...different business entities, which contributes a combination of subsets of assets for a specific business purpose and a limited duration. It is essentially a medium to long-term contract which is specific and flexible. Joint Venture is all about combining of strengths of different business concerns into one organization. Though the joint venture represents a newly created business enterprise, its participants continue to exist as separate firms. A joint venture can be formed as a partnership firm, limited liability partnership or a company or any other form of business organization which the participating firms choose to select. It generally has the following characteristics: * Right of mutual control or management of the enterprise. * Right to share in the property. * Joint property interest in the subject matter of the venture. * Contribution by partners of money, property, effort, knowledge, skill or other assets to the common undertaking b. Consistent with U.S. GAAP, Abbott uses the equity method to account for its joint venture in TAP Pharmaceutical Products (TAP). Briefly explain this accounting method. An accounting technique used by firms to assess the profits earned by their investments in other companies. The firm reports the income earned on the investment on its income statement and the reported value is based on the firm's share of the company assets. The reported profit is proportional to the size of the equity investment. This is the standard technique...
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...Chapter 2 – Consolidation of Financial Information FASB allows reporting for businesses combined using the acquisition method. The acquisition method embraces a fair value measurement attribute. * Adoption of this attribute reflects the FASB’s increasing emphasis on fair value for measuring and assessing business activity. * In the past, reporting standards embraced the cost principle to measure and report the financial effects of business combinations. Expansion Through Corporate Takeovers Reasons for firms to combine: 1. Vertical integration of one firm’s output and another firm’s distribution or further processing. 2. Cost savings through elimination of duplicate facilities and staff. 3. Quick entry for new and existing products into domestic and foreign markets. 4. Economies of scale allowing greater efficiency and negotiating power. 5. The ability to access financing at more attractive rates. As firm size increases, negotiating power with financial institutions can increase also. 6. Diversification of business risk. 7. Continuous expansion of the organization, often into diversified areas (creating conglomerates). The Consolidation Process The consolidation of financial information into a dingle set of statements become necessary when the business combination of two or more companies creates a single economic entity – FASB ASC (810-10-10-1) * “There is a presumption that consolidated financial statements are more meaningful...
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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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...Auditing a Publicly Traded Company SUBJECT: Share-based Payment Reporting and Special Purpose Entities The current audit of a publicly traded company involves the evaluation of both share-based payment arrangements and special purpose entity reporting. This memo explains the reporting requirements for share-based payment transactions and special purpose entities and discusses how these requirements relate to the auditing process. Share-based payment reporting: Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) defines share-based payment arrangements as follows: “An arrangement under which either of the following conditions is met: a. One or more suppliers of goods or services (including employees) receive awards of equity shares, equity share options, or other equity instruments. b. The entity incurs liabilities to suppliers that meet either of the following conditions: 1. The amounts are based, at least in part, on the price of the entity’s shares or other equity instruments. (The phrase at least in part is used because an award may be indexed to both the price of the entity’s shares and something other than either the price of the entity’s shares or a market, performance, or service condition.) 2. The awards require or may require settlement by issuance of the entity’s shares” (FASB ASC 718-10-20). FASB 718-10-25 details specific guidelines for the recognition of share-based payment transactions (FASB ASC 718-10-25). FASB specifies when the services and...
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...is given a lower-case Roman numeral page number (for example, i).” – from the guide on accounting writing methods on BB. The collapse of Enron in 2001 has alerted the financial standard-setters worldwide for the need to develop a single set of global high quality accounting standards in order to achieve greater transparency, clarity, consistency and comparability of the financial reports. This is important for achieving more efficient global financial markets while benefiting users of financial reports such as the investors, creditors, multi-national companies and auditors. In additions, it is evident that the financial standard setters are reconsidering the merits of group accounting and its criteria for control to a large extent. In particular, it is indicated that the application of reviewed group accounting standards such as the FIN46 could also be subjective and easily manipulated. This contrasts with the criteria of Australia’s basis for group consolidation, namely, “effective control” which is determined by control over the entity's board and the proportion of potential and current voting rights. The observations call for the principle-based accounting system instead of the insufficient and easily manipulated rules-based system. In sum, the abovementioned suggests that the financial reporting standard-setting process is largely uncertain and that the accounting standards may often be incomplete. More importantly, comparisons are made between the IFRS...
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...Chapter 3 Comparative International Accounting Systems and Practices * United States and United Kingdom as major countries in the context of the Anglo-Saxon culture area; * The Netherlands and Sweden as representatives of the Nordic countries; * Germany and Switzerland as representatives of the Germanic countries; * France and Italy as representatives of the developed Latin countries and; * Japan as a representative of the developed Asian countries. | ANGLO-SAXON ACCOUNTING * There is no doubt that Anglo-Saxon accounting can be distinguished from accounting in continental Europe. Asia. Latin America, and many other parts of the world. UNITED STATES * Influences on Accounting Development:In many ways, accounting in the United States and United Kingdom is very similar as might be expected given the importance of the historical and investment connections between the two countries. Just as the language and legal system were exported from the United Kingdom to the United States. | Cont.The securities markets are the dominant influence on accounting regulation in the United States. Dealings in securities and investor protection are regulated and enforced at the federal government level under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which were passed in response to the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent financial crises. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established with the legal authority to enforce the securities...
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...Proposed Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts Issued: March 11, 2010 Comments Due: July 16, 2010 Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting: The Reporting Entity This Exposure Draft of a proposed Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts is issued by the Board for public comment. Written comments should be addressed to: Technical Director File Reference No. 1770-100 Responses from interested parties wishing to comment on the Exposure Draft must be received in writing by July 16, 2010. Interested parties should submit their comments by email to director@fasb.org, File Reference No. 1770-100. Those without email may send their comments to the “Technical Director, File Reference No. 1770-100, FASB, 401 Merritt 7, PO Box 5116, Norwalk, CT 06856-5116.” Do not send responses by fax. Please send only one comment letter to either the FASB or the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which is also requesting comments on this jointly issued Exposure Draft. The FASB and the IASB will share and consider jointly all comment letters received. Comments are most helpful if they: a. b. c. Indicate the specific paragraph or paragraphs to which the comments relate Contain a clear rationale Include any alternative the Boards should consider. All comments received constitute part of the FASB’s public file. The FASB will make all comments publicly available by posting them to its website and by making them available in its public reference room in Norwalk, Connecticut. An...
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...Reporting Special Purpose entities (SPE) within publicly traded companies have special accounting rules that one must follow to be compliant with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). When auditing a company that uses share-based payments and SPE’s this firm needs to be familiar with the proper standards of reporting. To ensure an efficient audit this memo will discuss the treatment of share-based payments as well as the accounting for consolidations relating to SPE’s. This will help in an effort to provide the best services possible to our clients. Client’s Consistency with GAAP Our company shall note that we shall conduct audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards demand that we make sure our audited material is free of misstatement. Throughout the audit we must plan and perform to acquire a reasonable outcome of the financial statements. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The audit also includes evaluating the accounting principles used and important estimates made by management as well as appraising the financial statement presentation. The basis for our opinion relies on a reasonably based audit. Accounting Consolidation Theory A technique used in financial accounting is termed consolidation which combines a group of companies' financial statements into one. This is beneficial because...
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...Auditing a Publicly Traded Company ACC/541 June 8, 2015 MEMO TO: Manager FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Auditing a Publicly Traded Company ________________________________________________________________________ An objective of any publicly traded corporation is to make a return. There are many influences, which can be contributed in completing this goal. The most significant factor is compliance with the accounting governing bodies, such as GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). As an accounting firm, it is vital to examine your financial statements on a constant basis. You will need to look for the accounting handling of share-based payment and accounting consolidation theory, as it pertains to special purpose entities and consolidations (Schroeder, Clark, & Cathey, 2011). Share-Based Payments are another way for a publicly held company to offer compensation to his or her employees or other parties, without using the company’s assets. These compensation awards are usually a set number of stocks within the organization. There was already a system in place to account for these transactions, but a revision to the Statement No. 123 was made in 2004. This statement was geared toward Share-Based Payments and was released December 16, 2004, with the original Statement being published in 1995. This revision was created to provide more accurate financial information to users of publicly traded entities, such as our client. Costs incurred by share-based transactions...
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...system of accounting to be inefficient. 2.Venice’s commerce was driven by sea traffic. 3.The Genoese system was the first to imply that unlike items could be compared in terms of a common monetary unit. 4.Double entry bookkeeping quickly had world-wide acceptance, as the British accepted it in the 1400s. 5.When hyperinflation exists, alternative systems to historical cost become necessary. 6. The International Accounting Standards Board, an international organization dedicated to the diversity of accounting standards worldwide. 7. One trend in European securities markets is consolidation. 8. The continental accounting system is closely linked to the tax collection system. 9. The first step into international business is usually the creation of a foreign subsidiary. 10. If a firm is not involved in international commercial transactions, knowledge of international business is unnecessary. Multiple Choice Learning Objective #1.1: Identify the key trends in the development of accounting through history 1. The Crusades were important in the development of accounting, because __a. the Arabs first developed double entry accounting, which was then adopted by the Italians. __b. the Christians needed double entry accounting to keep track of the relative profitability of the different Crusades. __c. the trade routes shifted the commercial center from Italy to Constantinople __d. none of the above. 2. The major Genoese influence on accounting was __a...
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...The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Executive MBA Program Financial Accounting Chicago 12 Team Members 1. George Fischer 2. Gang Huang 3. Joshua Rademacher 4. Robert Gallo 5. Stanley Tara 6. Santosh Shankergowda I pledge my honor that I have not violated the Booth Honor Code during this assignment. GAAP Consolidated Financial Rules Consolidated financial statements present the financial position and results of operations for a parent (controlling entity) and one or more subsidiaries (controlled entities) as if the individual entities actually were a single company or entity. Consolidation is required when a corporation owns a majority of another corporation’s outstanding common stock. The accounting principles applied in the Preparation of the consolidated financial statements are the same accounting principles applied in preparing separate-company financial statements. Two companies are considered to be related companies when one controls the other company. Control is presumed to exist if the parent owns more than 50% of the voting stock of the subsidiaries. Consolidation requires full enumeration of revenues, expenses and asset transfers between companies. Consolidated financial statements are presented primarily for the benefit of...
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...S. Bankruptcy Code; one of the largest corporate bankruptcy filings at that time. When the investigations commenced and the tangled Enron web was unraveled, it was discovered that Enron had perpetrated a very sophisticated form of accounting fraud through its repeated use of what are referred to as Special Purpose Entities (“SPEs”). In their most basic forms, SPEs are business entities formed for the purpose of conducting a well specified activity such as construction of a gas pipeline, or collection of a specific group of accounts receivable. However, because of their complex nature, SPEs can be used to manipulate a corporation’s financial results, which was the primary use for which Enron employed the SPE structure. As a result, the investment and financial community has cast a dark cloud over the special purpose entity, depicting the SPE as an inherently evil structure whose only purpose is to defraud, obfuscate and manipulate a company’s financial results. The purpose of this piece is to challenge this assumption and conclusion as incorrect. This article shows how the SPE abuse Enron perpetrated was neither an indictment of the SPE or the accounting regime under which Enron was operating, but of individuals who intentionally ran afoul of the accounting and disclosure rules that were...
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...1) From the consolidation perspective, what would be the likely overall effect of adopting IFRS on the company’s financial statements? From the consolidation perspective, the likely overall effect of adopting IFRS on the company’s financial statements would preserve and strengthen the company’s global financial competitiveness. Moreover, it will simplify the accounting and consolidation process significantly and reduce financial reporting costs. 2) What potential effect would arise if Klugen were to select the option under IFRS 3 to value non-controlling interest at the proportionate share of its subsidiaries’ net identifiable assets? For business combination, the buyer can control without buying all of the equity, the remaining , so-called the non-controlling, equity interests are measure either at fair value or at the non-controlling interests’ proportionate share of its subsidiaries’ net identifiable assets. Under IFRS 3, the potential effect would arise is that it will result in benefits for users by improving comparability and will increase the relevance of information provided. Moreover, it identifies and evaluates the main costs and benefits for users. 3) Do you believe that an impairment of goodwill would be more likely under IFRS or under U.S. GAAP? Why or why not? There is a difference in goodwill impairment measurement. Under U.S GAAP, two-step approach is used. It looks to the reporting unit. However, under IFRS, one-step approach is used. It is based...
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...1. Introduction to consolidation 1.1 Background Sine July 2002, consolidation has been introduced into income taxation by the Commonwealth Government (ATO 2011, p.1). The objective is to treat the wholly owned groups as a single economic entity to be taxed. Figure 1. Before consolidation Figure 2. After consolidations Meanwhile, the accounting standards have been improved and amended in different periods in order to meet the needs of standardization in entire financial environment in Australia. This is typically required by the situation that every company listed on ASX have its subsidiaries. The early AAS 24 has the flaw referred as unit trusts and debts. Now, The Corporations Act 2011 applies the AASB 127 as the accounting standards regarding as consolidation, which clearly states the ‘control’, ‘parent entity’ and ‘subsidiary entity’. In others words, consolidation exists when a parent entity controls its subsidiaries and the consolidation financial statement is which the group can represent as those of single legal entity. 1.2 Benefits of consolidation • Satisfy with the requirement of ‘true and fair’ about financial statements • Ensure the reliability and relevance of financial information • Increase business efficiency • Avoid the overstated or understated situation for profit or loss • Align with the purpose of tax 2. The role of consolidated financial statement AASB 127 par.4 defines the consolidated financial statement as the assets...
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...the equity method of accounting for investments Chapter Outline I. Three methods are principally used to account for an investment in equity securities along with a fair value option. A. Fair value method: applied by an investor when only a small percentage of a company’s voting stock is held. 1. Income is recognized when dividends are declared. 2. Portfolios are reported at fair value. If fair values are unavailable, investment is reported at cost. A. Consolidation: when one firm controls another (e.g., when a parent has a majority interest in the voting stock of a subsidiary or control through variable interests, their financial statements are consolidated and reported for the combined entity. A. Equity method: applied when the investor has the ability to exercise significant influence over operating and financial policies of the investee. 1. Ability to significantly influence investee is indicated by several factors including representation on the board of directors, participation in policy-making, etc. 2. According to GAAP guidelines, the equity method is presumed to be applicable if 20 to 50 percent of the outstanding voting stock of the investee is held by the investor. Current financial reporting standards allow firms to elect to use fair value for any investment in equity shares including those where the equity method would otherwise apply. However, the option, once taken, is irrevocable. After 2008, an entity can make...
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