| 1. |
- Abad, C., et al.
(författare)
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On the 'Disclosure Initiative - Principles of Disclosure': The EAA Financial Reporting Standards Committee's View
- 2020
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Ingår i: Accounting in Europe. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1744-9480 .- 1744-9499. ; 17:1, s. 1-32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper summarises the contents of a comment letter produced by a working group of 12 academics in response to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Discussion Paper on principles of disclosure. The comment letter was submitted by the Financial Reporting Standards Committee (FRSC) of the European Accounting Association (EAA). The work includes reviews of relevant academic literature of areas related to the various questions posed by the IASB in the Discussion Paper, including the 'disclosure problem' and the objective of the project, the suggested principles of effective communication, the roles of the primary financial statements and notes, the location of information and the use of performance measures. The paper also discusses the disclosure of accounting policies, the objectives of centralised disclosure, and the New Zealand Accounting Standards Board staff's approach to disclosure.
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| 2. |
- Bengtsson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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International accounting convergence and divergence : towards a framework for understanding de jure adoption of IFRS
- 2023
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Ingår i: Accounting in Europe. - : Routledge. - 1744-9480 .- 1744-9499. ; 20:3, s. 370-392
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- By bridging the two main approaches examining de jure adoption of IFRS, namely, convergence and divergence studies, we provide a framework that more fully captures the totality, dynamics, and complexity of voluntary adoption of IFRS by country. The framework offers an understanding of accounting regulators’ efforts to balance between pressure to adopt IFRS and national specific conditions that may conflict with IFRS requirements. The suggested framework depicts four propositions which are built on four institutional dimensions: the degree of IFRS diffusion, national accounting system compatibility with IFRS, country dependence on external financing, and accounting regulator’s international networking. These four propositions jointly predict national adoption level of IFRS, ranging from non-adoption to partial adoption, and to full adoption. The framework assumes that the current IFRS adoption status by country is not static and may change over time. The voluntary adoption of IFRS standards by country is understood as the result of tradeoffs among multiple factors. In doing so, the developed framework solves a theoretical dichotomy in IFRS studies: the tendency of using institutional isomorphism to examine convergence versus accounting classification to understand divergence.
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| 3. |
- Frii, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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What motives shape the initial accounting for goodwill under IFRS 3 in a setting dominated by controlling owners?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Accounting in Europe. - London : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1744-9480 .- 1744-9499. ; 18:2, s. 218-248
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate how different motives shape the initial accounting for goodwill in a setting dominated by controlling owners, using data from 1112 acquisition analyses reported by Swedish listed acquiring firms. In contrast to prior studies, we find no evidence that earnings-based compensation affects the proportion of the purchased price accounted for as goodwill. Instead, we find that when a family-owned firm is the acquirer, a larger proportion of the purchase price is accounted for as goodwill than as specific assets and liabilities. These two findings indicate that controlling owners may curb managerial motives, while controlling family owners apply the discretion of IFRS 3 according to their motives. We also find in this setting that acquisition-related motives have a significant impact on the proportion of the purchased price accounted for as goodwill. Overall, our analyses indicate that the motives shaping goodwill accounting choices depend on the institutional setting.
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| 4. |
- Hartmann, Berit, et al.
(författare)
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IFRS in National Regulatory Space: Insights from Sweden
- 2020
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Ingår i: Accounting in Europe. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1744-9499 .- 1744-9480. ; 17:3, s. 367-387
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Based on two empirical cases, this paper illustrates and comments on the complexities of implementing and enforcing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in a national setting. The paper sheds light on the difficulties that arise in the local regulatory space when IFRS requirements start to shape national accounting legislation and regulations. The findings suggest that the investor focus and requirements for managerial judgement of IFRS can pose two problems. Firstly, an extended influence of IFRS creates tension with established institutions that have developed in the local accounting tradition. Secondly, local organisations can respond strongly to new IFRS regulations and their potential implementation, even if the contradiction with local practice bears no immediate economic consequence to them. The study contributes to the contextualisation of financial accounting in national culture by highlighting the different understandings and uses of IFRS by actors involved in the Swedish regulatory space.
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| 5. |
- Hellman, Niclas
(författare)
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Accounting conservatism under IFRS
- 2008
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Ingår i: Accounting in Europe. - : Taylor & Francis (Routledge): SSH Titles. - 1744-9480 .- 1744-9499. ; 5:2, s. 71-100
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a recent discussion paper on an improved conceptual framework (IASB, 2006a), the IASB and the FASB argue that prudence and conservatism are not desirable qualities of financial reporting information (IASB, 2006a, BC2.22). One interpretation of this proposal is that the consistent undervaluation of net assets (consistent conservatism), which used to be common under Continental European GAAPs and to some extent under US GAAP, is not considered to be an adequate way of dealing with uncertainty. Instead, the changes in the business conditions of a firm should be, to a greater extent, reflected in the financial reporting via changes in future-oriented estimates and probabilities. In turn, this should increase the decision relevance to users. However, although the boards suggest that the improved framework will not include prudence or conservatism as desirable qualities, this paper suggests that a more valid description is that consistently conservative accounting treatments will be replaced by accounting methods that leave more opportunities for temporary conservatism (changes in accounting estimates that temporarily understate net assets via the creation of hidden reserves which later may be reversed). From a user perspective, temporary conservatism is demanding because of the increased income-shifting between periods. This is illustrated in the paper by examining three cases concerning loss carryforwards, development costs and construction contracts, related to three different standards (IAS 12, IAS 38 and IAS 11, respectively). Furthermore, the paper illustrates how the mixing of consistent and temporary conservatism may lead to counter-intuitive interpretations of the underlying business activities that, in turn, make the information less relevant to users.
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| 6. |
- Hellman, Niclas, et al.
(författare)
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Introducing More IFRS Principles of Disclosure – Will the Poor Disclosers Improve?
- 2018
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Ingår i: Accounting in Europe. - : Taylor & Francis (Routledge): SSH Titles. - 1744-9499 .- 1744-9480. ; 15:2, s. 242-321
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current paper was prepared for the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Research Forum 2017 and evaluates the effects of introducing more principles of disclosure as part of the IASB Disclosure Initiative. We perform a literature review of academic research on how entities have complied with disclosure requirements in the past. The review shows high levels of non-compliance and high volatility across entities, including poor disclosers being far below the average. We find no clear pattern of higher compliance for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) with more reliance on disclosure principles as compared to specific requirements (i.e. IFRS 7, IFRS 8), but note the methodological problem of measuring compliance with disclosure principles. Academic research suggests that the degree of compliance depends on entities’ incentives for providing or withholding information in combination with local conditions for primary users, auditors and regulators. Based on our review, we argue that increased reliance on entities to act in ‘good faith’ when complying with disclosure requirements, in capital-market contexts where entities may be in high-incentive situations and have low costs of non-compliance, is potentially risky in terms of how well the Standards protect primary users from poor disclosers. More emphasis is needed on ensuring that the disclosure requirements are enforceable and auditable in order to secure a certain minimum level of disclosure.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Jorissen, Ann, et al.
(författare)
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What Is the Way Forward for IASB’s Research Programme under the Evidence-Supported Approach? Some Analyses and Comments Based on the 2015 Agenda Consultation
- 2016
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Ingår i: Accounting in Europe. - : Taylor & Francis (Routledge): SSH Titles. - 1744-9480 .- 1744-9499. ; 13:2, s. 269-283
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) the paper reviews the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB's) evidence-supported approach to standard setting, in particular the very broad definition of evidence that does not distinguish between scientific evidence used for developing the normative foundation (the standards) and observations in practice. Based on comparisons with medicine and auditing, we argue that there are good reasons for the IASB to separate scientific evidence from other sources of information. As producers of scientific evidence, the academic community must consider whether better alignment between publishing incentives and standard setting can be achieved. (2) Examining the 2015 Agenda Consultation, the ‘top-five’ research projects were identified: ‘Disclosure Initiative – Principles of Disclosure’, ‘Primary Financial Statements’, ‘Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity’, ‘Business Combinations under Common Control’, and ‘Goodwill and Impairment’. In order to further support evidence-informed standard setting, we provide research-based comments on these projects (based on the European Accounting Association's Agenda Consultation comment letter).
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| 9. |
- Marton, Jan, 1964
(författare)
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The Role and Current Status of IFRS in the Completion of National Accounting Rules – Evidence from Sweden
- 2017
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Ingår i: Accounting in Europe. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1744-9499 .- 1744-9480. ; 14:1-2, s. 207-216
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, the influence of IFRS on Swedish national accounting rules is analyzed. The lawmaker’s and standard setters’ response to EU Accounting Directive 2013/34/EU is studied, as well as the use of IFRS in enforcement. The conclusion is that IFRS have a strong position and legitimacy in Swedish financial reporting.
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| 10. |
- Mäki, Juha, et al.
(författare)
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Ownership Structure and Accounting Method Choice : A Study of European Real Estate Companies
- 2016
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Ingår i: Accounting in Europe. - : Routledge. - 1744-9480 .- 1744-9499. ; 13:1, s. 1-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Companies can under IAS 40 Investment Properties choose between the fair value and the cost models. The fair value model arguably results in more relevant information but is also more costly to use. Based on studies suggesting that financial reports are a more important medium for communication with investors if ownership is dispersed, we hypothesize that the use of the fair value model is positively associated with ownership-dispersion. We study European Real Estate firms and find support for this prediction. We also find a positive association between trade of shares and ownership-dispersion, supporting the view that financial statements are less important if ownership-concentration is high. Finally, we examine whether the choice depends on the identity of large owners. Companies with a financial company as the largest owner are somewhat more likely to choose the fair value model. Overall, the results indicate that accounting rules facilitating optional accounting policies have benefits.
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