analyze the market response to changes in accounting disclosure. I examine the relationship between financial disclosure and stock market reaction in three event studies, after: (1) a company's inclusion in the S&P 500 index (in Chapter 1), (2) the introduction of international accounting standards (IFRS) in Europe (in Chapter 2), and (3) cross-listing of a Canadian company on the US stock exchange (in Chapter 3). / El objetivo de esta tesis es analizar cómo los mercados de capital interpretan la información contable. En tres estudios empíricos, la tesis evalúa el papel que desempeñan los datos contables en la evaluación de las perspectivas financieras y en las decisiones de inversión. La presente tesis contiene tres ensayos que analizan la respuesta del mercado a los cambios en la calidad de información de los datos contables. En particular, la relación entre información financiera y la reacción del mercado de valores esta evaluada en tres diferentes contextos: (1) la inclusión de una empresa en el índice S & P 500 (en el capítulo 1), (2) la introducción de normas internacionales de contabilidad (NIIF) en Europa (en el capítulo 2), y (3) la admisión a cotización de una empresa canadiense en los mercados financieros de EE.UU. (en el capítulo 3).