The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyze past development of mutual funds in large and small mutual fund companies and see if there are any differences between these two segments. Limitations on the number of funds have been made by choosing Nordic mutual fund companies that invest in emerging markets over an 11-year period. The study is made on 66 mutual funds managed by 13 mutual fund companies in which the segment of small fund companies includes seven fund companies with Assets under management less than 100 billion SEK and the segment of large mutual fund companies includes six fund companies with Assets under management more than 400 billion SEK. In the comparison of the segments the Sharpe ratio has been used to calculate the risk-adjusted return. The study shows small differences of the risk-adjusted return between the segments.

Background: In 1999 the Swedish pension system was reformed with an aim to create a stable and high return on pension Assets. First, Second, Third and Fourth general pension funds, hereby referred to as AP1-AP4, had an important part in the reform. AP1-AP4, also called the buffer funds, was assigned to secure long-term, big parts of the pension capital. The funds objective is by law, to manage the fund's Assets in a manner that provides maximum benefit for the state pension. The funds will also invest pension Assets with an overall low level of risk while achieving a sustainable high return.Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the First-Fourth AP-Funds is meeting its objectives regarding risk and return according to Swedish law.

In order for companies to be competetive on the market, there?s a need of capital. If a company is in a need of capital to make major investments and isn?t able to prioritize internal funding, the priority will be external financing with safe securities; loans. How companies should prioritize the allocation between equity and debt, which together form value, leads us to the subject of capital structure.

The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyze past development of mutual funds in large and small mutual fund companies and see if there are any differences between these two segments. Limitations on the number of funds have been made by choosing Nordic mutual fund companies that invest in emerging markets over an 11-year period. The study is made on 66 mutual funds managed by 13 mutual fund companies in which the segment of small fund companies includes seven fund companies with Assets under management less than 100 billion SEK and the segment of large mutual fund companies includes six fund companies with Assets under management more than 400 billion SEK. In the comparison of the segments the Sharpe ratio has been used to calculate the risk-adjusted return. The study shows small differences of the risk-adjusted return between the segments.

The association between disclosure level and asymmetric information is a matter of importance andconsiderable interest to the financial reporting community. The theory in this area suggests that acommitment by a firm to increased levels of disclosure should lower the information asymmetry thuslowering the cost of equity. This theory may be compelling, but so far the empirical results have beenambiguous. Due to increased globalization the demand for high quality accounting standards has risen. In2005 The International Accounting Standard Board launched the standard named IFRS 3.

Investerare har olika preferenser gällande utdelningspolitik. För att de ska kunna förutspå vilka företag som bäst överensstämmer med deras preferenser är det intressant att undersöka om det finns några utmärkande faktorer hos företag som använder sig av utdelningar jämfört med de företag som inte använder sig av utdelningar. För denna undersökning har svenska börsnoterade företag från Small-, Mid- och Large Cap på Nasdaq OMX Stockholm undersökts för faktorerna; ålder, storlek, soliditet, Return on Assets samt bransch. Resultatet visade att äldre, större och mer lönsamma företag med hög ROA med större sannolikhet betalar utdelningar. Soliditeten visade sig vara lägre för företag som använder sig av utdelningar, dock kunde ingen signifikant skillnad urskiljas för denna variabel.

Shell companies are characterized by containing liquid Assets such as cash, securities or other similar Assets. Transactions of shell companies constitutes a severe problem since the purchaser often has the aim of obtaining undue tax advantages by not paying the tax debt of the company.Historically it has been complicated for the legislator to stop the set-up in an efficient way since the transactions as such are not illegal, instead rather commonly used for example to restructure companies or for the transfer of companies to the younger generation. The purpose of the current legislation is to prevent individuals and corporations to involve in shell company trade. Aiming for an efficient legislation, the tax rate is at a very high level.The issue with the rules is that also honest buyers are at risk of being covered. This calls for high demands in complying with the principle of legal certainty and the possibility to forecast the tax consequences.The purpose of the thesis is to identify and analyze eventual problems when applying the legislation.

In this paper the effect of capital structure on profitability has been investigated among Swedish companies. The essay intends to examine how the relationship between debt and profitability appear among Swedish companies and if the relationship differs between industries. The purpose is to find out how debt affects the profitability of Swedish companies.A quantitative approach has been applied. The selection was made among companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, which resulted in a sample of 207 companies. Several regression analyzes has been formed, based on the independent variable debt-ratio and the dependent variables profit margin, pre-tax profit margin, operating margin, return on Assets and return on equity.

Background: The valuation of growing crops is problematic partly due to weather conditions. 2011 showed that of all cultivated crops 42% were autumn sown which makes up a significant proportion of the total arable land in Sweden. This presented an opportunity to investigate more closely the methods and options used in the inventory valuation of biological Assets. Problem: What options are there in the valuation of own-produced inventory specifically in the form of growing crops? Objective: This study's aim is to create an increased understanding of an agricultural company's options for inventory valuation of biological Assets. In the survey of the options this study has found two main categories: rule-and principle-based accounting. Methods: A qualitative study with an abductive approach.

The agricultural sector has historically seen stable prices and a relatively constant demand for its products. Companies within the sector have generally had few loans and large sums of money tied in Assets. The profitability of the companies has on the other hand been low. Together these circumstances have determined the creditors? demands on the companies within the sector and have formed the rules and regulations that exist today.

The purpose of this master´s thesis was to investigate the role and function of the annual reports of public libraries: for what purpose are they put together and how are they evaluated and utilised. The study presents different views on the structure and content of library annual reports. Focusing on a specific public library and its municipal administration, the authors identify and describe problems and possibilities regarding the library annual reports. The study also provides a general view of their occurrence, their addressees and the importance attached to them.In a review of current literature on accounting and activity reports the authors place the annual reports of public libraries in a wider context. The study also presents two current models of performance measurement - the Intangible Assets Monitor and the Balanced Scorecard - which were developed in the private sector, and the authors discuss their relevance when applied to public libraries.Data were collected both in interviews and by means of a questionnaire.

Since 2005 all companies listed on a regulated stock exchange within the European Union are required to present their financial reports in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Accounting Standards (IAS). The purposes of these standards are to accomplish international harmonization of accounting rules to make financial reports more comparable. However, recent research has shown that some firms tend to use goodwill strategically in a business combination by manipulating the acquired Assets and consciously allocate the intangible Assets to goodwill to reduce the depreciation in the income and decrease costs. This phenomenon may reduce the comparability between financial reports and thus has an opposite effect on the purpose of IFRS and IAS.The aim of this study is to show how the companies involved in this study allocate goodwill strategically. Furthermore, the introduction of the new standards has contributed to that goodwill now is a subject for impairment test, therefore we want to show whether this affected the comparability of the companies in this study.An empirical study was conducted, based on interviews with four Swedish managers.

The recent history knows numerous examples of creditor?s inability to evaluate financial solvency of the client correctly. Creditors? risks do not only concern individual relations between the two parties but the economy in general. The standard loan-giving procedure considers evaluation based on a number of financial ratios.

AbstractEver since Sweden joined EU Swedish law has to be compatible with EU law. Swedish law cannot state anything that may restrict the freedom of establishment. This means that companies are free to change their resident within the EU without any restrictions. National rules regarding exit tax states that companies who wants to move their business out of Sweden is taxed as if their Assets has been disposed of at the exit time. These rules have been found to restrict EU law according to case RÅ 2008 ref 30.

Samhället går mot en mer tjänsteinriktad och kunskapsintensiv produktion vilket har lett till att immateriella resurser har fått en större betydelse för företagens ekonomier. Några av resurserna uppfyller kriterierna för en tillgång och finns med i företagens balansräkningar. När företag är i behov av kapital ser bankerna till företagens balansräkningar för att göra en kreditbedömning. De måste då bedöma immateriella tillgångar.  - Hur bedömer kreditgivare företags immateriella tillgångar? - Vilken betydelse har denna bedömning för kreditgivningsbeslut? Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur kreditgivare bedömer immateriella tillgångar och vilken betydelse denna bedömning har för kreditgivningsbeslut.En kvalitativ studie har genomförts där datamaterialet har samlats in genomintervjuer med respondenter från tre olika banker. Två av de undersökta bankerna bedömer inget ekonomiskt värde på immateriella tillgångar men dessa är med och påverkar helhetsbedömningen av ett företag. Betydelsen av detta är att företag med för stor andel immateriella tillgångar får svårare att bli beviljade kredit och straffas med högre kostnader.