IASB与FASB《通用目的财务报告的目标》述评

IASB与FASB2010年9月发布的《通用目的财务报告的目标》,指出了通用目的财务报告的目标、用途,分析了其局限性,并对其所披露的具体内容即主体的经济资源、要求权及其变动信息进行了概略性阐释,对财务业绩确认、现金流量信息进行了说明。这个新的财务报告概念框架,在目标上强调提供"通用"财务信息、在使用者定位上强调针对主要使用者、在报告内容上通过逻辑推导强调提供经济资源、要求权及其变动信息、在计价上坚持现行市价基础、在收益确定方面坚持资产负债观,相对于旧概念框架发生了一些变化与创新;但仍然存在形式目标与实质目标背离、否认现代会计是价值计量、过度强调提供信息这个外在形式而忽略信息的实质内容等诸多问题与弊端。从总体上看,这个概念框架沿袭了旧概念框架的基本观点,依然是对旧概念框架的修修补补,难以走出旧概念框架的窠臼,不会是成功的。     

The Measurement of International Harmonisation in Financial Reporting

Several developments in the harmonisation of accounting standards are described in the accompanying article by Howieson. This article explains how harmonisation can be measured and refers to studies of the harmonisation of accounting standards and of financial reporting in practice. These studies have measured harmonisation in Europe, the US and Japan, as well as comparing accounting standards and reporting practices under Australian accounting standards (AASBs) and international accounting standards (LASS).     

The Role of Foreign Shareholders in Disciplining Financial Reporting

We investigate the role of foreign shareholders in improving the quality of accounting information provided by firms domiciled in countries with low de facto institutional quality. Using a sample of firms from four South European countries (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) for which we observe detailed ownership evolutions over the period 2002–2007, we find that increases in foreign ownership lead to increases in financial reporting quality but only if the foreign shareholders are domiciled in countries with strong investor protection mechanisms. Further, we find that the improvement in financial reporting quality is more pronounced in the case of foreign institutional investors. Finally, our results hold before and after the introduction of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 2005.     

中评协举办《以财务报告为目的的评估》专题讲座

2007年8月31曰．中评协举办了《以财务报告为目的的评估》专题讲座。讲座由中评协会计与评估专业委员会主办．普华永道会计师公司协办。中评协副秘书长杨松堂主持讲座。来自财政部相关司局、国务院国资委以及证券公司、上市公司、科研院所．资产评估公司与会计师事务所的60多名代表参加了本次讲座。讲座邀请了普华永道合伙人、普华永道欧洲区评估与战略咨询部负责人Andreas Mackenstedt先生，普华永道合伙人、伦敦评估与战略咨询部Nick Rea先生与普华永道合伙人．普华永道美国纽约企业并购部Andreas Ohl先生进行演讲。     

The Purpose of Financial Reporting: The Case for Coherence in the Conceptual Framework and Standards

This paper proposes a basis for progress in the development of the conceptual framework (CF) as a foundation for developing accounting standards. This topic has gained increased prominence following the IASB's (2013) release of its Review of the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (RCFFR) proposing changes to the CF. In this paper the broad socio‐economic environment is seen as determining the primary purpose of General Purpose Financial Reporting (GPFR), which, in turn, establishes the high‐level properties of a CF suitable to meet that primary purpose. This is to support market stability and efficiency through the provision of an account of the financial position and performance of an entity that accords with economic reality. The case is made that the primary purpose of a CF is to provide the principles for the development of accounting standards that will result in GPFR that is useful. This requires theoretical coherence. The CF should drive the standards and if standards depart from the CF principles, such departures should be justified. This proposal is consistent with the position adopted in the RCFFR. However, in contrast to the RCFFR, this paper accents the purposive approach and links the formation of standards directly to the CF. This approach implies that standards are subordinate to CF principles; therefore compliance with standards should not provide a basis for compromising the faithful representation of economic reality. From the purpose identified for GPFR, the paper argues for a default presumption in favour of Fair Value Accounting, a retreat from the asset/liability approach, and a re‐casting of the income statement to focus on operational flows.     

The Evolving Role of the Actuary in Financial Reporting of Insurance

Abstract

The demands that financial reporting of insurance companies present to actuaries are great and growing. With the prospects of change in the rules for financial reporting becoming more likely and insurance products becoming more complex, it is desirable to examine the evolving roles of the actuary and the actuarial profession. This paper describes these changes and the value that actuaries bring to financial reporting. The challenges presented are significant. As the methods of assessing and managing risk change are becoming more complex, the best efforts of the profession and individual actuaries will be needed to ensure that the actuary’s role is enhanced and expanded. Not only will the techniques used evolve, but the audiences served by the actuary will become even more demanding. The actuarial profession is better situated than other professions to meet these demands.     

The Role of National Culture in International Financial Reporting Standards Adoption

Prior research shows that the development of national accounting systems follows different patterns in different countries over the world. This was recently supported by the staggered manner in which countries adopt IFRS. Extant evidence shows that IFRS adoption decisions at the country level are determined by institutional and economic factors. In this context, cultural factors have not been considered. This paper examines the relationship between five cultural dimensions and countries’ decisions to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) around the world during the period 2003-2014. We find that countries with higher levels of uncertainty avoidance are more likely to adopt IFRS. Additionally, they are more likely to commit to early adoption largely on a mandatory rather than voluntary basis. On the other hand, countries with higher values of masculinity are more likely to adopt IFRS early, but the extent (whether voluntary or mandatory adoption) of adoption is not significantly related to masculinity. Finally, we show that countries with higher power distance (long-term orientation) are more (less) likely to adopt IFRS on a mandatory basis. The results are in line with Gray’s theory of cultural influence and suggest that differences in national culture had a significant role in countries’ reaction to the introduction of IFRS as a set of unified accounting standards targeting the harmonization of accounting standards adopted across different jurisdictions.     

A Review of the Role of Financial Reporting in the Global Financial Crisis

The aim of this article is to review the recent literature that examines the performance of financial reporting in the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). In analysing the GFC a large number of commentators have attributed blame to financial reporting, in particular to the use of fair values (FVs) in reporting financial instruments in bank balance sheets. Based on a review of the emerging evidence, the main conclusions are that: (i) there is no empirical evidence that fair‐value accounting (FVA) during the GFC added to the severity of the crisis; (ii) further research is required to determine whether FVA in the years immediately preceding the crisis exacerbated the GFC because of the possibility that some of the FV gains reported may have been illusory; (iii) the existing literature has largely ignored the role of financial reports in the determination of a firm's cost of capital, although it is through this avenue that, in a crisis, financial reporting could play its most significant role; and (iv) the bulk of the commentary associated with financial reporting and the GFC has revolved around the valuation objective of financial reporting, even though financial reports also have a stewardship objective. Failure of financial reporting to satisfy this objective in the years preceding the GFC could have exacerbated the crisis. More consideration needs to be given to this latter issue to enable a complete assessment of the role of financial reporting in the GFC.     

财务会计报告编制中的目标导向

<企业会计准则一基本准则>第四条对财务会计报告的目标作出了规定.准则明确了财务会计报告是从企业财务状况、经营成果和现金流量三个方面提供能够反映企业管理层受托责任履行情况和有助于财务会计报告使用者作出经济决策的财务会计信息,这一目标无论是对财务会计报告编制还是注册会计师的财务会计报告鉴证,都起着核心指导作用.财务会计报告编制过程中大量的专业判断、编制形成的财务会计信息的信息质量保障以及注册会计师作为财务会计信息公允性鉴证者的鉴证风险控制,都需要以财务会计报告的目标为导向,始终不忘财务会计报告为使用者提供决策有用信息这一根本目标.     

The Role of Current Cost Accounting for Financial Reporting and Regulation in Utility Industries

This article considers the role of accounting, in particular current cost accounting (CCA), in influencing perceptions of financial performance and consequently regulatory decisions in utility industries over the past 25 years. It examines the accounting practices of nationalized industries, and how privatization affected accounting in utilities. It concludes with a discussion of more recent developments in relation to regulatory accounts and their role in regulatory decision-making.     

Measurement in Financial Reporting: Half a Century of Research and Practice

The paper explores developments in the choice of measurement method in financial reporting over the half century that has elapsed since the foundation of Abacus in 1965. The discussion is confined to the specific problem of measuring individual assets and liabilities, rather than the wider problems of the choice of measurement unit (as in inflation accounting) or capital maintenance (as in income measurement). Changes in financial reporting practice and standards are considered in relation to developments in academic research. This has been a two‐way process: research has been stimulated by problems of practice, and practice, particularly as embodied in standards, has been influenced by the results of research. Both have been influenced by significant events in the world economy, notably the inflation of the 1970s and the global financial crisis that started in 2007. Historical cost has retained its position as the predominant measurement technique in practice, but considerable progress has been made in the implementation and understanding of current value measurements, although the principles for choosing between alternative current values (particularly ‘entry’ values as opposed to ‘exit’ values) require further exploration by standard setters, assisted by academic research.     

The Evolution of Consolidated Financial Reporting in Australia

This paper reviews the history of financial reporting by corporate groups in Australia, and in particular, the States of New South Wales and Victoria. Changes in Statutory and Stock Exchange rules governing consolidated reporting are described and the financial reporting practices of Australian holding companies between 1930 and 1962 are surveyed. The evidence indicates that (a) while the practice was not widespread, some Australian holding companies supplemented their financial statements with consolidated financial statements prior to the incorporation of such a requirement in either legislation or Stock Exchange listing requirements; (b) the influence of Stock Exchanges on the evolution of this practice is somewhat less than that previously attributed to it; and (c) the rapid spread of this form of reporting in an essentially unregulated environment (N.S. W.) coincided with the development of a market for public debt securities.     

国际财务报告准则前言

国际会计准则委员会最近发布了《国际财务报告准则前言》。该《前言》全面阐述了国际会计准则委员会的构成和职能、国际会计准则理事会的目标、国际财务报告准则的地位和作用、国际财务报告准则的制定程序 ,甚至还包括使用的语言 ,是国际会计准则委员会的全新展示。本期特刊出此《前言》译稿 ,供参考。     

Objectives of Financial Reporting

Conceptual framework documents can be evaluated in terms of four criteria: clarity of expression, consistency of assumptions with knowledge of commercial practices and the behaviour of external users of accounting information, internal consistency, and comprehensiveness as a guide to financial reporting practice. On this basis, the Australian Accounting Research Foundation's (AARF's) Statements of Accounting Concepts No. 2 (AARF, 1990a), Objectives of General Purpose Financial Reporting , is found wanting. SAC 2 is inappropriately drafted in terms of normative statements, and incorporates considerable ambiguity because of its allusions to inconsistent objectives without guidance as to weightings or how apparently inconsistent statements might be reconciled. Supporting analysis is rudimentary at best and it relies on an inappropriate use of terminology, while statements lack empirical support and are not linked to any analysis of users' needs for information. Six recommendations for the redrafting of a more narrowly focused SAC 2 (concentrating on annual reports by profit-seeking entities) are presented.     

The Usefulness of Financial Reporting in Spanish Local Governments

Since 1992, accounting for Spanish local governments has been undergoing substantial change. The application of a new regulation has introduced the double entry system, an approximation to the accounting terminology used in the private sector and the presentation of financial statements beyond the purely budgetary reporting. In this context, the paper attempts to examine the extent to which the new regulation has achieved the objectives of financial reporting, who the users of the information could be, what the usefulness of the financial statements is and what they are used for in local governments. The results prove that the financial reporting of local governments can be useful for potential users like audit institutions, financial institutions or creditors. However, there is a long way to go before we can say that the information is used to the maximum. This implies that further progress is necessary in the use of financial information in local governments, and fundamentally it is necessary to introduce techniques of financial analysis traditionally used in business entities.     

Corporate Financial Reporting in Nigeria

This paper reports on the extent of financial reporting by a sample of publicly quoted companies in Nigeria. Rather than examine the disclosure of specific items of information, the paper deals with the entire contents of the corporate annual report and highlights its different parts. The index of disclosure methodology is used to describe the trend of reporting practices between 1982 and 1986.     

The Information Economics Approach to Financial Reporting

This paper provides a non-technical overview of the literature on the economics of information and its implications for financial reporting. This paper attempts to spell out the unity of approach which underlies all information economics models and focuses on the main implications of the literature for accounting policy makers. The central section of the paper identifies precise conditions under which the provision of public information can lead to an improvement in social welfare. An understanding of these conditions is essential for policy makers if they are to take into account the economic effects of their decisions. The final section highlights three important unresolved issues and identifies promising directions for further research.     

Relevance of Academic Research and Researchers' Role in the IASB's Financial Reporting Standard Setting

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) faces a vast number of standard‐setting issues at all levels of financial reporting. The purpose of this article is to explore the relevance of academic research for financial reporting standard setting and the role of academic researchers in the standard‐setting process. We contribute to the current debate surrounding International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by drawing inferences from prior findings regarding the role of research in the IASB's standard‐setting efforts. After defining three broad categories of standard‐setting questions, we explore how the international heterogeneity of its constituency imposes constraints on the IASB's work. Then, whether and how academic research can inform policy makers is investigated from an epistemological perspective. Based on a review of extant literature, the general criteria which a piece of research should fulfil in order to be perceived as relevant and useful by standard setters are discussed. This discussion is followed by more detailed considerations regarding the suitability of different research approaches for each of the three categories of standard‐setting questions. We also touch on the subject of inferential problems inherent in most academic accounting research. Since the main objective is to contribute insights relevant to the IASB's efforts, we analyse academics' career systems and their incentives to engage in research intermediation, before discussing possible ways in which interested researchers can channel their insights into the IASB's standard‐setting process. Overall, the international dimension of IASB standard setting and its implications for relevant research are emphasized.