Discussion of ‘Accounting Premium’ for IAS/IFRS and U.S. GAAP Vis-à-vis German GAAP”

Ernstberger and Vogler [Ernstberger, J. & Vogler, O. (2008-this issue). Analyzing the German Accounting Triad with an Enhanced Multifactor Model—‘Accounting Premium’ for IAS/IFRS and U.S. GAAP Vis-à-vis German GAAP. International Journal of Accounting.] employ the concurrent use of three distinct accounting-standard regimes (German GAAP; U.S. GAAP; and IAS/IFRS GAAP) in Germany as a foundation for evaluating the relation between accounting standard regime and equity-return attributes. They find that firms using U.S. or IAS/IFRS GAAP have higher betas but yield lower returns (cost of capital) relative to firms employing German GAAP. They also find that portfolios designed to isolate the return impacts of U.S. and IAS/IFRS GAAP relative to German GAAP are priced in a risk-factor-like fashion. In this discussion I suggest that a good bit of this empirical evidence is problematic. I also discuss the implausibility of information quality being priced in a Fama and French [Fama, E.F. & French, K.R. (1992). The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns. The Journal of Finance 47 (2): 427–465.] factor-like fashion. Finally, I introduce the importance of conditioning analyses of the relation between firm-level information quality and equity-market return (cost of capital) on the degree to which the shareholder base of a firm holds diversified portfolios.     

Attribute differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS earnings: An exploratory study

In this study we explore attribute differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS earnings. Our study is motivated by the ongoing harmonization process in accounting standard setting as well as by recent convergence projects by the FASB and the IASB. We test two market-based earnings attributes, i.e., value relevance and timeliness, as well as two accounting-based earnings attributes, i.e., predictability and accrual quality. These attributes are tested for German New Market firms as they are allowed to choose between IFRS and U.S. GAAP for financial reporting purposes. Overall, we find that U.S. GAAP and IFRS only differ with regard to predictive ability. The fact that U.S. GAAP accounting information outperforms IFRS also holds after controlling for differences in firm characteristics, such as size, leverage and the audit firm. However, our results also seem to suggest that these differences are not fully valued by investors, as we do not observe significant and consistent differences for the value-relevance attribute.     

Inconsistency in U.S. Accounting Standards: The Treatment of Interest

Consistency is an essential part of financial reporting: it applies both to the continuous use of the same accounting principles by an entity from period to period, and to consistency between various accounting principles used by the same entity. In the development of accounting standards, risks to users of inconsistencies can be reduced by good disclosure requirements, particularly so between various pronouncements. A study examining the treatment of interest found inconsistencies in two-thirds of the relevant U.S. GAAP pronouncements.     

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.     

Individual investors’ attitudes towards listing requirements for foreign entities on U.S. stock exchanges and the promulgation of international accounting standards

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) currently requires foreign issuers of securities listed on U.S. securities exchanges to either employ U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) or include a statement of reconciliation to U.S. GAAP if they use their home country's accounting standards. With some exceptions, they are also required to comply with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOA). John Thain, CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, states that these requirements hamper U.S. investments, economic growth, and employment opportunities. The Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), Sir David Tweedie, echoed Thain's comments. An important stakeholder who is affected significantly by the U.S. listing requirements is the U.S. individual investor. Accordingly this study examines their attitudes involving the extant rules for foreign listings on U.S. exchanges and other aspects of the issue. The study also examines their perceptions regarding accounting standard promulgation authority and the use of a global set of accounting principles. The results indicate that although U.S. investors are very much in favor of the listing of foreign companies on U.S. exchanges, they also endorse the current rule requiring either employment of U.S. GAAP or reconciliation to it as well as mandatory adherence to the SOA. In the area of accounting standards, although a large majority believed that the U.S. should control the accounting standards for U.S. listings, a smaller majority also believed that there should be a universal set of accounting principles for all stock exchanges.     

对欧、美市场经济地位标准的会计学解读

世界许多国家的反倾销法中都设立了市场经济地位标准,其中欧盟、美国的市场经济地位标准(简称欧标、美标)最具代表性和典型性。欧标与美标的核心内容都与会计标准息息相关。揭示欧标与美标的实质,有助于提高我国涉案企业的反倾销会计应诉水平。     

Investigating corporate management lobbying in the U.K. accounting standard-setting process: a multi-issue/multi-period approach

A large body of literature examines the motives of corporate managers to lobby accounting standard-setters. In general, studies confine their examination to single episodes of the standard-setting process (e.g., exposure draft). This article extends the literature by adopting a multi-issue/multi-period approach to investigate corporate lobbying of the U.K.'s ASB. The findings suggest that the extent of corporate lobbying, defined on the basis of the frequency with which companies made submissions to all of the publications issued by the ASB over a six-year period, depends on the size of companies, the debt covenant costs they face and whether they are listed on a U.S. stock exchange. Separate analyses, however, involving (a) the frequency of lobbying on income-related issues and (b) the frequency of lobbying on disclosure issues revealed that, while all these three variables explain lobbying on income-related issues, only size is significant in explaining lobbying on disclosure issues. The results also suggest that the debt to equity ratio is an imperfect proxy for debt covenant costs.     

The Impact of Western Europe on Accounting Development in Tsarist Russia Prior to 1800

Ubiquitous economic, social and political factors shaped the development of commerce in Tsarist Russia prior to 1800. Trade with the Hanseatic League might have been expected to have brought a concomitant modernization of accounting techniques in the State of Muscovy. However, the economic backwardness in which merchants operated, their virtual illiteracy, deep conservatism and traditional ways significantly delayed the adoption of superior European accounting concepts and practices, including double entry, in spite of Tsarist edicts to the contrary. Accounting literature, an important channel for dissemination of accounting ideas, first appeared in the Russian language in the eighteenth century, consisting in the main of translations of French and German works.     

Keeping Watch! Recounting Twenty-Five Years of the Office of Chief Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 1976–2001

This article adds to the literature of accounting regulation by providing background, including facts and circumstances relating to a quarter century of SEC activity preceding the events identified with the reshaping of the capital markets following the dot.com collapse and the attack on the World Trade Center, 11 September 2001. The subsequent collapse of Enron, the bankruptcy of Worldcom, the dissolution of Andersen, one of the Big Five accounting firms, and the passage in the United States of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, collectively have ushered in a new era of public–private capital market relationships. This study provides guidance and outlines topics useful to future researchers undertaking assessments of regulatory policies and the individuals involved in their administration.
From 1976 to 2001 five individuals played a significant role in the development of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's disclosure and reporting practices by virtue of their office and the collective influence of their views. A. Clarence Sampson (1976–87), Edmund Coulson (1988–91), Walter P. Schuetze (1992–95), Michael H. Sutton (1995–98) and Lynn E. Turner (1998–2001) directed accounting policy activities at the SEC during these years.     

探析中美贸易逆差的原因及影响

近年来,随着中美经贸关系的日益紧密,分析不断扩大的美中贸易逆差具有十分重要的意义。本文主要研究了美中贸易逆差的原因和影响,结构安排如下：首先交代了研究背景,通过一些数据介绍了美中贸易逆差的现状,批出研究此问题的必要性。第二部分,分别采用国际收支平衡原理和要素禀赋定理两种方法进行分析,得出美国的国内政策是造成美国经济项目赤字的主要原因的结论,同进批出了一些流行说法的纰漏之处。可以看到,在全球储蓄结构巨大失衡情况下,单单通过削减美国财政赤字或通过人民币升值,都不有解决巨额美中贸易逆差。这一问题的解决需要中美双方的政策协调。     

美国联邦政府财务报告编制与审计研究

上世纪90年代开始的美国联邦政府财务报告编制与审计改革是联邦政府加强财务管理的一项重要内容。经过多次改革,形成了以权责发生制为主要会计计量基础的联邦政府财务报告体系,和以审计署的外部审计与监察长办公室的内部审计相结合的联邦政府财务报告审计模式。当前这种财务报告体系与审计模式仍处于发展与完善过程中,需不断改进财务信息质量和强化审计的作用。     

The reaction of the Australian financial markets to the interest rate news from the Reserve Bank of Australia and the U.S. Fed

This paper provides comprehensive evidence on the impacts of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) and the U.S. Fed's target interest rate announcement news on the Australian financial markets over the period 1998–2006. The RBA's news had a significant impact on the first moments of market returns/changes in line with a priori expectations, and the conditional volatility in most of the markets was significantly higher following the news. Asymmetric news effect is also observed for the Australian interest rates where markets tended to respond more strongly to unexpected rate rises than rate falls. While the U.S. Fed's news influenced only the USD/AUD exchange rate, the Australian market volatility was significantly lower in all market segments following the Fed's news.     

中国高额持有美国国债的风险与对策

美国国债曾是公认的最安全的投资品。2001年以来,中国持有的美国国债随外汇储备的快速增长而增加;美国国债规模也随美国"双赤字"的扩大而膨胀。美国的政治生态及美元的霸权特性使得美国的"双赤字"难于控制,美国国债的潜在风险日益显现。中国主要面临退出困难及债权资产实际价值可能大幅缩水的困扰。建议中国利用最大债主的地位制约美国以维护自身权益;同时控制外汇储备增量优化外汇储备结构以掌握风险控制的主动权。     

美国证券域外纠纷诉权新解

2010年6月美国联邦最高法院审结的莫里森案,是美国证券法发展史上的重要节点,代表了全球化背景下最大资本市场在处理涉外欺诈纠纷问题上的转向。以往的行为和影响标准被否定,交易标准得到强调,《证券交易法》第10(b)条的适用范围被限缩,存托凭证和国外基础证券受到区别对待。此后一年间,尽管不无争议,莫里森案判决和交易标准被下级法院广泛援引,并经受住了Dodd-Frank法案的考验。由此释放出的信号包括,美国有意愿加强公共执法和国际多边合作。     

英美两国中小企业税收政策比较及借鉴

给中小企业以一定的税收优惠是西方各国普遍采用的扶持中小企业的政策措施。纵观各国的历史，中小企业发展及其所在地取得的巨大成就都是与政府采取的积极政策尤其是税收政策分不开的。英国是世界上最早实现经济现代化的国家，中小企业所……     

美国投资银行危机及其转型剖析

本文通过分析美国投资银行经营模式的缺陷,找出2008年美国投资银行危机及其转型的深刻原因。分析结果显示,融资模式的缺陷、过度依赖高风险业务是美国投资银行危机的内因,而外部监管漏洞放任了投资银行的经营管理,是投资银行危机的重要外因。投资银行危机促使美国主要独立投资银行转型为全能银行经营模式,这是美国银行业发展一个重要的转折点。但危机仅仅是投资银行转型的诱因,全能银行经营模式的相对优势是美国独立投资银行转型的根本原因。     

The Impact of Financial Accounting Practices on the Measurement of Profit and Equity: Australia Versus the United States

The purpose of this paper is to make a quantitative comparative analysis of differences between Australian financial reporting practices and U.S. GAAP. The empirical data consist of Form 20-F filings for thirteen Australian incorporated companies for the period 1985–93. Based on prior research, there is a test of the hypothesis that U.S. GAAP is more conservative than Australian financial reporting practice. The results of the empirical analysis offer little support for this hypothesis in the context of the reporting of profit. However, the hypothesis is supported for the reporting of shareholders’ equity. The most frequent and material differences in profits relate to asset measurement, equity consolidation and accounting for intangible assets. Generalizations relating to differences in shareholders’ equity are more difficult to make.     

美国的新贸易保护主义与我国必须应对的挑战

美国对中国的巨额贸易逆差主要是美国自身的产业结构问题造成的,并且美国实行限制对中国高技术转让的贸易政策,自己封闭了实现贸易平衡的渠道。在WTO机制下,美国一方面坐享贸易自由化的成果,另一方面又不愿其他国家也分得一杯羹;旨在推行世界贸易自由化的世贸组织,也对各国的贸易争端持务实的态度,承认贸易保护在双边和多边谈判中的重要作用,这是美国的新贸易保护主义盛行的本质原因。美国等西方国家的贸易保护政策严重损害了我国的贸易利益,我们必须妥善应对。     

美国经常账户失衡:表现、理论与政策——兼驳伯南克“世界储蓄过剩”论

本文考察了美国经常账户失衡的发展过程,指出了其对手方的国别与地区结构特点,随后总结了对该现象的有关研究和解释。文章简述了伯南克世界储蓄过剩论,指出了该观点论证逻辑中的错误,然后分析了其理论分析框架——储蓄缺口模型与新古典增长模型对美国经常账户失衡解释的不适用。     

美国金融监管制度改革的新趋势及启示

本文基于美国国会于2010年7月15日通过的《金融监管改革法案》,比较了次贷危机前后美国金融监管制度的异同,特别是针对美国在反思其传统监管模式基础上从预防系统性风险角度出发所进行的金融监管改革的新趋势,提出了美国金融监管制度改革对我国金融业未来发展以及金融监管改革的启示。