A common cliché found in annual reports is "our employees are our most important, valuable asset." While many companies claim human capital is an important asset and source of valuable earnings, there is nary a human asset found in financial statements. This research paper investigates the usefulness and importance of voluntary human capital disclosures. The 2 X 2 X 2 experiment manipulates firm financial performance, non-GAAP voluntary disclosures, and disclosure attestation to identify the extent to which human capital disclosures influence investor decision-making related to assessments of management credibility and firm value. The research described in this dissertation also investigates the interactive effects of auditor attestation on voluntary disclosure. The primary hypothesis examines whether firms providing strong human capital disclosures will have higher credibility ratings and stock price associations than firms not providing such disclosures. I find that when presented with human capital metrics, investors' assessments of credibility and firm stock price are attenuated by human capital disclosures, especially during periods of strong financial performance. Results also suggest investors key in on both non-financial and financial human capital metrics. Based on cognitive processing time, analyses indicate investors spend more time processing strong human capital disclosures. Another important hypothesis examines if firms receiving attestation services over voluntary human capital disclosures will have higher credibility ratings than firms not receiving such services. I find some evidence investors cognitively acknowledge the presence of auditor attestation reports when they are presented, and both credibility and stock price assessments are impacted by attestation services. Overall, the original research described here makes a contribution to the existing literature by providing unique insight as to how human capital information is viewed by investors. Current reporting standards focus on financial assets, physical assets, and technological/intellectual property. This can result in significant transparency issues when publicly traded firms fail to adequately disclose human capital risks. Organizations undoubtedly have substantial unreported human capital benefits and risks, which can have a potentially significant market valuation impact. The research conducted and reported in this paper illuminates the potential benefits of human capital disclosures to both internal and external firm stakeholders. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the effects of principles vs. rules based accounting standards and a potential change in the audit reporting model will affect investors' perceptions of management's reporting credibility.  The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently considering the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, which is considered to be a set of principles based accounting standards.  Whereas, U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles are considered rules based.  Additionally, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is considering a possible change to the existing audit reporting model.  The audit reporting change currently under consideration would require the use of additional emphasis of matter paragraphs within the audit report to discuss areas of higher risk in the financial statements.  A sample of 196 nonprofessional investors completed an on-line 2 X 2 between subjects experiment that manipulated accounting standard type and level of auditor reporting.  Participants assessed direct and indirect measures of reporting credibility, obtained the experimental manipulations, and provided revised credibility assessments.  Changes in credibility served as the dependent variable.  The results suggest that expanded auditor reporting resulted in lower perceptions of management\'s reporting credibility. Additionally, the effects of expanded auditor reporting appear stronger under rules based accounting standards.  No main effects, however, of accounting standard type were observed.  These results contribute to the existing literature on accounting standard type, the information content of audit reports, and reporting credibility. / Ph. D.

Providing basic local administration has become one of a vast variety of priorities for all municipalities within the South African context. Municipalities need to be instrumental in South Africa’s socio- economic upliftment against issues like poverty and underdevelopment because government policy requires municipalities to play a developmental role. Taking cognizance of the transformational changes within the South African government, the local government, within its three categories, inherited growing responsibility for basic service delivery. This was primarily because the democratic South Africa has inherited a public sector marred by fragmented and gross inequalities at all levels of government activity (Mathekga & Buccus, 2006). The effectiveness of good local governance may rely on the capacity of local government structures, participative of municipal leadership and employees, to provide an integrated development approach to social and economic development issues and to supply essential services congruent with the needs and desires of the local communities (The Institute for Democracy in Africa, 2010). Municipalities need to be in a position to identify and prioritise local needs, determine adequate levels of services and allocate necessary resources to the public (COGTA, 2009c). The role of local government in, amongst other things, is to promote a better life for all by creating jobs, alleviating poverty, which is imperative in achieving a prosperous civilization. The transformation of local government, as it stood during the apartheid period, was aimed at removing the racial basis of government and making it a mechanism for the integration of society and the redistribution of municipal services from the rich to the poor. Thus, local government is the key site of delivery and development and is central to the entire transformative project of the new South Africa. In order for any municipality to be accountable for delivering a basic human right towards local communities, as stipulated in the Constitution of 1996, it is imperative that the relationship between the internal stakeholders of the local municipality is sound. The test would be to see how the municipal employees’ perception of trust influences the trust relationship between employees and managers in the local government sphere. Taking cognizance of the manner in which local government mechanisms and its related structures are administered, the research will aim to establish how important the vertical trust relationship between municipal employees and managers is, as a contributing factor for effective service delivery to its communities. Attention will focus on the conceptualization of vertical trust between employees and managers within local government in South Africa as well as to determine whether municipalities’ performance indeed have a link with vertical trust relationship between the relevant employees and managers. This will be explained within a broader perception by focusing on relevant theories of trust, which include the theories related different types- and dimensions of trust, and influence of the trust relationship within the local government sphere. The research focused on the performance of a Category B municipality within the geographic area of the Western Cape, and how the vertical trust relationship between employees towards managers and the subsequent performance of the municipalities would influence effective service delivery. A Category B municipality within the Eden district was identified as an institution that, within the broader government sphere, has been complimented and accolade due to continuous improvements in service delivery over the last few years. Five dimensions were examined by conducting a survey in order to establish the perceptions of municipal employees relating to the dimensions of job satisfaction, employee empowerment, communication, management reporting and performance management. These perceptions were assessed by interpreting the responses of (N = 205) respondents from the Category B municipality. The main finding was that the respondents were very negative towards how they experience the five dimensions within the Category B municipality. Based on the internal consistency of the five dimensions, the results of the research were of concern as a significant part of the respondents portrayed some sort of animosity towards how they perceived and responded to the statements. This is contrary to the Category B municipality’s continuous and improved financial performance and non-existent service delivery protests, as compared to other municipalities within the geographical area of the Western Cape. This research highlighted that, although the attitudes towards most of the statements were negatively experienced by the respondents, the Category B municipality still managed to get accolades for continuous and improved financial performance and non-existent service delivery protests. The revelations from the respondents highlight a sense of effective and efficient performance by the category B municipality with a mainly negative workforce. This poses a concern as to the proposition of this research in terms of how significant the role of such trust between affected parties play within the dynamics of this Category B municipality. The primary reason for this observation relates to the researcher’s view that it has become critical for management to get personally involved in managing the emotional part of its employees, in order to ignite a sense of belonging to the municipality where employees will put renewed emphasis on the trust towards all levels of the organizational hierarchy. It can be concluded that, in order for vertical trust to be of significance within the dynamics of this Category B municipality, the concept of vertical trust relationship can be nurtured by employing a working environment based on mutual respect, dignity, cooperation and honest communication. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Providing basic local administration has become one of a vast variety of priorities for all municipalities within the South African context. Municipalities need to be instrumental in South Africa’s socio- economic upliftment against issues like poverty and underdevelopment because government policy requires municipalities to play a developmental role. Taking cognizance of the transformational changes within the South African government, the local government, within its three categories, inherited growing responsibility for basic service delivery. This was primarily because the democratic South Africa has inherited a public sector marred by fragmented and gross inequalities at all levels of government activity (Mathekga & Buccus, 2006). The effectiveness of good local governance may rely on the capacity of local government structures, participative of municipal leadership and employees, to provide an integrated development approach to social and economic development issues and to supply essential services congruent with the needs and desires of the local communities (The Institute for Democracy in Africa, 2010). Municipalities need to be in a position to identify and prioritise local needs, determine adequate levels of services and allocate necessary resources to the public (COGTA, 2009c). The role of local government in, amongst other things, is to promote a better life for all by creating jobs, alleviating poverty, which is imperative in achieving a prosperous civilization. The transformation of local government, as it stood during the apartheid period, was aimed at removing the racial basis of government and making it a mechanism for the integration of society and the redistribution of municipal services from the rich to the poor. Thus, local government is the key site of delivery and development and is central to the entire transformative project of the new South Africa. In order for any municipality to be accountable for delivering a basic human right towards local communities, as stipulated in the Constitution of 1996, it is imperative that the relationship between the internal stakeholders of the local municipality is sound. The test would be to see how the municipal employees’ perception of trust influences the trust relationship between employees and managers in the local government sphere. Taking cognizance of the manner in which local government mechanisms and its related structures are administered, the research will aim to establish how important the vertical trust relationship between municipal employees and managers is, as a contributing factor for effective service delivery to its communities. Attention will focus on the conceptualization of vertical trust between employees and managers within local government in South Africa as well as to determine whether municipalities’ performance indeed have a link with vertical trust relationship between the relevant employees and managers. This will be explained within a broader perception by focusing on relevant theories of trust, which include the theories related different types- and dimensions of trust, and influence of the trust relationship within the local government sphere. The research focused on the performance of a Category B municipality within the geographic area of the Western Cape, and how the vertical trust relationship between employees towards managers and the subsequent performance of the municipalities would influence effective service delivery. A Category B municipality within the Eden district was identified as an institution that, within the broader government sphere, has been complimented and accolade due to continuous improvements in service delivery over the last few years. Five dimensions were examined by conducting a survey in order to establish the perceptions of municipal employees relating to the dimensions of job satisfaction, employee empowerment, communication, management reporting and performance management. These perceptions were assessed by interpreting the responses of (N = 205) respondents from the Category B municipality. The main finding was that the respondents were very negative towards how they experience the five dimensions within the Category B municipality. Based on the internal consistency of the five dimensions, the results of the research were of concern as a significant part of the respondents portrayed some sort of animosity towards how they perceived and responded to the statements. This is contrary to the Category B municipality’s continuous and improved financial performance and non-existent service delivery protests, as compared to other municipalities within the geographical area of the Western Cape. This research highlighted that, although the attitudes towards most of the statements were negatively experienced by the respondents, the Category B municipality still managed to get accolades for continuous and improved financial performance and non-existent service delivery protests. The revelations from the respondents highlight a sense of effective and efficient performance by the category B municipality with a mainly negative workforce. This poses a concern as to the proposition of this research in terms of how significant the role of such trust between affected parties play within the dynamics of this Category B municipality. The primary reason for this observation relates to the researcher’s view that it has become critical for management to get personally involved in managing the emotional part of its employees, in order to ignite a sense of belonging to the municipality where employees will put renewed emphasis on the trust towards all levels of the organizational hierarchy. It can be concluded that, in order for vertical trust to be of significance within the dynamics of this Category B municipality, the concept of vertical trust relationship can be nurtured by employing a working environment based on mutual respect, dignity, cooperation and honest communication. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

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The aim of the diploma thesis is to analyze the current state of creation of management reporting, its contribution to a company and to create a proposal for improving and expanding awareness of reporting in a company.

This paper-based dissertation comprises three essays dealing with sustainability management and reporting from a capital market perspective and their implications on capital markets. The dissertation is divided into four chapters. The first chapter provides a general overview of the research context by outlining the structure and aims of the dissertation and introducing the three manuscripts. The second chapter corresponds to the first manuscript and analyses how a chief sustainability officer influences sustainability reporting. The third chapter corresponds to the second manuscript and analyses how sustainability key performance indicators affect sustainability performance. The fourth and final chapter corresponds with the third manuscript. It deals with the question of how analysts perceive and evaluate different stages of sustainability strategy: a standalone sustainability strategy and sustainability integrated into the corporate strategy.

Abstract This dissertation provides a comprehensive picture of IFRS adoption from the perspective of preparers of accounting information in a continental European context. The dissertation examines the differences between IFRS and continental European accounting and analyses whether these differences influence and have implications for accounting and controlling practices and, if so, in what ways. The dissertation, therefore, presents case studies on accounting and controlling practices and develops theoretical explanations for these practices. This dissertation develops theoretical explanations of why and how business becomes involved in accounting (or accounting and business come closer to each other) and identifies different ways in which business becomes involved in accounting. Moreover, the dissertation provides insights into the implications of business involvements for accounting and control practices at three different levels, i.e. organisation, accounting function and individual accountants. In more general terms, this dissertation provides evidence of how financial accounting becomes more horizontal and has implications for both accounting and control practices. On the one hand, the dissertation examines management across two worlds, i.e. accounting and business, and focuses on the role of boundary objects used to mediate different worlds. On the other hand, the dissertation highlights learning at the boundaries and shows how boundary crossing was used as a strategy to fulfil the requirements of financial and corporate reporting. Finally, the dissertation argues that, rather than describing financial accounting and corporate reporting purely as a vertical process, we should pay attention to the lateral processing of information as required by the standards as well as the needs of management. / Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöskirja tarjoaa laajan kokonaiskuvan IFRS-standardiston käyttöönottoon tilinpäätösinformaation laatijan näkökulmasta. Tutkimus tarkastelee käyttöönottoa ja laatijan näkökulmaa erityisesti mannereurooppalaisessa kontekstissa. Tutkimus analysoi niin kutsutun mannereurooppalaisen normiston ja IFRS-standardiston välisiä eroja sekä näiden seuraamuksia laskenta- ja kontrollikäytäntöihin. Tutkimus tarjoaa tapaustutkimuksia laskenta- ja kontrollikäytännöistä sekä löytää ja kehittää teoreettisia selityksiä näille käytännöille. Tutkimus löytää teoreettisen selityksen sille, miksi ja miten liiketoiminta on läsnä raportoitavan informaation laatimisessa tai miksi liiketoiminnan johtaminen ja raportoitavan informaation laatiminen lähenevät toisiaan. Lisäksi tutkimus identifioi eri tapoja sille, miten liiketoiminta on läsnä informaation laatimisessa. Tutkimus tarjoaa tietoa liiketoiminnan läsnäolon seuraamuksista laskenta- ja kontrollikäytäntöihin kolmella eri tasolla: yrityksen, taloushallinnon funktion sekä taloushallinnon henkilöstön tasolla. Tämä väitöskirja osoittaa, miten tilinpäätösraportointi tulee IFRS-standardiston käyttöönoton myötä horisontaalisemmaksi ja miten tällä on seuraamuksia laskenta- ja kontrollikäytäntöihin. Tutkimus analysoi kahden maailman, ts. laskennan ja liiketoiminnan, välistä johtamista ja keskittyy rajaobjektien roolien tarkastelemiseen. Lisäksi tutkimus korostaa rajavyöhykkeellä tapahtuvaa oppimista ja osoittaa, kuinka rajanylitystä käytetään täyttämään sekä tilinpäätösraportoinnin että yhtiöiden sisäisten raportointien tarpeet. Tämä tutkimus osoittaa, että tilinpäätösraportoinnin ja yhtiötason raportoinnin horisontaalisiin piirteisiin tulisi kiinnittää huomiota sen sijaan, että ne kuvattaisiin puhtaasti vertikaalisina prosesseina. Tutkimus osoittaa, että sekä tilinpäätösstandardit että yhtiön johdon tarpeet vaativat raportoinnilta lateraalisia prosesseja.