On 1 January 2005, IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards)was mandatory for all listed companies within the European Union. The introduction is to create a transparent and consistent reporting. Mainly to provide companies, investors and financiers the same access to world capital markets. Since the introduction of IFRS, the goodwill value is determined by annual impairment tests. If an impairment of goodwill is a fact the goodwill decreases in value.

How projects are managed can have a big impact on the project`s result. There are different types of frameworks on the market whose purpose is to help project leaders to pursue a successful project. Those frameworks focus on larger product development projects and both the literature and companies have addressed that the frameworks are too comprehensive for smaller product development projects. They have therefore asked for a framework that is more suitable for those smaller projects. To complete a project on time and to the planned cost is important in both larger and smaller product development projects.

The purpose of this study is to look at the line extensions of the Swedish dairy company Skånemejerier. We have chosen to focus on how trends in ecological products and Functional Food influence the line extensions. The competition in the food sector have made it harder for companies to be seen in the market area and the companies have to make their brands more visible. That is one of the reasons why companies work with line extensions. The study is based on a qualitative approach because we wanted to come closer to our subject in order to establish a greater understanding for the case itself.

Problems:How would a decision model that takes into account more aspects and dimensions than just the financial aspect look for smaller service compa-nies? What aspects are important to consider in such a decision model?Purpose:The purpose of this master thesis is to develop a decision model based on previous research, to improve decision making in smaller service com-panies ? by considering perspectives that traditional investment calcula-tions ignore.Method:The study was qualitative and was based on both primary and secondary data. As data collection method for the development of the model we used literature search on previous research. The study?s primary data consisted of responses from five smaller service companies.

This thesis describes and examines a new line of business, CleanTech. CleanTech comprises a wide range of different types of companies and is not yet well defined. In this thesis only the Swedish market is considered, and a variety of players on the market are included to give the most extensive picture of the current situation. Recent research shows that a gap has arisen between governmental financing and private equity-investments in CleanTech-companies. This gap occurs mainly in companies in expansive phases and causes problems both for the companies and for the line of business as a whole. To investigate this gap the Swedish CleanTech-business is described in terms of earlier and existing financing, age and size of the companies and their turnover and profit.

The purpose of this thesis is to achieve an increased understanding of factors and considerations of importance to larger companies? purchases of tax consultancy services. Based on a qualitative case study, the thesis more specifically analyzes purchasing companies? perception of quality in tax consultancy services, how the companies organize their purchases of such services and the relationship between purchasing companies and tax consultants. The study suggests that tax consultancy services constitute a heterogeneous group of services which are normally purchased by people in charge of either accounting or tax matters in the purchasing company.

Sweden is facing a shift in generation where the people born in the 1940s are starting to retire which results in consequences. Before the year of 2013 more than 180 000 companies will have to change owner. A study indicates that the majority of all Swedes in the age of 18-70 can consider becoming company owners.Only ten percent of the companies for sale will reach the company broker and another 15 percent will be mediated by legal experts and accountants. This means that 75 percent of the companies for sale will not be available for the public market. As a potential buyer this is a problem.

Detta arbete har identifierat fyra betydande faktorer vars verkan resulterat i att de intervjuade småföretagen valt att inte organisera miljöarbetet enligt ISO 14001 standarden: fragmenterad kunskap om miljöproblem.

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.

Sweden has had statutory audit, which also includes a management audit, for all companies since 1988. A legislative proposal now suggests that the statutory audit shall be abolished for all small and medium sized companies starting on July 1, 2010. The aim for this master?s thesis is therefore to study how the service of auditing will be affected by the legislative proposal. To answer the research question the authors have taken on a qualitative approach and fifteen interviews with representatives for different Swedish auditing firms have been completed.

Title: The significance of small talk on leadershipDate of seminar: 13 October 2010Course: Bachelor paper in Business, in Organization, 15 ECTSInstitution: Swedish Business School at Orebro UniversityAuthors: Linda Andersson & Ebba HallbergAdvisor: Gabriella WennblomPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe how leadership is affected by the small talk, with these three managers. This with the manager?s perspective as a starting point, within the three services we examined.Research methodology: This paper is based on a qualitative method. Targeted open interviews were carried out with three respondents. Literature in the organizational field has been searched through to give a base for the study.Theoretical framework: This paper uses the theory of communication, the theory of leadership and the theory of small talk.Conclusion: The conclusion we make is that the small talk makes it easier for the modern leadership, this is because the small talk, among other things, allows the manager to spread information and to avoid misinterpretation, and that the manager become more involved in the company.Keywords: Communication, small talk, leadership.

This paper seeks to investigate whether there is a positive relationship between bonus as a part of total executive compensation and lower accounting quality among Swedish companies. In this study, accounting quality is defined as the degree by which a company's earnings are subject to earnings management. To detect earnings management accrual-based modified Jones model is applied to companies listed on the Large-, Mid- and Small-Cap lists on the Stockholm stock exchange during 2011. We find a statistically significant positive relationship between bonus as a part of total executive compensation and lower accounting quality. Thus, in line with prior research, our results suggest that managers, interested in maximizing their bonus, will select income increasing accruals to manage earnings upwards.

Those companies that have taken a stand in corporate social responsibility and work with these issues often experience difficulties orienting themselves in these areas. There is a picture of how companies want to be in their CSR commitment on corporate websites and a different reality which is reflected in the media. These different images are not in harmony with each other.The purpose of this study is to revise the CSR work of Sweden?s largest clothing companies.To answer the problem of this study a qualitative method has been used. The choice to explore a few clothing companies resulted in a multi-case study.

Corporate failures pose a problem for banks, investors, customers, employees andinsurers. With a multivariate discrimination method, the study aims to find the specificfinancial ratios that most accurate reveals a company's financial health, which is ofinterest to all of the above parties. The data consist of 1042 Swedish small enterprisesand 30 different financial ratios between the years 2005?2007. The result shows thatbankrupt firms three years before bankruptcy have a disadvantaged capital structurewith poor solvency and high debt.

In latter years there has been a discussion about the increasing importance of intangible assets and how to incorporate this fact into strategies, accounting and valuation. The ?Internet-bubble? is a recent event that drew much attention to intangible assets, and was an indicator of how complex it can be to value assets in general and intangible information in particular. Legislators recently addressed this issue by introducing IFRS3, which led to an update of IAS38, which in turn revised the methods for handling intangible assets. A specific intangible asset that has caused much debate is research and development (R&D), since it is commonly not allowed to be realized as an asset, which could cause implications concerning analysis and valuation.