Goodwill Accounting in Selected Countries and the Harmonization of International Accounting Standards

Economic and financial markets interpenetrate and national economies are increasingly interdependent. This results in a growing need for comparability of accounting procedures internationally. Accounting for goodwill illustrates this phenomenon. By specifying the recommended asset treatment for purchased, positive goodwill, and the five-year amortization period, IASC has taken a significant step towards harmonization of goodwill accounting. As noted in the article, however, the implications for consolidated income may be quite drastic. This is especially so with respect to the implications of the revised IAS 22 (following IAS ED 32) for potential leveraged corporate buy-outs.     

International Accounting Standards: An Alternative Rationale

International aspects of financial reporting have begun to receive an increasing amount of attention by a range of organizations. There is a need then, to appraise critically the performance and the underlying rationale of those agencies responsible for influencing international practices. Identification and appraisal of the rationale underlying the existence of those agencies is a necessary step in determining their potential for achieving the objectives which they have been set. This paper examines the rationale behind one of these agencies, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC, 1977). Unlike many others, the paper does not attempt to explain why we should have an organization such as the IASC and the standards it produces. Rather, it represents an attempt to explain why we do have an organization such as the IASC. To that end, an alternative rationale is suggested for the output of the IASC, based on theories of professional selfinterest, agency, and property rights. It is argued that that rationale is likely to have significantly greater explanatory power in respect of the present output produced by the IASC than those traditionally presented.     

论会计准则的国际协调

由于经济发展所处的环境不同，各国制定的会计准则存在很大差异，这种差异赞成的障碍给世界经济带来的困扰日益增加。国际经济愈发展，会计准则的国际协调就愈迫切。本文分析了形成这种迫切性的原因以及促进国际协调所遇到的阻力，阐述了我国参与国际会计协调的思路。     

Corporate Lobbying on Accounting Standards: Methods, Timing and Perceived Effectiveness

There is a long-standing concern in the literature about the potential importance of non-observable forms of lobbying that may be used by corporate managers to influence accounting standard setting bodies. To date, however, no study has documented their nature or their volume. This study provides such evidence in the context of the U.K.'s Accounting Standards Board (ASB) standard setting process for the period 1991–96. It also provides evidence with respect to the timing at which lobbying activity takes place and its perceived effectiveness by corporate managers. The findings suggest that companies use a variety of lobbying methods, including appeals to their auditors and private meetings with ASB members and staff. Importantly, however, the use of these methods is significantly associated with the use of comment letters; companies which submit comment letters are much more likely to use other methods than companies which do not. Other findings suggest that more companies lobby during the stages of the ASB process at which public consultation takes place (e.g., exposure period of a discussion paper) than at the earlier stages of the process (e.g., agenda formation) which are considered in the literature as the stages at which lobbying can be most effective. With respect to the perceived effectiveness of lobbying, companies which lobbied the ASB considered lobbying to be more effective than companies which did not.     

The impact of the new Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (ASBE) on financial results of mainland Chinese listed companies

Effective 1st January 2007, 38 new Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (ASBE) had become applicable to listed companies in mainland China. Research based on these latest standards will help us understand the current accounting harmonisation process in China. Previous studies, though rather scarce, had compared financial statements of companies simultaneously being listed on the mainland and Hong Kong. However, the very recent impact of the new ASBE has not been taken into account. Therefore, the present study focuses on domestic Chinese companies after implementation of the new ASBE. The financial figures of each item reported under the old Chinese Accounting Rules and Regulations and the new ASBE were collected in pairs and were analysed. Except for the test results on total assets and shareholders' equity, the other results revealed no significant differences between the paired figures of net assets per share, operating revenue, profit before tax, net profit, net profit after extraordinary gains and losses, basic earnings per share, net cash flow from operating activities and the per share value.     

《企业所得税法》与《企业会计准则》的主要差异

《中华人民共和国企业所得税法》(以下简称《企业所得税法》)与《企业会计准则》(以下简称"会计准则")在目标、原则、核算结果等方面的不同,导致《企业所得税法》与会计准则存在差异。这些差异具体表现在收入确认、资产减值准备的处理、公允价值的使用、政府补助、非货币性交易、借款费用、长期股权投资等方面。这些差异应该在纳税申报时根据《企业所得税法》的规定进行调整。     

《企业所得税法》与《企业会计准则》的基础性差异分析

本文从适用范围、基本假设、会计基础等方面,对《中华人民共和国企业所得税法》与《企业会计准则——基本准则》的基础性差异进行了较为全面的分析。认识与把握这些差异,对于贯彻实施《企业所得税法》,正确履行税款征收与缴纳、纳税申报、纳税调整和加强企业所得税管理都具有一定的理论与实践意义。     

中国会计准则国际协调效果的实证研究

自改革开放以来,我国进行了一系列旨在加强会计准则国际协调的改革,会计信息编报者和使用评价者都十分关心会计准则国际协调的效果。本文在借鉴国内外相关研究的基础上,采用实证研究方法从纵向上比较和分析AB股公司的净利润差异与会计信息价值相关性的变化,以期对我国会计准则国际协调的总体效果做出经验性评价。     

中外石油天然气行业会计准则的对比

针对石油天然气行业的特点,许多国家制定了本国的石油天然气准则。本文对比分析了国际财务报告准则、美国和我国石油天然气会计准则的内容,就我国石油天然气会计准则的进一步完善提出了几点建议。     

The Withdrawal of Current Cost Accounting in the United Kingdom: A Study of the Accounting Standards Committee

Evidence from the archives of the U.K. Accounting Standards Committee (ASC) is used to trace the events leading to the withdrawal of the current cost accounting standard, SSAP 16, from 1980 to 1988. Three central issues are addressed. First, the ASC's role as a regulatory body is considered in the light of the failure to obtain compliance with SSAP 16 and to find an acceptable replacement. Second, the decline in support for SSAP 16 is explained in terms of changes in the economic environment. Third, the roles of different interest groups in the process are analysed.     

Politics, Processes and the Future of Australian Accounting Standards

The perspective of public interest and interest group theories of regulation is adopted to consider the future of Australian accounting standards following major reforms proposed by the Australian Commonwealth government as part of its 1997 Corporate Law Economic Reform Program (CLERP). Interest groups in the Australian environment are identified. Their lobbying had influenced the initial proposals; and their reactions when the CLERP proposals were published resulted in substantial modifications to the CLERP proposals, which had initially recommendedthat International Accounting Standards (IASs) be adopted as national standards from 1 January 1999.
The role of accounting standards and the structure of standard setting are explored. The political nature of standard setting is illustrated through a review of the CLERP proposals, submissions of various interest groups and the government's responses to them. The central arguments are that key assumptions underlying the CLERP proposals are flawed, and that the CLERP proposals could not achieve the outcomes desired of them.
It seems inevitable, however, that international standards eventually will supplant domestic standards. In the longer term, Australian standard setters seem destined to have a diminished role in the international standard setting arena.     

新会计准则下公允价值会计理论的研究

与提高会计信息质量的相关性相适应,完善和应用公允价值计量是一种趋势。作为五大计量属性之一,基于理论上的局限性,应用上大量的假设和前提,公允价值计量是可供选择的计量方法之一。因此,要积极、稳妥地推进公允价值的计量,提高会计信息的质量,更好地服务于经济发展。     

Examining the differences between United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) and International Accounting Standards (IAS): implications for the harmonization of accounting standards

Current trends indicate continued movement towards the harmonization of accounting standards, but not without difficulty and concern. At times, the political and financial market pressure, push the movement in opposite directions. The paper discusses the conceptual framework used in establishing Global Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) (International Accounting Standards, IAS) and U.S. GAAP. Numerous transactional examples are illustrated under both Global GAAP and U.S. GAAP treatment. Several country specific references are presented demonstrating the difficulty in achieving harmonization. Implications for harmonization of accounting standards include arguments “for” and “against” Global GAAP.     

Using Academic Research for the Post‐Implementation Review of Accounting Standards: A Note

The IASB and the FASB discuss formal processes for a post‐implementation review (PIR). This note contributes to this discussion in three ways. First, we argue that academics can, and should, play a significant role in a PIR. Second, we suggest a framework for empirical studies that are useful in a PIR, which enhances understandability of accounting research by standard setters. And third, we propose a process by which standard setters can take advantage of and embed academic research in a PIR.     

解析新会计准则对会计信息价值相关性的影响

本文研究了新会计准则对会计信息价值相关性的影响。我们发现,新准则实施后,会计信息总体的价值相关性显著提高,并且受新准则影响部分的价值相关性改善程度显著高于不受影响的部分。在此基础上,我们还分析了公允价值计量对受影响部分信息质量改善的贡献。研究还发现,对于非金融行业,非公允净资产比公允净资产更具有价值相关性;而对于金融行业,二者没有显著差别。本文的研究表明,新会计准则确实将原有准则的不合理部分做了修正,其实施有助于会计质量的整体提高。但是这种修正并不是简单地盲目采用公允价值,而是综合考虑各种计价方式的结果。本文的研究结果对中国乃至国际会计准则的改革提供了有意义的信息。     

会计准则改革、实际控制人性质与盈余管理

以2003～2005、2008～2010年间沪、深A股制造业上市公司为样本,考察会计准则改革对实际控制人性质不同公司盈余管理程度的影响。结果表明,会计准则改革后,中央控股公司的盈余管理程度没有发生显著变化,地方控股公司和民营公司的盈余管理程度均显著提高,且二者盈余管理程度提高的幅度不存在显著差异。     

Public Choice and Accounting Standard Setting in New Zealand: An Exploratory Study

Recent studies in accounting regulation have used either the capture argument or the pluralistic notion to describe the enactment of accounting regulations. This paper explores the nature of the impact of public choice in accounting standard setting in New Zealand using the pluralistic notion. To provide an insight into the standard-setting process, this paper involves an examination of the establishment, withdrawal and re-establishment of New Zealand's most controversial standard after current cost accounting — the standard on investment property accounting (SSAP 17). The investigation considers the nature of public choice in the agenda entrance, demand and supply factors influencing standard setting in New Zealand. The results indicate that the New Zealand accounting standard-setting process is pluralistic in a limited way. Like most other English-speaking countries, the scope of participation for certain groups has been institutionalized on the supply side by way of membership of standard-setting committees of the New Zealand Society of Accountants. On the demand side, however, consumers of accounting have been provided with only limited scope for participating in the formal process of standard setting. Nevertheless, other means (i.e., exogenous and informal ones) may be used to influence the process. Overall, from both the demand and supply perspectives of regulation, the Big-8 accounting firms (as they were previously known) followed by the preparers of financial statements, seem to have greater participatory capacity in the New Zealand standard-setting process.     

The Equity Accounting Saga in Australia: Cyclical Standard Setting

Equity accounting in Australia has had a long, chequered history. This article examines that history by reference to a succession of six Exposure Drafts, one Statement of Accounting Practice and two Standards issued between 1968 and 1995. We adapt Nobes' (1991, 1992a. 1992b) cycle model of regulation to explain variation in 'standardization' across these documents. Nobes defined 'standardization' to mean the restriction of choice in accounting methods but we modify the concept to allow for measurement rule 'improvements' and changes in required disclosure levels. Nobes' cycle model has four stages: a starting point of varied practice: energy inputs, often crises, drawing attention to the issue at hand: forces opposing and forces in favour of standardization. A cycle- like pattern of variation in standardization emerges in the present context. Potential shortcomings of the cycle model are addressed, including Skerratt and Whittington's (1992) criticisms of Nobes' cycle model. The article extends the literature with respect to a cyclical explanation of the standard setting process. The cycle pattern evident here reflects a slow and incomplete resolution of various conceptual and legal difficulties in regulating equity accounting in Australia.     

权证会计处理的国际准则及其借鉴

本文在简要介绍权证产品及其要素、种类和功能的基础上,重点围绕国际会计准则关于金融工具会计的相关规定,对权证的会计处理原则和方法进行了探讨,并就其对我国会计及信息披露发展的启示进行了分析,以期为我国权证产品的成功推出进行一些有益的探索.     

国际公共部门会计准则体系研究

国际公共部门会计准则（IPSAS）是全球政府会计准则的标杆。本文就国际公共部门会计准则（IP—SAS）的制定程序、制定团队、现有IPSAS的内容、国际公共部门会计准则理事会（IPsAsB）的未来战略和工作计划、IPSAS的未来布局及发展趋势等一系列问题进行概括与分析,以冀为我国的政府会计准则研究提供启发与借鉴。