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The South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 prescribes how schools should manage their finances and involve their stakeholders in financial management decision-making. The relevant literature reveals that principals in many schools situated in township and rural areas play a dominant role in the financial management of their schools which is contrary to the prescriptions of the South African Schools Act. This study aimed to identify financial management decision-making processes utilized in fee-paying public primary schools, the factors that influence financial management decision-making and the role and influence of individual stakeholders in financial management decision-making. The study followed a qualitative research approach with a multiple case study research design. Five fee-paying public primary schools were purposively selected. Participants included governing body chairpersons, principals and financial managers of the schools. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings from the data suggest that financial management decision-making processes utilized in fee-paying public primary schools are: needs analysis, budget drafting and procurement processes. The study also reveals that members of school governing bodies (SGB) in fee-paying schools situated in affluence areas are educated professionals who, as required by the South African School Act, exert a strong influence in financial management decision-making in schools. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

The decline in the profitability of credit unions with less than $10 million in assets harms the number of small credit unions available to serve local communities. Grounded in the financial intermediation theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between regulatory compliance costs, operation costs, and profitability. The population of this study consisted of federally insured credit unions with less than $10 million in assets and located in the state of Texas. Archival data from the National Credit Union Administration database were collected and analyzed. Multiple regression was used to identify a statistically significant predictive model, F (2, 49) = 3.834, p = .028, R2 =.135. The implications for positive social change include the potential for credit union managers to improve decision-making processes related to current and future operations and investments, which could increase profitability and contribute to the financial prosperity of employees, employees' families, communities, and local economies.

This thesis examines if the correlations between equity sectors have increased over time, mitigating sector diversification. Investors and other financial enthusiasts have started to believe that sector diversification is not a useful investment strategy. To investigate whether correlations among the sectors are rising, this study analyzes numerous aspects regarding sector diversification. Twenty years of monthly sector returns are used to determine whether correlations among the sectors are increasing. Also, the analyzation of sector movement during up and down periods of the market is addressed within the thesis. This study finds that the majority of the sectors move together in times of a financial crisis, like the 2007-2008 market crash. Thus, when sector diversification is most needed, it often fails during times of strife. Furthermore, the study analyzes how the majority of the sectors tend to not move with the market over the twenty-year period. Results suggest the correlations between the sectors have not become closer contrary to popular belief. The importance and usefulness of sector diversification when investing is validated by this study’s results.

This study is on implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by reporting entities in Nigeria. Since Nigeria adopted IFRS in 2010, managers of reporting entities have been confronted with organizational changes both in the structures and processes of financial reporting. Previous studies have not assessed the claims that adopting IFRS improves the quality of financial reports and managerial efficiency. This study evaluated the assertion that IFRS adoption impacts the quality of financial reports, operational costs, and operational efficiencies of management. The theoretical frameworks which undergirded the study were theories of organizational behaviors and attitudinal change. Data were collected via a stratified sampling of 520 respondents who completed a 5-point Likert scale, which has a long history of reliability and usage in social science research. This study adopted a documentary review of financial statements before and after IFRS implementation to evaluate how IFRS adoption affected them. Logistic regression was used to test the main effects of IFRS adoption as independent variable to predict managerial efficiency as outcome variable. The study found statistically significant improvement in the quality of financial reporting and managerial efficiency following IFRS adoption. Participants' perceptions about IFRS measured on the attitudes scale did not significantly predict managerial efficiency, however, and the cost and benefit of implementing IFRS had no significant relationship with managerial efficiency. The study has positive social change implications as its findings, when implemented, may lead to more efficient company management, business expansion, improved government accounting oversight, more job opportunities, and reduced crime rates.

The banking industry in Ghana has seen tremendous growth in recent times. This exponential growth has led to high levels of competition and necessitated that all banks devise strategies to improve customer satisfaction to gain competitive advantage. The growing demands of customers have a significant impact on bank management's ability to attract and retain them. The ability to retain customers depends on the strategy in place to exceed customer expectations and satisfaction. Grounded in relationship marketing theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies banking leaders use to increase customer satisfaction. Data were collected through semistructured interviews from 6 bank leaders in 3 banks in Accra. Member checking confirmed the interpretation of participant data. Three themes emerged from the data analysis. The themes were customer centricity, customer relationship management, and service quality standards. Adopting customer-centric strategies, building strong relations with customers, and implementing quality service standards might increase customer satisfaction, retention, and profitability. The social change outcomes include the opportunity for the banks to give back to the community through corporate social responsibility and extending credit to improve the quality and standards of living of the people. Improved standards of living could result in the people in the Ghanaian community doing more business with banks, resulting in a ripple effect of profitability and giving back to society.

The adverse effect of small bank closures in the United States from 2007 to 2009 required $7 trillion from United States taxpayers to rescue the United States economy. This comparative case study explored the reasons that led to differences in efficiency in small banks in the United States and Ghana during the 2007 to 2009 period. This research was driven by the contingency theory, which states leaders perform well if they change their styles of leadership to suit the situation at hand. Semistructured interviews were employed to gather data from 20 senior and chief executives of small banks: 10 from the United States and 10 from Ghana. Data were formatted into matrices using the van Kaam method and then coded and organized into categories, which led to the identification of the 2 themes: (a) policies and practices and (b) reasons that contributed to the differences in efficiency between small banks in the United States and Ghana. The participants expressed concerns regarding the impact of increased regulations and bank reserves, and the resulting impact on the future of small banks. Findings from this study suggest that small banks that relaxed their mortgage qualification requirements during the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis had more losses compared to the small banks that did not. Additionally, findings from the United States and Ghana revealed small banks focusing on commercial loans had less losses compared to small banks investing in residential real estate. This study may contribute to social change by providing bank leaders with additional tools to prevent future bank failures and the confidence to make new commercial and residential mortgage loans, thereby creating jobs, lowering poverty, increasing income levels, and contributing to a more stable economy in which small banks operate.

Poor decisions and conflicts of interest by members of company boards of directors have been a factor in the dramatic rise in chief executive officer (CEO) compensation, resulting in a lower return on equity (ROE) for shareholders. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between CEO compensation, CEO duality, and ROE after controlling for CEO age, CEO tenure, and firm size, as measured by total assets. Agency theory was the theoretical framework for this study. The study examined whether a statistically significant relationship existed between CEO compensation, CEO duality, and ROE, after controlling for CEO age, CEO tenure, and firm size. Archival data were collected and analyzed from a sample of publicly traded firms in the United States listed on the 2016 Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Hierarchical multiple regression techniques were used to test the relationship between variables. The results indicated that there was not a statistically significant relationship between CEO compensation, CEO duality, and ROE after controlling for CEO age, CEO tenure, and firm size. The study may contribute to positive social change by increasing the potential for board of directors' members to implement best practices, contributing to reduced shareholder conflicts, less litigation, higher ROE, and enhanced investor confidence benefiting emerging economies and local communities.

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The first chapter analyzes the impact of macroprudential policies on bank systemic risk worldwide. Using data from 63 countries over 2001-2017, I find strong evidence that macroprudential policies are effective in reducing systemic risk at the country level. The effectiveness of macroprudential policies differs across countries in the sample. Macroprudential policies are more effective in reducing systemic risk in countries with more advanced economic development, with a higher degree of concentration in the banking sector, and with less stringent micro-prudential regulations. Bank-level evidence suggests that bank size matters. The impact of macroprudential policies on constraining bank systemic risk is more pronounced for large banks. Results are robust to the use of instrumental variables to address potential concerns, and to the inclusion of additional controls to account for the impact of alternate tools that might be used to foster financial stability. These results have policy implications for effective conduct of macroprudential policies. The second chapter examines the impact of macroprudential policies on private credit growth worldwide. Using data from 43 countries over 2001-2017, I confirm previous findings that borrower-targeted macroprudential policies (Loan-to-Value ratio and Debt-to-Income ratio) significantly reduce total private credit growth. Moreover, the impact of macroprudential policies on private credit differs across countries in the sample. Macroprudential policies negatively affect credit growth only in countries with less advanced economic development, with a lower degree of creditor protection, and without the existence of information sharing institutions. Results are robust to additional controls to account for the impact of alternate bank regulations and policies that might be used to constrain unsustainable credit growth. The third chapter examines the impact of loan loss provisions regulations on bank income smoothing. Using a sample of 2,380 banks from 107 countries over the period 1995-2016, I document evidence that stricter loan classification regulation reduces bank income smoothing through loan loss provisions, especially for big banks. However, I do not find such impact of loan provisioning regulation. I also find evidence that stricter loan classification regulation is effective at reducing bank income smoothing because it encourages banks to recognize loan loss in a more timely manner.