The IASB standard-setting process: Participation and perceptions of financial statement users

The interests of users of financial statements are, in theory, paramount to accounting standard-setters. However, there is a dearth of research into users' participation in, and influence on, the process of setting accounting standards. The enhanced status now accorded to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) offers the opportunity to examine these issues in a new regulatory context. This study reports the results of a questionnaire survey of the perceptions of, and participation in, the IASB process of a sample of UK investment management firms. The findings suggest that these firms' participation is not as low as is often inferred from the public record of comment letters. In particular, a considerable number of firms participate through representative report user organisations such as the Investment Management Association. Other findings suggest that the major factor inhibiting investment firms from participating is the cost of lobbying, not complacency that the IASB is ‘on their side’ and will naturally safeguard their interests. Moreover, the respondents consider the accounting profession and the European and US accounting standard-setters to be the dominant interest groups in the IASB standard-setting process.     

IASB/FASB概念框架联合项目中的资产概念研究述评

IASB/FASB概念框架联合项目认为,双方现存的资产定义存在"可能的"、"预期的"和"控制"指代不明,以及过分强调"未来经济利益"与"过去交易或事项"等方面的缺陷,提出了新的资产定义。这个新定义强调资产是主体具有排他权利的现时经济资源,摒弃了传统的资产成本观、未来经济利益观和权利观,发展和完善了IASB的资产经济资源观,为建立逻辑一致的概念框架奠定了基础,是对资产本质的科学认识,并与经济学的资产概念保持了一致,是一个值得期待的定义。     

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 .     

Personal Reflections on Ten Years of the IASB

The International Accounting Standard Board's first 10 years were, in many ways, tumultuous. Established initially as a type of accounting ‘think tank’ with a mandate to develop high‐quality accounting standards that could be adopted on a voluntary basis by countries around the world, it soon gained an international constituency that thrust it into the hurly burly of international accounting standard setting. Before it knew it, the Board was faced with not only resolving challenging technical issues but also dealing with the politics and other pressures that accompany attempts to change accounting practices in highly controversial areas. This article is a personal reflection on the Board's journey from its inception in 2001 until 2011, when the last of the initial board appointees, including the author, retired from the Board. The article indentifies and discusses some of the critical events that took place, including the impact of some of the events on the people directly involved.     

Fair Value and the IASB/FASB Conceptual Framework Project: An Alternative View

This paper analyses various controversial issues arising from the current project of the IASB and FASB to develop a joint conceptual framework for financial reporting standards. It discusses their possible implications for measurement and, in particular, for the use of fair value as the preferred measurement basis. Two competing world views are identified as underlying the debate: a Fair Value View, implicit in the IASB's public pronouncements, and an Alternative View implicit in publicly expressed criticisms of the IASB's pronouncements. The Fair Value View assumes that markets are relatively perfect and complete and that, in such a setting, financial reports should meet the needs of passive investors and creditors by reporting fair values derived from current market prices. The Alternative View assumes that markets are relatively imperfect and incomplete and that, in such a market setting, financial reports should also meet the monitoring requirements of current shareholders (stewardship) by reporting past transactions and events using entity-specific measurements that reflect the opportunities actually available to the reporting entity. The different implications of the two views are illustrated by reference to specific issues in recent accounting standards. Finally, the theoretical support for the two views is discussed. It is concluded that, in a realistic market setting, the search for a universal measurement method may be fruitless and a more appropriate approach to the measurement problem might be to define a clear measurement objective and to select the measurement method that best meets that objective in the particular circumstances that exist in relation to each item in the accounts. An example of such an approach is deprival value, which is not, at present, under consideration by the IASB.     

商誉减值测试：FASB与IASB相关规定比较

2001年下半年，美国财务会计准则委员会(下文简称FASB)发布了《财务会计准则公告第142号—商誉和其他无形资产》(SFAS142)，它取代《会计程序公报第17号——无形资产》(APB17)，成为规范商誉会计的新规范。SFAS142规定，商誉不再被摊销而是实施减值测试。关于此规定，……     

财务报表国际趋同的重大进展——IASB与FASB《财务报表列报初步意见》之分析

财务报表作为公司对外财务报告的核心载体,其结构、内容及繁简在国际上充满争议。如何使财务报表最为及时、准确、有效地传递公司财务信息给使用者,是理论和实务界的共同努力方向。国际会计准则理事会(IASB)和美国财务会计准则委员会(FASB)联合发布的《财务报表列报初步意见》讨论稿提出了颠覆性的方案。针对讨论稿中提出的变革方案,我们需要从强化资产负债观、逐步引入综合收益表、加强对新报表分类模式理论研究三个方面努力,以改进我国财务报告,实现我国会计准则与国际财务报告准则持续和动态趋同。     

A content analysis of the comment letters to the FASB and IASB: Accounting for contingencies

In this study, we read and analyze 369 comment letters written in response to the IASB's Exposure Draft (ED) of Proposed Amendments to IAS 37 and the FASB's Exposure Draft of Proposed Amendments to FASB Statement No. 5. We also examine how responses to the IASB ED are affected by whether or not the use of IFRS is mandated or permitted by the respondent's country. Although responses were overwhelmingly unfavorable to both EDs, more support was shown for the IASB's proposal to eliminate the probability recognition criterion than for the FASB's proposal to amend the U.S. GAAP disclosure rules. Users responding to the FASB ED provided significantly more intense support than corporate preparers, financial preparers, and legal practitioners. Significantly more respondents to the IASB ED were from countries required or permitted to use IFRS than from countries required to report under their national GAAP. In addition, constituents required or permitted to use IFRS were significantly more likely to express an unfavorable response to the ED and to cite relevance to support their position.     

齐心协力 谱写会计国际趋同新篇章

2008年国际金融危机爆发以来,中国经历了进入新世纪以来最为困难的一年.面对国际金融危机带来的严峻挑战和极其复杂的国内外经济形势,中国政府科学判断,及时出台、全面实施并不断丰富完善应对国际金融危机的一揽子计划及相关政策措施,较快扭转了经济增速下滑态势,保增长、调结构、促改革、惠民生取得了显著成效.     

South African financial reporting students' reading comprehension of the IASB Conceptual Framework

Students studying principles-based IFRS require a thorough knowledge and understanding of the IASB's Conceptual Framework (Framework). Reading comprehension of the Framework enables students to access and decode its content. This allows the development of the ability to analyze, critique, evaluate and synthesize the content. The objective of this study was to evaluate students' reading comprehension of the Framework using the Cloze procedure. Researchers have questioned whether there should be different assessments of reading comprehension for different demographic groups. This paper explores differences in the reading comprehension of a diverse cohort of South African financial reporting students. Many students demonstrated reading comprehension at the Independent or Instructional Level. Further analysis revealed statistically significant differences between reading comprehension by language of instruction and the attendance, or not, of prior reading courses. While this study considers South African students, the results may be of interest to instructors in other multiracial or multilingual environments.     

IASB和我国保险会计准则的比较分析:基于保险合同计量部分

随着国际保险会计的迅速发展,我国保险行业的会计也深受国际潮流的影响。2010年8月,国际会计准则委员会(IASB)发布了《征求意见稿——保险合同》,进一步完善了保险会计的规定。我国财政部于2009年12月正式发布了《保险合同相关会计处理规定》。本文主要对IASB最新发布的IFRS 4征求意见稿——保险合同与我国保险会计准则中的保险合同计量部分进行了较为详细的比较分析,并讨论了新准则对我国保险实务的影响,望能为我国保险会计的发展提供一定的参考。     

An Analysis of the Reformed Corporation Tax: A Comment and an Extension

Mole (ABR, Autumn 1987) examined the effect of the change in the corporate tax system on investment in plant and machinery financed by retained profits. This comment questions the methodology used and the conclusions drawn. It also extends the analysis to investment from new equity finance and concludes that the new system creates less disincentive than the former one.     

A Theoretic Analysis of Extent of Lender Participation in a Participating Mortgage

A participating mortgage is a loan in which a lender accepts a below-market coupon rate in return for a share (participation) in the cash flows generated by income-producing real property. The cash flows provided by participation are classified as contingent interest and are intended to compensate the lender for additional risk exposure as well as the reduction in coupon rate. In this paper, we present a partial equilibrium wealth-maximizing model to estimate the extent of lender participation and an analysis of the factors affecting it. The results of formal comparative statics analysis show that the lender's percentage participation is, in general, positively related to changes in the loan-to-value ratio and threshold cash flows above which participation is payable. Among yet other results, a change in the contracted loan life has an ambiguous effect on the lender's percentage participation. Then, in an effort to resolve ambiguities in the comparative statics results, we employ a numerical procedure in conducting sensitivity analyses. This allows us to estimate percentage participation levels, and their elasticities, under various assumptions regarding the underlying factors. JEL Classification: G21, C65     

管理人员胜任力研究述评

管理人员胜任力研究是目前学术界研究的热点和难点问题之一。因管理人员在组织中的重要作用,使得管理人员胜任力的研究备受学者关注,形成以当代心理学、人力资源管理、教育学等多学科的研究视角和相应的研究成果。本文旨在对这些研究成果进行文献梳理,对研究的现状进行描述,分析并找出研究中存在的问题及原因,提出相应的建议对策。     

Discourses surrounding the evolution of the IASB/FASB Conceptual Framework: What they reveal about the “living law” of accounting

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently published the final version of Chapter 1 of their joint Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (IASB/FASB, 2010). In this article, we focus on two of the key issues addressed in Chapter 1: stewardship and the definition of the primary user groups of financial statements. To address the discourses surrounding the evolution of Chapter 1, we introduce the concept of “living law” from sociological jurisprudence into accounting scholarship. We first trace the role of stewardship/accountability in the evolution—from antiquity to the present day—of the living law of accounting. We then explore the origin, nature, and implications—from a living law perspective—of the moral traditions associated with stewardship/accountability. Our analysis suggests that stewardship has been, and continues to be, embedded in the living law of accounting—notwithstanding the formal pronouncements of standard setters. We also examine the social accounting project from a living law perspective and we suggest that such an analysis provides new possibilities for addressing core social accounting concerns. We conclude by arguing that, particularly in light of the far reaching impact of the neoliberal agenda, there is an urgent need for scholars in both contemporary “social” and “mainstream” accounting to recognize and build upon their shared living law heritage rooted in the age-old traditions of stewardship/accountability.