Introduction:By insight in the company and by monitoring the management, the board has an important function in creating trust in governance of the company. Furthermore, the board reduces the asymmetry of information between the owners and the management, which also is the function of the auditor, by auditing how the board governs the company and the accounting. In case the board does not effectively monitor the management, the auditor has to extend its monitoring, which increases the owners agency costs through the audit fee. The board composition can affect how effectively the board practices the monitoringProblem: How is the audit fee affected by the board composition?Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain how the board composition affects the audit fee.Method: The study uses a quantitative method, where the data was collected from the annual reports of 112 limited companies listed on the NASDAQ OMX Large and Mid Cap lists on January 2, 2012.

AbstractThe purpose and vision for the municipality of Torsby are to connect with a younger population in the municipality by the year of 2012.This study is a qualitative survey of the target group ?the young ones? within the municipality of Torsby, which is the population between 17?35 years old.Because of the size and the different intrests between the individuals in this group it has been divided into three smaller groups.? High school students, 17-19 years old.? Returning seasonal workers, 20-26 years old.? People who has moved to Torsby and are now living in the municipality, 27-35 years old.The results of the study show that all the respondents believes that with the right communication channels a positive and strong communication between the municipality and the target groups can be reached. The message and the significance of the message are as important as the communication channels and all the target groups together would like to see a wider range of leisure pursuits that will suit the respective target group.The analysis and the results also show that the communication with the target groups should come about in different ways to be successful, both when it comes to fundemental reasons and choices of communication channels.The two youngest target groups has an adjacent and a similar need of well-founded and entertaining communication and information to rach a long-term result.The older group needs communication that will give them opportunity to reflect and concider the message, which means that the municipality of Torsby needs to adjust both the message and the communication channel for a quicker respons. This target group is also in need of further studies so the municipality of Torsby succesfully can plan a more detailed communication, this because the target group is a less homogeneous group than the two other target groups..

In this thesis a prototype board for data aqcusition is designed and manufactured. The board is compliant with Compact PCI Express and it can sample an analog signal with two time interleaved ADC:s. Furthermore, the board is also equiped with one FPGA for the possibility of signal processing. The thesis also include a study for investigation what is needed for a total solution for data aqcusition, represention and managing the sampled data with LabView..

In order to survive constant economic, environmental and political challenges, it has appeared to become increasingly important for a firm to recognize the significance of corporate governance. In this thesis, the structure of the board at Smartner Ltd will be outlined and the relationship between the board members and the CEO will be clarified. In addition, the aim is to analyze the corporate governance system at Smartner Ltd to be able to outline and clarify the distinct relationship between the CEO and board of directors..

The composition of the board of directors and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are two widely researched subject and discussed by the media. This study aims to examine the impact of the board of directors' composition on CSR performance among the largest companies listed on Nasdaq OMX stock exchange 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden. A linear regression analysis is applied to investigate the relationship and evidence is found that board attributes have an effect on CSR performance. Among these; the size of the board, outside directors and employee representatives all have a positive impact on environmental performance. Furthermore; female, outside directors and employee representatives have a positive impact on social performance.

För att överleva på dagens konkurrensutsatta marknad måste företag tillägna betydande resurser till produktutveckling. Det gäller för företagen att tillverka produkter som marknaden efterfrågar till rätt pris och rätt kvalitet. Beslut som fattas under produktutvecklingen påverkar de framtida tillverkningskostnaderna för produkten och blir på så vis väldigt betydelsefulla. Target Costing är en metod för att bearbeta kostnader vid utveckling av produkter i enlighet med marknadens preferenser. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka huruvida Target Costing kan leda till minskad osäkerhet vad gäller beslutsfattande vid produktutvecklingar.

The purpose of this thesis is to test whether firms have target capital structure, and if so with what speed they adjust toward this target. Findings that support this purpose are also in line with the trade off theory. One of the key elements of this thesis is the method used, which successfully enables fulfilling the purpose. The panel data method captures the data characteristics of the cross sectional and time series dimension. By using this approach the dynamic effects of capital structure can be studied, thus if there actually is an adjustment towards a target the speed can be estimated.

We acknowledge the lack of empirical studies of the performance of analyst target prices in the Swedish stock market by examining the profitability of target prices for stocks publicly traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. We use consensus target prices issued between 2006-2010 and create two different strategies to observe the abnormal returns generated during this period. Going long in the top decile stocks with the best target prices and going short in the bottom decile stocks with the worst target prices generates a statistically significant abnormal buy-and-hold return of 8.9%. An active strategy with daily portfolio rebalancing and a timely response to target price changes generates a less significant monthly alpha of 1.4% against CAPM. The results show to be robust against the size effect discovered by Fama and French.

Feedback is a tool that can be used to give students the confirmation of their accomplishments , helping them to increase understanding of the results of a performance and to alert students if change is required for future performance. Other studies and reports regarding clinical practice in education has shown that students feel that feedback has good impact on learning and positive effects such as enhanced self-confidence. Onboard training forms a major part of the education at the four-year nautical science education in Kalmar, in four years, one year is spent on board ships. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to find out how students at the four-year nautical science program in Kalmar felt that they receive feedback after completing on board training and how they wish that such feedback would be given. Six students were interviewed, three from grade one and three from grade three.

This thesis for the Master of Science degree was performed at Solectron Corporation in Norrköping. The background for the thesis was a need to develop and build two test fixtures to automatize testing and adjusting of transmitter modules (TX-fixture) and receiver modules (RX-fixture) which are head devices in DWDM-systems. The basic elements for the test fixtures are: Test board, switch board and DC/DC board. The main function of the test board is to handle communication between the transmitter and receiver modules and supply voltage to these modules. The test board was insufficient and modified with a microprocessor to handle the communication between the PC and the receiver module.

Background and problem:Theory and literature in the field of board recruitment are limited. The theory and literature that existed focused primarily on the recruitment of senior management and CEO. It was identified that no one had examined the factors that influence the recruitment of board members. The underlying factors might cause the board recruitment is not done from a purely efficiency perspective and therefore it is of interest to be examined.Purpose:The purpose of this thesis is to examine and give an insight into the underlying factors affecting the choice of new directors in large Swedish companies.Method:The thesis has had a deductive approach and been based on existing theory and literature to explain the factors that affect board recruitment. The study was quantitative and the sample consisted of all the major Swedish listed companies.Results and conclusions:The survey indicated that board members ethnicity and number of other board assignments were factors that influenced the board recruitment.

New laws and recommendations within corporate governance during the last years have affected the way board of directors work. The board is said to have and fulfill three roles: a control role, a service role and a strategy role. These roles could be understood by three theoretical theories: the agency theory, the resource dependence theory and the stewardship theory. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether, and if so how, the board work differs between two small firms based on these roles, given that one of the firms is a publicly listed firm and the other is a privately owned firm. Using a qualitative case study as research method we find that the board work differs between the two companies when it comes to these roles.

Who has the ownership of a company´s long-term strategy, and who should have it? Is it the board of directors or the senior management? Swedish law and regulations seemingly point in one direction, whereas the findings of studying the relationship between CEO and chairman of the board in eleven Swedish listed large- and mid-cap companies, point the other way. In a majority of the companies the senior management have the ownership of the long term strategy whilst the board of directors merely hold a control function. The possible effects on the companies managed as well as the rules and regulations they are managed according to, are analyzed..

In this thesis we examine the relationship between board composition and firm performance in Swedish companies. The selection of companies includes all Swedish limited liability companies, with the exception of micro enterprises, that have been active between the years of 2009-2010. We develop hypotheses based on resource dependence theory, agency theory, and the resource based view, and test these with regression analysis against collected data. Specifically, we examine the effects of board diversity, outside directorships, and CEO duality. Our findings show that none of the theories provide sufficient explanatory power of the relationship between board composition and firm performance, and that further research is required to better understand the role and effects of company boards..

Today, the catering personnel are an essential part of the safety organization on board Swedish passenger vessels in ferry services. Their responsibilities for the safety on board have increased in connection with the changes in regulations made on the shipping industry. These changes have been mostly related to human factors and structural leadership in the last 25 years.A well-functioning safety organization requires competence and commitment from every individual. Previous researches on Swedish passenger ferries concerning the safety organization have raised issues regarding the catering personnel?s perception of the safety on board.