CFO变更与企业财务报告质量

在现代风险导向审计模式下,审计师会关注CFO变更这一信号以识别和评估财务报表重大错报风险,但鲜有文献探究财务报告质量是否因此而下降。以2010—2020年沪深两市A股上市公司为对象,研究CFO变更对企业财务报告质量的影响。研究表明,CFO变更提高了企业应计盈余管理的程度,增加了企业报告小额盈余、进行财务重述以及被出具非标审计意见的可能性,进而导致财务报告质量显著下降;当CFO未兼任内部董事、发生外部继任或非正常变更、任职于非央企时,上述负向作用更加明显。进一步研究表明,CFO变更通过提高企业的代理成本与信息不对称程度从而降低财务报告质量,并最终使企业面临更大的融资约束。     

Capital market reactions to earnings announcements: empirical evidence on the difference in the information content of IAS-based earnings and EC-Directives-based earnings

Listing on a foreign stock exchange and the aim to attract international investors usually forces European quoted companies to adapt information supplied in financial statements to different information needs of international investors. Because of the dominance of the American stock market, this adaptation raises especially the question whether Anglo-American-oriented accounting standards (for instance IAS — International Accounting Standards) convey a higher information content for investors than continental-Europe-oriented accounting standards (for instance EC-Directives). The study examines the information content of earnings announcements, i.e. abnormal returns resulting from un-expected earnings, for a sample of Swiss quoted companies which have changed the accounting standard used for presenting Swiss GAAP consolidated financial statements to either EC-Directives or IAS and can therefore contribute to this discussion. The results of the study suggest that IAS-based earnings announce-ments convey a statistically significant higher information content than earnings announcements based on the Swiss GAAP if a variance-approach is used. For investors in the Swiss capital market, the switch from Swiss GAAP to IAS has therefore increased the information content of financial statements. But comparing IAS-based and EC-Directives-based earnings announcements, the results suggest that for investors IAS-based earnings do not possess a statistically significant higher information content than EC-Directives-based earnings. This result has been achieved despite the fact that for Swiss financial analysts financial statements based on IAS convey a significant higher information content than financial statements based on EC-Directives. Avoiding problems in specifying a model for unexpected earnings by standardizing the mean of the abnormal returns of each event window to a positive value does not lead to a different conclusion if the variance approach is used.     

Accounting for Securitizations: A Comparison of SFAS 140 and IASB 39

This paper examines the accounting for securitizations under US GAAP and international financial reporting standards (IFRS). Using a sample securitization of the Ford Motor Company, we demonstrate substantial differences depending on whether the securitization is recorded following US GAAP or IFRS. Our analysis suggests international convergence of accounting standards will be more challenging as the FASB and IASB begin tackling issues, such as asset securitization, that have important economic consequences and where the differences between US GAAP and IFRS are substantive.     

The case of VIP Scandinavia

This article analyses the stock market’s reaction to news about the Norwegian company VIP Scandinavia over a period of about a year and a half. The data show that the market relied to a great extent upon financial reporting as a source of valuation information. A tentative attempt is made to explain this finding in the light of earlier capital market research. VIP Scandinavia has been accused of publishing fraudulent financial statements. The article also discusses whether empirical results of the kind presented here, may be used as evidence of the harm caused by misleading financial statements.     

Accounting for financial instruments in the banking industry: conclusions from a simulation model

The paper analyses the effects of three sets of accounting rules for financial instruments – Old IAS before IAS 39 became effective, Current IAS or US GAAP, and the Full Fair Value (FFV) model proposed by the Joint Working Group (JWG) – on the financial statements of banks. We develop a simulation model that captures the essential characteristics of a modern universal bank with investment banking and commercial banking activities. We run simulations for different strategies (fully hedged, partially hedged) using historical data from periods with rising and falling interest rates.

We show that under Old IAS a fully hedged bank can portray its zero economic earnings in its financial statements. As Old IAS offer much discretion, this bank may also present income that is either positive or negative. We further show that because of the restrictive hedge accounting rules, banks cannot adequately portray their best-practice risk management activities under Current IAS or US GAAP. We demonstrate that – contrary to assertions from the banking industry – mandatory FFV accounting adequately reflects the economics of banking activities.

Our detailed analysis identifies, in addition, several critical issues of the accounting models that have not been covered in previous literature.     

Voluntary adoption of non-local GAAP in the European Union: A study of determinants and consequences

Abstract

This study examines the determinants and consequences of voluntary adoption of non-local accounting principles (non-local GAAP) by firms listed and domiciled in the European Union (EU). We restrict ourselves to the two predominant internationally accepted sets of accounting standards: International Accounting Standards (IAS) and United States generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP). We have used various sources to identify EU firms that use non-local GAAP. We examine the 1999 annual reports of all these firms, because accounting standard choices in more recent years may be affected by the announcement of the proposal by the European Commission in February 2001 to mandate IAS usage from 2005 on. The maintained hypothesis is that firms that voluntarily adopt IAS or US GAAP expect to experience net benefits from adoption. The finding that 133 non-financial firms in the EU voluntarily used non-local GAAP in 1999 suggests that the majority of listed EU firms does not expect to benefit from non-local GAAP adoption. By studying the characteristics of non-local GAAP adopters this study provides insight into the determinants of non-local GAAP adoption. We find that firms voluntarily using non-local GAAP are more likely to be listed on a US exchange, the EASDAQ exchange in Brussels, and have more geographically dispersed operations. Furthermore, they are more likely to be domiciled in a country with lower quality financial reporting and where IAS is explicitly allowed as an alternative to local GAAP. We also study whether non-local GAAP adopters have lower levels of information asymmetry, a much cited benefit of using more transparent financial reporting, than non-adopters. We examine three proxies for information asymmetry: analyst following, cost of equity capital, and uncertainty among analysts and investors (forecast dispersion and stock return volatility). We document a positive effect of non-local GAAP adoption on analyst following, but fail to find evidence of a lower cost of capital for non-local GAAP adopters. Contrary to expectations, uncertainty among analysts and investors appears to be higher for firms using IAS or US GAAP than for firms using local GAAP. However, by comparing ‘early’ and ‘late’ adopters, we find some evidence that suggests that benefits take some time to fully materialise.     

论现行财务报表的缺陷及改进

尽管会计准则制定部门封财务报表从报表项目及其金额的确定到附注披露内容均进行了大量改进，但由于忽视了财务报表项目之间的信息钩稽关系，导致会计信息的清晰性和相关性受到不同程度的损害。本文在对现行财务报表缺陷进行具体分析的基础上，根据报表相关项目之间的信息钧稽关系及报表体系设计原则提出了改进现行财务报表体系的具体建议，以期进一步提高会计信息的清晰性和相关性。     

Compliance with the Disclosure Requirements of Germany's New Market: IAS Versus US GAAP

This research examines compliance with both International Accounting Standards (IAS) and United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) for companies listed on Germany's New Market. Based on a sample of 100 firms that apply IAS and 100 that apply US GAAP, we investigate the extent to which companies comply with IAS and US GAAP disclosure requirements in their year–2000 financial statements. Compliance levels range from 100% to 41.6%, with an average of 83.7%. The average compliance level is significantly lower for companies that apply IAS as compared to companies applying US GAAP. This study provides the first systematic evidence regarding the enforcement of US GAAP outside the US, and accordingly not subject to Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) review. The results unveil a considerable extent of non–compliance. The overall level of compliance with IAS and US GAAP disclosures is positively related to firms being audited by Big 5 auditing firms and to cross–listings on US exchanges. Compliance is also associated with references to the use of International Standards of Auditing (ISA) or US GAAS in the audit opinion. The findings add to the growing concerns regarding the lack of effective supervision in the German capital market.     

政府财务报告主体的国际比较及思考

比较了美国、英国、法国和澳大利亚四国政府财务报告主体的现状,并结合国际公共部门会计准则委员会关于政府合并财务报表主体的最新动态,对于政府财务报告主体界定和实施中的具体问题进行了分析,针对我国政府会计与财务报告改革提出了相关政策建议。     

论现代财务会计的基本程序

现代财务会计的基本程序是确认、计量和披露。财务报表是财务报告的核心。确认可分为两步,第一步确认是记录,第二步确认则是财务报表列报。计量的目的在于在财务报表中列报。计量与确认有着紧密的关联。此外,披露也是关键。披露表明财务会计的进步,但它会模糊财务会计的边界。信息披露会在财务报表中变成了信息确认,但事实上信息披露并不符合全部的基本确认标准。     

Do cash flows reported by firms articulate with their income statements and balance sheets? Descriptive evidence from Finland

Using data for a sample of listed Finnish firms for 1995–97 this paper examines the coincidence of reported cash flows with corresponding cash flows estimated from income statement and balance sheet data. The issue is important in light of prior empirical studies that have analysed the properties and usefulness of cash flow information derived from income statements and balance sheets. In addition, financial analyses of firms not disclosing cash flow statements are implicitly based on the assumption that income statements and balance sheets are useful in producing unbiased and efficient estimates of cash flows. The overall findings indicate that reported cash flows do not always articulate with income statements and balance sheets and that non-articulation can be observed in cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities. The differences between reported and estimated cash flows prove to be mostly random. The findings on cash flows from operating activities indicate that differences attributable to operating income and working capital are partially countervailing. The findings also suggest that the differences do not materially affect firms' relative rankings based on financial ratios. A detailed analysis of an individual company indicates that differences arising from the allocation of short-term liabilities to operating and financing activities can be important. Overall, the results call for the refinement of the standards and guidelines of cash flow reporting practices.     

On the Relationship between Voluntary Disclosure,Earnings Smoothing and the Value-Relevance of Earnings: The Case of Switzerland

Abstract

This paper examines whether voluntary disclosure by Swiss firms constrains the use of discretionary accruals to smooth earnings, and explores the effect of voluntary disclosure on the value relevance of earnings. We focus on Swiss firms because Switzerland's financial reporting system provides managers with extensive discretion in corporate disclosure, and there are important variations in the level of information provided in their annual reports. We consider that managers can choose two different ways to voluntarily convey information, either through the quality and quantity of annual report disclosure or, through compliance with International Accounting Standards (IAS)/International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Relying on a simultaneous equations approach, our results suggest that Swiss firms use discretionary accruals to smooth earnings. However, this relation is reduced for firms that voluntarily disclose more information in their annual report or comply with IAS/IFRS or US GAAP. Moreover, we show that discretionary accruals of high disclosers or of firms voluntarily complying with IAS/IFRS or US GAAP receive a lower valuation weight.     

试论表外会计信息的披露

会计披露(Disclosing),亦称为会计揭示、会计报告或会计呈报,指会计主体依据一定的会计规范,按照特定的方法和程序,采用恰当的形式向财务信息使用者提供他们所需要的信息。编制财务报表是财务信息披露的主要形式,此外还有形式多样的表外信息披露,如报表注脚、报表附注、附表、管理层讨论与分析、预测报告等。表外信息的提供,能够增加信息披露的透明度,有效保护投资者的利益,因而引起越来越多的关注。     

内部控制审计与财务报表审计的联系、区别与整合

文章首先讨论财务报表审计和财务报告内部控制审计各自对内部控制的了解和测试工作,然后阐述两者的联系和区别。在此基础上,讨论如何将这两项审计工作有机整合。     

A classroom exercise on executive incentive compensation schemes

This paper describes a classroom exercise that has been used in several graduate courses. The exercise provides the students with a framework for understanding the rationale behind some of the mechanisms we observe in reality: incentive compensation plans for executives, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), auditing, and lawsuits against auditors. As such, the exercise provides some answers for several questions of ‘why’ before getting into the ‘how’ of reporting. The case can be used in courses dealing with financial accounting, managerial control and microeconomics in the MBA level.     

To whom are IAS earnings informative? Domestic versus foreign shareholders' perspectives

Using a sample from the Helsinki Stock Exchange, this paper analyses the information content of dual disclosures of IAS (International Accounting Standards) and LAS (Local Accounting Standards) earnings. Their information content to foreign and domestic shareholders can be distinguished from each other as the unrestricted shares (available to foreign and domestic investors) and the restricted shares (available to domestic investors only) of the same set of companies were listed separately during 198492. The information content is tested with regressions using market-adjusted stock returns measured from the fifty-week period ending in the week of financial statements release. The overall findings suggest that restating local GAAP earnings according to the IAS helps to meet foreign investors' information needs, but is of limited use to domestic investors.     

我国财务会计概念框架的构建与思考

财务会计概念框架作为一个理论结构,必然涉及两方面的问题:逻辑起点和逻辑结构。逻辑起点是整个框架最基本、最普遍、最简单的范畴。它的内容决定了逻辑结构中应该包括的理论要素及各要素的逻辑构成。以此为基础,本文系统探讨了我国财务会计概念框架的构建,包括逻辑起点、财务会计目标、会计信息的质量特征、财务报表的要素、要素的确认与计量、财务报告的列报等问题。     

关于年度财务决算管理要求及报表编制问题理解

作为集团公司每年要求各部及子公司对本年度各项任务指标完成情况进行分析说明,出具决算报表。通过对财务预算到财务决算的编制及执行,就年度财务决算管理的标准、要求,财务报表编制的涵盖内容及相关主要指标的理解与大家进行分享。     

合并现金流量表的编制

新的合并财务报表会计准则及其《应用指南》,都只规定合并现金流量表的基本原则、一般要求和报表格式。作为合并现金流量表主要内容抵销分录的编制等,准则及其指南都未提及。本文以准则及其指南的规定为依据,结合具体会计实践,研究分析合并现金流量表的一般规则、合并前资料准备,特别是合并时抵销分录的编制。     

会计中的价值与成本问题

文章探讨"价值"与"成本"在财务会计和成本(管理)会计中的性质与功能。在财务会计中,价值通常来自市场,表现为过去的买入市价、当前的买入或脱手(销售)市价,这些价格可以称为历史成本、现行成本和公允价值,并作为财务会计与报表(报告)的计量属性。但成本会计中的成本则意味着产品成本,是由资产和其他资源的价值转化而来,在产品生产过程中,主要的信息是产品成本的分配、归集和积累,这里没有新价值可以确认,除非产品在市场交换。总之,在财务会计中,价值和成本信息表示一个企业的经营、投资和融资能力,而在成本会计中,只有成本信息表现管理层的才能(比如企业有效利用企业资源效率常表现为成本水平的高低)。