... | |US GAAP vs IFRS | | | | | For decades the US financial market has stuck to accounting rules known as the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, commonly abbreviated as U.S. GAAP, or simply GAAP. Just less than a year ago, there was the groundbreaking elimination of GAAP requirement for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) reporting foreign issuers, due to a strong global support for IFRS. Then on August 27th 2008, the Securities Exchange Commission voted to publish for public comment a proposed Roadmap that could lead to the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by U.S. issuers beginning in 2014. Currently, U.S. issuers use U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP). The Commission would make a decision in 2011 on whether adoption of IFRS is in the public interest and would benefit investors. The proposed multi-year plan sets out several milestones that, if achieved, could lead to the use of IFRS by U.S. issuers in their filings with the Commission (Navigating). The transition from U.S. GAAP to IFRS reporting will have a huge impact for investors and businesses in...
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...US GAAP vs. IFRS The basics March 2010 Table of contents 2 5 7 8 11 13 14 16 18 20 26 28 31 33 35 38 40 42 43 44 46 47 Introduction Financial statement presentation Interim financial reporting Consolidations, joint venture accounting and equity method investees Business combinations Inventory Long-lived assets Intangible assets Impairment of long-lived assets, goodwill and intangible assets Financial instruments Foreign currency matters Leases Income taxes Provisions and contingencies Revenue recognition Share-based payments Employee benefits other than share-based payments Earnings per share Segment reporting Subsequent events Related parties Appendix — The evolution of IFRS Introduction It is not surprising that many people who follow the development of worldwide accounting standards today might be confused. Convergence is a high priority on the agendas of both the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) — and “convergence” is a term that suggests an elimination or coming together of differences. Yet much is still made of the many differences that exist between US GAAP as promulgated by the FASB and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as promulgated by the IASB, suggesting that the two GAAPs continue to speak languages that are worlds apart. This apparent contradiction has prompted many to ask just how different are the two sets of standards? And where differences exist, why do they exist...
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...GAAP vs. IFRS Principles Based vs. Rules Based A major difference between GAAP and IFRS is that GAAP is rule-based, whereas IFRS is principle-based. With a principle based framework there is the potential for different interpretations of similar transactions, which could lead to extensive disclosures in the financial statements. Although, the standards setting board in a principle-based system can clarify areas that are unclear. This could lead to fewer exceptions than a rules-based system. Another difference between IFRS and GAAP is the methodology used to assess an accounting treatment. Under GAAP, the research is more focused on the literature whereas under IFRS, the review of the facts pattern is more thorough. Some Examples of Differences Between IFRS and U.S. GAAP * Consolidation — IFRS favors a control model whereas GAAP prefers a risks-and-rewards model. Some entities consolidated in accordance with FIN 46(R) may have to be shown separately under IFRS. * Statement of Income — Under IFRS, extraordinary items are not segregated in the income statement. With GAAP, they are shown below the net income. * Inventory — Under IFRS, LIFO cannot be used, but GAAP, companies have the choice between LIFO and FIFO. * Earning-per-Share — Under IFRS, the earning-per-share calculation does not average the individual interim period calculations, whereas under GAAP the computation averages the individual interim period incremental shares. * Development costs —...
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...IFRS vs. GAAP: What are the differences, how does it affect net income reporting and what difficulties may exist in mandating IFRS in the U.S. Introduction I propose to write a paper on some of the major differences which still remain between IFRS and US GAAP. Although the FASB and IASB along with the SEC have been working to converge the two accounting systems, many differences still exist. In particular I plan to show the effects on the reported net income of companies and highlight the difficulties of mandating the use of IFRS in the U.S. Resources abound on this topic, some include: Hughes S, Sander J. A U.S. Manager's Guide to Differences Between IFRS and U.S. GAAP. Management Accounting Quarterly [serial online]. Summer2007 2007;8(4):1-8. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 7, 2014 SMITH L. IFRS and U.S. GAAP: Some Key Differences Accountants Should Know. Management Accounting Quarterly [serial online]. Fall2012 2012;14(1):19-26. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 7, 2014. de Mesa Graziano, C., & Heffes, E. M. (2008). IFRS Section: Definition of Fair Value, One of the Differences Between U.S. GAAP and IFRS. Financial Executive, 24(10), 14 Romeo, G., & Bao, D. (2012). TEACHING INVENTORY USING U.S. GAAP AND IFRS: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE. Journal For Global Business Education, 1225-34. Siegel J., & Shim J. (2010) Accounting Handbook, Barron’s Educational Services,...
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...International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) MBA 691: Managerial Accounting Professor: Prepared by: April 19, 2009 Bibliography: • Ernst & Young, “U.S. GAAP vs. IFRS: The basics”, January 2009. • Securities & Exchange Commission, “Roadmap for the Potential Use of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. Issuers”, www.sec.gov/spotlight/ifrsroadmap.htm (Release No. 33-8982; November 14, 2008). • The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), “Impact of IFRS in Europe”, www.accaglobal.com/publicinterest/activities/research/reports/global_integration/, October 7, 2008. • Internal Auditor, magazine, “Getting Up To Speed with IFRS’, October 2008. • International Accounting Standards Board, “IASB Responds to G20 Recommendation and US GAAP Guidance’, www.iasb.org/News/Press+Releases/IASB+Responds+to+G20+Recommendations+and+US+GAAP+Guidance.htm, April 7, 2009. • EU Finance Ministers Statement, www.eu2009.cz/en/news-and-documents/news/statement-by-the-informal-ecofin-15621/ , April 4, 2009. • National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) – Directors Monthly article, “IFRS – What The Board Needs to Know”, http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/us_assur_IFRS_DM%20Sep08_20080911pdf.pdf, September 2008. • Deloitte, www.deloitte.com/us/debates/IFRS. • Deloitte, “IFRS Conversion: Front or back Burner?”...
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...Running Head: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GAAP AND IFRS 1 Differences Between GAAP and IFRS Accounting Practices Sharon Woodards Liberty University Intermediate Accounting II 302 Professor Ashley Harper November 7, 2014 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GAAP AND IFRS 2 Both the IFRS ( International Financial Reporting Standards ) and the GAAP ( Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ) are a set of accounting rules that companies either can or must follow when preparing their financial statements. Set by policy boards, the United States enforces the use of GAAP as the set of rules of processes and standards that its companies must use for reporting and recording of their financial statements. At the same, other parts of the words use the IFRS as their set of rules for companies to follow. This IFRS set of rules were developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Due to this, the world has been talking about combining the two standards into one globalized set of accounting standards that will comprise of both standards. The object of this would be to have the world recognize one set of globalized set of accounting practices. There are some differences that the US should be aware of before the convergence between the two ever takes place. Some of the major differences between GAAP and IFRS revolve around grants to employees, vesting, modifications, tax withholding, inventory differences, revenues and...
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...Stanley from: Christopher Michael Yelvington subject: IFRS v. US GAAP: Business COMBINATIONS and Financial Statements. date: April 21, 2015 ------------------------------------------------- Dr. Stanley, When acquiring a foreign subsidiary, there are accounting differences that one must consider. Looking at the big picture U.S. GAAP is more rule based and IFRS is more principles based. Under IFRS, more emphasis is on the substance of transactions and more judgment is used. In this memo, I have identified key differences in U.S. GAPP v. IFRS with regards to the acquisition of a foreign entity and the financial statements. The following are the assumptions regarding your aquisition I have used in my analysis: 1. 80% Single Step Equity Purchase 2. Foreign entity currently reports under IFRS 3. Parent does not meet the definition of a investment entity under IFRS 4. Foreign entity’s functional currency is the Euro You as the parent company can continue to report your financials under US GAAP. Likewise, the foreign subsidiary will continue to report their financial statements under IFRS. For the reporting periods following the date of acquisition, you are required to consolidate the foreign subsidiary’s financial statements with the parent entities financial statements under US GAAP (Gannon & Ashwal, 2004). The consolidation model under US GAAP and IFRS differs. To start, the definition of control varies. Under US GAAP, control is based on controlling financial interested...
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...of time (Camfferman and Zeff, 2006). In 1993, Daimler Benz AG aimed to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE); hence, it needed to reconcile its financial statements to comply with US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP). Under German GAAP, the firm had re- ported a net income of 615 million Deutschmarks (DM) for the 1992 year, which turned into a net loss q We are grateful to Luis Fernández-Revuelta and Mikel Tapia for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. This project is partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education’s research Grant # SEJ2007-67582-C02-01. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 91 568 96 00; fax: +34 91 561 09 30. E-mail addresses: salvador.carmona@ie.edu (S. Carmona), marco.trombetta@ie.edu (M. Trombetta). 0278-4254/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2008.09.003  456 S. Carmona, M. Trombetta / J. Account. Public Policy 27 (2008) 455–461 of DM1, 839 million under US GAAP (see also Ball (2004)). On November 15, 2007, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowed the operation of foreign private firms using International Financial Reporting Standards1 on the NYSE without first reconciling their financial statements to US GAAP. The financial press enthusiastically greeted this move; on November 19, 2007, the Financial Times wrote: ‘‘The goal of a single worldwide accounting language has long been a dream. Today it is fast becoming a reality—and the pace is...
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...Executive Memo to the Board To: Board of Directors From: UoPx CPA Auditors Subject: GAAP Requirements and Accounting Treatment for Share-Based Payment Reporting and Consolidation of Special Purpose Entity Week 6 Points to consider Memo on SPE and Share-based payments Evaluate Share-based payment reporting JJH->Share-based employee compensation awards are classified as either equity instruments or liability instruments. The measurement date for estimating the fair value of equity instruments is the grant date; the measurement date for liability instruments is the settlement date. Different rules also apply to public vs. private companies depending on the type of award instrument. (Executive summary, Paragraph 2) http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2007/Apr/ARoadMapForShareBasedCompensation.htm Three features to help identify a share based transaction with employee program: 1. Employees that are shareholders are granted additional benefits Additional benefits indicate the entity is dealing with the individuals as employees or providers of services rather than as investors or equity holders. Examples of additional benefits include: • Employees have the right to additional shares if the business performs well (often referred to as a ratchet mechanism). • Employees’ rights depend on whether the entity floats or is sold through a trade sale (ie, in the event of a trade sale an employee may automatically get a cash payment...
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...J. Account. Public Policy 27 (2008) 455–461 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect J. Account. Public Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jaccpubpol On the global acceptance of IAS/IFRS accounting standards: The logic and implications of the principles-based system q Salvador Carmona *, Marco Trombetta IE Business School, Calle Pinar, 15-1B, 28006 Madrid, Spain a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t The widespread acceptance of International Accounting Standards (IAS)/International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) makes it timely to examine their technical determinants as well as their implications for the accounting profession and the process of accounting harmonization. In this respect, we suggest that the principles-based approach to the standards and its inner flexibility enables the application of IAS/IFRS to countries with diverse accounting traditions and varying institutional conditions. Furthermore, the principles-based approach involves major changes in the expertise held by accountants and, hence, in their educational background, training programs, and in the organizational and business models of accounting firms. Finally, we submit that the standards set by the IAS/IFRS constitute a step forward in the process of accounting harmonization, although there is still far to go in the comparability of accounting measures across countries and regions. Ó 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Globalization Accounting harmonization...
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...US GAAP versus IFRS The basics November 2013 Table of contents Introduction..................................................................... 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 .....
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...IFRS vs. A- IFRS Australia along with New Zealand, The European Union, China and Russia was one of the earliest adopters of the IFRS. Australia adopted an IFRS equivalent which they call A-IFRS starting January 1, 2005. Even though, Australia and the IFRS have converged there are still some difference in the accounting practices allowed by Australian GAAP and the full IFRS. The differences between the two sets of standards are not as glaring as the differences between US GAAP and IFRS but the differences between the A-IFRS and IFRS are worth noting. The treatment of general insurance contracts and life insurance differs between the two standards. Australian firms must follow AASB 1023 and 1038 these standards are more specific than IFRS 4 which covers all insurance contracts and financial instruments with flexible participation features. AASB details all of the disclosure measurement and recognition requirements of accounting for general insurance contracts. AASB 1038 deals with life insurance contracts and is more specific than IFRS 4, it doesn’t allow “shadow accounting” which IFRS 4 does allow (Porter, 6). Shadow accounting has become popular because of outsourcing and is the checking and confirming aspects of a company’s accounting function on the managers behalf (Kaufman, 69). These slight differences do allow a company following the Australia equivalent to the IFRS does allow Australian firms to fully comply with the IFRS but it does lead to comparability problems. A...
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...US GAAP versus IFRS The basics December 2011 !@# Table of contents Introduction .....................................................................2 Financial statement presentation......................................4 Interim financial reporting ................................................6 Consolidation, joint venture accounting and equity method investees .............................................................7 Business combinations ...................................................11 Inventory .......................................................................13 Long-lived assets ...........................................................14 Intangible assets ............................................................16 Impairment of long-lived assets, goodwill and intangible assets ............................................................18 Financial instruments .....................................................20 Foreign currency matters ...............................................28 Leases ...........................................................................30 Income taxes..................................................................33 Provisions and contingencies ..........................................35 Revenue recognition.......................................................37 Share-based payments ...................................................39 Employee benefits other than share-based payments ......41 Earnings...
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...Definition There is significance between accounting harmonisation and accounting standardisation where harmonisation allows countries to have different accounting standards provided that they do not have logical conflict with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Therefore the accounting standards in different countries are not identical but very similar from one to another which allows convergence of accounting practices. However, standardisation of accounting has the direct opposite meaning of harmonisation where the standardisation requires all accounting practices in various countries to be exactly the same. Harmonisation tends to be associated with IASB which carries out the process of coordination whereas standardisation is the process of uniformity that can be seen in the European Union (EU) where transnational legislation occurs. According to various accounting scholars, they said it is important to distinguish between harmonisation of accounting practices (de facto) and harmonisation of accounting regulations (de jure). De facto is often associates with harmonisation while de jure is associated with standardisation. Reasons for Harmonisation RELIABILITY OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE USERS One of the reasons that international harmonisation of accounting standards should be carried out is to ensure comparability, reliability and quality of financial reports and disclosure of foreign enterprises. This allows investors and financial analysts to understand...
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...slide I Kansas City Zephyrs • A case where financial statements are used to resolve an internal dispute • Distinct from Shrek 2, which focused on the effect of accounting choices on external stakeholders (in particular, shareholders). Take-Away slide II The role of incentives • Whether the cup is half-full or half-empty depends on the incentives. • “No one ever said accounting is an exact science” The role of judgment • Timing decisions that affect revenue/expense recognition • Which decision you take depends on the objective Public vs. private accounting • When reporting to the public, a firm must follow GAAP. • In resolving internal disputes this may not always be true. Inventory 7 Overview In today’s class we will cover inventories: • Understanding the Inventory Equation • LIFO and FIFO cost-flow assumptions • LIFO tax conformity rule • Inventory accounting: IFRS vs. GAAP • Disclosures regarding cost flow assumptions 8 Two Main Issues Inventory accounting has two fundamental components: 1) Product Costing Decision: What costs are included in each product's inventory account? (Product costing is discussed in depth in managerial accounting). 2) Cost Flow Decision (LIFO/FIFO): Once costs are in the inventory account (i.e., on the Balance Sheet), when are costs transferred to the Income Statement? 9 Inventory Account Beginning inventory + Additions – Cost of goods sold _________________________ ...
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