The ongoing harmonization process aims to incorporate IFRS regulations into the Swedish accounting. As a consequence investment property’s starting from 2005 may be valued using the fair value method, in accordance to IAS 40. This involves major changes for listed property enterprises that from now on can value a large extent of their assets to fair value. All parties don’t appreciate this progress, opponents to fair value have expressed great concern that fair value don’t work in practice. They claim that fair value measurement is too subjective and unreliable, and that it will malfunction during periods of financial turmoil. Further they claim that it is not suitable with the European accounting tradition, consisting of a high degree of conservatism and prudence. This thesis aims to examine the accuracy of fair value measurement in the case of Swedish investment property firms. This is done by identifying realized value changes in the corporate annual reports, which will indicate how well the estimated value is consistent with the realized exit price of the property. The findings of this thesis indicate that there exist an average deviation of 11,6 percent between the book value and the realized exit price. Further this study finds no evidence that the financial turmoil in 2008 complicates the use of fair value in any significant way. However, the study provides a clear indication that conservatism and prudence still influence Swedish accounting. This given that 94 percent of the book values were lower then the realized exit price.

Börsnoterade bolag ska i sin koncernredovisning redovisa enligt IFRS och förvaltningsfastigheter skall redovisas enligt IAS 40 Förvaltningsfastigheter. Detta examensarbete undersöker hur Nordiska börsnoterade bolag tillämpar vissa punkter inom IAS 40 i 2014 års redovisning jämfört med 2009 års redovisning. Syftet med undersökningen är att undersöka skillnader mellan de granskade företagens redovisning 2014 och 2009, med utgångspunkten i en tidigare publicerad undersökning (Hedlund & Ersson, 2011). Det som undersöks är om företagen använder samma värderingsmetod, om de informerar om hur värdering av förvaltningsfastigheter skett, om var i resultatrapporten de rapporterar justeringar av verkligt värde samt hur väl de lämnar upplysningar enligt IAS 40 punkt 75. Undersökningen har skett med en kvantitativ metod då det är årsredovisningar som granskats. Undersökt data är årsredovisningar från 2014 och 2009 för samma företag som granskats i den tidigare undersökningen. Några företag har utgått då de inte ingår i urvalsramen Nordiskt börsnoterat fastighetsbolag. Totalt granskades 14 stycken företag. Resultatet visar att efterlevnaden totalt sett är något bättre 2014 jämfört med den tidigare undersökningen. Till stor del beror det på urvalet där de företag som utgått var dåliga på att lämna upplysningar enligt IAS 40 i 2009 års redovisning. Sett till de företag som är med i båda undersökningarna är efterlevnaden likartad de jämförda åren. Det är få företag som lämnar upplysningar om begränsningar i rätten att sälja förvaltningsfastigheter, avtalsenliga förpliktelser att köpa eller hur de skiljer på rörelsefastigheter och förvaltningsfastigheter. Tolkningen kan då göras att det inte finns någon restriktion eller förpliktelse om det inte lämnas några sådana upplysningar. Om det är ett fastighetsbolag så kan det tolkas som att de inte har några rörelsefastigheter. Med dessa tolkningar blir efterlevnaden bland de undersökta företagen god. / Listed companies should prepare their consolidated accounts according to IFRS and investment property shall be accounted for in accordance with IAS 40 Investment Property. This study, investigates how the Nordic listed companies comply with certain paragraphs of IAS 40 in the 2014 financial statements as compared with the 2009 financial statements. The purpose of the study is to investigate differences between the studied company’s financial statements in 2014 compared to 2009, with a previous study (Hedlund & Ersson, 2011) as a base. The study focus on whether they use the same valuation method, if they describe the valuation process, where in the financial statement fair value adjustments are reported and how well they comply with IAS 40 paragraph 75. The study is based on a quantitative method since financial statements are studied. Examined data are annual reports for 2014 and 2009 from the companies investigated in the previous survey. However slightly fewer companies were included since some of them are no longer included in the selection criteria Nordic listed real estate company. The result shows that compliance with IAS 40 is overall slightly better than in the previous survey. Largely, it depends on the selection of companies, since the companies excluded were bad at providing information in accordance with IAS 40 in the previous investigation. Looking at the companies that are included in both studies, compliance is similar for the compared years. There are few companies that provide information about restrictions on the right to sell investment properties, obligations to buy or how they differ business property from investment property. The interpretation can then be made that there is no restriction or obligation if there is no such information. If it is a real estate company, the interpretation can be made that they have no business property. With these interpretations compliance is good among the studied companies.

Svenska bolag har i vissa fall möjlighet att välja mellan olika redovisningsregelverk. För större bolag står valet ofta mellan RFR 2 och K3. RFR 2 innehåller regler ifrån det internationella regelverket IFRS med anpassning till svensk lagstiftning och redovisnings-praxis. För små och medelstora bolag finns regelverket IFRS for SME vilket i Sverige motsvaras av K3. Innan införandet av K3 år 2014 gav Bokföringsnämnden ut en remiss vilken blev omdiskuterad och kritiserad av framförallt bolag i fastighetsbranschen. Remissvaren visade på en stark motvilja till att tillämpa regelverket K3. År 2014 stod fastighetsbranschen inför valet mellan regelverken. Denna studie avser att undersöka vilka faktorer som är avgörande i fastighetsbolags val av redovisningsregelverk samt vilket regelverk bolagen har valt efter år 2014. För att uppfylla studiens syfte har en flermetodsforskning gjorts. Den första delen av studien består av intervjuer vilka har bildat ett mönster som blivit grunden till vår hypotes. Hypotesen har sedan testats i studiens andra del genom en innehållsanalys av årsredovisningar för att se om hypotesen kan sägas gälla för hela fastighetsbranschen.Vårt resultat av intervjuerna visar att komponentavskrivning är den största avgörande faktorn i valet mellan RFR 2 och K3. De intervjuade bolagen redovisar alla enligt RFR 2 och är negativt inställda till komponentavskrivning. Utifrån detta har hypotesen att svenska större fastighetsbolag väljer att redovisa enligt RFR 2 och att dessa väljer bort komponent-avskrivning formulerats. Genom innehållsanalysen kan vi med hjälp av hypotesprövningen se att majoriteten av undersökta bolag väljer bort K3 och istället väljer att redovisa enligt RFR 2 utan att tillämpa komponentavskrivning. Vi menar att detta visar på att vår hypotes med stor sannolikhet är korrekt och att den kan sägas gälla för alla större fastighetsbolag i Sverige. / Swedish enterprises have in some cases the ability to choose among different accounting regulations. For major companies, the choice is often between RFR 2 and K3. RFR 2 contains the regulations from IFRS with adaption to Swedish legislation and Swedish GAAP. For small and medium-sized enterprises there is the regulation IFRS for SME which in Sweden corresponds to K3. Before the introduction of K3 in 2014, the Swedish Accounting Standard Board issued a referral that was debated and criticized, mostly by real estate companies. The referral responses were strongly critical to the application of K3. This study aims to examine what factors are crucial for real estate companies in the choice between different accounting regulations and what regulation real estate companies have chosen after 2014. To fulfill the purpose of the study a mixed methods research was made. The first part of the study constitutes of interviews from which we could see a pattern that became the foundation of our hypothesis. In the second part of the study, the hypothesis was tested thorough a content analysis of annual reports in order to examine if the hypothesis can be said to be applicable to the entire real estate industry.The result of the interviews shows that component depreciation is the major crucial factor in the choice between RFR 2 and K3. All interviewed companies present their financial reports in accordance with RFR 2 and have a negative attitude to component depreciation for the real estate industry. Based on this, the hypothesis that major Swedish real estate companies choose to report in accordance with RFR 2 and that these companies deselect component depreciation was formulated. Through the content analysis in which we tested the hypothesis we could see that the majority of surveyed companies deselect K3 and instead choose to report accordingly with RFR 2 without practicing component depreciation. We consider this to prove the hypothesis with high probability to be correct and applicable to all major real estate companies.This thesis is hereinafter written in Swedish.

Bakgrund och problemformulering: Värdering till verkligt värde har kritiserats för att ge subjektiva och opålitliga värderingar. IFRS 13 är en standard vars syfte är att öka tillförlitligheten genom att kategorisera indata vid värdering till verkligt värde i tvingande steg.  Förvaltningsfastigheter är ett tillgångsslag som värderas till verkligt värde, vilket gör att IFRS 13 är tvingande för noterade fastighetsbolag vid värderingen av dessa. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka huruvida IFRS 13 gett någon effekt på fastighetsbolagens värdering av förvaltningsfastigheter. Vidare ämnar studien även undersöka hur en extern värdering används vid fastställandet av det bokförda värdet. Metod: Studien genomförs med en kvantitativ metod där samtliga fastighetsbolag i populationen ingår. Utifrån bolagens årsredovisningar har data hämtats som sedan sammanställts. Referensram: Referensramen utgörs av redovisningsstandarder, teorier som behandlar värde som begrepp samt tidigare forskning. Empiri: Samtliga bolag baserar värderingen av förvaltningsfastigheter till verkligt värde på icke observerbar data genom en avkastningsmetod. Detta gäller för samtliga år. Gällande fördelning mellan intern och extern värdering samt hur en eventuell extern värdering används vid fastställandet av det bokförda värdet av förvaltningsfastigheterna har skillnader mellan bolagen trätt fram. Slutsats: Införandet av IFRS 13 har inte visat sig ge någon effekt för fastighetsbolagen vid värdering till verkligt värde av förvaltningsfastigheter. Majoriteten av bolagen använder någon form av extern värdering. Däremot föreligger det skillnader i andelen av fastighetsbeståndet som värderas externt samt om det bokförda värdet är fastställt enligt intern eller extern värdering. / Background and research issue: Fair value measurement has been criticized to result in subjective unreliable valuations. The purpose of IFRS 13 is for the fair value measurements to be more reliable by categorizing the input data in a mandatory hierarchy. Investment properties represent a kind of asset that is measured at fair value. Listed real estate companies are thereby obligated to report in accordance with IFRS 13. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine whether the implementation of IFRS 13 has resulted in any effect on the real estate companies valuation of investment properties. The further purpose of the study is to explore how external valuation is used when determining the book value. Method: The study uses a quantitative method where the entire population is included. Through annual reports from respective real estate company the data relevant to the study has been collected and compiled. Framework: Accounting standards, value theories and previous literature works as the framework for the study. Empiricism: Common for all studied years is that all the included companies discount cash flows based on unobservable input data when estimating the fair value of their investment properties. Differences has appeared in the usage of external appraisers and which valuation, internal or external, that the book value is based upon. Conclusion: The implementation of IFRS 13 has proven to not result in any effect on the real estate companies’ choice of input data and method of valuation, when estimating the fair value of investment properties. The majority of companies use external appraisers in some kind of purpose.  However, the study shows differences in the amount of investment properties valued by external appraisers together with which valuation the book value has been based upon.

The new accounting standard IFRS 13 had its mandatory implementation January 1 st 2013. The main reason for the implementation was to eliminate inconsistencies and reduce complexities in fair value measurements. The new disclosure would therefore enable public real estate companies to be more transparent towards investors, who base their financial decision on the information that is presented in the financial report. Since the market value of investment properties is important for investors when making their financial decisions, this study focuses on the disclosure requirements of IFRS 13 in Sweden. The aim of this research was to study how well Swedish real estate companies follow the new disclosure requirements and how this may affect the investors’ financial decisions. In order to conduct the study a mixed method approach was undertaken. The study consisted of a sampled of 90 financial reports from 15 public real estate companies in Sweden before and after IFRS 13. The disclosure requirements were later calculated in accordance to an unweighted disclosure index and then tested against a hypothesis with the help of the Wilcoxon matched pair test. The comparison of the financial reports during the period 2010- 2015, that is before and after IFRS 13, enabled us to see how well the new requirements were followed. If a certain disclosure requirement was not followed an analysis of the audit reports was made in order to conclude if a modified opinion had been left by the auditor or not. In order to strengthen this specific part of the study a qualitative method was undertaken to get an expert’s point of view regarding the new requirement as well how the investors may be affected. Four auditors were interviewed in order to acquire this information but also to get a better insight regarding the investors’ point of view. After the data collection and analysis, our findings reveal that the overall compliance of public real estate companies in Sweden was high and that the disclosure quality had increased after the implementation of IFRS 13. However, not all disclosure requirements were fulfilled and none of the company’s auditors chose to give a modified statement. The results from the qualitative part of the study showed that all participants consider auditors to have sufficient knowledge of IFRS 13. Furthermore, the participants’ also claimed that the change of disclosure requirements has little impact on investors’ financial decisions.

No presente trabalho trato das escolhas contábeis nas empresas genuínas exploradoras de propriedades para investimentos que têm suas ações negociadas no Brasil. A escolha do tema é pelo fato das normas contábeis (CPC 28, correspondente ao IAS 40) permitirem a mensuração das propriedades de investimento ou por custo histórico ou por valor justo. O objetivo do trabalho foi investigar os fatores (individuais ou em conjunto) que possam ter influenciado os agentes internos da empresa a escolher o critério de mensuração. Tais fatores, conforme a literatura, são: grau de alavancagem, custo político, grau de concentração acionária, relevância da informação e aversão a mudanças por parte do elaborador da informação contábil. No trabalho exponho dados secundários das doze principais empresas de capital aberto exploradoras de propriedades para investimento com o objetivo de identificar as características de cada uma das empresas. Para obter conhecimento mais profundo sobre as escolhas contábeis, adotei um método inovador no Brasil, ao menos nessa linha de pesquisa (mensuração de propriedades para investimento) com entrevistas semiestruturadas em duas das mais relevantes empresas do setor (uma de custo histórico e outra de valor justo). Os resultados das entrevistas reforçaram que há características relevantes distintas das empresas que podem explicar as escolhas contábeis. Tais achados, para fins de validade interna, foram confrontados com mais três empresas externas às entrevistas, e as mesmas características encontradas nas entrevistas foram também encontradas nas três empresas usadas para validação. Como resultado dos dados analisados identifiquei que as empresas optantes pelo custo histórico têm seu modelo de negócio (estratégia para ser competitiva e criar valor) pautado na \"visualização do dono\" fundador e acionista controlador, que por sua vez participa desde a escolha do local para aquisição do terreno até seleção dos clientes para quem irá locar o empreendimento. Já as empresas de valor justo são empresas com origens no mercado financeiro, não têm controle acionário concentrado e seus acionistas são fundos de investimento internacionais que cobram resultados mais expressivos da companhia, resultados esses antecipados pela adoção do valor justo. Além disso, as companhias de valor justo, diferente das de custo histórico, adquirem a maior parte de seus empreendimentos e atendem as classes emergentes da economia; já as empresas de custo histórico constroem seus empreendimentos e buscam a atender as classes mais altas da economia. Ou seja, o modelo de negócio das empresas exploradoras de propriedade de investimento explica a escolha contábil de se mensurar ou pelo custo histórico ou pelo valor justo a conta no balanço patrimonial. E essa é a principal contribuição do trabalho: a explicação do principal fator que motiva a adoção do valor justo ou do custo histórico que é o modelo de negócio de cada companhia. / This study discusses accounting choices in companies that are authentic explorers of investment property and are publicly traded in Brazil. The choice of the theme is due to the fact that the accounting standards (CPC 28, corresponding to IAS 40) permit the measuring of investment properties by their historical cost or their fair value. The objective in this study was to investigate the (individual or combined) factors that may have influences the company\'s internal agents to choose the measuring criterion. According to the literature, these factors are: degree of leverage, political cost, degree of stockholder concentration, information relevance and aversion to changes by the elaborator of the accounting information. In the study, secondary data are presented for the twelve main companies that explore investment property with a view to identifying the characteristics of each. To obtain more in-depth knowledge about the accounting choices, a method was adopted that is innovative in Brazil, at least in this research area (measuring of investment property), involving semi structured interviews in two of the most relevant companies in the sector (one of which adopted the historical cost and the other the fair value). The interview results highlighted that the companies display relevant distinct characteristics that can explain their accounting choices. For the sake of internal validity, these findings were confronted with three other companies external to the interviews, and the same characteristics found in the interviews were also found in the three companies used for the purpose of validation. As a result of the data analyzed, it was identified that the business model (strategy to be competitive and create value) in the companies that choose the historical cost is based on the \"visualization of the founding owner\" and controlling stockholder, who in turn participates from the choice of the location to purchase land to the selection of the clients to whom the business will be rented. On the other hand, companies that choose the fair value originate in the financial market, do not have a concentrated stock control and their stockholders are international investment funds that expect more expressive results from the company, anticipated by the adoption of the fair value. In addition, as opposed to the historical cost companies, the fair value companies purchase most of their businesses and attend to the emerging economic classes; the historical cost companies, on the other hand, build their business and aim to attend to the higher economic classes. In other words, the business model of the companies that explore investment property explain the accounting choice to measure the account in the balance sheet using the historical cost or the fair value. That is the main contribution of this study: the explanation of the main factor that motivates the adoption of the fair value or the historical cost, which is each company\'s business model.

No presente trabalho trato das escolhas contábeis nas empresas genuínas exploradoras de propriedades para investimentos que têm suas ações negociadas no Brasil. A escolha do tema é pelo fato das normas contábeis (CPC 28, correspondente ao IAS 40) permitirem a mensuração das propriedades de investimento ou por custo histórico ou por valor justo. O objetivo do trabalho foi investigar os fatores (individuais ou em conjunto) que possam ter influenciado os agentes internos da empresa a escolher o critério de mensuração. Tais fatores, conforme a literatura, são: grau de alavancagem, custo político, grau de concentração acionária, relevância da informação e aversão a mudanças por parte do elaborador da informação contábil. No trabalho exponho dados secundários das doze principais empresas de capital aberto exploradoras de propriedades para investimento com o objetivo de identificar as características de cada uma das empresas. Para obter conhecimento mais profundo sobre as escolhas contábeis, adotei um método inovador no Brasil, ao menos nessa linha de pesquisa (mensuração de propriedades para investimento) com entrevistas semiestruturadas em duas das mais relevantes empresas do setor (uma de custo histórico e outra de valor justo). Os resultados das entrevistas reforçaram que há características relevantes distintas das empresas que podem explicar as escolhas contábeis. Tais achados, para fins de validade interna, foram confrontados com mais três empresas externas às entrevistas, e as mesmas características encontradas nas entrevistas foram também encontradas nas três empresas usadas para validação. Como resultado dos dados analisados identifiquei que as empresas optantes pelo custo histórico têm seu modelo de negócio (estratégia para ser competitiva e criar valor) pautado na \"visualização do dono\" fundador e acionista controlador, que por sua vez participa desde a escolha do local para aquisição do terreno até seleção dos clientes para quem irá locar o empreendimento. Já as empresas de valor justo são empresas com origens no mercado financeiro, não têm controle acionário concentrado e seus acionistas são fundos de investimento internacionais que cobram resultados mais expressivos da companhia, resultados esses antecipados pela adoção do valor justo. Além disso, as companhias de valor justo, diferente das de custo histórico, adquirem a maior parte de seus empreendimentos e atendem as classes emergentes da economia; já as empresas de custo histórico constroem seus empreendimentos e buscam a atender as classes mais altas da economia. Ou seja, o modelo de negócio das empresas exploradoras de propriedade de investimento explica a escolha contábil de se mensurar ou pelo custo histórico ou pelo valor justo a conta no balanço patrimonial. E essa é a principal contribuição do trabalho: a explicação do principal fator que motiva a adoção do valor justo ou do custo histórico que é o modelo de negócio de cada companhia. / This study discusses accounting choices in companies that are authentic explorers of investment property and are publicly traded in Brazil. The choice of the theme is due to the fact that the accounting standards (CPC 28, corresponding to IAS 40) permit the measuring of investment properties by their historical cost or their fair value. The objective in this study was to investigate the (individual or combined) factors that may have influences the company\'s internal agents to choose the measuring criterion. According to the literature, these factors are: degree of leverage, political cost, degree of stockholder concentration, information relevance and aversion to changes by the elaborator of the accounting information. In the study, secondary data are presented for the twelve main companies that explore investment property with a view to identifying the characteristics of each. To obtain more in-depth knowledge about the accounting choices, a method was adopted that is innovative in Brazil, at least in this research area (measuring of investment property), involving semi structured interviews in two of the most relevant companies in the sector (one of which adopted the historical cost and the other the fair value). The interview results highlighted that the companies display relevant distinct characteristics that can explain their accounting choices. For the sake of internal validity, these findings were confronted with three other companies external to the interviews, and the same characteristics found in the interviews were also found in the three companies used for the purpose of validation. As a result of the data analyzed, it was identified that the business model (strategy to be competitive and create value) in the companies that choose the historical cost is based on the \"visualization of the founding owner\" and controlling stockholder, who in turn participates from the choice of the location to purchase land to the selection of the clients to whom the business will be rented. On the other hand, companies that choose the fair value originate in the financial market, do not have a concentrated stock control and their stockholders are international investment funds that expect more expressive results from the company, anticipated by the adoption of the fair value. In addition, as opposed to the historical cost companies, the fair value companies purchase most of their businesses and attend to the emerging economic classes; the historical cost companies, on the other hand, build their business and aim to attend to the higher economic classes. In other words, the business model of the companies that explore investment property explain the accounting choice to measure the account in the balance sheet using the historical cost or the fair value. That is the main contribution of this study: the explanation of the main factor that motivates the adoption of the fair value or the historical cost, which is each company\'s business model.

The thesis project analyses current investment opportunities in the real estate market. It investigates the standard sales through real estate agencies and direct sales from developers; the core focus is however on alternative options of buying properties, such as foreclosure auctions, auctions of financial authorities, purchases of agricultural land, etc. The theoretical part of the work examines the ba-sic terminology and ways of buying properties. The practical part uses the findings and evaluates investment opportunities with regard to their risks, the difficulty of the process of acquiring the property and most importantly the return on investment.

Fair value accounting for investment property has been mandatory in the EU since the adoption of IFRS 13 and has been both heavily criticized and praised. Previous research suggests that there are some inherent issues with fair value accounting for investment property, such as lacking reliability and persistence of reported unrealized earnings. There is also evidence of unrealized earnings influencing dividends and share price development related to fair value accounting in a procyclical manner. The purpose of this study is to enhance knowledge about whether fair value accounting in listed Nordic investment property companies causes procyclical effects on dividend payout and stock market behaviour. To fulfil this purpose, a quantitative analysis of financial reports and share prices of listed Nordic investment property companies was conducted. This study confirms that fair value accounting has a strong influence on dividends and share price development.

<p>Background: Within real estate companies assets according to IFRS/ IAS 40 should be valued at fair value, to compare with previous valuation criteria according to which real estate should valued at cost. Two models can be used within IAS 40, these are value at cost and fair value. When valued at cost the real estate value in the balance sheet should be specified at cost. The method chosen by the company should be used for all real estate within the company except for the premises used by the company. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyse and evaluate how real estate companies experienced the problems that arose when converting to IAS 40, and to analyse the effects on the companies key ratios as a result of the change of accounting method. Key ratios examined were, return on equity, solvency ratio, P/E-ratio and debt/equity ratio. </p><p>Method: The essay is made on a qualitative effort in the form of four interviews with experts within the chosen subject area. The compilation of key ratio is made in a quantitative form and is made up of secondary data. Conclusions: With the implementing of IAS 40 for real estate accounting, the ability to better compare the accounting between real estate companies increased, even though all companies do not account for their real estate in the same way. It appeared that the regulation requirements need to be adjusted and formed in a way that better matches the reality in which real estate companies act. Valuation with fair value proved to have both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that the comparability and the fair picture between real estate companies increased. The disadvantage was that the valuation of the fair value gives an increased risk for the real estate companies to be over- or undervalued. A wrong valuation gives a wrong picture of the real estate companies and effects the key ratios in a volatile manner.</p>