An Investigation of the Relationship between Use of International Accounting Standards and Source of Company Finance in Germany

This study examines the relationship between use of international accounting standards and companies’ source of finance. We investigate the proposition contained in Nobes’ (1998) model that postulates outsider companies (those with a higher level of public finance) in weak equity–outsider markets (capital markets where public equity finance is not the dominant source of finance) are more likely to change their type of accounting system from one focused on information for creditors and tax authorities to one that meets the needs of external financiers. We found strong support for Nobes’ model. Using 408 German listed companies at 1999, we observed that companies with more outsider finance (the proportion of shares held by outsiders and the presence of public debt) were more likely to use international standards (U.S. GAAP or IAS). The results indicate the importance of controlling for source of finance at the company rather than country level in cross‐country studies investigating the benefits of adoption of international standards.     

Discretionary write-downs,write-offs,and other restructuring provisions: a signaling approach

This paper introduces a model seeking to explain the discretionary write-downs, write-offs, and other restructuring provisions reported by managers. The model comprises a firm, a manager, and a financial market. The firm is about to be restructured. The manager has some private information about the likelihood of success of his restructuring action. The manager may recognise all or part of the expenditure associated with his future restructuring action by reporting a discretionary restructuring provision. The manager chooses whether or not to report a provision, recognising the impact of the provision on his compensation. The paper shows how, under certain conditions, the manager may credibly communicate his private information to investors through his provision policy. Testable implications are consistent with the empirical evidence reported by Strong and Meyer (1987), Elliott and Shaw (1988), and Zucca and Campbell (1992).     

Countries’ adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) – early empirical evidence

The International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) is increasingly being adopted in a number of jurisdictions. Despite the economic importance of non-publicly accountable entities, little is known about what factors influence countries' decisions to adopt IFRS for SMEs. In a unique sample of 128 countries, we find that countries that are not capable of developing their own local generally accepted accounting principles are more likely to adopt IFRS for SMEs. We also provide evidence that in jurisdictions where full IFRS have been applied to private firms, the likelihood of adoption of IFRS for SMEs increases, suggesting that jurisdictions reduce the financial reporting burden on SMEs. Moreover, in line with prior literature, there is evidence that countries with a relatively low quality of governance institutions are more likely to adopt this new set of accounting standards. The results also hold under alternative measures and different estimation approaches. Overall, our results are helpful in understanding the worldwide diffusion of IFRS for SMEs. Standard setters and regulators might consider our study in the future development of accounting harmonisation of non-publicly accountable entities.     

Developing Dividend and Financing Policies with a Computer Terminal

This study examines the value relevance of mandated disclosures by UK firms of the investor‐firm share of liabilities of equity‐accounted associate and joint venture investees. It does so for the six years following the introduction of FRS 9: Associates and Joint Ventures, which forced a substantial increase in such disclosures by UK firms. Since the increased disclosure requirements were partly motivated by concern that single‐line equity accounting concealed the level of group gearing, and in light of previous US results, it is predicted that the mandated investee‐liability disclosures have a negative coefficient in a value‐relevance regression. The study also examines whether value‐relevance regression coefficients on investee‐liability disclosures are more negative for joint ventures than for associates and whether they are more negative in the presence of investor‐firm guarantees of investee‐firm obligations than in the absence of such guarantees. The study reports that the coefficient on all investee‐liability disclosures taken together has the predicted negative sign, and is significantly different from zero. It finds little evidence that the negative valuation impact of liability disclosures is stronger for joint venture investees overall than for associate investees overall, or stronger for guarantee cases overall than for non‐guarantee cases overall. There is, however, some evidence that the impact for joint venture guarantee cases is stronger than that for joint venture non‐guarantee cases and stronger than that for associate guarantee cases.     

小企业会计电算化系统实施研究

随着改革开放30多年来的快速发展,小企业在我国国民经济中占有非常重要的地位,是促进市场竞争和发展市场经济的基本力量。但是,我国小企业整体经济效益偏低偏差,经营管理水平相对不高,很重要的一个原因就是相当一部分小企业仍采用手工记账模式而没有实施会计电算化。本文正是基于此背景,详细阐述了我国小企业会计电算化系统实施现状及存在的主要问题,分析了影响小企业会计电算化系统实施的因素,并据此提出了一些促进小企业实施会计电算化系统的对策和措施,以便提高中国广大小企业的整体竞争力。     

Economic structure and factor payments

There is a growing body of evidence that the labour payment share in national income varies across countries and over time, suggesting that the popular aggregate Cobb–Douglas production function may not capture income share dynamics. There remains conflicting evidence on the importance of natural resource rents among low income economies and on estimates of the rate of return to produced capital. This paper focuses on the structural differences among countries, confirming the importance of the agriculture sector in estimates of labour and land’s share of factor income based on 81 countries at diverse levels of economic development in the year 2005. I find that cross-country data are best modelled by a CES production function with an elasticity of substitution of 0.8 and that many low income countries have a higher return to capital than the United States.     

浅谈法务会计的作用

法务会计以其独特的专业角度,参与相关法律工作,能够迅速地辨别出财务事项的核心,并根据自身的工作经验与学科知识作出相关的责任认定,为冲突的双方作出合理的解释。法务会计在纪检监察办案、财务欺诈、职务犯罪等案件审理以及维护权力人权利的诉讼支持中都发挥着重要的作用,其功能是不可替代的。我国应结合国外的实例,建立适合我国基本国情的法务会计制度,以培养法务会计人才,在国内全面推广并加强宣传法务会计职业,使法务会计能够在我国法制建设中发挥更大作用。     

法务会计在民事诉讼中的证据支持研究

法务会计是一门新兴学科,其主要职能是舞弊调查与诉讼支持。法务会计在不同诉讼中所提供的支持是不同的,在同一诉讼的不同阶段所起的作用也是不同的。法务会计在民事诉讼中证据收集时必须注意客观性、必要性及时性问题。目前,我国在民事诉讼制度方面缺乏系统的理论研究,现行的一些规定和作法基本建立在自发的传统习惯之上,已远远背离了社会发展现实的需要。法务会计在民事诉讼支持中,应提高法务会计诉讼支持的认知度、推进法务会计诉讼的理论研究、增强法务会计专家支持诉讼的能力、拓宽法务会计诉讼支持的业务领域、统一法务会计技术鉴定标准、明确执行诉讼支持业务的法务会计专家的法律责任、构建法务会计专家证人制度。     

企业会计管理体制改革的思路和方法

当前,我国会计制度改革过程中存在的问题主要是行业会计制度的具体行为规范不适应企业改革的要求,现行会计制度缺乏完整性和系统性,会计制度与国际接轨的进程缓慢。完善与改进企业会计管理体制需要创新改革思路与方法。国家应积极营造有利于会计管理的社会环境氛围,建立和完善企业的内部控制体系,建立网络化的会计信息系统;企业应积极地寻找会计管理工作中的缺点,以创新的观念、科学的方法,积极地应对会计管理制度改革。