Goodwill accounting has for a long time been, and with the implementation of IFRS in 2005, has become an even bigger issue. Critics mean that reporting of goodwill impairments is subject to discretion that can be used by the managers. We have applied a study made by Carlin and Finch (2009) on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm during 2006-2012. Our study contains 50 of the 255 public companies at 2012-12-31. The purpose of the study is to investigate if companies use an opportunistic Discount Rate when testing for impairment in goodwill and if the relation between goodwill and net profit before taxes, goodwill intensity, is an incentive for opportunism.

Scania?s Discount Rate - the return requirement of investments - refers to Scania?s WACC or weighted average cost of capital. The capital markets return requirement on equity and the credit market interest cost of borrowing is weighted to become the single Discount Rate, the WACC. The purpose of this study is to investigate which asset pricing model of APT and CAPM Scania should use in their WACC calculations. The company now uses a group WACC of 11 percent which is used in all company levels.

AbstractAuthors:Stefan Harrå and Magnus BjörkAdvisor: Markku PenttinenTitle: Accounting Consequences of the change in pension accounting Background to problem: When the revised IAS 19 comes into force January 1, 2013, it means that two of the three accounting principles for defined benefit pension plans are disappearing, including the corridor method. The corridor method has made it possible for companies to defer its actuarial gains and losses. Now that the corridor approach abolished then the unrecognized actuarial gains and losses immediately be covered by equity, which involves very large amounts of some companies. Why the amounts have grown so big is much because of the Discount Rate. The Discount Rate is a controversial parameter, and there is disagreement on how it should be fixed.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the accounting implications this will have for the company applied the corridor method, and if there is some parameters in the actuarial assumption that is more important than others.Methodology: The thesis has mainly been based on a qualitative research through qualitative interviews with a small sample that is affected by this change.

AbstractAuthors:Stefan Harrå and Magnus BjörkAdvisor: Markku PenttinenTitle: Accounting Consequences of the change in pension accounting Background to problem: When the revised IAS 19 comes into force January 1, 2013, it means that two of the three accounting principles for defined benefit pension plans are disappearing, including the corridor method. The corridor method has made it possible for companies to defer its actuarial gains and losses. Now that the corridor approach abolished then the unrecognized actuarial gains and losses immediately be covered by equity, which involves very large amounts of some companies. Why the amounts have grown so big is much because of the Discount Rate. The Discount Rate is a controversial parameter, and there is disagreement on how it should be fixed.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the accounting implications this will have for the company applied the corridor method, and if there is some parameters in the actuarial assumption that is more important than others.Methodology: The thesis has mainly been based on a qualitative research through qualitative interviews with a small sample that is affected by this change.

During the past 20 years, the price of forest estates in Sweden has raised more than the price of timber. The purpose of this study is to investigate if it, despite this development, is possible to buy a forest estate based on economic grounds. Different forest parameters will also be studied to analyse their effect on the profitability. The study is done in cooperation with the company LRF Konsult. Purchase price of 34 forest estates near the coast of Norrbotten, Sweden, has been compared to yield valuation. For the valuation, guidelines from the Swedish author Lantmäteriet was used.

Our purpose in this paper is to examine if there is any profitability for a company with a factory in the timber industry to invest in a combined heat and power, CHP. Based on analysis and the results that the paper generates, we will give Derome AB a suggestion on how it is a profitable investment or not to installing in a CHP.By investing in a CHP plant, you can get a high efficiency, which means that companies can use their resources more effectively. The Swedish wood industry has by-products of production that can be used for combustion in their boiler which is an advantage.The essay is a qualitative study where we have a case company, Derome AB. In this company, we interviewed two employees who have knowledge in the study. They have helped us to provide information and data about their business.We chose to use the pay-off- and the net present value method, NPV, to see if there are profitable advantages for the investment.

The general consensus is that the gap between the Swedish variable mortgage rate and the repo rate has increased over the last years. Although the Riksbank in recent times has cut its base rate, many banks have chosen either to leave the interest rate on variable mortgages unchanged, or they did reduce it but by less points than the reduction in the repo rate. The linear relationship between the repo rate and the variable mortgage rate has changed over the last decade and the mortgage margins these days are relatively high. This can somewhat be explained by the new rules introduced in the bank sector requiring banks to increase liquidity and equity. Since mortgage loans play an important role in banks? lending business it is of interest to gain knowledge in whether a repo rate reduction latterly has generated a limited affect on the banks lending rates..

Syftet med vår uppsats är att genom en teoretisk och empirisk grundad diskussion undersöka vilka strategier som står till buds för de svenska dagligvarukedjorna vid en branschförändring på grund av en nyetablering av en hard discount aktör. Uppsatsens utgångspunkt är en abduktiv ansats där en växelverkan mellan teori och empiri är central. Vi har genom en kvalitativ metod samlat in primärdata genom elva delvis strukturerade intervjuer. Vi presenterar intervjumaterialet i ett empirikapitel och tillsammans med en förstudie kopplas sedan detta underlag till relevanta teorier. De teorier som vi funnit vara av intresse för vår studie är bl.a.

Every year 67000 tons of food is wasted by Swedish retail stores. The waste implies financial losses for the retailer and it has a huge impact on the global environment. Reducing in-store food waste is thus a win-win situation for both retailers and society. The most effective way to reduce waste is primarily by optimizing the logistics of supply, but customers expect a store with a wide range of products and stuffed shelves. Thus there will always be products about to expire.

This study deals with the technical and economic feasibility of replacing the nuclear power plant reactor Ringhals 3 with a biofuel power plant. A technical investigation has been executed to determine which of the systems and components that could be reused and which ones would need to be replaced. The investment costs of the reconstruction have also been estimated. The cost of the electricity production has been calculated as well as the emissions of the new biofuel power plant. Based on the established rate of return, the lowest average spot price of electricity that makes the investment profitable has been calculated.

Forskningsfråga: Hur påverkas allivsbutikerna av att få Lidl eller Netto som granne och vilken betydelse har allivsbutikernas val av åtgärder för att differentiera sig för hur väl de lyckas konkurrera med hard discount-butiken? Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att skapa förståelse för hur traditionella allivsbutiker påverkas av att en aktör med utpräglad lågprisprofil (hard discount) etablerar sig i närheten. Vidare är syftet att beskriva hur allivsbutikerna, genom olika åtgärder, arbetar för att differentiera sig från hard discount-butikerna och hur val av åtgärder inverkar på hur väl allivsbutikerna lyckas i konkurrensen med den nya aktören. Metod: Vi har, genom tio besöksintervjuer och tjugo telefonintervjuer med handlare och butikschefer i allivsbutiker, samlat in kvalitativ och kvantitativ data om hur dessa butiker påverkats av att få Lidl eller Netto i sin närhet och vilka strategier de använt för att möta den nya konkurrenten. De teorier som används vid analysen behandlar konkurrensstrategier och hur allivsbutiker påverkas av lågpristrenden i allmänhet och hard discount i synnerhet.

Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to apply "Discount Dividend model" and "Discounted Cash Flow model" in reality during periods of economic boom alternatively recession.Method: A quantitative research method as well as secondary data and data collection method is used. This data consists of the company?s annual reports. Totally, 20 companies of different sizes under diverse economic conditions are involved in this data.Conclusion: After reviewing the companies? calculations, it is noted that the both models that are used reflect better stock-exchange rate during an economic recession..

Title: Valuing Real Estate FCFE and interest coverage under macroeconomic uncertainty with scenario analysisAuthors: Marcus Ewerstrand, Jakob MattssonAdvisor: Gert SandahlBackground and problem: After the collapse in the Swedish economy in the beginning of the 1990-ties, the company Secerum was launched. Securums objective was to handle unsecured credits from Nordbanken by transferring a large portfolio of properties and to setup a number of companies who would be in charge for the prospects of these assets. One company that was established during this remarkable period was Castellum, in the year of 1994. After a successful process of raising capital to its development of corporate strategies and formation of several affiliated companies which operates locally, Castellum was publish on the Stockholm stock exchange 1997/1998. Now, thirteen years later after its establishment, the credit crunch in the US.

This paper presents empirical evidence on the determinants of interest rate swap spreads in Sweden during the period 1999-2003. The results suggest that the spread between STIBOR and the general collateral repo rate is positively related to shorter maturity swap spreads. The risk premium associated with commercial bonds is positively related to swap spreads of all maturities. A negative relationship is observed between the term structure of interest rates and swap spreads. The short-term interest rate is positively related to spreads with shorter maturities.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att med hjälp av händelsestudiemetodik undersöka om förändringar av The Federal Funds Rate ger avvikande avkastning på Stockholmsbörsen. Teorin utgörs av den effektiva marknadshypotesen, där vi utgår från den semistarka formen av marknadseffektivitet, aktiers räntekänslighet samt investerares beteende vid makroekonomiska nyheter. Undersökningen visar att det finns avvikande avkastning på Stockholmsbörsen vid förändringar av The Federal Funds Rate. Resultatet varierar dock mellan A- och O-listan..