...“Global Accounting Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the United States: An Analysis of Economic and Policy Factors” by Luzi Hail, Christian Leuz and Peter Wysocki: In the world of accounting, abandoning the United States’ Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) in favor of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) would represent a seismic shift that would require changing what has been the country’s accounting gold standard for decades. This is what the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is contemplating for all publicly listed companies, starting in 2014. But according to a study released today (Friday, March 6) it is not clear whether such a major shift in standards would translate into large (net) benefits for most companies or the entire U.S. economy. The study, “Global Accounting Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the United States: An Analysis of Economic and Policy Factors,” was done by Christian Leuz of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Luzi Hail of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Peter Wysocki of the MIT Sloan School of Management. One of the touted benefits of moving to IFRS is that it can enhance the liquidity of capital markets and reduce companies’ costs of capital by providing investors with better information on corporate performance. However, the authors argue that this is true only if adopting a new set of standards actually improves the quality of reporting...
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...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 on the value in use...
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...Global Factors Slow Chances for Global Standards For the past several decades many of the world’s largest economies have been moving towards a global economy that requires a standard set of accounting standards. The European Union took a momentous step in 1999 by adopting the Euro as the standard currency for its 27 member states. It currently has the highest total gross domestic product (GDP) of any economy and is a member of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) which is viewed as the standard for the global economy. The United States has also become committed to integrating into a global set of standards, vowing to join the IFRS which already oversees 12,000 companies in 100 countries. Several of my classmates believe that the having a global standard will create a transparent economy that could lead to an increase in investor confidence. While this is true, there will be not a global set of accounting standards in the next five years due to reluctance of the United States to join the IFRS, China’s standards that are similar to the IFRS but still different, and the current global economic downturn. One of the major obstacles to a global economy is the reluctance of the United States to join the IFRS. Behind the European Union the United States currently has the second largest GDP but as of 2013 is not part of the IFRS. Although the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in a 2010 press release that, “a step toward achieving the...
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...International Financial Reporting Standards The application of IFRS is spreading all over the world as a result of the development of world economy and increasing transactions among countries and nations. For many years, even now, different countries have different account standards, such as U.S. GAAP, Japan GAAP, and IFRS are mainly adopted by European countries. In recent years, many countries accepted or acknowledged standards used in other countries. In America, for example, the SEC issued that it is possible to adopt IFRS in November 2008 and SEC stated that IFRS is the high quality global accounting standards in February 2010. IFRS, short for International Financial Reporting Standards, are the principles developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Nowadays, “it is becoming the global standard for the preparation of public company financial statements.”(Ervin Black) Parts of standards of IFRS are based on International Accounting Standards published by the Board of the International Accounting Standards Committee between 1973 and 2003. “On April 1st, 2001, the new IASB took over from the IASC the responsibility for setting International Accounting Standards. During its first meeting the new Board adopted existing IAS and SICs. The IASB has continued to develop standards calling the new standards IFRS.”(Geoffrey Whittington) U.S. GAAP, short for the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, is more widely accepted in United States...
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...IFRS vs. GAAP: Same or Different ACC407 January 27, 2013 Catherine McBride IFRS vs. GAAP: Same or Different The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are working on nearly a dozen joint projects designed to improve both U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and ultimately make the standards fully compatible. But in the mean time, the two predominant accounting standards to this day are the U.S. GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). These two standards have several differences because they both take a completely different approach to their methodology. The U.S. GAAP is more rule-based, where IFRS is principal-based. With IFRS's principal-based approach, a lot of room was left open for interpretations for similar transactions. It gives room for second guessing, debate and conjecture. Anytime you have a fundamental system that can be debated you create a forum of uncertainty that then requires an arbitrator who can settle the dispute. This arbitrator is called the standards setting board, and it provides fewer exceptions than a rule based system (Parrott, 2008). With the U.S. GAAP you have a rule-based system. This is a more clear approach that distinguishes between what seems correct and what is correct. There is no room for interpretation. Each process has a set...
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...Highlights of IFRS Research By CYNTHIA BOLT-LEE, CPA and L. MURPHY SMITH, CPA, DBA NOVEMBER 2009 Conversion from U.S. GAAP to IFRS is a heavily discussed topic in the corporate world. Expected benefits of adoption include reporting consistency, enhanced global competition and improved financial reporting transparency. While many countries worldwide have already adopted IFRS, many other countries are closely examining its effects before adoption, not only from an economic perspective but also from a reporting quality position. COMPARING RESULTS Researchers Elaine Henry, Stephen Lin and Ya-Wen Yang evaluated the difference between financial results under U.S. GAAP compared to IFRS. Their results show that convergence between U.S. GAAP and IFRS is occurring. Using 2004 to 2006 reconciliation disclosures, the authors found that the calculated difference between shareholders’ equity under U.S. GAAP and under IFRS declined from 2004 to 2006. In addition, the difference between U.S. GAAP and IFRS reported net income during this period also declined but remained significantly different. Pensions and goodwill appeared to be the dominant reconciliation items. Reconciliation amounts varied by industry and country, raising questions about consistency between region and industry. Additionally, more than 70% of the companies examined in 2004 through 2006 had a higher return on equity under IFRS compared to U.S. GAAP. The 2007 SEC elimination of the IFRS-to-U.S. GAAP reconciliation...
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...professional and business services, financial services, consumer products, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, energy and resources, automotive, chemicals, and transportation industries (Top 30 Emerging Markets 2012-2017). In addition Brazil will be a destination for world class events such as the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games that will bring thousands of visitors to the country. As Brazil continues to grow in popularity as a location for trade, cultural activities, and investment the topics of international accounting will become more and more important. This paper will discuss three topics pertaining to international accounting issues. It will focus on benefits and challenges of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Brazil. Second, it will look at the impact of the effects of inflation on the...
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...2006). The complication arises when the firm does business in multiple countries. How can corporations be compared based upon their financials, which one are accurate, and how can investors then deal with multiple standards, which ones are accurate? The answer to these questions lies within the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS. IFRS are currently required or accepted in over 100 countries worldwide, and it looks certain that the number of countries to embrace IFRS will continue to rise over the coming years (Daske, Hail, Leuz& Verdi, 2008). It was already noticed that, IFRS issued by the IASB have been extremely doing well in terms of their acceptance and application on a worldwide basis. IFRS is the standards which is being developed and supported by the IASB. IFRS give a meaning as a set of international accounting standards that states how certain transactions and events should be reported in financial statements. Contrast to U.S. GAAP, which is a rules-based accounting standard, IFRS is upon using principles based rather than hard set rules. As a result of this fundamental difference, IFRS allows management to use greater preference and...
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...the investors in doing their business. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are two main accounting principles that is widely used in the majority of the companies. However, there will be still conflict in the interpreting and understanding each other financial statements due to these two different approaches. Therefore, to overcome this problem, International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) are working on it by taking the necessary steps as time passes to close down the gap and standardised the accounting principles globally making it easier for all parties. (157 words) 1.0 Introduction In the world of globalization, a number of countries had been experiencing the convergence of their local GAAP and IFRS in order to apply the international accounting standard to suit the growing business world. This does not left out the people of the United States who are also trying to converge the accounting standards of US GAAP and IFRS in order to close down the gap between the accounting standards. FASB and IASB are the main international bodies assisting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to achieve this goal. 2.0 Benefits 2.1 Facilitate international business and economy growth There are a number of benefits that people can gain from the convergence of US GAAP and IFRS. For example, the convergence of these accounting standards will...
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...organization is reporting under the IFRS standard while their branch in the United States is using US-GAAP. While the differences do not outweigh the similarities, GAAP and IFRS standards have caused some concerns in financial reporting. These concerns have led to the evaluation of these two reporting standards and the discussion on whether to move IFRS worldwide. This paper will outline a few of the differences between GAAP and IFRS as well as review the discussion of standardized reporting using IFRS. Introduction Historically, accounting and reporting standards in the United States have been set by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accounts) as laid out by the regulations set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) was developed by the AICPA as a council for establishing standards for reporting for all United States companies. Under FASB, GAAP was reorganized into approximately 90 accounting standards offering concise methods to follow for financial reporting. This not only allowed for ease of access when reading US financials statements, but also allowed for comparison of documentation for investments, credits, and other financial decisions. On the other hand, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) were developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) based in London. Currently, about 120 nations require the use of IFRS for financial reporting by public companies...
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...The Purpose of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and GAAP Bill Chase Grantham University The Purpose of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and GAAP The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was drafted and passed in 2002, by Senator Paul Sarbanes and Congressman Michael Oxley. The purpose for drafting and passing the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation was to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures in accordance with existing securities laws, and to encourage and enable corporate executives to be more ethical and socially responsible when conducting business (Bawa, 2004). In other words, the Act’s measures were to strengthen the reporting requirements that already existed for publicly traded companies, by holding those in power in the corporate world accountable for their actions. The Act increases penalties for executives who do misdeeds and imposes internal governance rules on their companies (Bawa, 2004). How does the Act hold executives accountable? The legislation requires the most senior company executives (CEO’s, CFO’s, etc.) to certify the company’s financial statements each time those reports are filed with the Security and Exchange Commission (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2014 p 70). The impetus for passing Sarbanes-Oxley was due to the numerous corporate scandals that had come to plague the corporate world in the United States prior to the turn of the millennium. A common theme of these corporate scandals was the manipulation of company financial...
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... Comparing of the performance of Malaysia Airlines and China Southern Airlines Summary The purpose of this report was discovering and analyzing the performance of Malaysia Airlines and China Southern Airlines; and the benefits and problems in the U.S. adopting of IFRS will be mentioned. First, it evaluates the performance of Malaysia Airlines and China Southern Airlines through five ratios analysis which is profitability, liquidity/solvency, working capital efficiency, long term financial structure and investors’ perspective. Next, on basic of part one analysis, discuss the limitations of financial reporting, meanwhile, companies from different countries which are using different accounting standards should be noticed. Follow on; depend on the situation of financial report, using the SWOT methods to analyze the primary challenges faced by Malaysia Airlines and China Southern Airlines. Finally, discuss the positive and negative of U.S. adopting IFRS. Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Ratio analysis of the MAS and CZ 1 3. SWTO analysis of the MAS and the CZ 12 3.1. Strengths 12 3.2. Weaknesses 13 3.3. Opportunities 15 3.4. Threats 16 4. The benefits and problems if US adopt IFRS 18 5. Conclusion 26 6. Reference 27 7. Appendices 36 7.1. Appendices 1—Analysis Current Ratio 36 7.2. Appendices 2—Analysis Quick Ratio 36 7.3. Appendices 3—Analysis Gross Profit Margin 37 7.4. Appendices 4—Operation Profit Ratio 37 7.5. Appendices 5—Analysis...
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...THE FUTURE OF THE IFRS IN THE USA. IS THERE ONE? by MIRANDA FORBES Chartered Accountant, KPMG To : ICAEW Date : 11 November, 2013 INTRODUCTION International Financial Reporting Standards are designed as a common global language for business affairs so that company accounts and reports are recognizable and proportionable across international borderlines. They are notably influential for companies that have proceedings in numerous countries. They are increasingly substituting the many different national accounting standards with the goal that these standards will some day be globally accepted. Such adoption is expected that will be beneficial to investors and other users of financial statements by reducing the costs of comparing alternative investments and increasing the quality of information. Companies that have high levels of international activities are among the group that would benefit from a switch to IFRS. Companies that are involved in foreign activities and investing , benefit from the switch due to the increased comparability of a set accounting standard. Benefits and drawbacks of having one set of global standards are being debated in the monograph by ICAEW as well as what else can be done in the future. A concern that is enclosing the financial world for a while now is being taken up in this report, and coming my investigation and self-reliant study I am going to give my opinion and answer the following question:...
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...Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the U.S. (Part I): Conceptual Underpinnings and Economic Analysis Luzi Hail, Christian 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...
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...Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Indian context Introduction Convergence with IFRS has gained momentum in recent years all over the World. 110+ countries including European Union, Australia, China, New Zealand, and Russia currently require or permit the use of IFRS. Apart from India, countries like Japan, Sri Lanka, Canada and Korea have also committed to adopt IFRS from 2011. United States of America has announced its intention to adopt IFRS from 2014 and it also permits foreign private filers in the U.S. Stock Exchanges to file IFRS complied Financial Statement, without requiring the presentation of reconciliation statement. In this scenario of globalisation, India cannot insulate itself from the developments taking place worldwide. In India, so far as the ICAI is concerned, its aim has always been to comply with the IFRS to the extent possible with the objective to formulate sound financial reporting standards. The ICAI, being a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), considers the IFRS and tries to integrate them, to the extent possible, in the light of the laws, customs, practices and business environment prevailing in India. The Preface to the Statements of Accounting Standards, issued by the ICAI, categorically recognises the same. Now, as the world globalizes, it has become imperative for India also to make a formal strategy for convergence with IFRS with the objective to harmonize with globally accepted accounting standards. IFRS - Global Context ...
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