Early Lutheranism and Natural Theology

Natural theology can be defined as an attempt of proving the existence of God through the observation of the natural world and the use of reason, without appealing to divine revelation. Many theologians seem to think that early Lutheranism completely rejected the possibility of natural theology, based largely on the view of Luther himself that the human nature has been totally corrupted by sin and can only learn to know God through faith. It was, however, neither the understanding of Luther nor his successors to completely dismiss natural theology. Indeed, Luther is sure that "all men naturally understand and come to the conclusion that God is some kind of beneficent divine power." Surely, the natural knowledge acquired by reason is distorted by sin and is only " legal" knowledge, but this knowledge still reveals the existence of God and leads us to look for the saving knowledge that can only be attained by faith bestowed by God

Tilintarkastus ja vaihto-omaisuus : Vaihto-omaisuuden tilintarkastusriskin tunnistaminen ja arviointi tunnuslukujen perusteella

Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli tunnistaa vaihto-omaisuuden tilintarkastusriskin arviointiin soveltuvat taloudelliset mittarit, kun käytettävissä ovat tiedot yhtiön tilikauden tuloksesta, omasta pääomasta, vaihto-omaisuudesta sekä taseen loppusummasta. Lisäksi tarkoituksena oli kehittää näille mittareille soveltuvat raja-arvot ja tehdä riskiarvio toimeksiantajan asiakassalkun yhtiöille määrittämällä vaihto-omaisuuden tarkastusriski välille matala-keskitaso-korkea. Opinnäytetyön toimeksianto saatiin Tilintarkastusyhteisö X:ltä. Tutkimus koostui teoria- ja tutkimusosuudesta. Teoriaosuus koostui kolmesta pääluvusta, joissa käsiteltiin tilintarkastusta ja tilintarkastusriskiä yleisesti sekä vaihto-omaisuuserää tilintarkastajan näkökulmasta. Lisäksi teoriaosuudessa käsiteltiin tilintarkastusriskin tunnistamista ja arviointia. Tutkimusosuus suoritettiin case-tutkimuksena sekä kvantitatiivisia että kvalitatiivisia tutkimusmenetelmiä hyödyntäen. Tutkimusosuudessa määriteltiin riskiarvioinnissa käytettävät taloudelliset mittarit ja määriteltiin niille raja-arvot riskiarviointia varten. Tämän jälkeen mittareita sovellettiin toimeksiantajalta saatuun asiakasdataan. Tutkimusosuuden lopuksi analysoitiin ja esiteltiin riskiarvioinnin tuloksia. Tutkimuksen tuloksena saatujen riskiarviointimittareiden perusteella valtaosaan Tilintarkastusyhteisö X:n asiakkaista kohdistuu matala vaihto-omaisuuden tilintarkastusriski. Tulosten perusteella korkean toimintariskin yhtiöitä aineistossa oli 17 % ja korkean väärinkäytösriskin yhtiöitä 12 %. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin myös yhtiöiden tilikauden tuloksen ja määritellyn riskitason yhteyttä. Tutkimuksen tuloksista voidaan päätellä, että tappiollisen tilikauden tehneillä yhtiöillä määritelty vaihto-omaisuuden tilintarkastusriski on hieman korkeampi kuin yhtiöillä, jotka ovat tehneet tilikau- della nollatuloksen tai voittoa. Asiasanat: tilintarkastus, tilintarkastusriski, väärinkäytösriski, tuloksen manipulointi, tunnusluvut, vaihto-omaisuusThe purpose of the study was to identify suitable financial indicators for assessing audit risks regarding inventory, when there is data available of the following financial statement items: profit of the financial period, total assets, equity and inventory. The purpose of the study was also to develop suitable threshold values for the financial indicators to determine risk levels for the commissioner’s client data. The risk levels were determined on the following scale: low, medium, high. The thesis was commissioned by Audit Firm X. The thesis is divided into a theoretical and empirical section. The theoretical section consists of three chapters, which discuss auditing, audit risks and inventory from an auditor’s perspective. Identifying and assessing audit risks are also discussed in the theoretical section. The empirical section is based on a case study, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The financial indicators used in the study are justified at the beginning of the empirical section. To assess audit risks, the threshold levels for the financial indicators are determined in the empirical section. In addition, risk assessments were made for the client data. At the end of the empirical section, the results of the risk assessment are presented and analyzed. Based on the results of the study, it seems that most of Audit Firm X’s clients have low audit risk in inventory. The study results show that 17% of the client base has a high inherent risk and 12% of the client base has a high fraud risk. The study also examined the connection between the results of the financial year and the determined risk levels. The results indicate that audit risk in inventory is higher among companies that have made negative results in the financial year. Keywords: auditing, audit risk, fraud risk, earnings management, financial indicators, inventor

Entry and Innovation in Vertically Differentiated Markets

This paper analyzes the optimal entry into experience goods markets with vertically differentiated buyers. We consider the case where the value of the new product is imperfectly known, but common to all buyers (common values) as well as the case where the quality is different across buyers (private values). We distinguish between new products that are improvements to existing products and new products that are substitutes. Different types of products have qualitatively distinct diffusion paths. Improvements are introduced slowly relative to the full information case, while substitutes are introduced more aggressively. The slow entry strategy is associated with increasing supply and decreasing prices over time. The reverse pattern holds for an aggressive entry strategy The incentives to innovate display a similar distinction. A firm with a currently inferior product opts for a large but risky innovation, whereas a currently superior producer chooses a smaller but certain innovation.Experience goods, vertical differentiation, entry, innovation

The Dynamic Pivot Mechanism

We consider truthful implementation of the socially efficient allocation in an independent private-value environment in which agents receive private information over time. We propose a suitable generalization of the pivot mechanism, based on the marginal contribution of each agent. In the dynamic pivot mechanism, the ex-post incentive and ex-post participation constraints are satisfied for all agents after all histories. In an environment with diverse preferences it is the unique mechanism satisfying ex-post incentive, ex-post participation and efficient exit conditions. We develop the dynamic pivot mechanism in detail for a repeated auction of a single object in which each bidder learns over time her true valuation of the object. We show that the dynamic pivot mechanism is equivalent to a modified second price auction.Pivot mechanisms, Dynamic mechanism design, Ex-post equilibrium, Marginal contribution, Multi-armed bandit, Bayesian learning

Imitation and Experimentation in a Changing Environment

This paper analyzes the equilibrium play in a random matching model with a changing environment. Under myopic decision making, players adopt imitation strategies similar to those observed in evolutionary models with sampling from past play in the population. If the players are patient, equilibrium strategies display elements of experimentation in addition to imitation. If the changes in the environment are infrequent enough, these strategies succeed in coordinating almost all of the players on the dominant action almost all of the time. The myopic rules, on the other hand, result in mis-coordination for a positive fraction of time.

Dynamic Price Competition

We consider the model of price competition for a single buyer among many sellers in a dynamic environment. The surplus from each trade is allowed to depend on the path of previous purchases, and as a result, the model captures phenomena such as learning by doing and habit formation in consumption characterize Markovian equilibria for finite and infinite horizon versions of the model and show that the stationary infinite horizon version of the model possesses an equilibrium where all the sellers receive an equilibrium payoff equal to their marginal contribution to the social welfare.Dynamic competition, Marginal contribution, Markov perfect equilibrium, Common agency

Information in Mechanism Design

We survey the recent literature on the role of information in mechanism design. First, we discuss an emerging literature on the role of endogenous payoff and strategic information for the design and the efficiency of the mechanism. We specifically consider information management in the form of acquisition of new information or disclosure of existing information. Second, we argue that in the presence of endogenous information, the robustness of the mechanism to the type space and higher order beliefs becomes a natural desideratum. We discuss recent approaches to robust mechanism design and robust implementation.Mechanism Design, Information Acquisition, Ex Post Equilibrium, Robust Mechanism Design, Interdependent Values, Information Management