On November 1st 2010 the obligatory audit was removed in Sweden for small companies. What factors influence such companies to have their financial reports audited, and what factors exert the strongest influence. Purpose: The authors would like to investigate factors that affect companies with voluntary audits in Skåne län to continue with the audit. The authors also wish to examine the factors that have the strongest impact on the choice to adopt auditing. Method: A quantitative study has been conducted in which aquestionnaire was sent to companies in Skåne Län Conclusion: The factors that affect smaller companies to continue with audit are as follows: Accounting quality, cost, creditors (loans), suppliers / customers, the tax office and distort competition.

Öppenhet är en allt viktigare del av företagens årsredovisningar. I en mer och mer komplex värld har öppenheten blivit en större fråga för företagen vid upprättandet årsredovisningarna. Det ostabila förtroendet för företagen har resulterat i större press öppenhet. Därför är det inte konstigt att redovisningskvalité har blivit en viktig aspekt intressenter, problemet är att kvalité ses på olika vis.U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) har i sin senaste utgåva av International Accounting Standards (IAS) skrivit 50 sidor om redovisningskvalité.

The thesis main objective is to establish the determinants for granting executive stock options and to examine their impact on performance for firms listed on OMXS30. The analysis is based on accounting data gathered from annual reports and Thomson Datastream. The empirical results display that firms grant stock options to mitigate the principal-agent problem. Furthermore, risk proves to be positively significant with executive stock options, implying that either executives increase the level of risk after being granted stock options or influence the decision of the remuneration towards stock options when the firm increase the level of risk, in purpose to boost the expected value of their options. No relation between executive stock options and firm performance could be established..

What impact and effects are created by the placement of an international ranking? Could it be that a top rank is detrimental to an entire country's efforts to fight corruption?This bachelor thesis in political science is about Swedish corruption. In essence, so questioning the Transparency International's indexed rankings that placed Sweden in third place. Issues concern since if the third placement has created nonchalance and a careless mentality in Swedish government and in particular in the municipal operations. Research results show that Transparency International's rankings have low validity and low reliability and that the government is not acting sufficiently to prevent and fight corruption.

There is an increased pressure for firms to provide the financial market with additional information. Such disclosure is attached with different kinds of costs. In spite of these costs, and in spite of increased mandatory disclosures, firms choose to voluntary disclosure financial information to analysts and others. This indicates that firms also benefit from providing additional information. The subjects of this study is 431 annual reports from firms listed at the Stockholm Stock Exchange for 2002 and 2005 and the objective is to survey factors that can explain variations in firms? voluntary disclosure.

The main purpose of this master thesis is to identify guidelines for a sustainable production that can provide useful information concerning the establishment of a biodiesel production. These guidelines concern the surrounding production environment, such as infrastructures and industries.The thesis is based on theoretical grounds surrounding industrial symbiosis, biodiesel production and how sustainable development should be designed. A study of an already established producer in a similar business area has been used to provide a picture of similar projects. The thesis has with the supervisor's consent focused on the production conditions that are affected by location.The production conditions selected are heating, raw material market, residual and sustainable profile. These are then evaluated through an Excel-based sensitivity analysis.

Rapportens syfte är att arbeta fram förslag till en hållbar förnyelse av bostadsområdet Gulsparven i Trollhättan, på uppdrag av AB Eidar Trollhättans bostadsbolag. I dagsläget har området energirelaterade problem och är i behov av upprustning. För att komma fram till goda lösningar har litteratur- ochinformationsstudier, intervjuer med erfarna personer samt inventeringar av området gjorts. Förslagen åskådliggörs i form av ritningar samt 3D-vyer.Fyra förslag till förnyelse har tagits fram med olika grad av åtgärder, där två av dem kräver en omprövad detaljplan. Generella åtgärder, vilket gäller i samtliga förslag, är betydelsefulla lösningar för att växa mot rollen som ett hållbart bostadsområde.

The European Union is struggling to maintain democracy and tries to increase the participation among the citizens in Europe. The European Citizens? Initiative, ECI, is a platform established by the European Commission to allow citizens to propose new legislation. ?Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!? is the first ECI that has met the requirements.

This thesis is based on a case study of the City of Stockholm. The study aims to explore the effects on the city's large investments caused by the public reform. Furthermore, the question concerns the character of the impact and if it will affect what type of investments that will be prioritized. The theoretical background is based on Brunsson's ideas about political organizations shifting towards corporate nature, and Almqvist's interpretation of New Public Management (NPM). Moreover, models explaining public management reform, and the main components of corporate shifting, are used.

Miljö och hållbarhet är något som kommit att uppmärksammas allt mer sedan startskottet på 70-talet i samband med ökat fokus från regeringshåll och grundande av miljöorganisationer. I takt med konsumenters ökade medvetenhet har kraven höjts på svenska klädföretag och deras arbete med hållbar utveckling och hållbara produkter. Problematiken ligger i att svenska klädföretag utför sitt arbete på olika sätt och därav finns olika tolkningar av hur en hållbar produkt är framställd och vad denna ska innehålla. Det är även svårt för kunder att få ett grepp av en hållbar produkt, då de inte finns någon konkret definition.Den övergripande problemformuleringen i arbetet har berört hur olika svenska klädföretag och miljöorganisationer definierar en hållbar produkt. I uppsatsen presenteras olika definitioner av hållbar utveckling och den lagstiftning som ligger till grund för de produkter som produceras och säljs på den svenska marknaden.

Portable is a project with its starting point in plastic bags, how they negatively affect our planet and how people´s patterns of behavior and qualities of life are affected when people try to live more envi¬ronmentally friendly. Now we have reached the point when peoples way of living and consuming in the western world has to change. This is nothing new and we can now see that sustainability is start¬ing to get attention in every area.Today plastic bags are used on average for 12 minutes. Only one out of 200 is reused, and then only once . This is not sustainable at all.

On November 1st 2010 the obligatory audit was removed in Sweden for small companies. What factors influence such companies to have their financial reports audited, and what factors exert the strongest influence. Purpose: The authors would like to investigate factors that affect companies with voluntary audits in Skåne län to continue with the audit. The authors also wish to examine the factors that have the strongest impact on the choice to adopt auditing. Method: A quantitative study has been conducted in which aquestionnaire was sent to companies in Skåne Län Conclusion: The factors that affect smaller companies to continue with audit are as follows: Accounting quality, cost, creditors (loans), suppliers / customers, the tax office and distort competition.

The new Swedish Companies Act allows Swedish companies to issue two instruments that were previously prohibited: mandatory convertibles and participating debentures. The aim of the thesis is to conduct a cross sectional study of Swedish corporate hybrid securities, especially in the light of the new Companies Act. The cross sectional study also includes areas such as credit rating, accounting and tax. The thesis concludes that it is possible, under Swedish law, to issue corporate hybrid securities that qualify for both high equity credit and tax deductible interest payments. The use of certain hybrid provisions are, however, restrained by Swedish company law.

Rooted in Industrial Ecology (IE) theory, this report evaluates how urban agricultural concepts and techniques, can contribute to improved ecological sustainability within the inner city boundaries of Stockholm. An overarching literary study as well as an interview was carried out, resulting in a qualitative analysis followed by suggestions for practical implementations. A substantial convergence was found between the eco-restructuring objectives of IE and the principal motives for urban agriculture. Consequently, eco-restructuring objectives are found in varying degrees in the presented urban agricultural techniques. Industrial symbioses, permaculture and combinations of urban agricultural techniques are tools which are capable of corresponding adequately to the diversity of urban settings.

Global catch fishery is said to been oppressed to its limit (Boyd & Schmittou, 1999), further implying aquaculture might be the only solution to the world demand for fishery products. The applied term aquaculture in this paper refers to the one used by NOAA (2008); breeding, rearing, and harvesting of plants and animals in all kind of water environments, including but not limited to ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. According to Shamshak & Anderson (2008, p. 74) aquaculture has over the past 20 years been the fastest growing food sector with an average annual growth rate of 8.7%. It further represents approximately 37 % (Shamshak & Anderson, 2008, p.