Vlerick Expertise in Accounting & Finance

Discussions concerning private equity practices are often highly-charged – with proponents arguing that private equity deals create value, and critics characterising private equity firms as ‘sharks’ looking for quick profits at the expense of workers. Mike Wright, Nick Bacon, Rod Ball, and Miguel Meuleman offer a more balanced, systematic view of what private equity is all about with regard to employment relations.

Acquiring resources to pursue opportunities is a key challenge in the entrepreneurial process: you have the idea, now how do you fund its realisation?

This case study describes the benefits and drawbacks of going public, what the IPO process typically entails and the role that underwriting investment banks take up.

As the board of directors is ultimately responsible for a company’s success or failure, board members should be adequately informed not only about the company’s (financial) performance but about the risks that may impact the company’s strategy and results as well. Because today’s global economic climate indicates that the business world is more uncertain, risky and volatile than it has been in the past, Vlerick has launched a research project to study corporate practices with respect to reporting performance and risk to the board of directors.

The acquisition of US' most important beer producer by Belgian-Brazilian Inbev offers a comprehensive picture and excellent description of the numerous facets, challenges and issues mergers and acquisitions (M&A) bring along.

Increasing attention is being paid to risk management in today’s business climate. How has this function been evolving and where is it heading? To find out, Maria Boicova and Regine Slagmulder (Vlerick Professor of Accounting and Control) interviewed a dozen managers in risk functions at non-financial companies in various European countries.

The belief that firms can be more efficient and effective when they concentrate on core activities and let specialist service providers take care of the rest has made outsourcing the provision of services a rapidly rising trend: from 2001 to 2009, the worldwide services outsourcing market grew from $65 billion to $110 billion, and it is forecasted to reach $130 billion by 2013.

International transfer pricing, that is, the setting of a price for internal transactions within a multinational group, is irretrievably linked to international tax law. In seeking equity across borders, tax law imposes the arm’s length principle as the yardstick to judge the fairness and correctness of the transfer pricing system, in line with the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

Financial capital is one of the key resources a business requires to support its growth. Although few in number, high growth businesses contribute disproportionately to employment and wealth creation in an economy. As a result it is important to know, not only how high-growth businesses fund growth, but the reasons behind this choice.

Previous research shows that cooperation between marketing and sales departments on the one hand and finance and accounting departments on the other hand is not always satisfactory. More recent developments in management accounting however propose models and methods that are very useful for marketing and sales professionals.