A POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SSAP22: ACCOUNTING FOR GOODWILL

In late 19th century Britain it was widely accepted by leading authorities that «goodwill» was simply the purchase of sufficient expected «surplus profits» to persuade the owners of a business to part with its net assets and control, and that this expenditure should be capitalized and amortized against those surplus profits as they are realized. Although this method remains the conventional wisdom, and dominates current international regulation and practice, its conceptual foundation appears lost to modern scholars, for whom the «problem» of accounting for goodwill is «insoluble». In the first part of the paper the concepts of Marx's political economy are employed to elaborate the conventional method, which is argued to be necessary to allow the capital markets to observe the generation and realization of profit and the rate of return on capital. From this perspective, the heavily criticized decision of the UK authorities in SSAP22 to encourage the write-off of goodwill against capital is an anomaly requiring explanation. It is usually explained as either the ASC's acceptance of economic income accounting as the ideal for financial reporting, or its acquiescence to powerful managerial interests. In the second part, these explanations are criticized, and an alternative hypothesis advanced which is consistent with the limited evidence available. That, although the capital markets usually want purchased goodwill to be capitalized and amortized, in the peculiar circumstances of the UK, where unusually large portions of its manufacturing industry were closed or run down in the acquisitions and merger boom of the 1980's, writing-off purchased goodwill against capital was in the collective interest of investors because it helped to hide from public view the fact that dividends were being paid from capital.     

Working on nonprofit boards. Don't assume the shoe fits

Contrary to popular perception, businesspeople can be benevolent. For instance, one recent study notes that four-fifths of all Harvard Business School graduates are involved with nonprofits, with more than half of those serving on boards. Most business professionals will spend some time on a nonprofit board. That's the good news, the author says. The bad news is that the involvement of businesspeople can easily backfire. That's because they often try to take what they have learned from business school and the corporate world and apply it to their duties in the nonprofit sector. On the surface, there are similarities between the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Both have boards of directors, trustees and chairpeople, regular meetings, and so forth. But the governance of nonprofit organizations is very different from the governance of for-profit businesses in several critical areas, including missions, measurements, and board composition. For instance, the CEO in the nonprofit world must manage a relationship with a nonexecutive board chair. In the for-profit world, the CEO is the chair. Such significant differences make it difficult to transfer ideas and practices between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. In this article, F. Warren McFarlan describes the main differences between serving on a for-profit board and serving on a nonprofit board. As he points out, understanding the differences will make it easier for businesspeople to move smoothly from one environment to the other and will therefore make their commitments more effective. Nonprofits need businesspeople, but only on the right terms.     

The effect of the split share structure reform on working capital management of Chinese companies

Before the introduction of the Split Share Structure Reform (SSSR) of 2005, a dual stock system characterized Chinese-listed firms. The states owned non-tradable shares and private owners held tradable shares. The dual system generated agency problems because state owners enjoyed all the rights reserved for tradable shares but escaped the stock market risk faced by non-state shareholders. Because executives of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) received rewards based on the book value of assets rather than the market price of shares, they had no incentive to maximize the share price. The SSSR led to the conversion of non-tradable shares to tradable shares, with two major implications: (1) the interests of government and private owners are now more closely aligned and (2) government agents of SOEs are now rewarded and punished based on a firm's market performance. Thus, the expectation is that government agents turn their attention to improving a firm's market performance rather than its book value during the post-reform era. We examine the impact of the SSSR on Chinese firms' investments in working capital. Based on 511 manufacturing firms between 2003 and 2011, we find that the SSSR is associated with significant reductions in working capital investments during the post-reform period. The reduced investment in working capital is associated with improved market performance of these firms.     

基于知识的企业性质与收益分配模式

本文从知识视角重新审视了新经济下的企业性质及由此决定的收益分配模式.分析认为,新经济下企业是财务资本所有者与人力资本所有者订立的特别契约,企业拥有或控制的财务资本和技术性、管理性等知识以及聚合财务资本与各种知识的能力决定着企业的效率边界;股票期权制不仅仅是一种激励制度,而是企业所有权范式基于知识的转换,进而导致收益分配制度变迁的必然结果.文章最后对以净利润为基础的收益分配模式进行了澄清,提出新经济下的企业收益分配应以EVA为基础,以真正体现人力资本价值的大小及其创值能力的高低.     

基于EVA视角的企业薪酬激励机制运用

由于忽视了股东资本的机会成本,采取传统的会计利润等指标来评价企业经营业绩是有缺陷的,企业获得的利润只有高于全部资本成本才能为股东创造价值。文章在讨论了EVA内涵的基础上,以能够弥补这一缺陷的EVA理念为核心,设置了一套规范经营者行为、维护所有者和股东合法权益的激励机制,并探讨了比传统激励机制的优越性。     

工业企业资金成本与资金链松紧量化研究——基于工业企业损益表视角

今年多方反映企业资金链紧、资金成本高、对企业利润影响明显。那么,资金成本对利润影响程度如何?企业资金链松紧度如何?本文选择71家样本工业企业,比较研究了资金成本等各成本项目对工业企业利润影响程度,从成本视角提出了工业企业资金链松紧度量化判断模型。研究表明:(1)工业企业资金成本在上升,对利润增长的影响程度有增加,但远不及原材料、用工成本等主营业务成本的影响;(2)基于成本视角提出的资金链松紧值G’处于"适度"区间的下轨,但已连续3个月回升,正走出"紧"区间。     

The new landscape for nonprofits.

For most of this century, society's caring functions have been the work of government and charities. But social services in the United States are in a period of transition. Today the U.S. government no longer considers nonprofits to be entitled--or even best qualified--to provide social services. Profit-seeking companies like Lockheed Martin are now winning contracts for such services. William Ryan describes how government outsourcing and a new business mind-set have changed the landscape of social services. The change raises fundamental questions about the mission and future of nonprofits. Ryan attributes the growth of for-profits in the social service industry to four factors: size, capital, mobility, and responsiveness. While those attributes give for-profits an advantage in acquiring new contracts, nonprofits have not yet lost their foothold. Ryan cites examples of organizations like the YWCA and Abraxas to demonstrate various ways that nonprofits are responding--from subcontracting to partnership to outright conversion to for-profit status. By playing in the new marketplace, nonprofits will be forced to reconfigure their operations and organizations in ways that could compromise their missions. Because nonprofits now find themselves sharing territory with for-profits, sometimes as collaborators and sometimes as competitors, the distinctions between these organizations will continue to blur. The point, Ryan argues, is not whether nonprofits can survive opposition from for-profits. Many have already adjusted to the new competitive environment. The real issue is whether nonprofits can adapt without compromising the qualities that distinguish them from for-profit organizations.     

The Relationship between Changes in Fixed Plant Investment and the Likelihood of Emergence from Corporate Financial Distress

Companies experiencing financial distress can attempt to mitigate financial distress through changing the investment in the fixed asset base. Management may choose to expand the asset base in hopes of increasing sales. Alternatively, management may choose to contract the asset base in order to eliminate and/or reduce investment in unprofitable or risky ventures, improve liquidity, reduce earnings volatility, and reduce the need for operating capital.In this study, we examined how observed changes in the investment base affect the likelihood of emergence from a financially distressed condition. We find that, when management chooses to contract the investment in property, plant, and equipment, the likelihood of emergence from financial distress is significantly improved. On the other hand, when management chooses to expand property, plant, and equipment in the face of distress, the distress is only intensified. Our explanation is that companies that choose to contract their fixed asset base in times of trouble are taking steps that will most likely improve their financial condition—they are less likely to need working capital, and can better tolerate increased levels of long-term debt. Conversely, increasing the fixed asset base amplifies the need for working capital, and borrowing money to facilitate the expansion simply increases the necessary uses of that working capital because the debt must be serviced. As a result, companies descend even deeper into financial distress and decrease the likelihood that they will emerge therefrom.     

股权再融资、盈余管理与资本配置效率

本文建立了一个模型来分析股权再融资过程中盈余管理产生的机理，分析了盈余管理与配股后运营业绩和股票长期收益的关系。研究表明：上市公司在配股过程中存在系统的盈余管理行为；上市公司配股后的经营业绩出现滑坡，配股前3个年度和配股当年的异常应计利润与配股后的经营业绩具有负相关关系；上市公司配股后的股票长期收益和异常收益下降，配股前3个年度和配股当年的异常应计利润与配股后的股票收益具有负相关关系。本文认为，上市公司配股过程中的盈余管理误导了投资者的决策，造成了股票价值的高估和资本配置效率的下降。     

中国资本产出、资本回报与资本流向之谜--基于劳动力价格扭曲视角北大核心

本文通过建立生产部门的要素买方垄断市场均衡模型,利用1996-2016年中国省级面板数据测算中国劳动力价格扭曲程度,并使用固定效应模型(FE)及面板固定效应的工具变量(IV)估计方法加以分析,从劳动力价格扭曲视角解答了中国资本产出、资本回报与资本流向之谜,即中国经济如何在赶超阶段面临资本深化不断加剧和TFP增长乏力的情况下,依靠劳动力价格扭曲实现低资本产出与高资本回报水平共存,从而维持长期高速资本积累以及优质的资本流向结构。实证研究表明:劳动力价格扭曲降低了资本产出效率,但这并不能掩盖由劳动力向资本方转移的垄断利润对资本回报的直接补贴,因此劳动力价格扭曲对中国维持高资本回报水平起到了重要的支撑作用,并通过高资本回报水平实现了地区资本快速积累,劳动力价格扭曲对资本流向的积极作用还体现在抑制资本"脱实向虚"及吸引外资流入。因此,应正视劳动力价格扭曲在赶超阶段的特殊作用,在矫正扭曲的过程中循序渐进,更积极采取措施规避其对资本回报和资本流向可能产生的不利影响。     

基于当期收益的人力资本产权价值计量模型与收益分割方法研究

现代企业理论认为,企业是由人力资本和非人力资本组成的一个特别合约。人力资本和非人力资本结合的过程就是创造实现价值(利润)的过程,创造实现的利润理应由人力资本和非人力资本分享。问题在于人力资本产权的价值有多大?这就是计量问题;利润分享中如何确定他们各自占有的比例?这就是收益分割问题。本文对人力资本产权价值计量的相关文献进行了综述,分析了人力资本产权价值计量的基础,提出了“产权收益法”,并构建了一套基于当期收益的人力资本产权价值计量模型与收益分割方法。     

行业组合视角下的银行信贷优化管理——基于中国商业银行的优化模型设计与实证分析

本文在经济下行周期的背景下,从行业组合的视角探讨商业银行如何根据国家政策及自身战略积极布局信贷资产,从被动调控向主动管理转变,实现收益、风险及资本的优化.本文提出两个优化模型——基于最优增长率的均值方差基准模型和专家判断的主动配置模型,通过加入风险相关性、风险容忍度、经济资本等约束,为银行在不同风险偏好下积极配置资产提...     

创新型企业人力资本参与收益分配研究

考量创新型企业人力资本与物质资本关系发现,在人力资本与物质资本贡献大小无差异时,人力资本承担了主要风险;在二者承担相同风险的情况下,人力资本创造利润的贡献大于物质资本。鉴此,设置环境参数、引入柯布—道格拉斯生产函数衡量人力资本贡献、模糊评估产品市场等人力资本风险;建立人力资本参与创新型企业收益分配模型,确定人力资本在创新型企业收益中的分享数额。     

Financial Institutions and Non‐Governmental Organizations: An Advocacy Partnership for Sustainable Capital Markets?

In this article, the Chief Responsibility Officer for Aviva Investors examines the potential for financial institutions (FIs) to work in partnership with non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) in advocating changes to public policy that promote sustainable capital markets. Many NGOs have argued that the current form of global economic growth is unsustainable—and they routinely engage in public policy advocacy. However, such advocacy has generally proved ineffective, in large part because most NGOs have a very limited understanding of how capital markets function. Investors, for their part, are increasingly recognizing that key aspects of the global economy are on an unsustainable footing. And some are concerned about the negative implications for the long‐term value of their assets. But with a few notable exceptions, they have not made systematic efforts to work with governments to correct the market failures. NGO‐FI advocacy partnerships could identify specific cases of systemic or sectoral market failures, and recommend long‐term changes to the sectoral operating environment that would affect the cash flows and values of companies operating within that sector in ways designed to “internalize” the effects of negative social and environmental externalities. To foster the development of such partnerships, there is a need for academia to develop learning forums that stimulate the exchange of ideas between the executives within NGOs and FIs in an environment of mutual trust and respect.     

合伙企业中的人力资本:企业所有权与分配问题刍议

合伙制是人力资本集中的企业经常采用的形式,它事实上已经实现了对人力资本的权益确认和剩余分配。本文试图通过分析合伙企业在这方面的现实机制,间接的为人力资源会计的发展提供一些借鉴和参考。文中首先论述了合伙企业对人力资本的"非同质性"产权安排,以及其成因和影响因素,进而分析了权益性人力资本合伙人在与财务资本合伙人的谈判博弈中为人力资本定价的机制和影响因素。为了补充和验证上述观点,随后又对两种特殊分配方式的性质进行了探讨。最后,鉴于合伙制与公司制在合约与博弈方面存在许多共性,笔者对人力资源会计的相关方面进行了一些尝试性的思考,希望能对其蓬勃发展提供有益的帮助。     

The happy story of small business financing

We examine two data sets, one from the UK (n = 15,750) and one from the US (n = 3239), to show that SME financial behaviour demonstrates substantial financial contentment, or ‘happiness’. We find fewer than 10% of the UK firms seek significant growth and only 1.32% of US firms list a shortage of capital other than working capital as a problem. Financial performance indicators (growth, return on assets, profit margin) were not found to be determinants of SME financing activities, as might be expected in a ‘rational’ risk–return environment. Younger and less educated SME owners more actively use external financing – even though more education reduces the fear of loan denial – while older and more educated (‘wiser’) SME owners are found to be being less likely to seek or use external financing. The contentment hypothesis for SME financing also extends to high-growth firms in that we show that they participate more in the loan markets than low-growth firms. By way of contrast to the finance gap hypothesis, the contentment hypothesis observes the importance of social networks (connections) [for finance] and confirms the ‘connections – happiness’ linkage in the literature on happiness while doubting the theoretical suitability of Jensen and Meckling [Jensen, M., Meckling, W., 1976. Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs, and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics 3, 305–360.] base-case analysis for SMEs.     

CARE Conference Hong Kong Polytechnic University,June 9, 2014: Equity Financing for Early‐Stage Companies in China

Many of the smaller private‐sector Chinese companies in their entrepreneurial growth stage are now being funded by Chinese venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms. In contrast to western VC markets, where institutional investors such as pension funds and endowments have been the main providers of capital, in China most capital for domestic funds has come from private business owners and high net worth individuals. As relatively new players in the market who are less accustomed to entrusting their capital to fund managers for a lengthy period of time, Chinese VCs and their investors have shown a shorter investment horizon and demanded a faster return of capital and profits. In an attempt to explain this behavior, Paul Gompers and Josh Lerner of Harvard Business School have offered a “grandstanding hypothesis” that focuses on the incentives of younger, less established VCs to push their portfolio companies out into the IPO market as early as they can—and thus possibly prematurely—to establish a track record and facilitate future fundraising. This explanation is supported by the under‐performance of Chinese VC‐backed IPOs that has been documented by the author's recent research. Although they continue to offer significant opportunities for global investors, China's VC and PE markets still face many challenges. The supervisory system and legal environment need further improvement, and Chinese funds need to find a way to attract more institutional investors—a goal that can and likely will be promoted through government inducements.     

DO INSTITUTIONS PREFER HIGH‐VALUE ACQUIRERS? AN ANALYSIS OF TRADING IN STOCK‐FINANCED ACQUISITIONS

If owners of target shares in a stock‐for‐stock merger perceive the acquirer as overvalued, they should sell their holdings more aggressively to profit before such overvaluation dissipates. We study institutional owners of targets and find that slightly more than half liquidate their shares in stock mergers, consistent with high institutional‐share turnover rates found in the prior literature. However, share retention is higher when valuation measures suggest greater acquirer overvaluation, regardless of whether institutional owners generally prefer growth or value stock. Institutions that prefer large‐cap, growth stock are most enthusiastic about bids from large, high‐valuation acquirers, and substantially increase their stakes in such deals.     

An Efficiency-Based Approach to Determining Potential Cost Savings and Profit Targets for Health Insurers: The Case of Obamacare Health Insurance CO-OPs

This research analyzes the performance of the health insurance consumer-operated and -oriented plan (CO-OPs), examines their medical services and operating efficiency, proposes an efficiency-based goal-oriented approach for cost reductions, profit targets, premium changes, and government subsidies, and provides an important guide for improvement potentials for both the CO-OP health insurance model and other health insurers. The CO-OPs are not satisfactory in the medical services efficiency, and they are much less efficient compared with other insurers. Potential cost reductions are significant using various (conservative) efficiency goals. Most CO-OPs suffer underwriting losses, as do many other insurers; a few CO-OPs are much more operating efficient than other insurers, but all CO-OPs need significant improvement of financial performance relative to benchmark insurers. Incorporating potential cost reductions, many CO-OPs would barely require any “premium changes and government subsidies,” and they are even capable of paying back the federal loans. With both potential cost reductions and premium increases, more CO-OPs would not need any help from the government but survive on their own. This research informs public debates and all stakeholders (including management, consumers, regulators, policymakers) of improvement potentials to be considered for related decision making besides other factors including the political environment and government policies.