Purpose: To investigate if Altman´s Z´-score model, which calculates financial distress, can be applied on companies established in Sweden and if the financial crisis in 2008 made previously healthy companies go bankrupt.Methodology: Quantitative studies with a positivistic foundation. Empirical data will be collected in order to examine if there is generalizability among the studied objects. Conclusions will be made by comparing the empirical data with the theoretical foundation. Financial distress in firms will be measured.Theoretical perspectives: Altman´s Z´-score model, designed to predict financial distress in private firms.Empirical foundation: A selection of 93 private firms that have gone bankrupt in the years 2008, 2009 or 2010. The firms selected all have a turnover that exceeds 20 million SEK.

This paper examines the reasons behind firms considering backsourcing. While firms experience problems with their outsourcing activities, backsourcing emerges as an alternative solution. Firms primarily take cost considerations into account when reconsidering their outsourcing practices, but this only scratches the surface. A deeper analysis is needed, since cost increases arise from issues such as quality defects and cooperation problems. Even though production costs are low, outsourcing always implies transaction costs.

Tången 2 is a building situated in Stockholm, Sweden. It´s built in the 1930s and contains both residences and businesses. The property owner, Diligentia AB, wants to lower the energy use in Tången 2. This report consists of an energy audit which clarifies the specific circumstances linked to Tången 2. Collected knowledge is then used, together with the results from the literature study, to decide energy measures to proceed with.

Title: Selection of audit firm - Which factors affects the choice of audit firm in Swedish limited companies?Subject: 4FE03E ? Master thesisAuthors: Alexander Rosén & Martin KarlssonSupervisor: Magnus WillessonExaminer: Sven-Olof Yrjö CollinKey words: Audit firm, audit firm characteristics, client characteristics, limited companyBackground: In Sweden, the auditor is selected when the company has their annual general meeting. Following, the auditor?s task is to secure the quality of the financial information so the owners and other stakeholders can trust the information, which regards to the financial situation for the company and the CEO´s and board of director´s management. Since November 2010, private limited companies are free to use and have an auditor, but only if they fulfils the requirements that are regulated in ABL 2005:551.

This master thesis concerns whether Swedish non-financial listed firms act in accordance with the optimal capital structure theory and/or pecking order theory. The examined period is 1998-2004 and we discover that Swedish companies neither follow optimal capital structure theory nor pecking order theory. From our results we conclude that there exists no single point of the capital structure which is optimal. Rather it seems as if the optimal point lies in-between an interval from 0 to the industry average, where firms tend to be indifferent to their debt-ratios. Our results show that Swedish companies prefer internal financing followed by equity and as last choice debt issuance..

November 1, 2010 the audit requirement in Sweden for small and medium enterprises was abolished, after many years of discussion. This essay aims to examine the effects of the abolishment of the audit requirement on credit. The intention is to draw conclusions about how the possible negative effects of the abolishment of the audit requirement could be prevented.The study has been made using a qualitative method to get a clearer and broader explanation that leads to deeper understanding. It includes an interview with creditors from one of the largest banks whose position represents a large group of lenders. In addition to the lender, two auditors with years of experience have been interviewed.Analysis of collected data has shown that there are both advantages and disadvantages of abolished mandatory auditing.

The purpose of the thesis is to examine why women face greater difficulties than men in the management consulting industry when advancing as well as to identify potential success factors that enable women to overcome the existing difficulties. In order to fulfil the purpose, a theoretical framework including gender and organisational theory has been applied to a qualitative case study of two Swedish management consulting firms. A number of difficulties have been identified related to women's career advancement, which are the following: the male leader and the stereotypical male leadership, firms having higher expectations on women's performance, women's reluctance to self-promotion and to play "the organizational game", women's preference of social networks, men's tendency to promote other men, and the choice and conflict between a career and family life. The identified success factors that enable women to overcome these difficulties are: adapting the male leadership style, having an extrovert behaviour, becoming more active in professional networks, promoting one self, actively seeking to gain more attention, and prioritising one's career. These success factors can be summarised as women adapting a more male-like behaviour.

In September 2008, a proposition to limit auditors? liability for statutory audit was launched by a Swedish Government official report. Auditors? legal liability in this respect has been joint and unlimited for more than 60 years in Sweden. By using a qualitative literature study method, this paper aims at discovering how the proposed change in legal liability affects the legitimacy of auditors in Sweden.

The executives of a firm possess considerable influence over a company's financial reports. The numbers can be adjusted in a favorable direction by engaging in Earnings Management, which harms the reliability of the financial reporting. Previous research suggests that Earnings Management can differ between genders. In recent years the debate about a woman's role in the business world has received generous attention in media. Moreover, the presence of women in leading positions has become a relevant issue for firms.

Purpose: This paper aims to describe the socialization process that audit associates experience within an auditing firm that is included in the Big 4-sphere. Our purpose is also to describe which attributes that characterize the organizational identity, and how these attributes are reflected in the self-image of the associates. Furthermore, we seek to explain how the socialization process has influenced the organizational identification. This subject is of interest since the business of auditing is facing higher demands from regulators and politicians, due to the bankruptcy of HQ-bank among others during the financial crisis in the beginning of the 21st century. Earlier research claims that the socialization process of recruits, especially in the initial state of the employment, has a major impact on their future values and attitudes in their job performance.

Ever since Sweden joined EU on the 1st of January 1995 the auditing is regulated not only by our Swedish laws but also by EG:s directives. In the fourth directive the member states are given a possibility to dispense small companies from the duty to audit the accounts. It is up to every member state to decide whether they want to dispense the small companies or not and today Sweden is one of few member states who does not. The purpose of this essay was to describe how lenders and Skatteverket will act in case of a dispensation for small companies from the duty to audit the accounts. The study has been carried out by interviewing four lenders and Skatteverket. The study shows that the lenders and Skatteverkets acting in case of a dispensation for small companies from the duty to audit the accounts will part from each others. While the lenders stand before a big change Skatteverkets work will be next to unaltered. Half the lenders think that they will continue to demand that the companies? accounts be audited.

Ever since Sweden joined EU on the 1st of January 1995 the auditing is regulated not only by our Swedish laws but also by EG:s directives. In the fourth directive the member states are given a possibility to dispense small companies from the duty to audit the accounts. It is up to every member state to decide whether they want to dispense the small companies or not and today Sweden is one of few member states who does not.The purpose of this essay was to describe how lenders and Skatteverket will act in case of a dispensation for small companies from the duty to audit the accounts. The study has been carried out by interviewing four lenders and Skatteverket.The study shows that the lenders and Skatteverkets acting in case of a dispensation for small companies from the duty to audit the accounts will part from each others. While the lenders stand before a big change Skatteverkets work will be next to unaltered.Half the lenders think that they will continue to demand that the companies? accounts be audited.

SAMMANFATTNING Examensarbetets titel: Drivkrafter & Bromsklossar för Innovation i Professional Service Firms ? En fallstudie av två Big Four byråer Seminariedatum: 4 juni 2008 Ämne/kurs: FEKK01, Examensarbete kandidatnivå, 15 poäng Författare: Noel Lindell, Sebastian Sedeki, Christofer Österlindh Handledare: Håkan Lagerquist Nyckelord: Tjänsteinnovation, Processinnovation, Professional Service Firm, Big Four, Innovation Syfte: Syftet är att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur man arbetar med innovation och vilken syn man har på innovation i Big Four byråerna. Vi strävar efter att förklara hur man arbetar med att tillvarata inventioner, hur innovation uppstår inom olika fält och i vilken utsträckning. Ambitionen är att vårt resultat ska vara normativt för hur man ska kunna öka innovationsgraden i en Big Four byrå. Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie med abduktiv ansats.

This paper tests the information signalling hypothesis on a sample of firms making open market stock repurchases. Using an earnings-based valuation model, we find that a majority of repurchasing firms are undervalued relative to their economic value. This result is consistent with previous academic studies, which claim that undervaluation is the prevalent factor explaining the observed abnormal return following the announcement of a repurchase program. We do not, however, find any evidence that the repurchase is consciously made by management to provide the market with new information. .

The aim of this thesis is to analyze how small and medium-sized management consulting firms in Sweden work with human resource management during digital transformation. By interviewing companies, this study explores their approach to attracting, recruiting, and developing competence. The results showed that management consulting firms have good access to candidates, made possible by having a strong corporate culture and attractive working conditions - Crucial parts for attracting talent. Social media and networking are frequently used for marketing and attracting interesting candidates. Digital tools and social media showed to be useful during the recruitment process, but personal contacts and networking still play a central role.