No description available.

Autonomous vehicles promise to play an important role aiming at increased efficiency and safety in road transportation. Although we have seen several examples of autonomous vehicles out on the road over the past years, how to ensure the safety of autonomous vehicle in the uncertain and dynamic environment is still a challenging problem. This thesis studies this problem by developing a risk-aware decision making framework. The system that integrates the dynamics of an autonomous vehicle and the uncertain environment is modelled as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP). A risk measure is proposed based on the Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS) distance, which quantifying the minimum distance to other vehicles for ensuring safety. This risk measure is incorporated into the reward function of POMDP for achieving a risk-aware decision making. The proposed risk-aware POMDP framework is evaluated in two case studies. In a single-lane car following scenario, it is shown that the ego vehicle is able to successfully avoid a collision in an emergency event where a vehicle in front of it makes a full stop. In the merge scenario, the ego vehicle successfully enters the main road from a ramp with a satisfactory distance to other vehicles. As a conclusion, the risk-aware POMDP framework is able to realize a trade-off between safety and usability by keeping a reasonable distance and adapting to other vehicles behaviours. / Autonoma fordon förutspås spela en stor roll i framtiden med målen att förbättra effektivitet och säkerhet för vägtransporter. Men även om vi sett flera exempel av autonoma fordon ute på vägarna de senaste åren är frågan om hur säkerhet ska kunna garanteras ett utmanande problem. Det här examensarbetet har studerat denna fråga genom att utveckla ett ramverk för riskmedvetet beslutsfattande. Det autonoma fordonets dynamik och den oförutsägbara omgivningen modelleras med en partiellt observerbar Markov-beslutsprocess (POMDP från engelskans “Partially Observable Markov Decision Process”). Ett riskmått föreslås baserat på ett säkerhetsavstånd förkortat RSS (från engelskans “Responsibility-Sensitive Safety”) som kvantifierar det minsta avståndet till andra fordon för garanterad säkerhet. Riskmåttet integreras i POMDP-modellens belöningsfunktion för att åstadkomma riskmedvetna beteenden. Den föreslagna riskmedvetna POMDP-modellen utvärderas i två fallstudier. I ett scenario där det egna fordonet följer ett annat fordon på en enfilig väg visar vi att det egna fordonet kan undvika en kollision då det framförvarande fordonet bromsar till stillastående. I ett scenario där det egna fordonet ansluter till en huvudled från en ramp visar vi att detta görs med ett tillfredställande avstånd till andra fordon. Slutsatsen är att den riskmedvetna POMDP-modellen lyckas realisera en avvägning mellan säkerhet och användbarhet genom att hålla ett rimligt säkerhetsavstånd och anpassa sig till andra fordons beteenden.

Αφορμή για τη συγγραφή της παρούσας εργασίας συνιστά η διαμάχη μεταξύ του επιστημονικού ρεαλισμού και της εργαλειοκρατίας σχετικά με τις μη παρατηρήσιμες οντότητες Στόχος είναι να μελετηθεί και να αξιολογηθεί η εργαλειοκρατική προσέγγιση της επιστήμης , με έμφαση στην μορφή εργαλειοκρατίας που υποστηρίζεται στο έργο του Bastian Cornelis van Fraassen (The Scientific Image), δηλαδή τον κατασκευαστικό εμπειρισμό (constructive empiricism). Τα βασικά ερωτήματα που θα μας απασχολήσουν είναι τα εξής: 1)Τι πρεσβεύει ο επιστημονικός ρεαλισμός; 2)Τι εννοούμε όταν μιλάμε για την εργαλειοκρατική θεώρηση στην επιστήμη; 3)Ποια είναι η εργαλειοκρατική προσέγγιση της επιστήμης στο έργο του van Fraassen. Το πρώτο μέρος της εργασίας πραγματεύεται τον όρο «ρεαλισμός» θέτοντας ως αφετηρία τη Θεωρία των Ιδεών του Πλάτωνος, φτάνοντας μέχρι τον σύγχρονο επιστημονικό ρεαλισμό. Έτσι έχουμε: 1) τον Πλατωνισμό, 2) τον Άμεσο Ρεαλισμό, 3) τον Έμμεσο Ρεαλισμό, 4) τον Επιστημονικό Ρεαλισμό. Το καθένα από τα παραπάνω εκφράζουν τον όρο ρεαλισμό με διαφορετικό τρόπο. Στην παρούσα εργασία θα αναλυθεί περισσότερο ο επιστημονικός ρεαλισμός, διότι θα την αντιπαραβάλουμε με τις εργαλειοκρατικές προσεγγίσεις για την επιστήμη. Ο Επιστημονικός ρεαλισμός υποστηρίζει οτι ο σκοπός της επιστήμης είναι να μας δώσει μία κυριολεκτικά αληθή περιγραφή για τον κόσμο και ότι οι καλύτερες (πιο ώριμες) επιστημονικές θεωρίες μας προσφέρουν προσεγγιστικά αληθείς περιγραφές του κόσμου. Επομένως, οι οντότητες που περιγράφουν είναι πραγματικές (πχ. ηλεκτρόνια). Θα διατυπωθούν επιχειρήματα υπέρ του επιστημονικού ρεαλισμού, όπως: Α) το επιχείρημα του μη θαύματος: (Νo Μiracle Αrgument, ΝΜΑ): «ο ρεαλισμός είναι η μόνη φιλοσοφία της επιστήμης που δεν καθιστά την επιτυχία της επιστήμης ένα θαύμα». (Putnam, 1975). Β)το επιχείρημα της συναγωγής στη βέλτιστη εξήγηση(Inference to the Best Explanation, IBE): συνίσταται στο ότι από την ικανότητα μιας θεωρίας να προσφέρει την καλύτερη δυνατή εξήγηση των φυσικών φαινομένων έπεται η αλήθεια της. Συνεχίζουμε με τις βασικές μορφές της εργαλειοκρατίας: 1) την εξαλειπτική: οι όροι που δηλώνουν φυσικές μη παρατηρήσιμες οντότητες (θεωρητικοί όροι) , π.χ. ‘ηλεκτρόνιο’, μπορούν να εξαλειφθούν εντελώς από την επιστημονική γλώσσα και 2) την μη εξαλειπτική: δεν είναι σκοπός των επιστημονικών θεωριών να αναζητήσουν κάτι περισσότερο πίσω από τα φαινόμενα είτε αυτά υπάρχουν είτε όχι. Η αντιρεαλιστική θέση του van Fraassen ονομάζεται κατασκευαστικός εμπειρισμός (constructive empiricism)και υποστηρίζει οτι η επιστήμη σκοπεύει να μας δώσει θεωρίες, οι οποίες είναι εμπειρικά επαρκείς και η αποδοχή μιας θεωρίας ενέχει την πεποίθηση μόνο ότι αυτή είναι εμπειρικά επαρκής. Προϋπόθεση της θέσης του είναι η διάκριση παρατηρήσιμου και μη παρατηρήσιμου, η οποία εγείρει ενστάσεις. Από την ανάλυσή μας καταλήγουμε ότι η προσέγγισή του van Fraassen είναι ενδιαφέρουσα γιατί επιχειρεί να αποδώσει συστηματικά τη θέση της μη εξαλειπτικής εργαλειοκρατίας ότι η επιστήμη επιδιώκει να περιγράψει με ακρίβεια τα φαινόμενα χωρίς να μπορεί να αποφανθεί για κάτι βαθύτερο που βρίσκεται πίσω από αυτά. Οπότε, δεν έχει καταφέρει να καταρρίψει την οντολογική θέση του ρεαλισμού ότι υπάρχουν μη παρατηρήσιμες οντότητες. Η προσπάθειά του να αποδείξει τη διάκριση παρατηρήσιμου – μη παρατηρήσιμου ακολουθώντας τον δρόμο του κατασκευαστικού εμπειρισμού τον οδήγησε μάλλον στο να κάνει λήψη του ζητουμένου και άρα σε αδιέξοδο. Βέβαια , κάτι τέτοιο δεν μειώνει την αξία της προσφοράς του van Fraassen, αφού εκείνος είναι εισηγητής μιας νέας θεωρίας και νέων όρων, όπως η εμπειρική επάρκεια, δίνοντας έτσι το έναυσμα για περαιτέρω μελέτη και έρευνα στο πεδίο της φιλοσοφίας της επιστήμης. / The occasion of this dissertation is the conflict between the scientific realism and instrumentalism with regard to the unobservable entities. Specifically, the aim is to study and evaluate the instrumentalist approach to science, emphasising on the form of instrumentalism supported in the work of Bastian Cornelis van Fraassen (The Scientific Image), the constructive empiricism. The basic questions to be dealt with are:1) What advocates scientific realism? 2)What do we mean when we talk about the instrumentalist approach to science? 3) What is the instrumentalist approach to science in van Fraassen's work? The first part of the thesis deals with the term "realism" setting as a starting point the theory of Ideas of Plato, reaching the modern scientific realism. So we have: 1) Platonism, 2) the Direct Realism, 3) the Indirect Realism, 4) the Scientific Realism. Each of the above-expressing the term "realism" differently. This thesis focus more on the analysis of the scientific realism, because it will be compared with the instrumentalist approaches to science. The Scientific realism argues that the purpose of science is to give us a literally true description of the world and that the best (more mature) scientific theories offer us approximately true descriptions of the world. Therefore, entities that describe is real (eg. electrons). Arguments in favor of the scientific realism are the following: A)the argument of non-miracle (NMA), according to which "realism is the only philosophy of science that does not make the success of science a miracle." (Putnam, 1975). B)the argument of the Inference to the Best Explanation( IBE) is that from the ability of a theory to offer the best possible explanation of natural phenomena follows the truth of a theory. We continue with the basic forms of instrumentalism: 1) the eliminative: the terms that indicate physical unobservable entities (theoretical terms), eg 'electron', can be eliminated completely by the scientific language and 2) the non-eliminative: the aim of the scientific theories is not to seek something more behind the phenomena whether they exist or not. The van Fraassen's antirealistic view called constructive empiricism and it can be classifiable in the non-eliminative instrumentalism. Supports that science aims to give us theories which are empirically adequate and acceptance of a theory involves the belief that this is only empirically adequate. Precondition of his position is the distinction between observable and non-observable, which raises objections. His attempt to distinguish the observable from unobservable seem to have led his to an impasse. Of course, this does not diminish the value of its offer, since he is rapporteur of a new theory and new terms, such as empirical adequacy, thus triggering further study and research in the field of philosophy of science.

We present an autonomous driving agent on a simulated highway driving scenario with vehicles such as cars and trucks moving with stochastically variable velocity profiles. The focus of the simulated environment is to test tactical decision making in highway driving scenarios. When an agent (vehicle) maintains an optimal range of velocity it is beneficial both in terms of energy efficiency and greener environment. In order to maintain an optimal range of velocity, in this thesis work I proposed two novel reward structures: (a) gaussian reward structure and (b) exponential rise and fall reward structure. I trained respectively two deep reinforcement learning agents to study their differences and evaluate their performance based on a set of parameters that are most relevant in highway driving scenarios. The algorithm implemented in this thesis work is double-dueling deep-Q-network with prioritized experience replay buffer. Experiments were performed by adding noise to the inputs, simulating Partially Observable Markov Decision Process in order to obtain reliability comparison between different reward structures. Velocity occupancy grid was found to be better than binary occupancy grid as input for the algorithm. Furthermore, methodology for generating fuel efficient policies has been discussed and demonstrated with an example. / Vi presenterar ett autonomt körföretag på ett simulerat motorvägsscenario med fordon som bilar och lastbilar som rör sig med stokastiskt variabla hastighetsprofiler. Fokus för den simulerade miljön är att testa taktiskt beslutsfattande i motorvägsscenarier. När en agent (fordon) upprätthåller ett optimalt hastighetsområde är det fördelaktigt både när det gäller energieffektivitet och grönare miljö. För att upprätthålla ett optimalt hastighetsområde föreslog jag i detta avhandlingsarbete två nya belöningsstrukturer: (a) gaussisk belöningsstruktur och (b) exponentiell uppgång och nedgång belöningsstruktur. Jag utbildade respektive två djupförstärkande inlärningsagenter för att studera deras skillnader och utvärdera deras prestanda baserat på en uppsättning parametrar som är mest relevanta i motorvägsscenarier. Algoritmen som implementeras i detta avhandlingsarbete är dubbel-duell djupt Q- nätverk med prioriterad återuppspelningsbuffert. Experiment utfördes genom att lägga till brus i ingångarna, simulera delvis observerbar Markov-beslutsprocess för att erhålla tillförlitlighetsjämförelse mellan olika belöningsstrukturer. Hastighetsbeläggningsgaller visade sig vara bättre än binärt beläggningsgaller som inmatning för algoritmen. Dessutom har metodik för att generera bränsleeffektiv politik diskuterats och demonstrerats med ett exempel.

The implementation of International Accounting Standard 32 Financial Instruments: Disclosure and Presentation (lAS 32), International Accounting Standard 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement (lAS 39) and International Financial Reporting Standard 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures (IFRS 7) by developing countries has been met with mixed reactions largely due to the extensive use of the fair value concept by the three accounting standards. The use of the fair value concept in developing countries has proved to be a significant challenge due to either a Jack of formal capital market systems or very thinly traded capital markets. This study investigates the obstacles to determining fair values of equity share investments, government bonds and corporate bonds, treasury bills and loan advances in Mozambique. The study was done through a combination of literature review and empirical research using a questionnaire. The trading statistics of the financial instruments on the Mozambique Stock Exchange and the prospectuses of bonds were used. The empirical research was carried out using a type of non-probability sampling technique called purposive sampling. A subcategory of purposive sampling called expert sampling was used to select the eventual sample which was composed of people with specialised knowledge on the capital market system in Mozambique. The results of the empirical research were analysed using pie charts to summarise the responses. The research concluded that the Mozambique Stock Exchange is an inactive market for financial instruments characterised by thin trading in both equity shares and bonds. The estimation of fair values evidenced by observable market transactions is therefore impossible. The absence of credit rating agencies in Mozambique presents a significant challenge in assigning credit risk and pricing financial instruments such as bonds. The research also noted that significant volatility of the main economic indicators such as treasury bills interest rates and inflation made it difficult to determine fair values of financial instruments using financial modelling techniques. Due to the above obstacles to determining fair values of certain financial instruments in Mozambique, the best alternatives are to value these financial instruments at either cost or amortised cost. / Financial Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

Many real-world systems experience deterioration with usage and age, which often leads to low product quality, high production cost, and low system availability. Most previous maintenance and reliability models in the literature do not incorporate condition monitoring information for decision making, which often results in poor failure prediction for partially observable deteriorating systems. For that reason, the development of fault prediction and control scheme using condition-based maintenance techniques has received considerable attention in recent years. This research presents a new framework for predicting failures of a partially observable deteriorating system using Bayesian control techniques. A time series model is fitted to a vector observation process representing partial information about the system state. Residuals are then calculated using the fitted model, which are indicative of system deterioration. The deterioration process is modeled as a 3-state continuous-time homogeneous Markov process. States 0 and 1 are not observable, representing healthy (good) and unhealthy (warning) system operational conditions, respectively. Only the failure state 2 is assumed to be observable. Preventive maintenance can be carried out at any sampling epoch, and corrective maintenance is carried out upon system failure. The form of the optimal control policy that maximizes the long-run expected average availability per unit time has been investigated. It has been proved that a control limit policy is optimal for decision making. The model parameters have been estimated using the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. The optimal Bayesian fault prediction and control scheme, considering long-run average availability maximization along with a practical statistical constraint, has been proposed and compared with the age-based replacement policy. The optimal control limit and sampling interval are calculated in the semi-Markov decision process (SMDP) framework. Another Bayesian fault prediction and control scheme has been developed based on the average run length (ARL) criterion. Comparisons with traditional control charts are provided. Formulae for the mean residual life and the distribution function of system residual life have been derived in explicit forms as functions of a posterior probability statistic. The advantage of the Bayesian model over the well-known 2-parameter Weibull model in system residual life prediction is shown. The methodologies are illustrated using simulated data, real data obtained from the spectrometric analysis of oil samples collected from transmission units of heavy hauler trucks in the mining industry, and vibration data from a planetary gearbox machinery application.

Many real-world systems experience deterioration with usage and age, which often leads to low product quality, high production cost, and low system availability. Most previous maintenance and reliability models in the literature do not incorporate condition monitoring information for decision making, which often results in poor failure prediction for partially observable deteriorating systems. For that reason, the development of fault prediction and control scheme using condition-based maintenance techniques has received considerable attention in recent years. This research presents a new framework for predicting failures of a partially observable deteriorating system using Bayesian control techniques. A time series model is fitted to a vector observation process representing partial information about the system state. Residuals are then calculated using the fitted model, which are indicative of system deterioration. The deterioration process is modeled as a 3-state continuous-time homogeneous Markov process. States 0 and 1 are not observable, representing healthy (good) and unhealthy (warning) system operational conditions, respectively. Only the failure state 2 is assumed to be observable. Preventive maintenance can be carried out at any sampling epoch, and corrective maintenance is carried out upon system failure. The form of the optimal control policy that maximizes the long-run expected average availability per unit time has been investigated. It has been proved that a control limit policy is optimal for decision making. The model parameters have been estimated using the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. The optimal Bayesian fault prediction and control scheme, considering long-run average availability maximization along with a practical statistical constraint, has been proposed and compared with the age-based replacement policy. The optimal control limit and sampling interval are calculated in the semi-Markov decision process (SMDP) framework. Another Bayesian fault prediction and control scheme has been developed based on the average run length (ARL) criterion. Comparisons with traditional control charts are provided. Formulae for the mean residual life and the distribution function of system residual life have been derived in explicit forms as functions of a posterior probability statistic. The advantage of the Bayesian model over the well-known 2-parameter Weibull model in system residual life prediction is shown. The methodologies are illustrated using simulated data, real data obtained from the spectrometric analysis of oil samples collected from transmission units of heavy hauler trucks in the mining industry, and vibration data from a planetary gearbox machinery application.

No description available.

I januari år 2013 införde IASB en ny standard (IFRS 13) med syftet att ge vägledning i hur verkligt värde bör beräknas och redovisas. Förvaltningsfastigheter är ett tillgångsslag som skall redovisas till verkligt värde antingen i värderingssyfte eller i upplysningssyfte. Förvaltningsfastigheter är fastigheter som innehas av ägaren för att generera hyresinkomster och/eller värdestegring. Den här studien syftar till att undersöka hur IFRS 13 har påverkat både värderingen och redovisningen av förvaltningsfastigheter hos svenska fastighetsbolag noterade på OMX Stockholm, Mid & Large Cap. I studien undersöks räkenskapsåren 2011–2014 för att försöka fånga utvecklingen och de förändringar som implementeringen av standarden givit upphov till. Syftet med IASB:s arbete är att harmonisera redovisningen globalt och därmed underlätta jämförelse av och förståelse för redovisning från olika delar av världen. Resultatet från vår studie indikerar att IFRS 13 inte har haft någon större inverkan på redovisningen av förvaltningsfastigheter samt att värderingstekniker och tillvägagångssätt vid värdering inte påverkats överhuvudtaget. Ett tydligt mönster som kan skönjas i studien är att fastighetsbolagen gärna väljer att värdera sina fastigheter baserat på en kassaflödesmodell som bygger på icke observerbara data i form av uppskattningar och egna antaganden. Detta trots att man i första hand skall använda information från tidigare transaktioner från likartade objekt när man uppskattar en förvaltningsfastighets värde. Icke observerbara data är något som bör undvikas i största möjliga utsträckning vid värdering till verkligt värde då det tillhör den lägsta nivån i den värderingshierarki som finns för verkligt värde i IFRS 13. Anledningen till detta är att data på de högre nivåerna (nivå 1&2) bygger på faktiska händelser och transaktioner. Icke observerbara data (nivå 3) bygger på bästa tillgängliga information då marknadsuppgifter från tidigare händelser och transaktioner saknas. För att undersöka hur bolagen har efterföljt IFRS 13 har ett par av upplysningskraven i standarden valts ut. Fastighetsbolagens årsredovisningar har sedan studerats och analyserats med dessa upplysningskrav som utgångspunkt. För att genomföra studien har all väsentlig information från bolagens årsredovisningar för samtliga räkenskapsår (2011-2014) sammanställts och jämförts. Därefter har insamlat material analyserats med hjälp av den teoretiska referensram som ligger till grund för studien. IFRS 13 är principbaserat vilket gör att standarden är öppen för tolkning. Det har medfört att den data som samlats in från fastighetsbolagens årsredovisningar också är öppen för tolkning. Enligt vår mening är det inte alltid en självklarhet exakt vad som krävs för att uppfylla kraven i en principbaserad standard. Enligt vår bedömning följer alla bolag som ingår i studien de upplysningskrav som finns att tillgå i IFRS 13. Hur standarden följs skiljer sig dock en del mellan bolagen. Den största skillnaden sedan införandet av standarden är att bolagen generellt lämnar mer information som rör värdering till verkligt värde. Studien har bidragit till insikt både i vad som påverkar värdering av förvaltningsfastigheter och hur varierande tolkningen av principbaserade standarder kan vara. En standard kan enligt vår studie uppfyllas på fler än ett sätt. / In January 2013 IASB introduced a new standard (IFRS 13) with the intention to give guidance on how to account for and calculate fair value. Investment property is an asset class that must be reported at fair value either for valuation purposes or for disclosure purposes. Investment properties are estates held by the owner to generate rental income and/or increase in value. This study aims at investigate how IFRS 13 has affected both the valuation and accounting of investment properties of Swedish real estate companies listed on OMX Stockholm, Mid & Large Cap. The study examines the fiscal years 2011-2014 in order to try to capture the development and the changes that the implementation of the standard has given rise to. The purpose of the IASB's work is to harmonize the financial reporting globally and thus facilitate comparison of understanding of accounting from different parts of the world. The results of our study indicate that IFRS 13 has not had a major impact on the reporting of investment properties and that valuation techniques and valuation procedures have not been affected at all. An obvious pattern that can be seen in the study is that real estate companies prefer to value their investment properties based on a cash flow model based on unobservable inputs like estimates and own assumptions. This in spite of the fact that information from previous transactions from similar items should be used primarily when estimating the value of an investment property. Unobservable inputs should be avoided to the greatest extent possible when fair value are calculated because it belongs to the lowest level in the hierarchy for fair value in IFRS 13. The reason for this is that data on the higher levels (levels 1&2) are based on actual events and transactions. Unobservable data (Level 3) are based on best available information as market data from past events and transactions are missing. To investigate how companies have applied IFRS 13, a pair of disclosure requirements in the standard have been sorted out. The real estate companies’ annual reports have been studied and analyzed with these disclosure requirements as a root. To complete the study, all essential information from the company's annual reports for all fiscal years (2011–2014) has been compiled and compared. Afterwards, collected material has been analyzed using the theoretical reference frame on which the study is based. Subseque IFRS 13 is principle based, which makes the standard open to interpretation. As a result, the data collected from the annual reports are also open to interpretation. In our opinion, it is not always clear exactly what is required to meet the requirements of a principle-based standard. According to our assessment, all companies included in the study follows the disclosure requirements in IFRS 13. However, the compliance of the standard differs between the companies. The main IV difference since the introduction of the standard is that the companies generally provide more information about fair value measurement. The study has provided insight into both what factors affecting valuation of investment properties and how different interpretation of principle-based standards can be. According to our study, a standard can be met in more than one way.

The implementation of International Accounting Standard 32 Financial Instruments: Disclosure and Presentation (lAS 32), International Accounting Standard 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement (lAS 39) and International Financial Reporting Standard 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures (IFRS 7) by developing countries has been met with mixed reactions largely due to the extensive use of the fair value concept by the three accounting standards. The use of the fair value concept in developing countries has proved to be a significant challenge due to either a Jack of formal capital market systems or very thinly traded capital markets. This study investigates the obstacles to determining fair values of equity share investments, government bonds and corporate bonds, treasury bills and loan advances in Mozambique. The study was done through a combination of literature review and empirical research using a questionnaire. The trading statistics of the financial instruments on the Mozambique Stock Exchange and the prospectuses of bonds were used. The empirical research was carried out using a type of non-probability sampling technique called purposive sampling. A subcategory of purposive sampling called expert sampling was used to select the eventual sample which was composed of people with specialised knowledge on the capital market system in Mozambique. The results of the empirical research were analysed using pie charts to summarise the responses. The research concluded that the Mozambique Stock Exchange is an inactive market for financial instruments characterised by thin trading in both equity shares and bonds. The estimation of fair values evidenced by observable market transactions is therefore impossible. The absence of credit rating agencies in Mozambique presents a significant challenge in assigning credit risk and pricing financial instruments such as bonds. The research also noted that significant volatility of the main economic indicators such as treasury bills interest rates and inflation made it difficult to determine fair values of financial instruments using financial modelling techniques. Due to the above obstacles to determining fair values of certain financial instruments in Mozambique, the best alternatives are to value these financial instruments at either cost or amortised cost. / Financial Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)