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This thesis aims to find ecofeminist perspectives in sustainability reporting standards using content analysis and comparison. The most used sustainability reporting framework is GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), but the EU has introduced a new one, the ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standard). The new framework will be mandatory for many European companies starting in 2024. For the scope of this master thesis, we focused on the social standards in ESRS and GRI. Our findings show that both standards include some ecofeminist perspectives. Key similarities are the emphasis on gender and workers, whereas key differences are the need to include different perspectives and the willingness to implement change together. The results show that ESRS includes more ecofeminist perspectives in the social reporting standards. The fact that ESRS is also a mandatory framework within the EU, whereas GRI is voluntary, pushes forward the notion and hope that ESRS will bring a more sustainable future to Europe.

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Sveriges järnvägsnät utgör en viktig del i landets infrastruktur och transporterar både människor och stora mängder gods. Järnvägsnätet är dock störningskänsligt och då stora delar av infrastrukturen är enkelspårig blir alla fordon som trafikerar samma linje beroende av varandra och en försening på ett tåg resulterar ofta i följdförseningar till övriga tåg på samma linje. Idag sker uppföljning av förseningsorsaker manuellt och ofta lång tid efter att det hänt vilket resulterar i osäkra och opålitliga data. Målet med detta projekt är att utveckla en prototyp för ett rapporteringssystem som skulle kunna implementeras i Sveriges järnvägsnät för att möjliggöra realtidsuppföljning på förseningar som uppstår. Förutom att rapporteringen ska ske i realtid ska även användaren direkt notifieras när en försening uppstår och på så sätt inte själv behöva ha koll på det. Resultatet av projektet var en prototyp som i realtid upptäcker förseningar och då notifierar den berörda användaren om att en försening uppstått, vid vilken station det skett och förseningens omfattning i antal minuter. Användaren har då möjlighet att rapportera orsak till förseningen. Prototypen upptäcker även följdförseningar. / The Swedish rail network constitutes an important part of its infrastructure and transports both people and large quantities of goods. Unfortunately, the rail network is susceptible to disruptions since a large amount of the rail network consists of one-track sections. Trains that traffic these sections are dependent on each other. One delay may result in subsequent delays for other trains. The follow-up of causes of delays is today done manually and often weeks after it occurred which may results in uncertain and unreliable data. The goal of the project is to develop a prototype of a reporting system which could be implemented into the Swedish railway network to enable real time monitoring of delays that occurs. The prototype should notify the user when a new delay has occurred. The result of the project was a prototype which in real time detects delays and notifies the affected users that a delay has occurred, at which station it happened and the extent of the delay is presented in minutes. The user then has an opportunity to report cause of delay. The prototype also detects subsequent delays.

Congressional reporting requirements are an integral part of congressional oversight. These oversight-reporting activities are an important element of the concept of a legislative-centered public administration (Rosenbloom, 2000) "derived from the major discussions, decisions, and actions taken by Congress with regard to federal administration." This dissertation first describes the development of congressional reporting requirements by presenting selected agency cases. Based on these cases, common themes are identified that help in understanding the requirements and the problems associated with congressional reporting. The dissertation then makes specific recommendations for enhancing reporting requirement activities (e.g., tracking, monitoring and feedback) as part of the congressional oversight process. A proposed management approach to improve the congressional oversight process to build a legislative-centered public administration is presented at the conclusion of the dissertation. The dissertation process used a research approach that included selected cases, interviews with key individuals in the reporting process and analysis of data, including databases maintained by the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate. The dissertation is composed of three parts with two chapters in each part. Part I covers background information about congressional reporting requirements, the objectives and approach used in writing the dissertation, and the key theoretical literature that underpins the discussion of congressional reporting requirements. Part II of the dissertation discusses management and growth of reporting requirements. Part III of the dissertation discusses ways to gain control of congressional reporting requirements and increase their usefulness. The dissertation concludes that there is little evidence to indicate that congressional reporting requirements are being systematically managed in a way that achieves the objective for which they are created. The most serious substantive shortcoming is the lack of an institutional process to support and encourage discussion between Congress and the agencies preparing reports to provide for feedback and to identify reporting requirements that are no longer necessary. A comprehensive and systematic management approach is needed and a proposed management approach is discussed. Comprehensive and systematic management will bring about greater collaboration between congressional committees and their agency partners in an enhanced legislative-centered public administration. / Ph. D.

Nyhetsmedia har en stor roll i att forma samhällets uppfattningar om händelser. Genom att studera skandalrapportering kring dopning utifrån ett genusperspektiv belyses mediernas roll i skapandet och upprätthållandet av könsstereotyper och könsnormer inom såväl skandalrapportering som nyhetsjournalistik. Studiens syfte är att belysa rådande strukturer och uppmärksamma eventuella könsskillnader inom dopning och sportjournalistik. Syftet är även att undersöka eventuella skillnader i hur artiklar skandaliseras beroende på könstillhörigheten hos den dopade idrottaren. Detta syfte uppnåddes genom en kvantitativ innehållsanalys av totalt 197 artiklar om de sex mest uppmärksammade dopningsfallen under 2000-talet i Sverige. Studien har utgångspunkt i teorier om skandaler, gestaltning och genus och utifrån dessa har de variabler som används vid kodning utformats. Tidigare forskning inom sportjournalistik, genusrepresentation i media samt könsstereoryper används för att förklara och diskutera studiens resultat.   Resultatet av studien visar att det inte är särskilt stora skillnader i hur kvinnliga och manliga dopade idrottare beskrivs i svensk nyhetsmedia. Det kan också konstateras att de får ungefär lika mycket utrymme och majoriteten av artiklarna är skandaliserade. Skandaliseringen skiljer sig främst på en punkt där kvinnorna själva beskylls för dopningen medan männen målas upp som offer då dopningsdomen skylls på någon eller något annat. Vidare forskning baseras på upptäckter under kodningsarbetet då tydliga skillnader i framställning av idrottare med svensk respektive utländsk bakgrund noterades. / The news media plays a significant role in creating society's perceptions of events. By studying scandal reporting regarding doping from a gender perspective, the media's role in creating and keeping gender stereotypes and norms within scandal reporting and news journalism is highlighted. The study aims to shed light on existing structures and draw attention to potential gender differences within doping and sports journalism. It also aims to show potential differences in how articles are scandalized depending on the gender identity of the doped athlete. This purpose of the study was achieved through a quantitative content analysis of a total of 197 articles on the six most well-known doping cases in Sweden during the 21st century. The study is based on theories of scandals, representation, and gender, shaping the coding variables. Prior research in sports journalism, gender representation in the media, and gender stereotypes is used to explain and discuss the study's findings. The study’s results indicate that there are not very big differences in how doped female and male athletes are described in the Swedish news media. It can also be stated that they get nearly the same amount of space on the agenda and most of the articles are scandalous. The way the articles are scandalous mainly differs on one point where the women are blamed for the doping, while the men are portrayed as victims when the doping verdict is blamed on something or someone else. Further research is based on discoveries during the coding process, noting clear differences in the portrayal of athletes with Swedish versus foreign backgrounds.

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Yes / This paper provides a wide-ranging and up-to-date (1997-2016) review of the archival empirical risk-reporting literature. The reviewed papers are classified into two principal themes: the incentives for and/or informativeness of risk reporting. Our review demonstrates areas of significant divergence in the literature specifically: mandatory versus voluntary risk reporting, manual versus automated content analysis, within-country versus cross-country variations in risk reporting, and risk reporting in financial versus non-financial firms. Our paper identifies a number of issues which require further research. In particular we draw attention to two: first, a lack of clarity and consistency around the conceptualization of risk; and second, the potential costs and benefits of standard-setters’ involvement

As required by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) of the European Union, this thesis thoroughly examines the transition in corporate sustainability reporting from limited to reasonable assurance. The directive is being implemented at a crucial time as companies are progressively incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their core operating and reporting practices. The CSRD is intended to improve sustainability disclosures’ comparability, credibility and reliability. It is a legislative response to a larger movement for more corporate accountability and transparency. The study uses a qualitative technique using semi-structured interviews with professionals from leading audit firms. The purpose of these interviews is to provide many aspects of the transition with a particular emphasis on how businesses and audit firms are modifying their operations to comply with the stricter requirements of the CSRD. The study identifies the main factors behind this shift such as increased stakeholder demands for transparency and a changing regulatory environment that makes it necessary to reevaluate current assurance practices.  The study’s important conclusion is that putting reasonable assurance requirements into practice is difficult. Companies must create advanced data management systems that can handle the CSRD’s requirements for an increasing volume of information. In addition to ensuring data accuracy, these systems need to make it easier to analyse and report on the data in a way that complies with the new assurance standards.  Additionally, the shift needs a major improvement in auditor competencies. It is necessary for auditors to have a better understanding of both traditional financial auditing and the specific challenges presented by sustainability reporting. This includes having a thorough understanding of ESG factors and how they affect risk profiles and corporate performance. Hence, the CSRD acts as a catalyst for a significant shift in auditors’ professional development and training, emphasising the necessity to combine sustainability with financial auditing skills.  Strong internal controls are also important, as the research shows. Establishing and maintaining strict internal mechanisms is necessary for businesses to ensure the reliability of their sustainability reports. This involves a thorough review and a redesign of internal processes in order to meet the higher standards of reasonable assurance. These controls are essential for reducing the risks associated with sustainability reporting such errors or misrepresentations which can have a big influence on stakeholder trust and regulatory compliance.  This change has significant implications for society at large. Companies may give stakeholders more reliable and detailed disclosures about their sustainable practices by shifting toward reasonable assurance. This can have a big impact on investment choices and build stakeholder confidence. This shift promotes a more transparent and sustainable corporate environment by supporting the incorporation of ESG factors into core business strategies and by strengthening the credibility of sustainability reports.

Background: In an evolving business landscape, the need for regulations has emerged to foster sustainable business. To ensure that firms are held accountable, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) entered into force in January 2024, encompassing approximately 50,000 firms across Europe. This directive expands upon previous legislation in all conceivable metrics, and has put affected firms under significant pressure, posing implications for organizational change arising from the extensive implementation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify what actions firms are taking to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and explore how their actions impact their organizational structure. Method: The study was conducted through a qualitative method including semi-structured interviews with eight participants, including HR Managers, Sustainability Managers, and Consultants. Conclusion: The study reveals that the effects on the organizational structure of firms as a consequence of the CSRD primarily involves incremental change. Efforts of coordinating across departments, allocating tasks and establishing supervisory functions emerges as core challenges when transitioning to CSRD compliance. These, in turn constituting structural changes in specialization, functional flexibility, formalization and standardization to accommodate new procedures necessitated by the CSRD. The analysis further highlights the expansion of middle management, support staff and technostructure, as a result of organization wide collaboration.