...How International Differences in the Ownership and Financing of Companies Could Lead to Differences in Financial Reporting Introduction The major objective behind the development of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) has been to achieve financial reporting across different countries, which could be easily compared. In order to achieve this kind of comparability, it is very crucial that the IFRS be used by all the countries involved in the same way, and that these standards be interpreted as well as applied in a manner that is quite consistent in these countries thus leading to consistency in terms of rules or form of application and consistency in the actual manner in which they are applied. However, there are many factors that make it hard for countries and companies to apply these rules consistently (Whittington, 2005). Differences in the ownership structure and the way these companies are financed have been singled out as leading to the differences in financial reporting of these companies. In cases where countries do come up with very drastic changes or the professional accountants also fail to clearly interpret and use these IFRS in a manner that is consistent, then there is the risk of not achieving comparability. The differences in accounting practices across countries are not obvious when it comes to all accountants. Such differences that have been widely noted have to do with the ownership and financing practices of companies, which have the...
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...1. Introduction: Financial accountancy (or financial accounting) is the field of accountancy concerned with the preparation of financial statements for decision makers, such as stockholders, suppliers, banks, employees, government agencies, owners and other stakeholders. Financial capital maintenance can be measured in either nominal monetary units or units of constant purchasing power. The central need for financial accounting is to reduce the various principal-agent problems, by measuring and monitoring the agents' performance and thereafter reporting the results to interested users. Financial accountancy is used to prepare accountancy data for people outside the organization or for those, who are not involved in the mundane administration of the company. Management accounting, provides accounting information to help managers make decisions to manage and enhance the business. In short, financial accounting is the process of sum-arising financial data, which is taken from an organization's accounting records and publishing it in the form of annual or quarterly reports, for the benefit of people outside the organization. Financial accountancy is governed not only by local standards but also by international accounting standard. 2. Role of Financial Accounting: • Financial accounting generates some key documents, which includes profit and loss account, patterning the method of business traded for a specific period and the balance sheet that provides a statement, showing mode...
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...issued, regarding the establishment of a common international accounting standards, there has been a growing acceptance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for a basis of U.S. financial reporting. The number of countries adapting to this convergence has increased since its first suggestion. Within the United States, the SEC is taking its first steps as to whether or not the U.S. is to converge in to this universal approach to accounting. The international standard-setting process began a few decades ago as an effort by industrialized nations to create standards that could be used by developing and smaller nations unable to establish their own accounting standards, states the author of International Financial Reporting Standards. However, as the business world became more global, regulators, investors, large companies, and auditing firms began to realize the importance of having common standards in all areas of the financial reporting chain, continued the author. At this time, there are approximately 120 different nations that are required to, or have the option to report under IFRS. A few examples that already use IFRS include Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. It has been confirmed that the European Union has virtually adopted all international standards. Canada is said to adapt to IFRS in 2011, with Mexico following in 2012. The U.S. SEC has, in part, been the leader in developing this common international set of accounting standards. In 2007, the SEC voted...
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...Running head: OFF-BALANCE SHEET FINANCING 1 Leases: Off-Balance Sheet Financing and the Strive for Transparency Today Brian Edman A Senior Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation in the Honors Program Liberty University Spring 2011 OFF-BALANCE SHEET FINANCING Acceptance of Senior Honors Thesis This Senior Honors Thesis is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation from the Honors Program of Liberty University. 2 ______________________________ Gene R. Sullivan, Ph.D. Thesis Chair ______________________________ James B. Shelton, Ph.D. Committee Member ______________________________ Stephen R. Bowers, Ph.D. Committee Member ______________________________ James Nutter, D.A. Honors Director ______________________________ Date OFF-BALANCE SHEET FINANCING Abstract In today’s world, leases appear far and wide; they are commonplace throughout the business and accounting frontiers. Accounting for leases, however, is not so clear cut. Since there are various ways to account for leases, many companies pick and choose which they feel best suits their situation, even when this sweeps dirt under the rug along 3 the way. The financial procedures for dealing with leases should entail benefits as well as limitations to ensure each company is fairly representing all of its financial information. Off-balance sheet financing is one of the hot topics in accounting for leases because of the implications...
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...Leuz, and Peter Wysocki SYNOPSIS: This article is Part I of a two-part series analyzing the economic and policy factors related to the potential adoption of IFRS by the United States. In this part, we develop the conceptual framework for our analysis of potential costs and benefits from IFRS adoption in the United States. Drawing on the academic literature in accounting, finance, and economics, we assess the potential impact of IFRS adoption on the quality and comparability of U.S. reporting practices, the ensuing capital market effects, and the potential costs of switching from U.S. GAAP to IFRS. We also discuss the compatibility of IFRS with the current U.S. regulatory and legal environment, as well as the possible macroeconomic effects of IFRS adoption. Our analysis shows that the decision to adopt IFRS mainly involves a cost-benefit trade-off between ͑1͒ recurring, albeit modest, comparability benefits for investors; ͑2͒ recurring future cost savings that will largely accrue to multinational companies; and ͑3͒ one-time transition costs borne by all firms and the U.S. economy as a whole, including those from adjustments to U.S. institutions. In Part II of the series ͑see Hail et al. 2010͒, we provide an analysis of the policy factors related to the decision and present several scenarios for the future evolution of U.S. accounting standards in light of the current global movement toward IFRS. Keywords: accounting regulation; standard setting; U.S. equity markets; mandatory disclosure;...
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...Advances in Accounting, incorporating Advances in International Accounting 29 (2013) 124–133 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Advances in Accounting, incorporating Advances in International Accounting journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/adiac Continental European accounting model and accounting modernization in Germany Andreas Hellmann ⁎, Hector Perera 1, Chris Patel 2 Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Faculty of Business and Economics, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Convergence German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch) International Financial Reporting Standards Act to Modernize Accounting Law (Bilanzrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz) Classification of accounting systems a b s t r a c t Classification techniques based on one or few dimensions are widely used in research studies and textbooks to explain and predict the development of accounting systems internationally. However, their usefulness in international accounting has been limited in today's globalized world. For example, in the context of the EU, IFRS are required for consolidated accounting, while national accounting systems continue to be the dominant system for unconsolidated accounting in many countries. Using Germany as a case study, the objective of this paper is to examine whether Germany can still be classified within the Continental European model of accounting following the Act to Modernize...
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...ACCOUNTING DEVELOPMENT 1 2.1 Introduction In international accounting research, environmental influence is the key to understanding one country’s accounting system. "To a large extent, accounting is a product of its environment. That is, it is shaped by, reflects, and reinforces particular characteristics unique to its national environment" (Radebaugh and Gray 1997). From the late 1960s, researchers in international accounting have tried to categorize countries according to a series of criteria, which have been developed on a deductive or conductive basis. These criteria tried to explain the reasons for accounting differences between countries; they aimed to describe and compare different systems with each other in an efficient way. There are several advantages to categorize and analyze the differences among countries: First, it promotes improved understanding of the complex realities of accounting practices, as well as the factors that shape a country’s accounting regulations; Second, it provides useful information for solving some of the important accounting problems that exist in the world. For example, it can help policymakers assess the prospects and problems of international harmonization; Third, it can assist in the training of accountants and auditors who operate internationally; And finally, it can enable a developing country to better understand the available and appropriate types of financial reporting by seeing other countries’ use of particular systems...
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...Reverte ABSTRACT. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether a number of firm and industry characteristics, as well as media exposure, are potential determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices by Spanish listed firms. Empirical studies have shown that CSR disclosure activism varies across companies, industries, and time (Gray et al., Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 8(2), 47–77, 1995; Journal of Business Finance & Accounting 28(3/4), 327–356, 2001; Hackston and Milne, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 9(1), 77–108, 1996; Cormier and Magnan, Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting 1(2), 171–195, 2003; Cormier et al., European Accounting Review 14(1), 3–39, 2005), which is usually justified by reference to several theoretical constructs, such as the legitimacy, stakeholder, and agency theories. Our findings evidence that firms with higher CSR ratings present a statistically significant larger size and a higher media exposure, and belong to more environmentally sensitive industries, as compared to firms with lower CSR ratings. However, neither profitability nor leverage seem to explain differences in CSR disclosure practices between Spanish listed firms. The most influential variable for explaining firms’ variation in CSR ratings is media exposure, followed by size and industry. Therefore, it seems that the legitimacy theory, as captured by those variables related to public or social visibility, is the most relevant...
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...It will be based on accountant’s judgement. The differences is not only between countries but it could differ within the country as well especially for Multinational enterprises (MNEs) it could be complicated as it involved different countries. MNEs can be defined as companies who offer products or services internationally. For instance, company XYZ’s headquarter is in Malaysia while its branch is in China. The existence of MNEs can be explained by Dunning’s eclectic paradigm. Firstly because the companies can gain access to assets that will gives them competitive advantages over local firms. Secondly due to the extent to which relative transaction cost make it appropriate for the companies to use such advantages themselves instead of to license or franchise to other firm and lastly, the existence of MNEs because of relevant cost and the government policies that encourage companies to perform production in other countries. MNEs can be classified into three groups: resource-seeking, market-seeking and efficiency-seeking. Resource-seeking is the search of resources in other country. While companies with market-seeking, they tend to establish subsidiaries. Those subsidiaries play a role as producer of goods to supply the market in the country of parent’s location. As for efficiency-seeking, subsidiary will have their own specialization in producing certain part. With regards to the different arguments for studying international accounting, there are several reasons for studying...
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........................ 2 Financial statement presentation ..................................... 3 Interim financial reporting................................................ 6 Consolidation, joint venture accounting and equity method investees/associates ........................................... 7 Business combinations................................................... 13 Inventory ....................................................................... 15 Long-lived assets ........................................................... 16 Intangible assets............................................................ 18 Impairment of long-lived assets, goodwill and intangible assets ............................................................ 20 Financial instruments..................................................... 23 Foreign currency matters .............................................. 30 Leases ........................................................................... 32 Income taxes ................................................................. 35 Provisions and contingencies ......................................... 37 Revenue recognition ...................................................... 39 Share-based payments................................................... 41 Employee benefits other than share-based payments ..... 43 Earnings per share ......................................................... 45 Segment reporting ...........................
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...An Internship Report On Audit Procedure of UHY Syful Shamsul Alam & Co. and A Comparative Analysis on IFRS (IAS) and AAOIFI on Financial Reporting Issues Department of Finance Faculty of Business Studies University of Dhaka An Internship Report On Audit Procedure of UHY Syful Shamsul Alam & Co. and A Comparative Analysis on IFRS (IAS) and AAOIFI on Financial Reporting Issues (As partial fulfillment of BBA Program) Submitted To Department of Finance University of Dhaka Supervised By Taher Jamil Lecturer Department of Finance University of Dhaka Submitted By Md. Rased Mosarraf ID: 16-062 Department of Finance University of Dhaka Date of Submission: May 22, 2014. Letter of Transmittal May 22, 2014. Taher Jamil Lecturer Department of Finance University of Dhaka Subject: Submission of internship report. Dear Sir, I have the pleasure to submit an Internship Report after completing a successful three month Internship attachment at a CA firm named “UHY Syful Shamsul Alam & Co.” on “Audit Procedure of UHY Syful Shamsul Alam& Co. and A Comparative Analysis on IFRS (IAS) and AAOIFI on Financial Reporting Issues”. I have concentrated my best effort to achieve the objectives of the report and hope that my endeavor will serve the purpose. The practical knowledge and experience gathered during report preparation will immeasurably help in my future professional life. I will be obliged if you kindly approved this endeavor...
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... B. Accounting and auditing in China have taken different paths in their development processes. Auditing firms audited mainly domestic companies, and were under the State Administration of Audit (SAA), whereas accounting firms focused on companies using foreign investments and were sponsored by the Ministry of Finance. C. Unlike in the U.K., where there was a good legislative and judicial environment during the early stages of the development of the profession, in China, a market-oriented legislative and judicial environment is still emerging. D. Unlike in the U.K., where auditors receive support from the established professional bodies, these support mechanisms are still lacking in China. II. The recent economic reform program stimulated the growth of the accounting profession in China. A. With the recognition by the State of joint stock company form, the demands for financial information from investors and other interested parties increased. B. The establishment of two stock exchanges helped rapid growth of the accounting activities. C. Various government regulations on the implementation of economic reform measures require the involvement of independent auditors. D. The laws on joint ventures with foreign companies require the audit of annual statements. E. International accounting firms were allowed to be involved in training local auditors and setting auditing standards. III. There are clear signals that...
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...of the staff at Cass who helped further my education throughout the year. To all of you, Thank you Abstract The goal of this thesis is to evaluate and present the main alternative sources of finance for shipping corporations in the scope of the post-2008 market downturn. By “alternative” the author refers to any source finance that is not vanilla financing i.e. bank debt. Lists of benefits and drawbacks for each alternative source will be presented for all parties of the transaction in question. This is done in order to present an evaluation that will facilitate the reader in understanding the value of each source as well as potential costs and risks. While there are numerous alternative sources that could be covered, the emphasis has fallen only on those that carry at least a sizeable portion of market transactions. The study, similar to the industry itself, has a global character as the author felt that limiting the study to specific countries would give biased results. This study will by no means present the best source of finance for this particular industry. As will be stressed greatly below, financing depends very much on the specific needs of each...
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...business. Companies operating as commercial entities must have sufficient cash balances to facilitate their smooth operations. Cash requirement can be raised from different sources, ranging from equity, various forms of debt, to internally generated funds through retained earnings which would otherwise be distributed to shareholders (Myers and Myers, 1991; J. Gitman, 1991). The sources of finance can be classified as Internal and External, Short-term and Long-term or Equity and Debt (Bromwich & Bhimani, 2009, pp.45). The two main sources of finance for business include internal and external sources. The business managers decide which form of financing to be used in the business (Klammer, 2003, pp.35). Internal Sources of Finance Personal funds - utilized by sole traders and partnerships. Owner takes on risk of losing their money. Family and friends - utilized by sole traders and partnerships. Friends can not only lose money but also harm relationships Selling assets - Dormant (unused) assets are typically sold. Selling of fixed assets that are currently in use may solve liquidity problems but create future production problems. Retained profit - Profits reinvested back into the business External Sources of Finance Share capital - limited companies selling shares. #1 way for limited companies to raise money and can provide up to billions. Venture capital - invest in high risk / high return firms (usually technology start ups). In return take some ownership (equity)...
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...é The Effects of Mandatory IFRS Adoption in the EU: A Review of Empirical Research October 2014 Information for Better Markets An initiative from the ICAEW Financial Reporting Faculty The Effects of Mandatory IFRS Adoption in the EU: A Review of Empirical Research forms part of the Information for Better Markets thought leadership programme of ICAEW’s Financial Reporting Faculty. ICAEW operates under a Royal Charter, working in the public interest. As a world leading professional accountancy body, ICAEW provides leadership and practical support to over 142,000 members in more than 160 countries, working with governments, regulators and industry to ensure the highest standards are maintained. The ICAEW Financial Reporting Faculty provides its members with practical assistance and support with IFRS, UK GAAP and other aspects of business reporting. It also comments on business reporting issues on behalf of ICAEW to standard setters and regulators. Its Information for Better Markets thought leadership programme subjects key questions in business reporting to careful and impartial analysis so as to help achieve practical solutions to complex problems. The programme focuses on three key themes: disclosure, measurement and regulation. We welcome comments and enquiries on this report and on the other aspects of the Information for Better Markets programme. To contact us, please email bettermarkets@icaew.com. © ICAEW 2014 All rights reserved. If you want...
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