Lobbying of the International Accounting Standards Committee: The Case of Construction Contracts

Many cultural, political, economic and other environmental factors have been suggested as impediments to the efforts of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) to harmonize international accounting standards. We investigate the relationship between lobbyists’ position, and: (1) their home countries’ financial accounting standards; and (2) their home countries’ tax rules. The factors are tested both separately and jointly to increase our understanding of lobbying and obstacles to harmonization. Long-term construction contracts are used as our case study. Construction contracts were traditionally accounted for by either the completed contract method (CCM) or the percentage of completion method (PCM). Originally, the IASC’s Standards (IASs) allowed both CCM and PCM. Thus, most countries’ accounting standards complied with IASs. However, the IASC’s Comparability Project, beginning with Exposure Draft (ED) 32, proposed to eliminate CCM. Thirty-nine comment letters submitted on ED 32 contained specific references to long-term construction contracts. Although almost 60% opposed the complete elimination of CCM, the IASC eliminated it. However, in many ways, the IASC co-opted lobbyists by allowing the Zero Profit Method, which may effectively result in the same timing of profit recognition as CCM. Support is found for a strong link between respondents’ lobbying position and both their home country’s accounting standards and tax laws. Each factor may hinder the harmonization process. A high positive correlation also exists between the accounting standards and tax laws of lobbyists’ countries. Beyond the possible importance of the tax and financial reporting linkage affecting harmonization, the issue of multicollinearity should signal caution when interpreting the results of lobbying studies that simultaneously include highly correlated variables in the same model.     

会计形式协调与实质协调:文献综述

海外分支机构与母公司合并报表的编制引起了理论界和实务界对不同国家和地区的会计实务差异的比较研究,随着国际证券市场的发展,跨国发行股票融资和跨国股票交易使会计信息的跨国可比性问题成为投资者和理论研究者关注的重点,会计协调也从研究国家和地区的会计准则和实务的差异转向对不同准则下会计信息质量的对比研究。随着国际会计准则影响的日益扩大,国际会计准则与一国会计的形式协调和实质协调将成为研究的热点。实质协调不仅取决于形式协调,更需要配套的会计报告环境的支持。     

Measuring the convergence of national accounting standards with international financial reporting standards: The application of fuzzy clustering analysis

A single set of accounting standards is considered the path to achieving accounting convergence globally. Given the important role that formal harmonization/convergence plays in the accounting profession and global capital markets, this study focuses on the methods and methodology for the measurement of formal accounting convergence. Based on our review and evaluation of the existing methods for measuring the level of harmonization/convergence between any two sets of accounting standards, we propose using a new method of matching and fuzzy clustering analysis to assess the convergence progress of national accounting standards (NAS) with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from whole and single standards, respectively. Single standards are clustered according to their convergence level, which may indicate further convergence emphasis. As an illustrative example, the achievements made in China are evaluated using this new method. The results reveal that this new method can measure the convergence level of NAS with IFRS more clearly and informatively.     

解读国际会计协调化

国际会计协调化是一个富有弹性的动态概念。本文结合历史发展进程和国际环境因素的变化,阐明国际会计协调化这一概念是随同“会计国际化”与“会计国家化”之争而在国际论坛上亮相的。在“会计协调化”的各家定义中,最基本的共同点是:协调是指限制、缩小和减少会计差异的过程。在20世纪80年代,会计协调化被认为是与“标准化”“统一性”和“可比性”不同但相关的概念。作者援用IASC开发国际会计准则的历史,说明在不同的历史阶段协调化的不同内涵,在世纪之交IASC完成全面重组后,已经创立了可行的机制.使协调化体现为准则化(标准化),表现为高度可比甚至趋向统一的趋同化。当前,国际财务报告的趋同化已成为国际资本市场和货币市场的现实需求,是正在实现的近期目标;国家准则与国际准则的趋同化尚在启动阶段.可以说还只是远期目标,我们对IASB和各国准则机构的协作行动和成果寄予厚望。     

Impetus to the success of harmonization: the case of South Pacific Island nations

Several influential actors and regulators in the standard-setting arena have argued in support of international accounting standards as a basis for bringing consistency to financial statements across nations. The need for harmonization is apparent and the forces pushing for harmonization are irresistible, but it can only become a reality as a result of commitment and concerted effort by the regulators, standard setters, financiers, business community, and most importantly, the accountancy profession.Based on a critical perspective, an alternative rationale has been advanced in this paper, which is premised on identifying the impetus to the success of the process of harmonization, identifying the factors which a country should consider before an attempt is made to adopt/adapt the international accounting standard (IASs). In doing so, the study critically evaluates whether the developing countries do have the necessary resources, skills and appropriate reference points in the capital and other markets to harmonize accounting practices. This paper, therefore, seeks to explain what is needed to adopt/adapt the IASs, rather than considering the relevance/irrelevance of these standards, which other studies have done. To achieve success in the harmonization process this paper has provided five strategic factors (professional expertise, education and training, legal backing, the proportion of MNCs and local companies, and adoption of IASs with amendments) a country can use.     

The Conceptual Framework as a Coherent System for the Development of Accounting Standards

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) visualized a conceptual accounting framework as a 'coherent system of interrelated objectives and fundamentals that can lead to consistent standards that prescribes the nature, function, and limits of financial accounting and financial statements' (FASB, 1976). To Australian standard setters, the primary purpose of the conceptual framework (CF) was only to be used as a 'guide' in developing and reviewing accounting standards (AASB, 1995, para. 5). The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) diminished the role of a conceptual framework even further by openly acknowledging that some standards are inconsistent with the guidelines offered by the framework (IASC, 1989 para. 12). Even though the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) supposedly pursues a policy of harmonization of conceptual frameworks and accounting standards, there are also acknowledged inconsistencies in the conceptual frameworks of the IASC.
The aim of this article is to assess the coherence of the Australian (and IASC) conceptual framework. This analysis identifies confusion in drafting or construction of the conceptual framework, internal inconsistencies, and inconsistency with the legal framework within which business entities operate. Accordingly it is suggested that the adoption of a conceptual framework will not lead to consistent accounting standards, and inevitably the conceptual framework will lack credibility so long as it is inconsistent with legislation.     

Regulatory flexibility and management opportunism in the choice of alternative accounting standards: an illustration based on large French groups

Due to the flexibility of domestic accounting regulations, French groups are entitled to refer to international or American standards for their consolidation. The objective of this research paper is to focus on the choices made by the 100 largest French companies during the last 16 years (1985-2000). In practice, apart from the French rules, three “alternative” sets of standards are used: the International Accounting Standards (IAS), “international principles,” and the U.S. GAAP. The percentage of companies referring to alternative (i.e., non-French) standards rose in the first part of the period, then fell. Additionally, while the number of companies choosing U.S. GAAP increased over the period as a whole, the number preferring IAS or “international principles” has been in sharp decline since 1994-1995. Our results show that in this voluntary move towards international accounting harmonization, the choices made by French companies have clearly varied according to developments in French accounting regulations and the changing power balance between the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) and the SEC-FASB. This indicates a certain degree of opportunism by the management, who clearly keeps one eye constantly on the cost-benefit trade-off.     

The European Union's accounting policy analyzed from an ethical perspective: The case of petroleum resources,prospecting and evaluation

This article uses Habermasian philosophy as a reading grid to understand the eminently political aspect of international accounting standard-setting. We specifically analyze the accounting regulations specific to the exploration for and the evaluation of mineral resources in the European context. The rise of the IASC and its successor, the IASB, favors the emergence of a new phase in accounting standard-setting, with a shift from a ruling logic to regulations that put the economic and social actors at the forefront of the negotiations. This change is particularly obvious in the notorious exception allowed by IFRS 6 (Exploration for and evaluation of mineral resources) exempting applicants from paragraphs 10–12 of the IAS 8. This example allows us to question the legitimacy of international accounting standardization and the ethical problems it poses.     

The IASC And Japan

The support of Japan, as a powerful nation and world leader, will be critical to the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) in its aim of promoting the harmonisation of international accounting standards. Japan represents a substantial challenge to the IASC objective; cultural and institutional factors have been regarded as impediments to its preparedness to adopt IASC standards. As deputy chairman of the IASC, the co-author of this paper, Michael Sharpe, has been involved in a number of seminars and discussions in Japan relating to the IASC activities and aims. This paper draws on those discussions, and on recent events and developments in Japan, to suggest that relations between the IASC and Japan are heading in the right direction and to make some prognoses about the acceptance of IASC standards by Japanese regulatory bodies.     

The Effect of Regulatory Harmonization on Cross‐Border Labor Migration: Evidence from the Accounting Profession

The paper examines whether international regulatory harmonization increases cross‐border labor migration. To study this question, we analyze European Union initiatives that harmonized accounting and auditing standards. Regulatory harmonization should reduce economic mobility barriers, essentially making it easier for accounting professionals to move across countries. Our research design compares the cross‐border migration of accounting professionals relative to tightly matched other professionals before and after regulatory harmonization. We find that international labor migration in the accounting profession increases significantly relative to other professions. We provide evidence that this effect is due to harmonization, rather than increases in the demand for accounting services during the implementation of the rule changes. The findings illustrate that diversity in rules constitutes an economic barrier to cross‐border labor mobility and, more specifically, that accounting harmonization can have a meaningful effect on cross‐border migration.     

The Nature and Rationale of a Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting by Islamic Banks

Islamic banks have to abide by the revealed doctrines in Islam in conducting their business and financial transactions. They employ in-house religious advisers—often referred to as Shari'a Supervisory Board (SSB)—who issue a special report to inform users of financial statements whether or not the bank has adhered to the Islamic principles. Recently, a private standard-setting body—the Financial Accounting Organization for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (FAOIBFI)—has been set up to externally regulate the financial reporting by Islamic banks. The FAOIBFI has published two statements on the objectives and concepts of financial reporting to act as a framework in setting accounting standards for Islamic banks. This paper examines the FAOIBFI's approach for developing objectives and concepts of financial accounting and investigates its need for such a theoretical framework. It is argued that the FAOIBFI's objectives and concepts would not be useful in mandating accounting standards on issues that are affected by religious ruling. This does not necessarily mean that such a framework may not be useful in legitimating the FAOIBFI's role and in setting accounting standards for issues that are not governed by revealed moral doctrines although it will be subject to similar limitations to those found by other standard-setting bodies in utilising and applying their framework. However, it implies that the more the FAOIBFI sets accounting standards that incorporate religious ruling, the less it would tend to find its own objectives and concepts useful. The ambiguities that may arise from different interpretations of the religious rules will require resolutions primarily by reference to religious rather than accounting authority.     

Convergence in accounting standards: Insights from academicians and practitioners

The efficiency and competitiveness of global capital markets depends on the ability of financial statement preparers to communicate effectively with investors through financial reports. Despite the global movement to adopt IFRS, US adoption of IFRS is still uncertain. To assess potential for convergence, this study compares perspectives of academicians and practitioners regarding convergence to a set of global accounting standards. The majority of respondents believe that effective convergence to a set of globally accepted accounting standards would be beneficial to preparers, users, auditors, analysts, and standard setters. Convergence in accounting standards can require extensive and possibly costly changes to the standard-setting infrastructure and enforcement process in the US and other countries, and will also require proper training for management, auditors, and investors.     

Standard-setting in auditing: Insights from PCAOB inspections

We explore whether the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) consistently follows its own standard-setting policies. We do this using a methodology that combines the reports of audit partners, the timing of enacted auditing standards, and the issuance of PCAOB inspection findings. Rules governing standard-setting are critical to ensure that auditing standards are appropriate, efficient, and are therefore likely to be generally accepted. Our results suggest that in some instances auditors were penalized for omitting evidence from their working papers which is not specified in the standards, in effect, changing or removing auditor judgment in the amount and nature of audit evidence to be gathered in corroboration of management’s assertions and creating new auditing standards outside of the formal standard-setting process. Beyond the societal benefits of standard-setters adhering to their own policy-making rules, changes in auditing procedures impact the behavior of both auditors’ and managers and is costly. Although subject to limitations, we believe our results are informative to policy makers and other participants in PCAOB standard-setting.     

Goodwill Accounting in Selected Countries and the Harmonization of International Accounting Standards

Economic and financial markets interpenetrate and national economies are increasingly interdependent. This results in a growing need for comparability of accounting procedures internationally. Accounting for goodwill illustrates this phenomenon. By specifying the recommended asset treatment for purchased, positive goodwill, and the five-year amortization period, IASC has taken a significant step towards harmonization of goodwill accounting. As noted in the article, however, the implications for consolidated income may be quite drastic. This is especially so with respect to the implications of the revised IAS 22 (following IAS ED 32) for potential leveraged corporate buy-outs.     

The Impact of Regulatory Enforcement on Harmonization of Accounting Practices: Evidence from China

This paper evaluates China's regulatory enforcement in 2001 on the harmonization of accounting practices. We find that the Chinese Government's 2001 compulsory harmonization policy has made a significant contribution to reducing the differences between Chinese GAAP-based earnings and IFRS-based earnings for many line items. The decline of earnings differences is because of the firms' application of the standards rather than differences in the standards. We belive that the harmonization of accounting practices in line with IFRS can be achieved by effective enforcement of standards.     

Trends in research on international accounting harmonization

International harmonization of financial accounting standards has been the goal of many professional and academic accountants during the last 40 years. As of January 1, 2005, international accounting harmonization entered a new and perhaps decisive phase. From that date, all companies domiciled in the European Union with shares listed on securities exchanges are required to prepare their consolidated accounts in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This landmark event presents an opportunity for accounting researchers to assess the status of research on international accounting harmonization. In this paper, we review articles published in major English language accounting journals during the period from 1965 through 2004 in order to trace thematic and methodological trends in this line of research and to assess where the research may evolve from here.     

Understanding participation in accounting standard-setting: the case of AASB ED 192 Revised Differential Reporting Framework

This paper explores the motives of participants in the standard-setting process, based on the premise that standard-setters strive for standards that are useful for decision-making by a wide range of financial statement users. Our setting is the development of a contentious but contained Australian accounting standard, Reduced Disclosure Requirements. A consultative process initiated by the Australian Accounting Standards Board to create a specific Australian accounting standard for differential reporting provided an opportunity for interested parties to participate. We analyse the motives of participants through semi-structured interviews with members of the Australian Accounting Standards Board and comment letter writers who responded to the relevant exposure draft. Our findings identify participants’ economic and political motivations and question the ability of the current standard-setting process to extract decision-making requirements from a wide range of users of financial statements and to reflect these in financial reporting standards. We find that the perspectives gathered are homogenised and that the process privileges the voices of powerful elites.     

中国会计准则国际协调效果的实证研究

自改革开放以来,我国进行了一系列旨在加强会计准则国际协调的改革,会计信息编报者和使用评价者都十分关心会计准则国际协调的效果。本文在借鉴国内外相关研究的基础上,采用实证研究方法从纵向上比较和分析AB股公司的净利润差异与会计信息价值相关性的变化,以期对我国会计准则国际协调的总体效果做出经验性评价。     

The measurement and recognition of intangible assets: then and now

“In the Fortune 500 there are thousands upon thousands of statistics that reveal very little that’s meaningful about the corporations they purportedly describe. At least that’s the verdict of a growing number of forward-thinking market watchdogs, academics, accountants, and others.”(Fortune, April 2001). In today’s economy value is often created by intangible (intellectual) capital. The accounting profession has not met the challenge of measuring and reporting the results of knowledge-based entities. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia estimates that in the year 2000 more than US$ 1 trillion was invested in Intangibles. The problems relating to the measurement and recognition of intangibles are international in scope.This paper reviews existing and recently promulgated US, UK, and IASC accounting standards relating to Intangibles. Inconsistencies in the measurement and reporting of Intangibles under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are highlighted, and evidence is provided that suggests that recognition of Intangible (Intellectual) Capital is in accordance with existing accounting principles In particular, the newly promulgated Financial Accounting Standards Statements on Business Combinations, Goodwill, and other Intangibles is reviewed. The objective of the comparisons to UK and IASC standards and the review is to provide evidence that will improve the measurement and reporting of intangible (intellectual) capital and facilitate harmonization. Improving the global financial reporting infrastructure will ultimately lead to the reporting of relevant and reliable quality earnings.     

加拿大注册会计师行业管理及会计审计准则的国际协调

本文介绍了加拿大注册会计师行业管理以及会计、审计准则国际协调的基本情况,并结合培训考察体会进一步做好我国的注册会计师行业管理工作,推进我国会计、审计准则国际趋同提出了建议。