Trender inom redovisning av utsläppsrätter : En studie av svenska företag år 2014 och 2015

Sammanfattning: This study examines accounting policies of Swedish firm under the EU ETS. The EUA entitles to emissions of CO2 and is either freely distributed, up to a certain amount, or bought on the market. Since 2013 the free distribution is decreasing which may augment the trade. The EUA has offset a diversity of accounting methods because it is not clearly defined and there are no clear guidelines. The research questions search for trends in accounting policies due to the line of business, the amount of EUAs received by each firm or the decreasing amount of EUAs on the market since 2013. To answer these questions a quantitative study has been accomplished within six lines of business that are entitled to free allocations of the EUA. The annual reports of 78 firms have been used to study accounting policies used for the EUA. The study uses content analysis and statistic data analysis. The result is that there are trends within the lines of business. The most significant trend is that the electricity and district heating uses classifications as current asset, current liability and operating revenue to a larger extent. There are similarities between the steel- and iron ore businesses that classify free-allowances as immaterial intangible assets and liabilities or depositions. Shortages are classified as liabilities at market value. The non-iron ore business classifies allowances as depositions. There is a positive correlation between receiving a large amount of allowances and classifying the EUA as a liability. The EUA is to a larger extent classified as revenue by firms that have received fewer allowances. The decreased allocation and supposed augmented trade as from 2013 may have caused some additional accounting policies for financial risk and classifications of the EUA as current liabilities and means of payment.