The purpose of this dissertation is to describe small businesses? opinions about the auditor as a business adviser as well as their need for advice, dependent on which stage of the lifecycle model they belong to. This dissertation has a qualitative approach as the authors wanted to gain a deeper understanding about the problem area. As the lifecycle model in this dissertation consist of three stages, the authors have interviewed six small businesses, two in each stage. The interviews were conducted with the owner and took place at the location of the business.

Energy and environmental demands regarding buildings have become an increasinglydiscussed topic, both in Sweden and in Europe as a whole. The general trend indicatesthat greater efforts are being put into the energy efficiency of the built environment.There are already numerous examples of houses with a low energy demand, and thenumber of low energy buildings is constantly growing.At the time being, the maximum level for energy demands for housing in Stockholm is110 kWh/m2year, but as soon as next year the limit will be changed to 90. The Swedishagency Energimyndigheten is currently conducting a project to interpret the EU Directiveon the so-called Nearly zero energy buildings, and the preliminary results indicate thatthe level of requirements for purchased energy will end up with about 55 kWh / m2year,which is in line withtoday?s recommendationsfound in FEBY's Kravspecifikation förPassivhus.Starting with a low-energy house in Henriksdalshamnen in Stockholm, we have analyzedvarious energy-efficiency measures and their influence on power and energy needs. Thefinancial aspects associated with the measures have been studied using a model of lifecycle costs.The measures were initially studied individually to give an idea of how much impact theyeach had.

Background: To maintain or increase the trust in the market, companies can disclose more voluntary information in the annual reports. According to prior research the annual report is the primary source of information for small shareholders and investors. Thus, it is of interest to investigate why companies chose to report the voluntary information inquired by this group. Purpose: We investigate some company-specific factors to decide whether these determine the extent of voluntary information, particularly inquired by small shareholders and investors, in the annual reports of listed Swedish companies. We also aim to discuss underlying causes for our result.

This study is focused on small scale water and wastewater handling in Sweden. The study is divided into two major parts; the first describes common methods for water- and wastewater handling and the second part is a case study on three small and expensive systems in Gällivare municipality, in the north of Sweden. In the case study, abilitys for the local government to hand over unwanted systems to the water users is investigated and found to be a plausible solution to cut costs for two out of the three studied systems. In the third case, water and wastewater systems is not recommended to be handed over but other ways of cutting costs are suggested..

AbstractTitle: How has IAS 38 affected accounting in small and large companies?A study of the differences in the accounting of financial ratios between small and large companies.Authors: Jasmine Choudrey & Rana QadriMain Course: Business EconomicsThe aim of this study is to make a comparative examination between small and large companies in Sweden and to analyse how accounting of intangible assets has been affected or changed due to the introduction of the new accounting recommendations and IAS 38.Main theory: There are no theories available on these type of researches due to the fact that the introduction of the IFRS is relatively new. Instead the essay discusses facts about the financial ratios and IFRS as a starting point for the study.Method: The examination will be a combination of both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The quantitative part will be based on statistics and financial ratios from the different companies annual reports. These financial ratios will be analyzed by performing a confidence interval.

ABSTRACT:The aim of this essay is to analyze whether the development of the Principles of War in small states´ doctrine has been influenced by the doctrinal development of alliances after the start of an international cooperation.The author suggests that the development of the Principles of War can be understood through theories of doctrinal development. The theory used for this analysis states that small states depend on alliances, such as NATO, and therefore adapt their doctrine to better match the doctrine of the alliance. Since the Principles of War are the foundation of doctrine, such an adaption should lead to an adaption of the Principles of War as well.The analysis will be made using Swedish Army field manuals as a basis. These will be compared to NATO´s, in order to see whether or not Sweden has adapted its Principles of War following its membership of the Partnership for Peace.The results show that today the Swedish Principles of War are more similar to NATO´s than they were in 1982, which suggests that they have been adapted to better match those used by NATO. Although this essay does not analyze the reasons why, the results imply that theories of doctrinal development also include the development of principles of war.

AbstractA prerequisite to be able to use semi-natural pastures in an optimal way is knowledge about their conditions and properties. One thing to consider is the amount of herbage mass that can be produced during one season on different types of semi-natural pastures. That knowledge makes it easier to choose which type of animals and how many you are able to have in each paddock to maintain a high biodiversity and achieve the desired production of the animals at the same time.This study was performed in nine different semi-natural pastures around Uppsala. The paddocks were already mapped with regard to different vegetation types. Exclosure cages were placed on previously fertilized, mesic, dry, shaded and wet vegetation.

For innovative organizations and companies it is essential to use existing knowledge to avoid spending time and resources on already existing innovations. By using patent information, companies are able to get a picture of what is already done in their area of interest. The main purpose of the study is to examine the information use in small and medium-sized enterprises that are members of the Swedish Inventor?s Association, focusing on patent information. The study examines the use of patent information and which barriers the companies have to patent information.

This essay deals with the topic options costs and whether such costs would arise for smaller companies now when they have the opportunity to choose not to have an auditor. Small companies are defined as companies that fulfill at least two of the following three criteria?s: less than 1,5 million SEK in balance sheet, less than three employees and turnover less than 3 million SEK. The decision regarding internal revision does not only affect the company itself but also other parties such as the taxation authority, banks and others that can be influenced by the decision. This essays main focus is on the influenced parties, especially the taxation authority and the banks as these have been highlighted in debates in media and because the small companies themselves may have difficulties to foresee the consequences of the new changes. The opinions from accounting companies will be considered in the essay as they can be considered as experts regarding the different aspect within this area.

Intercropping involving trees is called agroforestry and makes it possible to get higher production for every area unit. The trees can function as food, fodder, fuel, medicine; prevent mark erosion and much more. Agroforestry can also be combined with animal husbandry. The aim of this study was to document the animal production systems used by rural small-scale farmers maintaining ruminants and using agroforestry in the northern province of Rwanda. The farmers using agroforestry is expected to have higher milk yield than average due to homegrown protein. The method used during the study was semi-structural interviews with booth open and closed questions. In order to get in contact with farmers that matched the criteria; small-scaled rural farmers with ruminants and using agroforestry, the ?Vi Agroforestry Programme? (Vi-Life) in Kigali were contacted and the staff worked as supervisors, translators and contact with the farmers throughout the study. During the study nine individual farmers, two cooperatives breeding sheep and one group interview were conducted.

This thesis is about informal seatings, those which are planned to merge into the city core environment and to supply a flexible public space. The thesis discusses how a diverse range of elements could result in different functions and social meanings. These are illustrated with visual examples and conceptual drawings. The position of the seating in a small public place is important, as well as its location in the city. Furthermore, the detail design of the seating, such as the form and dimensions have to be considered in order to create an informal seating appropriate for the user. This leads to the broad scope of this thesis which deals with the small scale - how the seatings can create a good environment in a small place; and the big scale - how a site can influence the city. This thesis suggests the physical design of some informal seatings and also investigates how these seatings can strengthen the place through their function and how they relate to their surroundings.

This master thesis aims to investigate and quantify the potential associated with increasing the usage of edible by-products as food for human consumption on the Swedish market. The main emphasis is on the Swedish production of offal and the obstacles that currently inhibit greater usage of these products as foods.The results indicate that the Swedish market for offal is limited. Only a small amount of the edible by-products that are produced in Sweden every year are consumed as foods and a considerable amount seem to be downgraded into animal feed or thrown away. The utilization of these products is restricted by economical, technical, legal, and cultural factors that all need to be taken into consideration. On the whole, large-scale slaughter plants seem to be more inclined to utilize these products effectively, as the profit from doing so increases proportionately to the produced volumes.

Variations in fertility have caused a problematic situation in Sweden among other European countries. According to the Council of Europe we are facing an economic and demographic challenge, when the baby boomers of the 1940?s are retiring. Economists have for a long time studied the connection between economic factors and fertility, and several studies have found a correlation between business cycles and birth rates. This connection is again of current interest 2008, when a financial bubble bursts at the same time as a baby boom occurs.

Tourism has been an expanding market since the first travel agency started in the middle of the 18?Th century, and today it is a global industry, with intensified competition and high demands from the customers. Product development is therefore one of the most important aspects for successful companies, and scientists also agree that the first stages in product development are the most critical. This essay is focusing on those stages, regarding product development on travel agencies, and the research question is as follows: How are new tourism destinations developed and what is the difference in working process between small and big travel agencies? The empirical research consists of qualitative semi-structured interviews with two big and two small travel agencies.

The project explores the possibilities of using additive manufacturing (3d-printing) to build architecture. Through a combination of theoretical research and practical experiments a building system has been developed which has the capabilities to create houses with great geometric flexibilities to a affordable price today. The construction system Perimeter is demonstrated in a pavilion situated at Norra Djurgården in Stockholm. .