Abstract The development towards an international accounting standard implies that Swedish groups of companies that are not quoted on the stock exchange can use a parent company perspective or an entity perspective while making their group accounting. The purpose of this study is to describe and explain the motives behind the groups of companies choice of perspective and to show how these motives agrees with the effect it has on the profit and loss account and on the balance sheet.The study includes four fictitious groups of companies based on real groups of companies. Every group of companies includes 1-3 subsidiary companies, where at least one is owned by the parent company with 51-70 %. Some assumptions were made before the consolidation.Relevant key numbers have been calculated according to both perspectives and then compared. A total of three semi structured interviews have been carried out two with representatives for the real groups of companies and one with a chartered accountant.

Today?s political debate on environmental issues and environmental thinking, alongside the Swedish presidency of the EU and Climate Conferences shows that the environment is an important topic. Environment is important, not only in politics, but also for companies and the demand of environmental strategies and environmental reports has increased. This leads to an increased pressure on firms to begin to report on environmental concerns and to create active systems for environmental thinking.The aim of the present study is to examine why firms in the transport sector, mainly lorry transports, reports environmental aspects and what drives these companies to create these reports.Based on stakeholder and institutional theory we aim to examine to which extent stakeholders affects the environmental accounting and reporting. We also aim to explain how the organization is influenced to incorporate external and societal environmental procedures.

The problems and the opinions regarding accounting of Goodwill have always been an issue. In the search for a more standardised accounting standard IASB made a series of changes with the implementation of IFRS/IAS, which means that all companies who are listed on any stock exchange in Europe have to follow these new standards. During the process IASB wanted some feedback from the users to get a better understanding of how different participants in the economic market would respond to a number of questions regarding different changes in the accounting. In total IASB got 126 responses for the 'Comment Letters' (CL) they sent out.This paper aims to review these CL and examine how different participants will stand on different questions, mainly regarding the elimination of the pooling method and if goodwill is to be amortised but also any opinions regarding the implementation of the impairment tests. The present study comprises 126 CL, which represent participants from all the corners of the Earth.

Ethical evaluation of scientific studies carried out using animals is legally mandated in many countries and has been so in Sweden for over three decades. The animal ethics committees (AECs) responsible for the task have however been subjected to criticism; common critique being that the wrong issues are discussed and that the ethical evaluation is thus incomplete, that there is a lack of coherence across committees and that the committees are not as democratic as they might appear. This study investigates the view of Swedish AEC members on a number of issues in order to shed some light on the mandate and functioning of the committees, and on the grounds for ongoing criticism. In a survey and interviews AEC members and other persons connected to the committees gave their views on the AEC task in relation to their roles, the ethical evaluation per se and whether or not emotions such as empathy play any part in it. There were significant differences found between AEC member categories and several issues were encountered, many of which have been stressed in previous studies.

This essay aims to examine Martha Nussbaum's proposal for a classical defense of reform in liberal education and her critique of utility thinking in higher education. I want to explore how Nussbaum uses history to create an ethical alternative that cultivates both moral and intellectual virtues, which she considers to be crucial for the survival of democracy. In examining Nussbaum's use of Aristotle, I focus on her work as a proposal for institutional implementation of an Aristotelian epistemology and the cultivation of the individual as an ethical political subject. This study highlights the epistemological, educational and political ideas that form the basis of Nussbaum's ideals. I intend, however, to go beyond a contextualizing reading and thus establish a dialogue with a radical intersubjectivity to respond to Nussbaum's ambitions to recognize human vulnerabilities as assets for reason.

Throughout many years there have been discussions within the European Union (EU) regarding harmonization and improvement of accounting rules for companies with listed shares or other securities. The ambition exists to adopt, the within the union applied accounting standards, to those applied globally. These discussions lead the year 2002 to adoption by the council and parliament of international accounting standards (IFRS). The ordinance meant that all listed European companies have to adopt international accounting standards, accepted for application within the EU, for their consolidated accounts.During July 2003 the Swedish Government Official Reports issued a report (SOU 2003:71) stating, among other things, the differences and oppositions of implementing IFRS on a corporate level in Sweden, since corporate disclosure is regulated in Swedish law by Bokföringslagen (BFL) and Årsredovisningslagen (ÅRL). One of the main obstacles for the full implementation of IFRS is that a company?s annual report underlies the governmental taxation and an implementation of IFRS would affect this balance.

I en allt mer globaliserad värld ställs högre krav på företagens effektivitet och flexibilitet, detta har bland annat medfört stora satsningar på produktionsutveckling, vilket till slut föranlett lean production. På grund av att de traditionella styrsystemen inte anses vara användbara för företag som arbetar med lean production utvecklades lean accounting, som är ett relativt nytt koncept som anses ha utvecklats för att ta hänsyn till lean productions påverkan på hela verksamheten. Däremot kan företag inte anta att det enbart handlar om att hitta ett koncept och för att därefter tillämpa konceptet. Denna studie syftar därför till att beskriva hur ledningsgruppen i tillverkande SMF mottar lean accounting och att beskriva det första steget i utformningsprocessen hos tillverkande SMF. Detta har genomförts genom observationer med hög närvaro och även sintervjuer med en ledningsgrupps medlemmar på ett tillverkande SMF.

This study aims to examine how performance management is compatible with the operations at Sida, Sweden?s International Development Cooperation Agency, by performing interviews with representatives from Sida. The public sector is facing increased demands on accounting, which has emerged as an institutionalized social norm in society. The nature of Sida?s operations, however, proves to be highly complex, rendering results based management difficult to implement.

Traditionellt sätt har det varit svårt för forskare att dokumentera förekomsten ochomfattningen av manipulering av redovisningsmått. Big Bath Accounting är ett fenomen sominnebär att tveksamma redovisningsmetoder tillämpas i syfte att förvränga företagets verkligasituation, vilket ofta sker i samband med VD-byte och när företag redovisar ett för periodennegativt resultat. Intresset för ämnesvalet väcktes utifrån en tidigare studie om Big BathAccounting, som påvisade statistiska samband mellan nedskrivning av goodwill vid VD-byterespektive negativt resultat. I denna studie är syftet att utreda om statistiska sambandföreligger mellan företagets avsättningar vid VD-byte och negativt resultat enligt teorin BigBath Accounting. I studien undersöks inte alla avsättningar, utan endastomstruktureringsutgifter och övriga avsättningar, då de är svåra att kontrollera och utrymmekan finnas för kreativ tolkning.

The aim of this master thesis is to study the relationship between general ethics and professional ethics, to attain an understanding of which values that are given priority in the profession of the librarian regarding personal encounter towards library users. The posed questions are: How can fundamental ethical principles be understood through the view of public librarians? How can policy documents regarding librarian ethics be understood through the view of public librarians? How can policy documents regarding librarian ethics be problematized in relation to fundamental ethical principles? We used four focus groups consisting of public librarians. Three theoretical frameworks create the base of the analysis; four fundamental ethical principles, ethical guidelines for Swedish librarians and recommendations for Swedish librarians in the reference service. Three main issues emerge in the study; equalistic personal encounter where the principle of justice is emphasized but also problematized, library users? integrity which mainly coincide with the principle of autonomy and finally the librarian?s professional role which are being defined by librarian specific competence to refrain violation of the principle of injury avoidance.

Sara Lidman?s first novel, Tjärdalen (The Tar Pit, 1953), addresses ethical issues in a remote village in the north of Sweden. This essay discusses the novel?s narrative technique and the ethical aspects implied by the narration and aesthetic design. The approach is based on Adam Zachary Newton?s narrative ethics, which links narrative theory and method with an ethical perspective.

 The number of hidden refugees in Sweden is estimated to be at least 15,000. The law, which only allows this group a very limited access to health care, can be considered to clash with the human rights and the ethical codes related to the health care professionals.The aim of the study was to examine how the personnel in public health care may experience treating hidden refugees and which ethical conflicts that may be connected to this. The study, which is of a qualitative descriptive design, is based on eight semi-structured interviews. The interviewees were trained nurses and mid-wives in an emergency room, a maternity ward and a health care centre for asylum seekers.The experience of treating hidden refugees amongst the informants was limited. The study proved that the knowledge of laws and guidelines regarding hidden refugees amongst the interviewed health care personnel was poor.

In modern society globalisation is a fact within all industries, the textile industry included. Due to improvement in areas such as logistics and communication international trade have developed fast. As changes occur rapidly on the global market and companies must adjust and revise their processes in order to stay competitive.Because of the global price reduction consumers around the world expect low-price products, which mean that the companies have to find new ways to produce in a cost-efficient way. To maximize profit most of the textile production is situated in low-cost countries due to its labour-intensive character. It is crucial for fashion companies to allocate their activities in their value-chain effectively in order to reduce lead-times.

My essay is concerned with intercultural leadership and practical knowledge. The essay is about ethical dilemmas and the diversity of issues we face constantly at the preschool. In my story I examine the different views of knowledge and the opportunities to lead people in an intercultural way, and how they relate to each other. I start by looking at the ethical ideas that form the basis for our actions and our view of knowledge. Then, I examine how the practical wisdom guides the ethical dilemmas that arise at the preschool.

Background: In 2001 the European Commission presented legislation to require use of IASB standards named IAS/IFRS for all listed parent companies within the EU no later than 2005, to improve an internal market for financial services within the EU. This harmonisation of the accounting regulations answers to the social development of today with land-frontiers easier to cross, increased demands on an open financial market and the companies searching for risk capital outside the boundaries of the own country. International comparisons within accounting have consequently become more of current interest and necessary. When the requirement to use the IASB standards only is intended for the group accounting the remaining question is according to which regulations the parent companies will set up their annual financial reports. In Statens Offentliga Utredningar 2003:71(Swedish Government Official Reports) the parent companies are suggested to be given an opportunity to apply IAS/IFRS also in the annual financial report.