Aufbauend auf der Analyse von Ergebnissen aus Studien zu den Themen der internen Rotation, der Unabhängigkeit des verantwortlichen Prüfungspartners sowie der Prüfungsqualität und ihren Einflussfaktoren, wird die Debatte um die Effektivität der internen Rotation in dieser Arbeit fortgeführt. Im Zentrum der Diskussion steht dabei die konkrete Frage, ob die Rotation des verantwortlichen Prüfungspartners ein effektives Instrument zur Steigerung der Prüfungsqualität ist.

Aufgrund der Diversität der Umweltbedingungen auf den Prüfungsmärkten, an denen der Einfluss der internen Rotation untersucht wurde, ist zunächst kein generelles Urteil zur Beantwortung der Leitfrage möglich. Die jüngsten Ergebnisse auf dem deutschen Prüfungsmarkt lassen schließlich unter den gegebenen Bedingungen vermuten, dass der Effekt der neuesten Regelungen zur Rotation des verantwortlichen Prüfungspartners eine weniger starke Steigerung der Prüfungsqualität herbeiführt als vergleichbare Rotationsvorschriften an Prüfungsmärkten in anderen Ländern.

Capitalization of development costs is compulsory according to IFRS if a set of criteria is fulfilled. However, this obligation
is considered as a de facto right for capitalization since the criteria are quite subjective, allowing for a certain degree of
flexibility. Hence, the question arises whether managers use research and development (R&D) accounting to conduct earnings
management in terms of income smoothing. Using a sample of German listed companies, the study conducts several regression
analyses to test whether there is a negative relationship between R&D capitalization and different income smoothing proxies.
Results show that the hypothesis is supported independent of the income smoothing proxy used. The study proofs that
managers indeed use R&D capitalization judgments to conduct income smoothing.

It starts with defining the new system, before introducing its background and a brief history of revenue sharing in the Bundesliga. Then this thesis sketches the most important concepts in sports economics, i.e. competitive balance and demand, before pointing out interdependencies between them. Afterwards, revenue sharing is introduced as a means to enhance competitive balance, including a brief description of alternative mechanisms. To compare the new model externally, revenue sharing models of other major sports leagues are presented. Finally, it evaluates the Bundesliga’s current situation in order to comprehend the league’s potential objectives. The thesis discusses possibilities on how revenue sharing can help the Bundesliga achieve those objectives, and ultimately assesses the new system’s feasibility in doing so. After modelling the league’s potential reaction to different revenue sharing models, its result is that the four-pillar model features several useful mechanisms, but does not give sufficient weight to them. The thesis’ assessment consequently is that the reformed system can be generally seen as positive, with room for further enhancements. It concludes with some starting points for potential future improvements, namely (1) increasing the equally-distributed share, (2) scaling up the new pillars’ relative importance and mitigating the danger of an overdominant team, and (3) implementing a top-to-bottom maximum payout cap.