The Financial Milieu of the IASB and AASB

This paper considers the implications of the convergence of the accounting standards of the International Accounting Standards Board with those of the Australian Accounting Standard Board. Australia seems well placed to comply with the international accounting standards in 2005, but not quite in the way the boards would have us imagine. While actively seeking funds from large multinational corporations and elite accounting firms, the AASB is dominated by stakeholder groups with what are described as "corefinancial" and "partial-financial" interests. This financial milieu may offer cosy deals for the key stakeholders, but does little in the way of civic responsibilities and accounting service for the wider public .     

The Changing IASB and AASB Relationship

This article takes the reader inside the changing relationship between the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and other standard setters, and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in 2012. Critically, it looks at the prospect that relationships between the IASB and domestic standard setters might now change markedly as attempts are made to establish more formal links with domestic and regional groupings of standard setters, a move currently being mooted by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Trustees and the IASB. Related to this development, the article looks at a rapidly emerging aspect of standard setting – the rise of regional groupings such as the Asian‐Oceanian Standard‐Setters Group (AOSSG). Such groups are having a direct impact on relationships between domestic standard setters and the IASB.     

The response of Australian firms to AASB 138 disallowing the recognition of internally generated identifiable intangibles

This paper responds to a call by the Australian Accounting Standards Board to investigate how Australian firms responded to a perceived loss of information pursuant to AASB 138 (IAS38) which mandated the de-recognition of previously recognised internally generated identifiable intangibles, from its effective date of 1 January 2005. We find that the sample firms did not choose to provide alternative or substitute disclosure elsewhere in their annual report or financial statements anytime during our sample period (2005–2010). Prima facie, this is surprising given prior evidence from the value relevance literature that disclosures relevant to the value of internally generated intangibles are correlated with firm value and presumably informative for investors. However, we caution against the drawing of simple conclusions that this finding implies alternative disclosure may not be valuable. Rather, it is important to understand the forces or frictions that contribute to this result. Schipper (The Accounting Review, 82, 2007, 301) and Skinner (Accounting and Business Research, 38, 2008, 191) offer valuable insights into the potential issues such as the costs of alternative disclosure including proprietary costs of disclosing competitive information and, the lower credibility of financial disclosures outside of audited financial statements. These are important considerations in the on-going standard-setting debate on recognition versus disclosure of value relevant information on intangible assets.     

The adoption of IFRS in Australia: The case of AASB 138 (IAS 38) Intangible Assets

AASB 138 Intangible Assets, adopted by reporting entities in Australia for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2005, required derecognition of internally generated intangible assets. Prior to its adoption, the standard was widely expected to have a substantial impact on the reports of affected listed entities. On the basis of information available in the 2004/05 annual reports, this paper projects the expected effects of AASB 138 on reported intangible assets and on key financial measures. It compares these projected measures to the realised measures, reported under both Australian GAAP and AIFRS in the 2005/06 reports. While reported intangible assets and the debt to equity ratio were expected to change significantly as a result of AASB 138, the reported AIFRS results show a significant change in only the debt to equity ratio. The paper considers reasons why the pre-adoption expected changes did not eventuate, and also how the actual changes were reported to stakeholders in the management discussion sections of the annual reports. The conclusion draws implications regarding the transparency of communication in annual reports.     

AASB 1037 Sows the Seeds of Change: A Survey of SGARA Measurement Methods

International developments are set to reignite the controversy over how self-generating and regenerating assets (SGARAs) are measured. The International Accounting Standards Committee is working on an international accounting standard on agriculture due to be effective some time after 1 January 2002. The standard is expected to be similar to AASB 1037 Self-Generating and Regenerating Assets. This is an interesting development since the Australian Accounting Standards Board was urged to not move ahead of international developments when it released Exposure Draft 83 Self-Generating and Regenerating Assets
This paper surveys Australian SGARA measurement practices to assess the extent of reporting change required by AASB 103 7 and its international counterpart.     

GAAP,GFS and AASB 1049: perceptions of public sector stakeholders

Efforts by Australian standard‐setters to harmonise public sector financial reporting resulted in AASB 1049, which sought to bridge the divide between generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)‐based and government finance statistics (GFS)‐based financial statements. However, whether AASB 1049 has resulted in information that is considered appropriate for the public sector has not been examined. We explore this issue by comparing the requirements of AASB 1049 with the responses from a survey of public sector stakeholders on the appropriate accounting treatment and presentation of selected financial items. The analysis suggests consensus with AASB 1049 on presentation issues but less consensus on accounting treatments.     

Reaction To The Mandatory Write-Down Provisions Of AASB 1010: Accounting For The Revaluation Of Non-Current Assets

Commentators in the financial press claimed that the amendments to AASB 1010, Accounting for the Revaluation of Non-Current Assets, issued in September 1991, would have "disastrous" implications for the accounts of companies. This paper is concerned with whether the amendments did indeed affect asset write-down activities. An analysis of write-down practices of 75 Australian companies before and after the amendments were operative suggests that the commentators' judgment could have been hasty.     

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.     

The Impact of AASB 8 Operating Segments on Analysts’ Earnings Forecasts: Australian Evidence

This paper evaluates the impact of firms’ adoption of AASB 8 segment disclosure rules on analysts’ earnings forecasts. It examines whether providing more disaggregated segment information following the adoption of AASB 8 is associated with an increase in analysts’ ability to forecast earnings. We find that analysts’ earnings forecasts have not improved significantly after adopting AASB 8 in Australia, regardless of whether firms disclosed more disaggregated segment information. Our use of control firms provides assurance that the results are due to AASB 8 and not to some other events concurrent with the adoption of AASB 8. Overall, our results imply that the benefits associated with the management approach as experienced by financial analysts in the United States have not been realised by financial analysts in Australia. This suggests that the successful adoption of an accounting standard in one country should not be the justification for recommending adoption in other countries. Further, our results raise questions about whether the enhanced disclosures required in the new standard are more for the other users of financial statements, such as investors, rather than analysts.     

Disclosure of Goodwill Impairment under AASB 136 from 2005–2010

An accounting standard for goodwill, AASB 136 Impairment of Assets was implemented in Australia in 2005. However, several issues of compliance with the Standard were noted in the initial adoption periods. This study examines goodwill reporting practices in Australia over the five‐year period from 2005 to 2010. It explores the extent to which Australian listed entities complied with mandatory requirements in relation to impairment testing. Using a sample of 287 Australian listed firms, we found that compliance with the Standard's goodwill allocation requirements generally improved; however, there was still non‐compliance for all reporting periods. Also, there was a tendency for firms to define the same or smaller numbers of cash‐generating units (CGUs) than reporting segments. This suggests the existence of CGU aggregation, which may have the capacity to influence the incidence of goodwill impairment, and thereby the financial position of an entity. Coupled with non‐compliance and a lack of audit attention, compliance issues surrounding goodwill impairment testing under AASB 136 still remain of concern to regulators. The findings are useful to academics, regulators and policymakers because they signal the (lack of) compliance with AASB 136.     

坚持统筹兼顾 突出工作重点 以改革创新精神推动辖区人民银行工作开创新局面

一、深刻认识当前经济金融形势,准确把握中央经济工作会议和总行工作会议精神,以更大的信心和决心,推动各项工作再创新水平 （一）深刻认识和科学判断当前的经济金融发展态势,密切关注发展中的矛盾和问题,增强工作的前瞻性、针对性和有效性 今年我国的经济发展环境将好于去年。国际金融市场渐趋稳定,主要经济体出现好转迹象,一些新兴经济体和发展中国家经济增速加快,世界经济有望恢复性增长。我国经济回升向好的基础逐步巩固,市场信心明显增强,扩大内需和改善民生的政策效应继续显现,企业适应市场变化的能力和竞争力不断增强。     

“十二五”推进经济结构战略性调整的基本思路和政策重点

近年来,我国不断推进经济发展方式转变,促进经济结构调整,但从整体上看,仍然存在很多问题。＂十二五＂时期,推进经济结构战略性调整刻不容缓,应加快经济结构和产业结构调整,转变贸易模式,推动科技自主创新,大力发展新兴战略产业,推动经济进入创新驱动、内生增长的发展轨道。     

Priorities and targets: supporting target-setting in healthcare

Management by objectives requires selecting the appropriate number of indicators to measure objectives and then defining high-priority indicators. Failing to address these two issues often results in the so-called ‘performance paradox’. This paper describes an algorithm applied in the healthcare sector in the Italian regions. The resulting performance evaluation system is able to detect priority indicators in the target-setting phase, improving management and saving costs.     

突出重点真抓实干确保2002年各项工作任务的完成

2002年是我行实施"五年分三步走"改革发展思路迈出第二步的关键一年,做好今年的各项工作,对于巩固和发展我行业务经营已经形成的良好态势,继续推进全行改革发展,至关重要.     

明确新任务迎接新挑战

2002年,是我国加入世界贸易组织后,在严峻的国际形势下把粮食流通体制改革继续向前推进的一年,也是农业发展银行海南省分行在主销区实现粮食购销市场化的情况下,支持企业深化改革,积极防范信贷风险关键的一年.     

The Alignment Of Management Accounting With Manufacturing Priorities: A Strategic Perspective

This paper proposes that traditional cost-based management accounting systems (MAS) are inappropriate for controlling a manufacturing organisation's performance in cases where non-cost factors are important aspects of the firm's competitive strategy. Manufacturing organisations in Australia are under increasing pressure to increase their competitiveness. This can be achieved by giving the manufacturing function strategic status in the organisation and by designing the MAS to support those strategies directly. The MAS should measure operational performance, control investment and report in terms of the factors which determine the organisation's competitive advantage, whether they be high product quality, manufacturing flexibility, low cost or other influences. The paper provides two applications of the concept of strategy-driven management systems: capital investment evaluation systems, and operational performance measurement and reporting systems.