Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: This case study deals with an important financial aspect of multinational companies, i.e. their obligation of accounting. Until the year 2000, BMW used to prepare its annual external audits under German Commercial Code Standards (HGB). This tradition ended in 2000, when BMW accounted under International Accounting Standards (IAS) for the first time. 7 years before, Mercedes-Benz was the first German automotive manufacturer adopting international Standards in 1993. But in Mercedes case US-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US-GAAP) were chosen, because the objective was to become listed at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). At this time US-GAAP were not accepted outside the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), esp. not by the EU Commission, but the US-Principles were applied in the largest and most important stock market worldwide. On the other hand, US organizations like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) did not accept any other accounting standards in these days. Accordingly, Mercedes-Benz had to prepare two annual audits: one under US-GAAP and the other under HGB. This treatment, obviously, was highly inefficient, providing lots of encumbrances to US-capital-seeking European companies: accounting and auditing took too much time, personnel resources and money. Another negative effect was that many US companies hesitated with urgently required investments in Europe. But nevertheless, multinational groups seemed to have several advantages by using international accounting standards, even if they had to prepare more than one audit annually. Within the 1st part, this case study provides basic information dealing with accounting standards, in particular reasons and objectives, organizational patterns and the process of IAS becoming international accepted by pointing out their most important differences compared to US-GAAP and German HGB Standards. The 2nd part deals with the reasons of changing BMW s accounting standards by looking at the Group s key markets and the impact of IAS-adoption by examining their figures of non current assets, inventories, other current assets, liabilities & deferred incomes, provisions, equity as well as research & development within a four years comparison. At last the 3rd part gives an examination and summary of the results of IAS-reception for BMW, the effects on the stock market, changes of rating on the global market and gives hints to future [...]

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: The word marketing is always appearing in most articles and books dealing with selling, the word has been watered down and in many cases lost its true value and sense. Most people mistakenly identify marketing with selling and promotion - but selling is only the tip of the marketing iceberg. It is simply one of several marketing functions, and often not the most important one. If the marketer does a good job of identifying consumer needs, developing appropriate products, and pricing, distributing, and promoting them effectively, these goods will sell very easily. Companies have to search for buyers, identify their needs, design appropriate products, promote them, store and transport them, negotiate, and so on. Such activities as product development, search, communication, distribution, pricing, and service constitute core marketing activities. We have defined the core marketing activities; supporting the sales force in their pursuit of revenues and profit. The marketing department have to focus multiple tasks ranging from product development to pricing. Often the marketing department is so intertwined in the sales processes that the marketing and sales division is one division, in order to maintain the direction required in order to achieve the objectives set up by the management. In the first part of this case we will look at the general term; strategic marketing and set up fictitious examples of how a company in the automotive industry would deal with strategic marketing and look at the tools available to the marketing department and how they are implemented. Being a multinational company like BMW you need a strategy for virtually prior to make a decision and this applies to marketing as well. The company has the past two decades developed from an international company to a global player, where the set of standards are different and the requirement for setting up a marketing strategy has changed. We have decided in this case to analyze the decisions behind launching certain products; such as the roadster; the Z Series and the X Series, which meant that BMW for the first time in its history ventured into new segments normally being dominated by other manufactures. The decision to leave the traditional segment where BMW had for years been successful and diversify the product line will be analysed and in the introduction we will try to cast a light on the tools and means behind such decisions. In the middle of the [...]