M.Com. (International Accounting) / This minor dissertation investigates how the conflict in the classification of financial assets between IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements is being bridged in the financial statements of banks by reviewing the classification of financial assets in the statement of financial position, accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. IAS 39 provides specific classifications for financial instruments, while IAS 1 provides a classification based on liquidity. The minor dissertation applied a quantitative content analysis of the annual financial statements of South African banks for the 2011 financial year. Companies in the sample selection were drawn from the FTSE/JSE classification of the Top 100 companies selected on their market capitalisation on 30 December 2011. Seven banks are included in the Top 100 companies. The minor dissertation found that the classification of financial assets as required in IAS 39 is not shown in the statement of financial position. The statement of financial position is based on the liquidity classification in IAS 1. In contrast, the accounting policies for financial instruments are based on the IAS 39 classification. The structure of the notes to the financial statements follows the classification in the statement of financial position. The minor dissertation further found that the conflict between the IAS 1 and IAS 39 classifications is bridged in the detail of the notes. Two methods are being used to bridge the conflict. The first method is to provide an IAS 39 reconciliation in each applicable note. In this reconciliation, the total amount of the note is allocated to an applicable IAS 39 classification. The second method is that the line items in the statement of financial position are allocated IAS 39 classifications in a table format. The table allocates the amount of individual assets and liabilities as identified in the statement of financial position in the categories required by IAS 39. Through using both Method 1 (reconciliation in each note) and Method 2 (a separate table based on the statement of financial position) the conflict between IAS 1 (liquidity classification) and IAS 39 is bridged. However, the IAS 39 classification is not directly obtainable from the primary financial statements. In the future, the study can be more comprehensively replicated in other countries and international research, as this exploratory research was only limited to seven banks in South Africa. Further research can also investigate entities other than banks to see how they bridge the conflict between IAS 1 and IAS 39. The review of the treatment of financial instruments resulted in the replacement of IAS 39 by IFRS 9 in November 2009. Future research of the new IFRS 9 classifications may assess how the conflict is being treated. In addition, further research can assess the quality of disclosure in the classification of financial assets/instruments in the financial statements of banks and other entities

The aim of this work is a comprehensive grasp of significant factors intervening into the operation and structure of heritage preservation in the Federal Republic of Germany in connection with the Swiss Confederation. The work focuses on the issue of financial support for cultural heritage according to the type of property sites, especially in public administration. Attention is also paid to the perspectives of continuity and long-term effectiveness of projects in terms of available social tools. After reading this thesis the reader will be able to orient themselves in the system of heritage preservation and to determine the effectiveness of funds spent on culture in European countries.

O objetivo principal desta dissertação foi estudar as relações dos valores de mercado, dos patrimônios líquidos contábeis e da utilização do valor justo como base única de mensuração para ativos e passivos financeiros nos bancos listados em três importantes bolsas de valores que requerem ou permitem o arquivamento de demonstrações financeiras no padrão IFRS, a BM&FBOVESPA, a LSE e a Euronext. Mais precisamente, sob três pontos: (i) se o uso de uma contabilidade plena ao valor justo torna os patrimônios contábeis próximos dos valores de mercado das instituições; (ii) se as empresas que se utilizam em maior extensão do valor justo como base de mensuração apresentam patrimônios contábeis mais próximos ao valor de mercado e (iii) se os lucros líquidos e resultados abrangentes totais das entidades seriam significativamente diferentes caso fosse utilizada a contabilidade plena ao valor justo. As análises foram efetuadas tomando a amostra conjuntamente, segregada por bolsa e também por porte a um nível de significância (?) de 5%. O procedimento estatístico utilizado foi o de confecção de Testes de Hipóteses de Médias para Amostras Emparelhadas (t-Student ou Wilcoxon). Os resultados apontam que: (i) o uso do valor justo como base de mensuração única aproxima os valores contábeis dos patrimônios de seus pares de mercado, porém sem significância estatística; (ii) tanto as instituições que usam em maior extensão o valor justo quanto aquelas que se utilizam em menor nível apresentam patrimônios contábeis significativamente diferentes de seus respectivos valores de mercado e (iii) o uso do valor justo como base única de mensuração não altera significativamente os valores dos lucros líquidos e resultados abrangentes totais contábeis. / The main objective of this dissertation was to study the relations between the market values, the accounting equities and the use of the fair value as the single measurement basis for financial assets and liabilities for the banks listed at three important stocks exchanges that require or allow the filling of the financial statements in the IFRS standard, the BM&FBOVESPA, the LSE and the Euronext. More specifically on three points: (i) if the use of the full fair value accounting make the accounting equities closer to the institutions\' market values; (ii) if the enterprises that use in higher extension the fair value as measurement basis presents accounting equities closer to the market values and (iii) if the entities\' net income and total comprehensive income would be significantly different if it was used the full fair value accounting. The analysis were carried out taking the sample in conjunction, segregated by stock exchange and also by size at a significance level (?) of 5%. The statistical procedure used was the making of the Hypothesis Tests for Means of Matched Samples (t-Student or Wilcoxon).The results show that: (i) the use of fair value as the single measurement basis approximates the accounting values of the equities to their market peers, but without statistical significance; (ii) both the institutions that use fair value in higher extension and those that use in lesser level present accounting equities significantly different from their respective market values and (iii) the use of fair value as the single measurement basis does not change significantly the values of the net income and the total comprehensive income.

This qualitative research aims to identify the threshold concepts in financial instruments using Meyer and Land's Threshold Concept Framework (2005) and applies the dimension of Semantics and Legitimation Code Theory (Maton, 2014) to analyse whether semantic gravity and semantic density are stronger or weaker in the threshold concepts. The analysis points to five threshold concepts in the financial instruments module. It further aims to explore whether African, Coloured and Indian students' exposure to these threshold concepts results in troublesome knowledge and/or transformation in understanding and thinking in a second-year Accounting course at a South African university. Triangulation is used to confirm the authenticity and consistency of the data emerging from the identification of the threshold concepts. Using Semantics, this research illustrates that the five threshold concepts possess weaker semantic gravity due to the abstract nature of the threshold concepts and stronger semantic density is present due to the complex and dense terminology inherent in financial instruments. Evidence from a general survey, interviews and summative assessments conducted with students registered for an Accounting course shows that exposure to the threshold concepts resulted in troublesome knowledge and/or transformed understanding. Identifying the threshold concepts could make specialised Accounting knowledge more explicit to students and exploring the knowledge experienced as troublesome and the transformed understanding experienced provides room for debate around pedagogy and curriculum reform.

Determining with certainty how the tax authorities will treat a particular financial instrument issued is not straightforward, and this poses a risk to corporate taxpayers tasked with generating shareholder value and predictable shareholder returns. The tax classification of financial instruments, as either debt or equity instruments, may have a profound impact from a corporate taxation perspective and the reclassification of financial instruments by a tax authority, in an unanticipated manner, can alter expected tax consequences. Previous studies have placed less emphasis on the potential discrepancies between the debt or equity classification of financial instruments from a tax-versus-corporate-reporting perspective and the reasons for such potential discrepancies. This study aims to identify potential factors, giving rise to divergent financial instrument classifications between tax and financial reporting, in order to gain insight into the reasons for the potential divergence. The research objectives of the study are to determine whether there is incongruity between the tax and accounting classification of selected financial instruments; to identify the factors giving rise to a possible incongruent outcome; and to evaluate the reasons for incongruity, in order to gain insight into the differing objectives of taxation and corporate reporting. Case studies were obtained from the technical department of a large accountancy firm in South Africa to analyse specific fact patterns. It was found that incongruence exists between the financial reporting and taxation classification of financial instruments from the perspective of the issuer of those instruments. This incongruence was attributed to the impact of contingent settlement provisions and the rules-based approach adopted by tax authorities, as opposed to the principle or substance-based approach favoured by financial reporting. The incongruence noted suggests that, based on their differing objectives, financial reporting favours the classification of financial instruments as debt whilst taxation favours the classification of financial instruments as equity. Although the approaches currently followed by financial reporting and taxation are different, recent taxation amendments have incorporated financial reporting guidance into the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962. Future research can be conducted to determine the impact of aligning financial reporting and taxation principles on tax certainty from a taxpayer perspective. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / lmchunu2014 / Taxation / unrestricted

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Financial companies such as investment and commercial banks as well as insurance companies, mutual and pension funds hold assets in the form of financial instruments in portfolios. Nowadays, financial instruments have proliferated so much that there are so many forms of them namely: derivatives, common stock, corporate and government bonds, foreign exchange and contracts. With so many financial instruments, companies can have very large and diversified portfolios for which they must quantify the risk. With high profile calamities that have rocked the financial world lately, the need for better risk management has never been so in demand as before. Value-at-Risk (VaR) is the latest addition in the investor's toolkit as far as measurements of risk is concerned. This new measure of risk complements well the existing risk measures that exist.Unfortunately, VaR is not unanimous and it has attracted a lot of critics over the years. This research thesis is threefold: to introduce the reader to the VaR concept; to discuss the different methods that exist to calculate VaR; and, finally, to simulate the VaR of a portfolio of government bonds. The first part of this research is to introduce the reader to the general idea of risk forms and its management, the role that the existing risk measures have played so far and the coming up of the new technique, which is VaR. The pros and cons that accompany a new technique are discussed as well as the history of VaR. The second part is about the different methods that exist to compute the VaR of a portfolio. Usually, VaR methodologies fall into three categories namely: Parametric; Historical; and Monte Carlo. In this research, the advantages and disadvantages of these three methods are discussed together with a step-wise method on how to proceed to calculate the VaR of a portfolio using any of the three methods. The practical side of this thesis deals about the VaR simulation of a portfolio of financial instruments. The chosen financial instruments are four South African government bonds with different characteristics. VaR for this particular portfolio will then be simulated by the three main methods. Eleven different simulations are run and they are compared against a Control Simulation (Benchmark Portfolio) to see how factors influencing VaR measure cope under different conditions. The main idea here was to check how VaR measures can change under different portfolio characteristics and to interpret these changes. Moreover, the VaR estimates under the three different methods will be compared

Autocallable structured products represent an investment opportunity which has been growing in both the European and American market since they were first launched. The value of these structured products is dependent on how their underlying assets perform, which can consist of stocks, indexes or other assets. With a sample size of 30 structured products we provide research on the relation between the products return and the return of the underlying assets. Specifically, the purpose of the study is to analyse how increases in the returns of the underlying assets affect the returns in the products. Using an ordinary least squares regression model, we find that the return in the underlying assets, the issuers credit rating and the interest rate at issuance have a statistically significant effect on the returns in the products. We conclude that in our sample, an increase in the underlying assets returns results in a less than equal increase in the returns of the autocalls.

In 2005, all groups listed on European stock exchanges are required to prepare their consolidated financial statements according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS are different from local regulations across Europe in many aspects, and observers expect the transition process thorny and resource-draining for the companies that undertake it. The study explores transition difficulties by Swedish bank groups on the way of implementing IAS 39, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. Deemed the most controversial and challenging standard for adoption by the financial sector, it indeed poses new demandson classification, recognition and measurment of financial instruments, and sets out new hedge accounting rules, previously unseen in Swedish practice. Additionaly, the structure of bank's balance sheets makes IAS 39 also the central one among all other standards in terms of numbers of balance sheet items it impacts. The study uses qualitative method to explore whether transition to IAS 39 is likely to improve transparency in reporting derivatives. Focus is on use of interest rate swaps as hedging instruments in mitigation of interest rate risk. It is concluded that differences between two reporting frameworks have been well understood by the banks early in the implementation process. A negative feature of the standard is increased volatility in earnings as a result of more wide-spread reliance on fair value measurement method. This accounting volatility impedes comparability of performance results, as well as conceals true efficiency of economic hedge relationships. To some degree, the volatility can be minimized by the application of hedge accounting. However, a bank must methodically follow a set of rigourous if hegde accounting is to be adopted. Fair value is a more straightforward alternative to hedge accounting , but it brings in additional concerns, and has not yet been endorsed in the EU. It is additionally argued that recognition of all derivatives on BS and measurement at fair value are two important features of IAS 39 that indeed increases reporting transparency by minimizing risk of undisclosed hidden losses.

Effective economic unit functioning is in a greater degree dependent on financial instruments appliance. Those enterprises that pay considerable attention to financial instruments and effective financial strategy forming appear to be more competitive and economically stable. The aim of master's thesis is to develop a methodical approach to evaluation and adoption of the optimal investment projects financial instruments, used for enterprise development. The existing financial instruments theoretical aspects, including their functions and classification, are considered in this thesis. Academic and scientific - research papers, statistical data and financial statements of the company ZAO "PKF Saturn - 2001" used in this paper. The methodic approach to the optimal financial instruments evaluating and adoption is developed in this thesis. The proposed approach allows one to estimate an investment project, encouraging economic performance growth. As a result of the mechanism developed the company ZAO "PKF Saturn - 2001" was offered the optimal financial instrument for investment project financial banking as leasing. / Эффективное функционирование экономических субъектов, в большей степени зависит от использования финансовых инструментов. Предприятия, которые уделяют значительное внимание финансовым инструментам и формированию эффективной финансовой стратегии являются более конкурентоспособными и экономически стабильными. Целью магистерской диссертации является разработка методического подхода к оценке и принятию решения о выборе оптимальных финансовых инструментов для инвестиционных проектов, используемых в развитии предприятия. В работе рассматриваются теоретические аспекты существующих финансовых инструментов, включая их функции и классификацию. В качестве источников информации использовалась учебно-методическая и научно-исследовательская литература, статистические данные, данные бухгалтерской отчетности предприятия ЗАО «ПКФ Сатурн - 2001». В ходе написания магистерской диссертации был разработан методический подход к оценке и принятию решения о выборе оптимальных финансовых инструментов, который позволяет оценить инвестиционный проект, способствуя росту экономических показателей. В результате разработанного механизма предприятию ЗАО «ПКФ Сатурн - 2001» был предложен оптимальный финансовый инструмент, такой как лизинг, для финансирования инвестиционного проекта.

Idag är det få som motsäger sig att människan är ansvarig för de klimatförändringar vi börjat uppleva. Globala överenskommelser visar sig vara svåra att formulera men regioner såsom EU har infört handeln med utsläppsrätter och allt fler enskilda nationer och verksamheter sätter nu upp egna mål för reduktioner av skadliga utsläpp. Vissa verksamheter går steget längre och har skapat interna kompensationssystem för sina aktiviteters klimatkonsekvenser. Studien har med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer undersökt sex verksamheter i Sverige som frivilligt valt att klimatkompensera internt. Här presenteras bakgrunderna till det interna valet, hur arbetena utformats liksom vilka lärdomar som kan dras från deras erfarenheter. Resultatet visar på en viss misstro till externa kompensationsprojekt men främst en vilja att ta ansvar och förbättra på hemmaplan först. Utformningarna skiljer sig och det är många praktiska omständigheter att ha i åtanke när verksamhetsintern klimatkompensation ska införas. Klimatnyttan av dessa arbeten är svår att beräkna, men verksamheterna vittnar om att det skapar en medvetenhet, vilken på sikt kan leda till förändrat beteende som sparar både pengar och miljö. / Nowadays, few people resist the fact that mankind is responsible for the climatic changes we are now beginning to experience. Global agreements seem difficult to form, but regions like the European Union has introduced an Emissions Trading Scheme, EU ETS. More and more nations and organizations are now also setting up their own emission reduction goals. Some organizations takes it even further and have created systems of carbon offsetting within their own organizations.This study has executed qualitative interviews with six Swedish organizations that have chosen internal carbon offsetting. Here you find their motives to compensate internally, how the work is designed and what lessons to be learned from their experiences. The results show a certain mistrust in external compensation-projects, but they mainly report a desire to take responsibility and to start improvements locally. The design of these works vary and there are many aspects of practicality to bear in mind when implementing internal carbon offsetting. The climatic benefits from these works are difficult to calculate, but the organizations claim that it creates a an awareness that, in the long run, can lead to an altered behavior, saving both money and the environment.