企业财务报告的性质及其信息的基本特征

企业财务报告的构成主要包括了提供核心信息的财务报表,与提供补充信息的其他财务报告两部分内容.这两部分内容在性质与基本特征上存在着一定的差异性,其中财务报表是将传统已完成的交易与事项作为基础,将客观、可稽核的证据作为支持,更加突出对实际情况的表述.与之相反的其他财务报告是以报告为基础,其借助于估测、判断与模型来实现对企业在经营过程当中有可能面临的一些不确定因素加以分析,并为决策者提供参考支持.这两部分内容相辅相成,互相补充.     

如何采取恰当的会计处理去解决财务报表中双重计量(历史成本与公允价值)的矛盾?

前言多数会计人员都认为财务报表是财务报告的中心(核心)地位,所以财务报表必须以过去的交易和过去的事项为基础,以可稽核的客观证据为依据,遵循会计准则并由独立的注册会计师审计。因此财务报表的信息应能发现并反映一个企业的经济真实情况。为了表示真实的事实和结果,财务报表项目期望利用历史成本计量属性。但是,当前某些资产和负债如金融资产和金融负债是按公允价值计量而不是按历史成本计量。本文着重探讨什么是一种恰当的会计处理来解决财务报表中双重计量的矛盾。     

论财务报告的改进——基于表外信息披露“过载”的思考

我国现行的财务报告由财务报表和其他财务报告组成。财务报表主要包括企业对外提供的资产负债表、利润表和现金流量表三张基本会计报表以及报表附注;其他财务报告主要记录相关的非财务信息,作为必要的补充以满足信息使用人对有效信息的需求。其中的报表附注和其他财务报告称为“表外信息”。     

财务会计的本质、特点及其边界

为了指明财务会计的本质特点 ,我认为财务报表是财务报告的中心部分 ,而报表附注、其他财务报告等传送财务信息方法仅是次要的手段。在财务报表上确认的任何项目 ,都必须符合可定义性、可计量性、相关性与可靠性的特征。会计程序包括计量、记录和报告都必须以确认为基础。因此 ,财务报表的信息可以按真实和公允的要求来描述财务业绩和现金流量。财务会计的基本职能既不试图提供可能的未来的信息 ,又不产生非财务信息。财务会计的主要目的是通过它的报表反映一个企业经济活动及其结果的真实图像。结论 :财务会计作为一门学科是历史科学 ;作为一项实务是一个信息系统 ,它的任务是为企业提供历史的财务信息。     

试论现行财务报告体系的局限性及其改进

财务报告的根本目标是向信息使用者提供决策有用信息。不同历史阶段 ,信息使用者对会计信息的需求不尽相同。在当今信息时代 ,信息使用者的需求也随之发生了较大变化 ,使现行财务报告体系的局限性日益显露 ,其效用也受到了极大挑战。本文拟就我国现行财务报告体系的局限性及其改进作初步探讨。一、现行财务报告体系的局限性１ 侧重反映企业历史经济活动 ,缺乏预测信息。现行财务报告体系是一种以过去交易事项为基础、反映企业过去业绩的向后看的报告体系。而决策是面向未来的 ,更何况 ,当今社会瞬息万变 ,用户更希望了解那些对决策有用的 ,…     

选择性不实财务披露及其防范探析

财务披露是一个多维向量，它包括企业对外发布有关其财务状况、经营绩效或发展前景等多方面信息，从广义上说，财务披露是任何被要求必须在财务报表及其相关附注或其他财务报告披露构成，其中财务报表披露居于主导地位，其他财务报告披露是必要的补充。     

对上市公司财务报告表外信息披露问题探讨

随着信息使用者对财务报表之外提供的其他辅助性信息的关注,表外信息的作用越来越重要,其长度也在逐步超过财务报表本身长度,并构成上市公司财务报告体系十分重要的内容。在确保信息使用者正确理解财务报表、增强财务报告的完整度方面起到了重要作用。近年来,上市公司发生的许多造假行为,都与虚假财务报告有关,所以,对表外信息在披露过程中存在的问题进行探讨对于整个财务信息披露制度的完善有着重要的作用。     

对上市公司财务报告表外信息披露问题探讨

随着信息使用者对财务报表之外提供的其他辅助性信息的关注,表外信息的作用越来越重要,其长度也在逐步超过财务报表本身长度,并构成上市公司财务报告体系十分重要的内容。在确保信息使用者正确理解财务报表、增强财务报告的完整度方面起到了重要作用。近年来,上市公司发生的许多造假行为,都与虚假财务报告有关,所以,对表外信息在披露过程中存在的问题进行探讨对于整个财务信息披露制度的完善有着重要的作用。     

将对未来的估计包含在今天的财务报表中

本文阐释了将对未来的估计包含在今天财务报表中的方式,而不是为什么应当将对未来的估计包含在今天财务报表中的问题。在今天的财务报表中包含对未来的估计并不是一个新概念,但用处却日益增加。这主要是因为会计准则制定机构认为,反映当前经济状况、并根据对未来的预期更新的对资产和负债的计量方式,将产生有利于做出经济决策的更为有用的信息,这正是财务报告的目标所在。这也是会计准则制定机构关注公允价值会计的原因。如何将对未来的估计包含在财务报表中,取决于资产和负债的计量属性,以及从财务报告角度对资产和负债的定义。现行资产和负债的定义取决于确定产生预期经济利益流入或流出的过去交易或事项,对于预期经济利益流入,还需要关注对预期的控制。因此,并不是所有预期经济利益的流入或流出都予以确认。附注披露能够帮助财务报表使用者理解已经在财务报表中确认的估计,并提供尚未确认估计的相关信息。将对未来的估计更多地包含在今天的财务报表中,将会产生与目前反映的收益有所不同的收益计量方式,但值得讨论的是,这种计量能够对经济决策提供更好的信息。     

上市公司关联担保行为对股票价格的影响

投资者通过分析上市公司提供的财务报表重大事项,采取相应的投资决策。而关联交易是上市公司财务报表中的一个重大事项,其中关联担保额度在总关联交易中占有很大的比重。本文以我国具有关联担保行为重大事项的上市公司为样本,通过研究关联担保额和关联担保比例对股票价格的影响,解读投资者对上市公司担保能力强弱的偏好程度及担保风险大小的关注程度。     

会计职能·财务报告性质·财务报告体系重构

本文针对次贷危机以来会计领域关于非历史成本会计的讨论与争论,从会计职能与会计目标的讨论切入,提出会计的核心价值仍然是维系人类社会的相互信任。在此基础上,论文提出重构多重目标的财务报告模式,其中,基本财务报表仍然以历史成本为基础,满足经济社会信任需求;其它财务报告"按需订制",满足不同使用者的差异化需求,可以采用非历史成本计量属性。     

The effect of cash flow statement format on lenders' decisions

This study investigates bank loan officers' use of financial information and reports, in particular, cash flow information and the statement of cash flow (SCF), in making lending decisions. Subjects were drawn from four groups of frequent users of financial reports-bank loan officers, auditors, financial analysts and accounting academics. Each subject was presented with the annual reports of two loan applicant companies to make two independent lending decisions based on the information provided. The SCF of one of the companies was presented in the direct format, while the other was presented in the indirect format. The indirect format of SCF was used as a surrogate for the funds flow statement. Results show that, while cash flow was the second most used financial information, the majority of the subjects obtained this information from financial statements other than the SCF, notably, the balance sheet. In terms of financial report usage, notes to the financial statements, rather than the SCF, was most frequently used. No subject made use of the incremental information provided in the SCF presented in the direct format. The results suggest that loan officers do not use the cash flow information provided by the SCF, but rely on the accounting information provided in the FFS and accrual-based financial reports.     

Functional fixation: Experimental evidence on the presentation of financial information through different digital formats

This study examines whether, in the presentation of financial information, digital formats address the concern over users’ functional fixation. The accounting literature indicates that the presentation of financial information either within the financial statements or in the notes to the financial statements often creates functional fixation where users of financial statements fail to adjust for differences in accounting policy. This leads users to judge what would otherwise be identical financial situations as being different due to the different accounting policies and methods adopted. It has been suggested that the use of digital formats in presenting financial reports may overcome functional fixation. Using an experimental design involving accountants in public practice, the results indicate that the use of digital formats to present financial reports does not fully overcome the issue of functional fixation in the processing of financial information. Although the participants were able to identify and extract relevant information, irrespective of whether or not the information was presented within the financial statements or in the notes to the accounts, the evidence indicates that functional fixation remained when the participants made final decisions based on available information. This suggests that functional fixation may not be caused by access to or extraction of information but by the level of perceived significance based on where the information is reported in the financial statements. In general, the results indicate that current technology may not be able to fully reduce functional fixation in the evaluation of financial information prepared in accordance with different accounting policies and methods.     

Is Financial Reporting Still Useful? Australian Evidence

There has been recent and growing criticism of the usefulness of financial reporting for investors, particularly the annual financial statements. In response, the IASB is pursuing several projects aimed at improving the relevance of financial information. To inform the IASB’s work, we investigate, using a mixed-method approach, the extent and nature of the use of annual financial statements by equity investors. We examine the relevance of financial reporting for equity valuation in Australia across time. We find that financial reporting (specifically, reported net income, shareholders’ equity, and operating cash flows) remains relevant for investment decisions. We further support this finding with evidence from field interviews that provide insight into how and why financial statements are used by equity investors. The field evidence also demonstrates that no one financial statement dominates in investor decision making. Given the increasing availability of more timely, forward-looking information from alternative sources, we examine the relevance of non-GAAP financial information and other non-financial information for investor decision making. We find that non-GAAP financial information (as proxied by EBIT and EBITDA) is more value relevant than statutory measures. We further find a broad range of non-financial information is utilized by investors in making investment decisions both as a ‘screen’ and for valuation purposes. Our findings inform regulators and other stakeholders as we provide evidence of the continuing relevance of financial statements and the complementary role of non-GAAP financial and other information. Our evidence provides a rebuttal to the recent criticism.     

Understanding participation in accounting standard-setting: the case of AASB ED 192 Revised Differential Reporting Framework

This paper explores the motives of participants in the standard-setting process, based on the premise that standard-setters strive for standards that are useful for decision-making by a wide range of financial statement users. Our setting is the development of a contentious but contained Australian accounting standard, Reduced Disclosure Requirements. A consultative process initiated by the Australian Accounting Standards Board to create a specific Australian accounting standard for differential reporting provided an opportunity for interested parties to participate. We analyse the motives of participants through semi-structured interviews with members of the Australian Accounting Standards Board and comment letter writers who responded to the relevant exposure draft. Our findings identify participants’ economic and political motivations and question the ability of the current standard-setting process to extract decision-making requirements from a wide range of users of financial statements and to reflect these in financial reporting standards. We find that the perspectives gathered are homogenised and that the process privileges the voices of powerful elites.     

基于事项凭证的会计报表生成流程探析

在转轨经济时代，会计报表依然承载着记录会计信息的历史使命，而信息使用者则愈加关注会计信息的具体内容，事项信息的地位逐渐提升，使得会计报表的生成流程有待改进。本文基于传统会计核算流程的缺陷之处，并结合目前XBRL财务报告体系中的启示，对基于事项凭证的会计报表生成流程进行了探讨，为事项信息的充分运用提供合适的平台。     

Making up users

Within recent years, financial statement users have been accorded great significance by accounting standard-setters. In the United States, the conceptual framework maintains that a primary purpose of financial statements is to provide information useful to investors and creditors in making their economic decisions. Contemporary accounting textbooks unproblematically posit this purpose for accounting. Yet, this emphasis is quite recent and occurred despite limited knowledge about the information needs and decision processes of actual users of financial statements. This paper unpacks the taken-for-grantedness of the primacy of financial statement users in standard-setting and considers their use as a category to justify and denigrate particular accounting disclosures and practices. It traces how particular ideas about financial statement users and their connection to accounting standard setting have been constructed in various documents and reports including the conceptual framework and accounting standards.     

关于财务会计基本假设的重新思考

今天 ,新技术、新规则和新发明不断地重塑着我们的世界。会计准则制定者已采取重大措施来回应这种变化和发展。因此 ,会计基本假设 (“假设”)或基础概念 (“概念”)不能停滞不前。作为传统的四项假设的替代 ,本文建议假设可按国家宏观经济调控、会计主体 (现实主体与虚拟主体相结合 )、持续经营 (持续经营与非持续经营 ;整个企业持续经营与个别分部终止经营同时存在 )、时间分期 (定期报告与实时披露相结合 )、权责发生制与现金流量制、公允价值与成本 (公允价值、历史成本、现行成本等各种计量属性并用 )、货币与非货币计量单位 (财务与非财务数据 )等 7个概念来描述。另外 ,财务报表由于允许估计与判断而具有暂时性。使用者凡是意欲应用财务信息进行企业和经济决策时 ,都必须注意财务信息的这一特性。     

Performance reporting: a comparative study of British and Irish charities

The concept of accountability seems inextricably linked with the view that accounting should provide information to satisfy the information needs of users. The user-needs model is now well established as a useful basis for a conceptual framework for charity reporting, and annual reports are recognised as key documents in the discharge of accountability to external users. It has been suggested that both financial information and also performance information should be disclosed to aid the discharge of accountability. However, previous empirical work conducted in Britain found that while audited financial information was most frequently disclosed by charities, users viewed wider performance information as being of greater importance. No comparable work has been conducted in Ireland. This paper focuses on information outside the financial statements and seeks to identify the type and extent of the reporting of performance information by charities in both Britain and Ireland. The main findings of the research are: performance reporting by British charities, although limited, is considerably better than that of their Irish counterparts; performance reporting by British charities has increased over time; and large charities (both in Britain and Ireland) provide more extensive performance information than small charities. These findings are discussed in both the context of accountability and in terms of conceivable economic incentives for disclosure. In addition, possible reasons for lower disclosure rates by Irish charities are explored.