Sample Dissertations | University Dissertations | Dissertation Examples
Category: Finance Dissertations
Finance Dissertations For University Students – Dissertation Topics Include: Financial Management, Global Finance, International Banks, Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, Investment Banking, Corporate Strategy, Risk Management, Finance Portfolios, Share Prices, Capital Investment, Financial Planning and Micro-Finance.
Consumer Perception of the Effectiveness of Cryptocurrency in Day To Day Financial Operations – Dissertation
Cryptocurrency has not received that much attention from IS (Information Systems) and as a consequence of this, there is still a gap in the literature with a great potential for research, specifically how the technology fares within the consumer context. Most notably, this dissertation is interested at the traction Cryptocurrency is gaining in today’s economy and how consumers are responding to this innovation. This dissertation will broadly present the evolution of Cryptocurrency, its financial characteristics, and what factors influence its value formation. The focus will then shift at the underlying models that are used both in a practical and academic setting to illustrate the factors that contribute to the acceptance and diffusion of a new technology. The conceptual model will be based on the Innovation Diffusion Theory of Everett Rogers.
Using a specifically designed questionnaire, consumer opinions are quantified in order to ascertain current attitudes and beliefs. Furthermore, after examining specifically designed hypothesis that deal with technology adoption, it was discovered that pivotal factors such as complexity, relative benefits and education play a distinct role in the uptake of Cryptocurrency. This is important because as a new technological instrument, Cryptocurrency opens the door to a number of opportunities for consumers, but only after overcoming a number of challenges and limitations that might prevent it to be accepted.
Thus, the aim is to investigate the monetary characteristics of a financial innovation in conjunction with the sociological component. This will lead to a better understanding of the constructs that influence the decision to adopt a novel technology by looking at a number of social and psychological factors. An overview of the leading technology adoption theories is provided that will address a number of cognitive, effective and contextual factors. While the study could potentially draw from all these theories, the Innovation Diffusion Theory of Everett Rogers will serve as a foundation, and all the assumptions will be based on this particular model.
Dissertation Objectives
What is the consumer response regarding the use of cryptocurrencies in day to day financial operations?
The main objective of this dissertation is to determine the level of consumer awareness, perception and degree of utilisation.
What are the main factors that influence the consumer intention to adopt cryptocurrencies?
Dissertation Contents
1 – Introduction Background and Context The Rationale for the Research Research Objectives
2 – Literature Review The Evolution of Cryptocurrency What Is Cryptocurrency And What Is It Based On? What Gives Cryptocurrencies Value? Difference between Cryptocurrency and Traditional FIAT Currency Cryptocurrency Nomenclature Advantages and Disadvantages in using Cryptocurrency Advantages Disadvantages Technology Adoption Theories Hypothesis
3 – Methodology Research Philosophy Research Approach Research Design and Strategy Sample Size and Population Ethical Considerations Data Analysis
If you enjoyed reading this post on Cryptocurrency, I would be very grateful if you could help spread this knowledge by emailing this post to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you.
Title: Management Accounting Process. Management accounting entails the process of identifying, analyzing, recording, and presentation of informed management information to the different management in entities so as to make informed decisions. The informed decisions are both short and long term ones. The information provided may be wide covering different areas like the sale made in ascertain period and the budgets, the growth in profitability, customer base and payments made. The information being provided relates to the management, is always timely and is useful in making the entity’s decision.
The managerial information is critical in making different strategic decisions, helps in making performance decisions which are involved in creating an area of comparing the profits of the entity with previous periods and coming up with better techniques of improving on the same (Drury, 2013, p.17).The organization is also involved in the creation of risk managing actions on different lines of management whereby this will be through ensuring that the entity ventures in different business through taking risks which may lead to better performance.
The
data which is collected by the different management accountants are involved in
the process of planning, performance rating and maintaining operational status.
Planning enables the different entities to know what to produce and when. This
is aided by knowing the amount of the raw materials being needed and the labor
force too. The planning process enables the entities to take into consideration
performance rating which entails comparing the input rate for the different
employees and the resultant profit.
Maintaining
the operational status enables the different management to know the cost
incurred in the production process and keeping a record of what is occurring in
the entity. The costs incurred in the production process can be identifying
from the different raw materials and the input in the production process based
on the labour force and the time employed. The improvement in the operational
status of an entity will hence lead to achievement of different set target
which will motivate the different management personnel and the staff too. These
goals can only be achieved with good setting of strategies by the management accountants
from the initial states and making the different responsible personnel on what
to do. The different roles assigned will at the end evaluated and the
achievement of the different target evaluated too.
Role of Management Accountants
The
traditional management accountants role were mainly geared towards cost control
and reduction but the Strategic accountants in the current era are focused on a
wide area of activities like ensuring that there is improved competitiveness,
identifying new opportunities in different markets and ensuring that the
decisions being made are longterm and of benefit to the different organizations
(Hilton, 2013,p.39).The roles of the management accountants have hence highly
changed in the current period as compared to the past. This has been brought
about by the increasing level of technological advancements, increased business
sizes and the existence of different opportunities in different areas. The
following are the different roles played by the Strategic management
accountants in the current world which are quite different from the traditional
management accountants.
Keeping a Prospective View in the Entity
The
management accounting process management is employed today by the strategic
management accountants is of more benefit as compared to the traditional one
resulting from the different changes in the global environments. The management
accountants today use information which is more broad-based and doesn’t
consider only internal information in an organization and is highly
prospective. The broad-based information has been made through having a broad
information base through the enterprise resource planning systems. The newly
implemented systems by the management accountants enable them to be able to
keep track of huge amounts of data relating to different parties. The data can
be kept for the different customers and suppliers of the entity which will
enable them to keep a track of the active and frequent customers and suppliers
too. The data enables the different management accountants in ensuring that the
make the payments to the different suppliers in time and hence they don’t build
up their balances which may lead to the inability to settle them in future.
Keeping
this track enables the different suppliers need to be met in time and hence
that will also increase and improve on their supply of the different resources
to the entities as there will be no fear of losing any amount upon their
supply. The customers’ data can have also been kept to track the different
purchasing habits and in case some of the customer’s claims of any balances
owed to the entity, it can be easily traced (Malmi,2016, p.32).This has enabled the entities to be
able to identify the different measures to meet their customers’ needs and
overcome competition in their environment.
The
use of the prospective data on how the entity may be performing with the
different customers and suppliers has enabled the different management accou
tan ts to come up with different strategies of maintaining the existing
customers and suppliers and acquiring new more ones and hence being able to
open up in a wider area which leads to an improvement in their competitiveness.
Management Accounting Create Competitive Focus
The
strategic management accountants are involved in creating a competitive focus
in their different environments as compared to the manufacturing focus of the
tradition alk management accountants. The traditional management accountants
were focusing only on the manufacturing process and the monetary value benefit
they will get. This made most of the entities produce different products with
the concerned of the value they would acquire, while in the new era the
management accountants are taking into consideration the value of the different
non-financial information in an entity like the predicted sales, the market
share, the potential competitiveness.
The environmental concerns which have no direct costs but have a great impact on the public and the future generations are also taken into consideration (Hasniza Haron,2013, p.104).The consideration of the different budgeted sale has enabled different entities performance to be high as they are forced to work on tight schedules to ensure that they meet the different standards. The entities are also involved in ensuring that these deadlines are kept in track and improvements in the quality of the products with far pricing which lead to an improvement in their sales.
Taking into consideration the different aspects of their market share in the market has enabled the different entities to keep information on their performance and hence be able to track on the weak areas where improvement is highly needed. The market share size enables the different entities to borrow more from their competitors in getting to identify the gaps which exist between them and the competitors too. These gaps are core in ensuring that the entities are to out-win the other customers in the wider competitive market. The new strategic management accountants are able to identify the different non-direct cost acts which have an impact on the entity now and in the future.
The management accounts in the current era are involved in ensuring that they meet the different cost acts which are involved in creating good relations with their different stakeholders. These activities are like being involved in the different community development projects and providing incentives to the different customers and suppliers too like providing trips to the customers who made the high purchase in the entity (Malmi, 2016, p.34). These incentives create a good gesture to the different stakeholders and hence the organization can easily be in a line of attracting and maintaining more different customers and stakeholders too.
Acquiring
the different information of stakeholders from the different periodicals, business
magazines and newspapers to have enabled the management accountant to be able
to keep a track of the potential market opportunities in the different
environment. Benchmarking in the different entities which have been performing
well in their environments leads to the entity acquiring the different new
skills which enable them to be more competitive and hence improve on their
performance.
Identifying New Economic Possibilities
The
strategic management accountants are involved in learning more of the potential
economic possibilities which enable them to create a new marketing area and
acquiring more new market. The new possibilities are obtained from the
different researches which are carried out by the accountants and the teams in
their entities. The strategic management accountants are involved in
researching more on the different changes in the accounting and reporting
field, the new potential markets and the possibilities of any challenges in the
future.
Researching
on the different possibilities has hence led to the creation of a wider line of
management techniques which are enabling the different organization thrives
well in their markets. The researches on the increasing demands of the different
products of an entity enable the different manufacturers to come up with more
efficient production mechanisms which will not only cut costs but also increase
on the quality of the different commodities (Goretzki,2017, p.20). Researches on using the
computerized production techniques in different entities has enables the organizations
to cut costs on manpower as a lot of data can be easily compiled through the use
of computers by only a few individuals.
The
cut cost can be employed in different fields like in research or improvement of
the production process in the entities. The entities are also able to identify
new potential marketing areas in different zones. This will hence lead to more
improved production process by the different entities which will mean that
there will be a high level of increasing quality to attract more customers. The
new marketing areas will also lead to more researches on how to target supply
over a wider market scope which will lead to more research in the area of the
population growth with demands of the different products. This leads to the
opening of different branches by the different organizations in the different
parts so as to be able to efficiently supply to their potential customers (Malmi,2016,p.38).
Management Accounting Decision Making
The
strategic accountants are involved in creating an environment of tracking the
past and ensuring that they focus on improving on the same. This has been
enabled through having different lines of sequence and pattern analysis in the
different entities. The different entities are hence employing the use of the
Target cost techniques in planning their different daily operations. This
technique includes the use of patterns in terms of customer growth, growth in
sales and profitability.
These
are carried out on a monthly basis and the trend of the movements are
extrapolated over the other years and the final amounts are compared to the
budgeted ones (Puyou,2018, p.13).
The use of the sequences and patterns has enabled the different entities in
creating a room of potential improvement in performances are the different
operation lines are considered while carrying out this.
The
strategic accounts considered the possibilities of improving on the past
sequences and patterns since the different cycles like increasing more
technologically advanced production machines which will cut staff costs. The
accountants are also involved in creating an environment in which the different
patterns which have been existing can be employed in making decisions on the
future performance of the entity which will be through ensuring that the past
weakness is sealed. The accountants are also involved in enabling the management
know the area where more cost is being incurred in the running of their
business and hence come up with new techniques on how to cut on the same while
maintaining or improving on their values. The sequence of the decisions being
made are all long term and are of great impact on the entity.
Identifying New Opportunities
The
strategic management accountants are involved in making decisions of relative positions
as compared to the traditional management accountants who were only focused on
a single entity. The strategic management accountants are hence involved in
creating a decision on different entities which involves coming g up with plans
on how to come up with new entities in different areas. Making decisions for a
wider scope has hence enabled most of the strategic accountants to come up with
new plans of creating a new potential business in different areas.
Decision
making on a wider scope leads to the increase in the level of acquiring more
new techniques in running the entity which leads to more improvements in the
different areas of management (Puyou,
2018 ,p.22) Making decisions on different areas enables the accountants
to learn more on different line businesses which are of advantage to the whole entity.
this will hence mean that the final decisions will be of great importance as
this will lead to more borrowings on the different areas which lead to better
performance. Making decisions in the different entities leads to the creation
of more opportunities in identifying new business opportunities which will be of
great importance to the different operations in the entities.
Creating Linkages With Management Accounting
The management accounts take into consideration of creating different linkages. The creation of linkages is made through creating new market opportunities in the different business areas and also in meeting different accountants globally. There have been different conferences which are held for the different accountants globally which lead to the creation of linkages in sharing the different management techniques by the different accountants.
Traditionally, the different accountants were not able to create linkages in their operations as they were overlooking them. The creation of the linkages creates an opportunity for different accounts in acquiring more new skills in learning their different management roles (Janin, 2017, p.16). The creation of the linkages makes the different accounts to be in the line of making new opportunities in their operations and hence be able to know the different changes which have occurred in the new management positions. Creation of linkages in different matters in an entity leads to the creation of more room for embracing different changes in an entity.
The
linkages enable different accountants to link different acts to an entitled
cause. This will hence create a room for the different accountants to know the
cause of different challenges in an entity and also come up with the solutions
to the same challenges.
The management accountants are hence core in
running the different entities as they are considered when there is an arising
in a challenge in the management in terms of operations and in determining the
performance of the entity in future. The strategic management accountants are
hence core in ensuring that the different entity operations are running
efficiently while ensuring cost-cutting measures and quality of the different
products. The accountants are hence core in ensuring that the different set
targets are achieving and helping in guiding on how the same should be
achieved.
Conclusion
Management
accountants are very core in the running of an entity and their contributions
towards the performance of an entity should always be appreciated as they are
core in guiding on the planning, decision making and implementation of the
different processes too.
References
Drury, C. M. (2013). Management and cost accounting.
Springer.
Goretzki, L., & Strauss, E. (Eds.). (2017). The
Role of the Management Accountant: Local Variations and Global Influences.
Routledge.
Hasniza Haron, N., Kamal Abdul Rahman, I., & Smith, M.
(2013). Management accounting practices and the turnaround process. Asian
Review of Accounting, 21(2), 100-112.
Hilton, R. W., & Platt, D. E. (2013). Managerial
accounting: creating value in a dynamic business environment. McGraw-Hill
Education.
Janin, F. (2017). When being a partner means more: The
external role of football club management accountants. Management
Accounting Research, 35, 5-19.
Malmi, T. (2016). Managerialist studies in management
accounting: 1990–2014. Management Accounting Research, 31,
31-44.
Maskell, B. H., Baggaley, B., & Grasso, L. (2016). Practical
lean accounting: a proven system for measuring and managing the lean enterprise.
Productivity Press.
Otley, D. (2016). The contingency theory of management
accounting and control: 1980–2014. Management accounting research, 31,
45-62.
Puyou, F. R. (2018). Systems of secrecy: Confidences and gossip in management accountants’ handling of dual role expectations and MCS limitations. Management Accounting Research, 40, 15-26.
Did you find any useful knowledge relating to Management accounting in this post? What are the key facts that grabbed your attention? Let us know in the comments. Thank you.
The issue of monetary and fiscal policy within the EU is strongly debated at this moment in time. This is particularly true with the unconventional monetary policies being put in place for the first time by the European Central Bank such as quantitative easing; as the economy looks to recover from the sovereign debt crisis of 2008. This dissertation seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) Was the lack of a fiscal union a key contributing factor to the crisis? (2) Can a monetary union be effective without a unified fiscal policy to support it? (3) Has there been increased conformity in these key indicators since the crisis?
With these questions in mind, a literature review is undertaken to discuss and analyse the key issues within the European Union and beliefs and approaches regarding fiscal and monetary policy, including the heavily debated topic of whether or not a fiscal union is required. This dissertation also carries out a study of income and corporate taxation rates and expenditure figures for seven key EU countries in order to answer the above research questions.
A clear pattern of convergence is seen in the taxation rates and allows us to conclude that there has been increased conformity in key fiscal indicators since the sovereign debt crisis of 2008. We then link these findings back to the literature review and show that they fit with the beliefs of a large amount of previous academic work in the field. Our findings suggest that there has been increased fiscal conformity since the crisis and also that the lack of fiscal conformity (not necessarily achieved through the presence of a fiscal union) was a key contributing factor to the crisis.
Finally we also find that there can be an improved level of fiscal conformity without a fiscal union within a monetary union however we are unable to say conclusively that a monetary union can be effective without a unified fiscal policy.
This finance dissertation aims to establish the answer to a number of questions that stem from the 2008 European sovereign debt crisis:
Was the lack of a fiscal union a key contributing factor to the crisis?
Can a monetary union be effective without a unified fiscal policy to support it?
Has there been increased conformity in key fiscal indicators since the crisis?
Fiscal Policy Dissertation Contents
1 – Introduction Overview of Research Aims and Strategy Research Motivation Introducing Monetary and Fiscal Policy The Maastricht Treaty and the Stability and Growth Pact Overview of Structure
2 – Literature Review Can a monetary union be effective without the support of a fiscal union? A monetary union can be effective without the support of a fiscal union A monetary union cannot be effective without the support of a fiscal union Was the lack of fiscal union a key reason behind the 2008 sovereign debt crisis? The lack of a fiscal union was not a key reason behind the crisis The lack of a fiscal union was a key reason behind the crisis Shortcomings in the literature: Has there been increased fiscal conformity since the sovereign debt crisis hit? Changing Role of the European Central Bank Summarising the Literature Anti Fiscal Union Pro Fiscal Union Lack of Fiscal Union was not key to Sovereign Debt Crisis Lack of Fiscal union was key to Sovereign Debt Crisis
3 – Research Methodology Sample Selection Criteria Hypotheses Development and Reliability Data Top Band Personal Income Tax Rates (%)
4 – Findings Income Tax Data Corporate Tax Data Total Tax Data Government Expenditure Data Implications of Findings
5 – Conclusion Summary of the Results and their Implications Limitations Suggested Areas for Future Research
Did you find any useful knowledge relating to fiscal policy in the EU in this post? What are the key facts that grabbed your attention? Let us know in the comments. Thank you.
Competitive Dynamics in Emerging Markets: Case of China’s FDI Inflows
Emerging Markets: Foreign direct investment (FDI) constitutes one of the main modes of market entry which has been used by a growing number of multinational enterprises (MNEs) to achieve growth. Through FDI firms engage in a special form of capital flows which involves the relocation of capitals, as well as intangible assets such as management skills and production know-how.
As underscored in extant literature on international trade, the benefits of FDI are experienced by both the foreign firm and host country. Put differently, FDI results into a mutually beneficial relationship in which case the foreign firm benefits from a larger market for its products and access to important inputs while the host nation benefits from increased trade and a multiplier effect. While licensing and export provide less risky paths to foreign market entry, research based on the market failure theory attributes the growing preference for FDI to the need by firms to make full gains from their capital.
Traditionally, FDI flows have been from developed countries to other developed countries. Countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Japan have in particular been major players in inward and outward FDI. In year 2000, US received 22% of the world’s FDI while countries in the EU cumulatively received an estimated 49% of the FDI. This trend marked by the flow of FDI from developed to developed countries is however changing. The last decade has in particular been marked by a trend in which FDI flows are from developed countries to emerging countries such as the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
In terms of competitiveness in FDI and international trade in general, emerging countries have for long been considered as uncompetitive. Developed nations have traditionally crowded out developing countries in international trade due to several barriers. As an example, it is until recently that developing countries have become more open to international trade and their exports have mainly comprised of primary products. They also face a host of barriers revolving around national policy, credit constraints and technological limitations among others.
Despite these barriers emerging countries have in the last decade emerged as equally competitive players at the international front. Academics have even pointed out that emerging markets are in the current times more competitive than developed markets. The researchers justify this assertion by pointing out that an analysis of corporate profitability in both economies shows significantly different results. In the developing world, the dynamics of competition are such that both the short-term and long-term persistence in profitability of organisations is lower than that of the developed world. To a large extent, this is a clear indicator that competition in the developing world is more intense. While focusing on inward FDI, the present research determines why China has become one of the most competitive emerging markets in this form of international trade.
Dissertation Objectives
To determine the level of competitiveness in attracting FDI among emerging markets
To investigate the specific factors influencing China’s competitiveness in attracting FDI
To examine the extent to which factors influencing China’s competitiveness in attracting FDI can be maintained in the long term
To highlight the various ways through which competitiveness of China’s FDI can be measured
Dissertation Contents
1 – Introduction
Study background
Research problem
Research question
Research objectives
Significance of the study
Overview of research methodology
Structure of the study
2 – Literature Review
Factors influencing competitiveness in inward FDI among emerging economies
Theoretical perspectives on determinants of FDI
Specific factors in emerging countries that increase a country’s competitiveness in attracting FDI inflows
Challenges in effectively competing for FDI in emerging markets
3 – Research Methodology
Data source and Research design
Research approach
Research strategy
Data collection techniques and process
Data analysis techniques
Quality of the study findings
Ethical considerations and limitations
4 – Results, Findings and Discussions
Factors influencing China’s competitiveness in attracting FDI
Sustainability of China’s FDI attractiveness
Discussion of study findings
5 – Conclusions and Recommendations
Competitiveness of emerging markets in attracting FDI
Factors influencing China’s competitiveness in attracting FDI
The sustainability of factors influencing China’s competitiveness in attracting FDI
Study recommendations
Did you find any useful knowledge relating to the competitive dynamics in emerging markets in this post? What are the key facts that grabbed your attention? Let us know in the comments. Thank you.
An Analysis on the Changes in Interest Rate and Its Impact on the Investment Decision: An Assessment of Barclays
Changes in Interest Rate Dissertation – Interest rate fluctuation and investment decision are two parallel things which investors take into consideration seriously. Due to the risk adverseness of the investors and the opportunity of investments, degree of investment in different industries and sectors are different. While making investment decisions, investors consider the risk adjusted return foremost.
At the same time, a good consideration about the inflation rate and the tax rate is made since investors are well aware about the real income generated from the investment. In determining the interest rate, the treasury department plays the crucial role by analysing the interest rate being offered by other competitors and the probable effects of increasing or reducing the interest rate.
Barclays Bank has been facing the issue of lower investment due to the lower interest rate being offered and the returns to the shareholders in the form of dividends have seen significant reduction. There is a huge lost interest income due to the failure in attracting the depositors by offering higher rate. The treasury department is liable for managing the assets and liabilities in a way which secures the net worth not to be reduced. Treasury department within the Barclays Bank uses the sensitivity analysis in order to determine whether the interest rate is to be reduced or increased considering the goals and objectives of the firm.
Dissertation Objectives
To have a clear understanding about the interest rate changing factors
To understand the exposure of investors toward the interest rate fluctuations
To know the relationship between the interest rate and degree of investment
To understand the way Barclays Bank, determine the interest rates on their deposits and the loans and advances
Dissertation Contents
1: Introduction
Background of the research
Significance of the research
Problem solving and rationale of the research
Aims of the research
Objectives of the research
Research Questions
Structure of the research
2: Literature Review
A brief analysis on Barclays
Interest rate and its viewpoint from different perspectives
Factors that affect the changes in the interest rate
Changes in the interest rate and investment decision
Concepts regarding the research
3: Research Methodology
Research Philosophy
Research Paradigm
Research Reasoning
Research Approach
Collection of data and analysis of the data
Data analysis plan
Limitations of the research
4: Data Analysis
Base interest rate in the UK
Interest rate and inflation
Interest rate offered by different banks in the UK
Interest rate offered by Barclays in the UK
Interest rate movement and effect on net worth
Interest rate and shareholders’ actions
Treasury department and interest rate fixation
5: Discussion and Recommendations
Secondary research and literature review
Aims and objectives achievement
Recommendations
Future studies
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed reading this post on how changes in interest rate and impacts investment decision There are many other titles available in the Finance Dissertation Collection that should be of interest to marketing students and practitioners. There are many dissertation titles that relate to other aspects of marketing such as branding, corporate advertising, marketing strategy and consumerism to name a few. I would be grateful if you could share this post via Facebook and Twitter. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you.