论我国政府财务报告制度的构建——基于财政透明度的考察

政府向公众提供政府财务报告,是提高财政透明度、强化政府公共受托责任的内在要求.目前,我国尚未建立真正意义上的政府财务报告制度,财政透明度与国际货币基金组织的基本要求相比尚存在较大差距.为了提高财政透明度,必须要建立和完善政府财务报告制度.具体而言,应当从报告目标、报告主体、会计基础、核算范围等方面对现有的预算会计制度进行全方位的改革,以逐步建立我国的政府会计和政府财务报告制度.但是,政府会计改革和政府财务报告制度的构建是一项综合性的改革工程,应当采用分阶段、逐步推进的方法来进行.     

The Information Content of Segment Disclosures: Australian Evidence

This paper investigates whether the voluntary decomposition of consolidated earnings disclosures into industry segments has information content in the sense that such disclosures better enable investors to predict earnings. The broad rationale underlying the experimental design is that if segment disclosure does enable investors to better predict earnings then residual abnormal returns (after controlling for unexpected earnings) surrounding the earnings announcements of firms providing segment disclosures should on average be significantly lower than a matched' group of firms that do not provide this type of disclosure. Using a short event window design, our results support this view.     

Considerations on the subject of lease accounting

The question of the correct method for recording lease transactions has already been the subject of debate both domestically and internationally for some time now (2009). The discussion on a set of rules for recording such operations has recently been fuelled by the inclusion in the FASB and IASB's agendas of a joint project regarding accounting rules for both the lessor and the lessee. To this very moment the preliminary output of this joint project has been the drafting of a discussion paper published on 19 March 2009. The present work offers a critical commentary on the main innovations introduced by the boards on the subject of lease accounting and illustrates an alternative accounting model which, starting with the identification of the essential economic elements of any lease contract, would be best suited to representing, in accounting terms, the reasoning and the actual purpose of a lease transaction.     

Ownership structure and accountability: the case of the privatization of the Spanish tobacco monopoly, 1887-96

This paper analyses the case of the privatization of the Spanish tobacco monopoly, focusing on the period between 1887 and 1896, which corresponds to the first leasing contract between the state and the Spanish Tobacco Company and it is concerned with two different issues. First, it deals with the effects of privatization on accountability.The main question examined is whether public and private ownership entail different approaches to the way in which managers are accountable to owners, and the impact this issue had on corporate reporting. Second, it is concerned with exploring the determinants of accounting disclosure. Here, the basic issue is to understand the factors shaping changes in corporate reporting during the period of study.     

抵押、个人信用制度与消费信贷

本文分析了抵押和个人信用制度在消费信贷发展中的作用。抵押能够减轻逆向选择和道德风险,弥补银行损失,因此有助于消费信贷发展。但本文认为,抵押对于违约风险的规避是有限的,而且抵押成为了市场准入限制,限制了消费信贷规模。从这个角度来看,个人信用制度的作用在于它进一步提高了违约成本,减少了理性违约的可能性;信用报告构成了信誉抵押品,部分替代了实物抵押品,减轻了信贷配给的程度。     

Cross-sectional variation in the economic consequences of international accounting harmonization: The case of mandatory IFRS adoption in the UK

This study examines the economic consequences for UK firms of the European Union's decision to impose mandatory IFRS. We hypothesize that the impact varies across firms and is conditional on the perceived benefit. We estimate a counter-factual proxy for a UK firm's willingness to adopt IFRS from the prior GAAP choices of German firms. We show that this proxy predicts cross-sectional variations in both the short-run market reactions and the long-run changes in cost of equity that are associated with the decision. This implies that mandatory IFRS adoption does not benefit all firms in a uniform way but results in relative winners and losers.     

Convergence with IFRS in an expanding Europe: progress and obstacles identified by large accounting firms’ survey

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) acquired greater legitimacy and stature when the European Union (EU) decided to require all listed companies to prepare consolidated accounts based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) beginning in 2005. This study examines the progress and perceived impediments to convergence in 17 European countries directly affected by the EU's decision. These include: (1) the 10 new EU member countries, (2) EU candidate countries, (3) European Economic Area (EEA) countries, and (4) Switzerland. We utilize data collected by the six largest international accounting firms during their 2002 convergence survey. Additionally, we analyze subsequent events and studies.While all surveyed countries will either require or effectively allow listed companies to prepare consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS by 2005, few are expected to require IFRS for non-listed companies. This suggests the development of a “two-standard” system. The two most significant impediments to convergence identified by the survey appear to be the complicated nature of particular IFRS (including financial instruments) and the tax-orientation of many national accounting systems. Other barriers to convergence include underdeveloped national capital markets, insufficient guidance on first-time application of IFRS, and limited experience with certain types of transactions (e.g. pensions).     

Sustainability accounting—a brief history and conceptual framework

Research linking accounting to the emerging concept of sustainability surfaced in the early 1990s and has received continuing attention in academic and professional accounting literature. This paper tracks this brief history through to the release of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002, consolidating the various approaches into a sustainability accounting framework. The result is a comprehensive reporting model that presents an enormous challenge to business organisations, requiring a significant commitment of resources to achieve widespread implementation. Failure to meet this challenge enables business organisations to continue to avoid accountability for their continuing unsustainability. The paper concludes with a personal view as to how implementation of the sustainability accounting framework could proceed.     

The Introduction of Mandatory Environmental Reporting Guidelines: Australian Evidence

This article augments the empirical literature on environmental reporting through an analysis of the impact the introduction of mandatory reporting guidelines had on the environmental disclosures of seventy-one Australian companies. Specifically it documents three implications from the enactment in 1998 of s. 299(1)(f) of Australia's Corporations Law that requires companies to report on their environmental performance with respect to any 'particular and significant environmental regulation'. First, from a review of annual reports for two reporting periods prior to and two periods post the operative date of the provision, there was found to be a significant increase in the number of companies reporting and the level of information provided on environmental performance. Second, considerable variation was identified in the approaches adopted for reporting, hence confirming concerns expressed as to the practical application of the provision. Finally, there was an increase in the level of total environmental disclosure, most significantly for those companies that reported breaches of regulations and that do not issue a stand-alone environmental report. The analysis directly links increases in reporting and the introduction of s. 299(1)(f), therefore highlighting the limitations of continual reliance upon voluntary reporting to provide consistent substantive information on environmental performance. In addition, the analysis provides evidence that the introduction of additional reporting media influences the level of disclosure of environmental information within the annual report.     

经济学层面上的道德、信任、信用与征信

道德、信任、信用与征信这四个概念被相继引入经济学研究中经历了一个渐进的过程,四者之间存在相辅相成、共同促进、相互影响的作用与反作用的关系.道德规范是形成全社会共同遵守的价值观的基础,信任是除物质资本和人力资本之外决定一个国家经济增长和社会进步的主要社会资本,信用是商业交易的前提,是维系社会经济正常关系的纽带,而征信是对受信人信用状况的一个全面了解和高度概括,据此建立的奖惩机制能为良好的社会信用状态形成打下基础.