The content of the audit report is often discussed. The aim of this paper is to explain the content in the audit reports and define similarities and differences among audit reports in Swedish listed companies. The analysis is based on data collected from 757 audit reports in Swedish listed companies between 2006 and 2008, it is 98.57 percent of the total population.  The study show that several reports deviate from the Swedish audit standards both in terms of form and content. Only a few reports contain extra information, not required by the Swedish Generally Accepted Audit Standards (GAAS). The audit report mainly deviate from the audit standard in terms length, audit firm used, audited company size and branch. We have found a number of variables that influence deviations from the audit standard; these are length of the report, extra information, language, presence of sub-headings, currency, audit firm, number of auditors, number of employees, net turnover, profit/loss, list on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and branch of the audited company. We believe deviations due to mistakes could easily be overcome by a greater awareness from the auditors’. In order to alert auditors about problematic parts the Swedish Institute of Authorized Public Accountants (FAR) need to pay more attention to the audit reports form and content issues. Key words: Audit report, Audit standard, Content of audit report, Form of audit report, Listed companies. / Revisionsberättelsens innehåll är omdiskuterat. Syftet med denna uppsats är att förklara innehållet i revisionsberättelser i Svenska börsnoterade bolag samt att definiera likheter och skillnader dem emellan. Analysen består av data insamlat från 757 revisionsberättelser i svenska börsnoterade bolag mellan 2006 och 2008, vilket motsvarar 98.57 procent av den totala populationen. Studien visar att flera revisionsberättelser avviker från den Svenska revisionsstandarden (RS) både i förhållande till formalia och innehåll. Endast ett fåtal innehöll extra information som inte är obligatoriskt i förhållande till RS. Revisionsberättelserna skiljer sig främst åt i fråga om dokumentets längd, revisionsfirma, bolagsstorlek och bransch tillhörighet.    Vi har hittat flera variabler som påverkar avvikelser från RS, dessa är längd, förekomsten av extra information, språk, förekomst av underrubriker, valuta i årsredovisningen, revisionsfirma, antal revisorer, antal anställda, omsättning, vinst/förlust, lista på Stockholms börsen och bransch tillhörighet. Vi tror att avvikelser beroende på misstag lätt kan korrigeras genom ökad medvetenhet av revisorerna. För att uppmärksamma revisorerna på problematiska delar borde bransch organisationen för revisorer (FAR) tydligare fokusera på revisionsberättelsens formalia och innehåll. Nyckelord: Revisionsberättelse, Revisionsberättelsens innehåll, Revisionsberättelsens formalia, Börsnoterade bolag. / VG

The main objective of this thesis is to investigate corporate governance practices in South Africa listed companies. Specifically, the thesis strives to achieve the following objectives. First, it investigates the extent of compliance with the best corporate governance practices as recommended by the King Committee on Corporate Governance prior to and post 2002 in order to understand whether there is improvement in corporate practices. Second the thesis investigates whether compliance with the best corporate governance practices are related to ethnicity of board structures (in particular Board Chairman, Board Dominance and Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director) and other factors such as company characteristics, market and performance related variables. Third it investigates the views/opinions of key stakeholders [e.g. regulators, King Code Commissioners, companies and institutional investors] regarding the state of corporate governance in SA and its influence in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The findings from regression results indicate that compliance with the King Code increased substantially between 2002 and 2008. The results also indicate that compliance is high for accounting and auditing and boards and directors issues and lowest for integrated sustainability reporting issues. The findings also indicate that ethnicity influences corporate compliance with best practice governance principles such as the King Code, as per prediction. Compliance was also found to be high for large firms, firms with multiple listings in other stock exchanges and firms audited by Big 4 audit firms. Finally, the findings from the views of key stakeholders indicate that the Code has indeed improved corporate governance standards in South Africa, is suitable for the country because of its consideration of local circumstances and influences corporate practice in the SADC region.

Introduktion EU:s nya krav på obligatorisk byrårotation för bolag av allmäntintresse kommer medföra fler revisionsbyråbyten. Detfinns därmed ett behov av att kartlägga vilka faktorer bolagfinner relevanta vid byte av revisionsbyrå. Syfte Syftet med studien är att beskriva och förklara vilka faktorersom påverkar publika bolags attityd till byte av revisionsbyrå,i relation till nya krav på obligatorisk byrårotation. Metod Studien har en deduktiv ansats innebärande att befintlig teorioch forskning ligger till grund för uppställda hypoteser.Datainsamlingen har skett genom en enkätundersökning, ikombination med sekundärdata från årsredovisningar. Slutsatser Studien visar att variablerna Rykte, Låg revisionskostnad,Faktisk revisionskostnad, Bolagsstorlek, Skuldsättning,Relation samt Erfarenhet av byråbyte har signifikanta sambandmed bolags attityd till revisionsbyråbyte. Dessutomvisar studien att bolag som är positivt inställda till att bytarevisionsbyrå också tenderar att vara positivt inställda tillEU:s krav på obligatorisk byrårotation. / Introduction The EU’s new requirements for mandatory audit firmrotation for companies of public interest will lead to moreaudit firm changes. There is thus a need to identify whichfactors companies find relevant when changing audit firm. Purpose The purpose of this study is to describe and explain thefactors that affect listed companies’ attitude towardschanging audit firm, in relation to new requirements formandatory audit firm rotation. Method The study has a deductive approach, meaning that existingtheory and research are underpinning the hypotheses. Thedata has been collected trough a survey, which has beencombined with data from the companies’ annual reports. Conclusions The study shows that the variables Reputation, Low auditingcosts, Actual auditing costs, Company size, Leverage,Relationship and Experience from audit firm change hassignificant correlations with the dependent variable. Inaddition, the study shows that companies that’s positivetowards changing audit firm also tend to be positive towards

Purpose This paper analyses the use of marketing metrics and marketing information and metrics contained in 2006/7 annual reports of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The assumption is that the annual reports are the vehicle whereby listed companies communicate to their shareholders and other stakeholder constituencies. Methodology The assessment criteria is based on Ambler’s (2003) suggested marketing metrics and qualitative data is based on a checklist compiled from various academic sources. The elements which are assessed pertain to brand equity, other customer metrics, segmentation, competition, innovation and environmental and strategic aspects. The information obtained is compared to information required by investors and rating is done based on a grand total maturity. Findings Research results indicate that the use of quantitative metrics and qualitative data is very limited. The majority of companies display a lack of information pertaining to marketing. The results reflect a bi-modal tendency. Half (53%) of the companies do not provide any or poor information on their brand whereas 26% of companies supplied good and excellent information. The grand total score indicates that nearly two thirds (60%) of companies obtain a score of less than 50%, providing insufficient information. On the other hand, 27% of companies provide good and excellent information. Segmentation metrics are generally not reflected in annual reports, neither are competitors. Innovation and environmental aspects influencing market trends are covered by two thirds, however a third provides insufficient information. Other findings include that no standard reporting format exists. Information pertaining to marketing is spread throughout the annual reports. None of the companies provide a glossary of marketing definition or brand terminology. Research implications More in-depth research needs to be conducted on various industry sectors and amongst investors as to their needs. Originality/ value The paper is of value to corporate executives, marketing and communication practitioners who seek to improve communication and to convey optimal information for the investment community. The aim is to stimulate executive management to revise their relationship towards customers, the brand, marketing strategy and investors. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a positive relationship between environmental responsibility and financial performance of South African listed companies. For the purposes of this study annual financial statements for the periods ending from 1994 to 1998 were investigated. Only companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) during the calendar years 1994 to 1998 were included. The investigation was not limited to certain sectors of the JSE in order to include all possible environmentally responsible companies. In the review of the related literature the theoretical foundation of environmental reporting was investigated based on fundamental accounting principles. The stakeholders interested in environmental reporting were identified and their influence on the environmental information presented in annual financial statements was examined. The costs or disadvantages versus the benefits or advantages of environmental responsibility were explored. The findings of previous studies that examined the relationship between environmental performance and financial performance were investigated. Environmental responsibility was defined, taking previous researchers' definitions into consideration. Pressures towards environmental responsibility that companies experience and progress made by companies were discussed. Previous studies were used to identify the most appropriate measures to use when measuring environmental responsibility. A control list and a judgement scale developed from previous research were selected for use in this study to determine environmentally responsible companies. Profitability, as a key component of financial performance, was defined. Elements of financial performance were discussed under the profit zone and causal factors. Financial performance measures most often used were identified from relevant literature. These measures were considered as well as measures used in previous research before selecting return on equity, return on assets, return on capital and economic value added for purposes of this study. Correlation analyses were performed for the following groups of companies for every year from 1994 to 1998: · Total qualifying population of companies; · total population excluding wild points regarding environmental reporting percentages; and · companies reporting on environmental matters during four to five years of the period examined. The financial performance measures ROE, ROA and ROC were individually correlated with the environmental reporting percentages for all the companies, regardless of the JSE sector of the companies. The correlation of EVA with the environmental reporting percentages was limited to industrial companies. Analyses per sector were performed by way of the following trend analyses for every year from 1994 to 1998: · Environmental responsibility per sector; · average financial performance for environmentally responsible companies in comparison to average financial performance for companies without a environmental responsibility measure per sector; and · data plots. There is a positive relationship between the environmental responsibility and the financial performance of South African listed companies; i.e. the higher the environmental responsibility of a company is, the higher is the financial performance of that company. However, it is important to note that this conclusion is based on the results in total and that causality could not be addressed. There are still many sectors with no or very little evidence of environmental responsibility. / Dissertation (DComm(Accounting Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Accounting / unrestricted

Chapter 1 Summary of the Dissertation "We are in the golden age of fraud." Jim Chanos, Kynikos Associates, Financial Times 24/07/2020. Beyond the speculations about the consecutive waves of Covid, 2020 will be reminded for one of the most notorious failures of a listed firm, due to a massive accounting fraud: the German payment fintech Wirecard. The firm, with 30 subsidiaries in 26 countries, joined the prestigious DAX index just two years before. The spillovers of the billion-euro fraud range from the arrest of top managers to suspicion of auditors, politicians, and regulatory authorities (BaFin, European Commission, and ESMA), as suggested the Financial Times headline "Why was Frankfurt so blind for so long?"1 Such a failure serves as a reminder of the relevance of financial markets regulation, oversight, and enforcement, in order to protect investors and to encourage compliance with regulations. Research on the relationship between the publication of financial misconducts and financial performance for corporates has continuously grown, as illustrated by the recent in- depth literature reviews undergone by Amiram et al. (2018) and Liu and Yawson (2020). It is fueling regulatory debates on how to enforce more efficiently financial regulations. Some specificities of white-collar crimes must be accounted for...

It is widely held that CEOs are central to the successful financial performance of companies. Yet, little attention has been given to the correlation between CEO tenure and financial performance of companies specifically. The purpose of this study was to determine whether CEO tenure has an impact on financial performance of companies in South Africa. The financial performance variables for the study were ROA and ROE. The performance of 30 JSE listed companies from three industries, namely, mining, retail and real estate, between 1995 to 2007 was examined. This gave a total of 62 data observations across the selected three tenure categories: short tenure (one to three years); medium tenure (four to five years); and long tenure (six or more years). The results showed that the average tenure for South African CEOs was four years; this was slightly lower than the findings of previous studies conducted in the USA. Medium and long tenure showed better financial performance for ROA than short tenure, while there was no statistically significant finding for ROE. Therefore from an ROA point of view, as tenure increases so does financial performance, until a certain point at which it is anticipated that lengthy tenure will lead to a decline in financial performance. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Corporate governance can play a significant role in financial market stability and economic development. Corporate governance scholars have provided controversial results with respect to the relationships between corporate governance and both corporate financial performance and market value. Based on agency theory and institutional theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms, financial performance, and market value in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's 116 firms from 2010 to 2014. Financial performance was measured by return on assets and return on equity, while market value was measured by Tobin's q. Corporate governance mechanisms involved in this study were board size, board independence, board committees, ownership structure, and executive compensation. The financial statements and corporate governance mechanisms collected from the websites of sampled firms and the Saudi stock market (Tadawul). The findings of multiple regression tests revealed a statistically significant relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and both corporate financial performance and market value. This study may contribute to social change by building confidence in the Saudi capital market and improving the lives of stakeholders and community in general. The results may help business leaders understand the influence of corporate governance on their firms' success and the country's growth. Academic researchers, investors, regulatory bodies, practitioners, and experts in the area of corporate governance may benefit as well.

The main objective of this thesis is to investigate corporate governance practices in South Africa listed companies. Specifically, the thesis strives to achieve the following objectives. First, it investigates the extent of compliance with the best corporate governance practices as recommended by the King Committee on Corporate Governance prior to and post 2002 in order to understand whether there is improvement in corporate practices. Second the thesis investigates whether compliance with the best corporate governance practices are related to ethnicity of board structures (in particular Board Chairman, Board Dominance and Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director) and other factors such as company characteristics, market and performance related variables. Third it investigates the views/opinions of key stakeholders [e.g. regulators, King Code Commissioners, companies and institutional investors] regarding the state of corporate governance in SA and its influence in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The findings from regression results indicate that compliance with the King Code increased substantially between 2002 and 2008. The results also indicate that compliance is high for accounting and auditing and boards and directors issues and lowest for integrated sustainability reporting issues. The findings also indicate that ethnicity influences corporate compliance with best practice governance principles such as the King Code, as per prediction. Compliance was also found to be high for large firms, firms with multiple listings in other stock exchanges and firms audited by Big 4 audit firms. Finally, the findings from the views of key stakeholders indicate that the Code has indeed improved corporate governance standards in South Africa, is suitable for the country because of its consideration of local circumstances and influences corporate practice in the SADC region.

Bakgrund och problem: Det finns många olika aspekter som avgör om ett bolag ska börsnoteras eller inte vilket gör det till ett komplext beslut. Det uppstår därmed olika effekter inom bolagens lönsamhet, tillväxt och finansiella struktur beroende på om de är noterade eller onoterade samt vilken sektor de är verksamma i. Vidare kan noterade bolag utsättas för strängare regler och krav på marknaden jämfört med onoterade bolag vilket leder till olika konsekvenser. Att vara eller icke vara ett noterat bolag är därför betydelsefullt för att få en bättre förståelse av marknaden.   Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om det finns skillnader mellan olika nyckeltal inom lönsamhet, tillväxt och finansiell struktur genom att jämföra svenska Small Cap-bolag med motsvarande onoterade bolag inom samma sektor.   Metod: En kvantitativ studie med ett deduktivt synsätt genomförs där 3 hypoteser utformas utifrån teorin. Dessa hypoteser utgår ifrån att noterade bolag har en högre lönsamhet, tillväxt och bättre finansiell struktur jämfört med onoterade bolag. Studiens empiriska material består av 25 noterade svenska Small Cap-bolag som matchas med 25 onoterade “tvillingbolag” som är motsvariga inom storlek och sektor. Bolagen jämförs under tidsperioden 2009-2015 och studeras både över samtliga tidsperioder samt inom tre olika tidsperioder för att finna möjliga skillnader mellan de noterade och onoterade bolagen. Både t-tester och multipla regressioner utförs för att tyda möjliga skillnader och samband.   Slutsats: Studien finner signifikanta skillnader mellan noterade och onoterade bolag inom deras finansiella struktur under olika tidsperioder. Det kan dock inte tydas några signifikanta skillnader mellan bolagens lönsamhet och tillväxt. Det framkommer även bevis på att tillväxt och finansiell struktur skiljer sig mellan sektorerna. En anledning till att inga signifikanta skillnader kan påvisas mellan lönsamhet, tillväxt och förändring i kassalikviditet kan vara för att skillnaderna mellan de noterade och onoterade bolagen har minskat genom åren, i jämförelse med tidigare studier. / Background and problem: There are many different aspects that determine whether a company should be listed or not, which makes it a complex decision. Thus, there are different effects within the companies' profitability, growth and financial structure depending on whether they are listed or unlisted, and the sector in which they operate. Furthermore, listed companies may be subject to stricter rules and requirements in the market compared to unlisted companies, resulting in different consequences. To be or not to be a listed company is therefore important for a better understanding of the market. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate whether there are differences between various key ratios in profitability, growth and financial structure by comparing Swedish small cap companies with corresponding unlisted companies within the same sector. Method: A quantitative study with a deductive approach is implemented where 3 hypotheses are constructed from the theory. These hypotheses assume that listed companies have higher profitability, growth and better financial structure than unlisted companies. The empirical material of the study consists of 25 listed Swedish small cap companies, which are matched with 25 unlisted "twin companies" which are similar in size and sector. The companies are compared over the period 2009-2015 and are studied within all periods and three different periods to find possible differences between listed and unlisted companies. Both t-tests and multiple regressions are performed to indicate possible differences and relationships. Conclusion: The study finds significant differences between listed and unlisted companies within their financial structure during different periods of time. However, there are no significant differences between the companies' profitability and growth. There is also evidence that growth and financial structures differ between the sectors. One reason why no significant differences can be found between profitability, growth and the change in liquidity ratio may be because the differences between listed and unlisted companies have decreased over the years, compared with previous studies.