The main purpose of this study is to examine the need to modify the theory of accounting to ensure a standardised and comparable approach when accounting and reporting on intellectual capital. A literature review is used to describe intellectual capital categories and how to measure, recognise and report these assets in the financial statements on an entity. Financial reporting operates around strict requirements that are statement of financial position biased posing significant challenges in recognising and disclosing intellectual capital. The study also uses content analysis of corporate annual reports of the top 40 companies listed on the JSE Ltd in 2009 to determine the extent of intellectual capital reporting by these companies. Measuring and recognising intellectual capital in financial reporting is not limited by the requirements in respect of statutory disclosures, discretionary and contextual disclosures are recommended. Results of the content analysis show that companies use these discretionary and contextual disclosures to communicate information on intellectual capital. / Financial Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

In this dissertation the problems surrounding the sentencing stage and factors which influence the sentence are briefly considered. The emphasis is on the use and value of a pre-sentence report in determining suitable sentences other than imprisonment. Historical background in the use of pre-sentence reports in South Africa, England and America is briefly referred to. Relevant concepts, such as individualisation of punishment, are considered in relation to possible sentences such as compensation, fines, community service, and correctional supervision. It is concluded that the provisions of sections 274 and 276A of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1 977 are not enough to regulate the use of pre-sentence reports in South Africa. It is further concluded that legislation is needed in this area, but in the meantime, our courts should work towards developing guidelines based on the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1 977. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL.M (Law)

Milhares de empresas ao redor do mundo publicam anualmente relatórios de sustentabilidade, documentos que divulgam o desempenho econômico, ambiental, social e de governança da organização. Segundo dados de 2014, do relatório Spotlight on corporate transparency: Insights from GLOBE 2014, da empresa de auditoria KPMG, mais de 5.000 empresas em 88 países elaboram esses relatórios seguindo as diretrizes GRI Global Reporting Initiative (KPMG, 2014, p. 4). Frequentemente, tais relatórios são elaborados na língua oficial do país em que as empresas estão instaladas (língua de partida) e traduzidos para o inglês (língua de chegada). O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar a linguagem da tradução presente em relatórios de sustentabilidade que seguem o padrão GRI para identificar os principais traços típicos da tradução, tais como explicitação, simplificação e normalização, seguindo o arcabouço teórico de Baker (1993, 1995, 1996). Como objetivo secundário visamos identificar os principais termos e expressões desse modelo de relatório em português e seus equivalentes em inglês, para a compilação de uma proposta de glossário bilíngue na direção português-inglês. O estudo foi feito principalmente por meio dos Estudos da Tradução Baseados em Corpus e da Linguística de Corpus, utilizando um corpus paralelo, com 10 documentos coletados da internet em português com as respectivas traduções para o inglês, e dois corpora comparáveis bilíngues, com um total de 30 documentos em português e outros 30 escritos em inglês. Em relação ao objetivo principal, notamos que, embora os documentos originais e as traduções do corpus de estudo sejam bastante semelhantes, isto é, apresentem o mesmo número de páginas, o mesmo layout e, aparentemente, o mesmo conteúdo em cada página, foi possível notar traços de explicitação, simplificação e normalização na linguagem traduzida. / Thousands of companies around the world annually publish sustainability reports, documents that disclose the organization\'s economic, environmental, social and governance performance. According to data from 2014 report Spotlight on Corporate Transparency: Insights from GLOBE 2014, published by auditing company KPMG, more than 5,000 companies in 88 countries compile these reports following the GRI Global Reporting Initiative guidelines (KPMG, 2014, p.4). Such reports are often produced in the official language of the country where the companies are established (the source language) and translated into English (the target language). The aim of this research is to analyze the translation language present in sustainability reports that follow the GRI standard to identify the main typical features of translation, such as explicitation, simplification and normalization, following the theoretical framework of Baker (1993, 1995, 1996). As a secondary goal we aim to identify the main terms and expressions of this model of report in Portuguese and their English equivalents, for the compilation of a proposal of a bilingual glossary in the Portuguese-English direction. The study was carried out mainly through Corpus-Based Translation Studies and Corpus Linguistics, using a parallel corpus, with 10 documents collected from the Internet in Portuguese with the respective English translations, and two comparable bilingual corpora with a total of 30 documents in Portuguese and other 30 documents written in English. In relation to the main objective, we noticed that, although the original documents and the translations of the study corpus are very similar, that is, they present the same number of pages, the same layout and, apparently, the same content in each page, it was possible to note traces of explicitation, simplification and normalization in the translated language.

Context. Fault correction process is one of the two main activities in software evolution model. As it is very important for software maintainability, software industry especially large-scaled global companies, aim to have mature fault correction processes that detect faults and correct them in a continuous and efficient way. Considerable amount of effort is needed and some measures should be taken in order to be successful. This master thesis is mainly related with fault correction and finding possible solutions for better process. Objectives. The main aim of this study is to investigate and identify influential factors having affects over undesired fault correction outcomes. This study has three main stages: 1) to identify factors from company data that have affects over target factors, 2) to elicit influential factors from interviews and literature review, 3) to prioritize influential factors based on their significance. Based on the outcomes, giving recommendations to company and software industry is the other aim of this master thesis. Methods. This study mainly reflects the empirical research of software fault correction process and undesired outcomes of it. In this master thesis, both quantitative and qualitative data analysis were performed. Case study was conducted with Ericsson AB that data analysis was made with the archival data by using several methods including Machine Learning and Apriori. Also, surveys and semi-structured interviews were used for data collection instruments. Apart from this, literature review was performed in order to collect influential factors for fault correction process. Prioritization of the influential factors was made by using hierarchical cumulative voting. Results. Throughout the case study, quantitative data analysis, interviews and literature review was conducted and totally 45 influential factors were identified. By using these factors prioritization was performed with 26 practitioners (4 internal and 22 external) in order to find which factors are most a) significant and b) relevant in undesired fault correction outcomes. Based on the outcomes of prioritization, cause-effect diagram was drawn which includes all the important factors. Conclusions. This research showed that there are lots of factors influencing fault correction process. The practitioners mostly complained about the lack of analysis of deeply including correction of faults are not resulted the new requirements and they are not used for process improvement. Also, limited resources (such as work force, vacations and sickness), unbalanced fault correction task assignment and too much fault reports at the same time cause problems. Moreover, priorities of faults and customers affect the lead time of fault correction process as the critical faults are fixed at first. / +90 533 7698780

Grammar acquisition is a widely researched area in international psycholinguistics. A great amount of research has focused on determining the order of acquiring grammatical words and forms in individual languages (e.g. Bloom et al., 1980; Brown, 1973; de Villiers & de Villiers, 1973). By contrast, as regards Czech, to this day there has been only a limited amount of data on the process of the acquisition of grammar words and forms based on empirical research or sourced from an adequate number of child respondents. Some findings about Czech grammar acquisition were introduced e.g. by Pačesová (1979), Chejnová (2016a) or Smolík (2002). The present dissertation therefore aims to collect descriptive data on the acquisition of grammatical words and forms in Czech. It also determines whether these grammar acquisition data can be collected using parent reports (e.g. Fenson et al., 1993, 2007; Rescorla, 1989), a method which has been used primarily to monitor the acquisition of lexis. Grammar acquisition has been examined through parent reports only to a limited extent. The dissertation comprises five parent report surveys, aimed at the acquisition of noun and adjective cases, verb forms, prepositions, interrogative expressions, conjunctions and linking expressions. Data were collected from a total of 580...

This study examines the disclosure of forward-looking information in annual reports of companies listed on Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE). It aims to determine if ZSE listed companies disclose forward-looking information and if they do disclose, how helpful the information is to the intended users of the annual report for decision making purposes? The factors proposed for the investigation are therefore disclosure and effectiveness of the forward-looking information. Since the annual reports represent the main source of voluntary disclosures of forward-looking information, the investigation uses a disclosure index based on an analysis of the statements made by management in annual reports of the companies listed on ZSE. In this study, the level of forward-looking information disclosed in the annual reports of the firms is examined in three broad categories namely, (a) context, nature, objectives and strategies, (b) drivers of development and performance, and (c) financial position, analysis and explanations . We find that companies do disclose forward-looking information. However, 9 out 10 companies sampled reflect that the level of disclosure lacks the critical detail and clarity necessary for decision making by its intended users. On average, excluding Old Mutual that is listed on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges and has the highest score of 4 (i.e. above average disclosure - information is rich and detailed and contains key information), ZSE companies disclosed below average forwardlooking information insufficient to give a clear understanding of the position and performance of the company. The findings also suggest that companies disclosed forward-looking information without fully understanding the implications of the disclosure of such kind of information. This is evident in that, except for Old Mutual, no disclaimers or any notes were made by companies to cover themselves from litigations that could arise as a result of such disclosure. This could also suggest that Zimbabwe is not a litigious country in as far as reporting by companies is concerned. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / The need for future orientated thinking and decision-making and a more sustainable view on business by companies’ worldwide is becoming ever more important. The need for organisations to communicate this to all stakeholders is just as important. Traditionally companies reported and disclosed only backward looking financial information, but nowadays the use of the GRI G3 guidelines; Kings III’s integrated reporting guidelines have moved the emphasis to strategy, risk and a sustainable performance. But the question remains, who and what are actually doing this? Which companies are actually reporting and disclosing strategic items, and those that are, what are they reporting well on and which are they not reporting well on. The purpose of this study is to measure the levels of strategic reporting disclosure, across the JSE, based on information collected at industry level asking the same questions. The study focussed on five industries covering twenty-four organisations between them. The conclusion is that the Energy sector discloses strategic information at a better level than its industry benchmark rivals with Sasol leading the way, and from a disclosure element point of view the GRI G3 guidelines are leading the disclosure score above that of the business model and strategic architecture elements measured against.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Traditionally organizations have reported largely on financial information. The Global Reporting Initiative and the King III Code of Corporate Governance have become important guidelines in assisting organizations on how to report and consequently integrated reporting is quickly gaining popularity. As the potential effects of climate change and other environmental and social impacts of businesses become more apparent, stakeholders are placing pressure on these organizations to be more transparent in how they are dealing with these impacts. Strategy cannot be separated from sustainability (SAICA, 2009: 7); therefore there is increasing pressure on organizations to disclose their strategies. Not all companies disclose information relating to strategy and sustainability to the same extent. There are a range of factors that influence strategy disclosure. This study updates the 2010 study (Meyer, 2011) evaluating the extent of strategy disclosure in the energy and natural resources sector of five companies (BP, Eskom, Mondi, Sappi and Sasol) using a three-point evaluation scale. In addition the following analyses were done:  A benchmarking exercise comparing the strategy disclosure and sustainability reporting of the five companies analysed against two industry leaders (Repsol and Enagas).  Development of the drivers of strategy disclosure from the literature which were compared to the results from the three-point evaluation scale.  The analysis was repeated using a six-point evaluation scale, as this more clearly determined the extent of strategy disclosure, which was then compared to the drivers of strategy disclosure. The results, obtained from the six-point evaluation scale, supported the drivers of strategy disclosure and concluded that product type, the competitive environment and risk are some of the main determinants of strategy disclosure in this study based on the companies evaluated. It was also concluded that, based on the three-point and the six-point evaluation scale, the average level of disclosure for the energy and natural resources sector is good, and had improved from 2010. Furthermore, it was also observed that strategy is not disclosed to the same extent as sustainability information. Baseline One had more of a focus on sustainability information, whereas Baselines Two and Three focussed more on strategy. The level of disclosure in Baseline One was more than that of Baselines Two and Three.

Årsrapporter producerade av bolag anses vara det traditionella sättet att kommunicera mellan publika aktiebolag och dess intressenter. Enligt tidigare forskning i andra länder har dock årsrapporters storlek och struktur förändrats. Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka hur årsrapporters storlek och struktur har förändrats över en 11-årsperiod (2004-2014) i svenska noterade bolag, samt hitta motiven till varför årsrapporterna har förändrats. Väsentliga teorier valdes för att få en bättre förståelse avseende området, men även som möjliga motiv för förändrade årsrapporter. En innehållsanalys på de största noterade svenska bolagen mätt i omsättning år 2015 gjordes för att skapa en kartläggning av deras årsrapporter. Vi utgick från flera parametrar för att få en bild av förändringen, t.ex. sidantal, bilder och ord. Delar som vanligtvis ingår i årsrapporter kartlagdes även för att få en inblick i hur delarna har förändrats över tidsperioden. Studien visar på att årsrapporter i svenska noterade bolag generellt har ökat i storlek och att strukturen har förändrats från 2004 till 2014. Hållbarhetsredovisningen är den del i årsrapporter som procentuellt har ökat mest av alla delar. Vidare finner vi motiv och orsaker som kan vara påverkande faktorer för varför förändringen har sett ut som den gör. Införandet av IFRS 2005, Finanskrisen 2007-2008 samt teorierna information overload, impression management och legitimitetsteorin används för att nå resultatet. / Annual reports produced by companies are considered to be the traditional medium between limited companies and its stakeholders. However, according to previous research made in other countries, annual report size and structure has changed during the last decades. This essay aims to examine how annual reports size and structure has changed over an eleven year period (2004-2014) in Swedish listed companies, and to find the causes/reasons to why the annual reports has changed. Essential theories were mainly chosen to better understand the area, but also as possible motives for changed annual reports. A content analysis on the 25 biggest listed Swedish companies measured in revenue year 2015 was made to map how the change have looked for the companies. We started from several parameters to get a picture of the change, for example from number of pages, pictures and words. Parts that is usually included (e.g. management report, sustainable report, CEO/Chairman’s letter) in annual reports was mapped so that we could get an insight in how the parts had changed over the time period. The study shows that annual reports of Swedish listed companies generally have increased in size and that the structure has changed from 2004 to 2014. The sustainable reporting is the part of the annual reports that increased the most in percent of all the parts. Furthermore, we find motives and causes that can be seen as affecting factors to why the changes looks the way it does. The introduction of IFRS 2005, the financial crisis 2007-2008 and the theories information overload, impression management and legitimacy theory are used to reach the result of the study.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management