...FASB VS. IASB - Convergence Project Shenita Baker ACC541 November 15, 2011 Delphine Wolsker FASB VS. IASB - Convergence Project The Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) is located in the United States and was formed in 1973 as a private sector to establish guidelines for financial accounting. These standards command the arrangement of financial reports by nongovernment bodies. The Financial Accounting Standard Board has only 5 members. The FASB standards are known by The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Financial Accounting Standard Board encourages participation, stakeholder’s outlook, and the attention by the Financial Accounting Foundation’s Board of Trustees. The FASB also controls the FASB Accounting Standards Codification which acts as the connection of valid standards of accounting and reporting. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is a self-sufficient group that contains 15 members located in London. The International Accounting Standard Board ha experience in auditing, preparing, and using financial reports. The IASB also help decide accounting guidelines . The IASB is part of the IFRS foundation came about in 2001. The board is funded by major accounting firms and private financial institutions. The International Accounting Standard Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board are currently working on a joint venture known as the convergence...
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...Rules vs. Principles Based Accounting Standards in the United States Elsie M. Powell Liberty University Online ACCT 301-D01 December 7, 2014 Rules vs. Principles Based Accounting Standards The United States of America is under a great decisional debate, should the United States adopt a more principles-based accounting standard or stay with the more rules-based standard that is currently used. The two standards offer differing views on how a company should approach their accounting needs. The United States continues its discussion about whether to change from the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and with the recent accounting scandals, the debate has become a heated topic. The key issues of the argument relates to a variety of moral issues and cost of transitioning from GAAP to IFRS. The question remains, should the United States replace the current rules-based accounting standards with a more relaxed principles based accounting standard. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a “designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting that govern the preparation of financial reports by nongovernmental entities. Those standards are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (Financial Reporting Release No. 1, Section 101, and reaffirmed in its April 2003 Policy Statement) and the American Institute...
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...Group 1: Huilin Zang, Yixue Liu, Yinghui Ma Dr. Hassan R. HassabElnaby ACCT 6190-001 Sep. 6, 2015 FASB Proposes to Clarify Revenue Recognition Standard By Michael Cohn on August 31, 2015 After the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published a draft proposing changes in Revenue Recognition Standard on July 30, 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has also issued a similar proposed accounting standards update to clarify how to determine whether an entity involved in contract is a principal or an agent under the new revenue recognition standard. We found a news article written by Michael Cohn that discusses this recent FASB’s agenda in details. The proposed update will not change the principle part of new revenue recognition standard, but will clarify the implementation guidance on principal versus agent consideration. In the new revenue recognition standard, it points out when another party is involved in providing goods or service to customer, the entity is required to determine the nature of its promise. The determination will base upon whether the entity controls the good or the service before transferring to the customer. Specifically, if control of the goods or service belongs to the entity, the entity is a principal. On the contrary, the entity is an agent. There are some implementation issues, however, during this determination process....
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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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...Student Name: ID Number: Student Name: ID Number: FinaNCIAL aCCOUNTING tHOERY FIN420 Assignment 1 FinaNCIAL aCCOUNTING tHOERY FIN420 Assignment 1 Case 3-8 IASB vs. FASB Conceptual Frameworks Q. Discuss the similarities and differences between the FASB and IASB conceptual frameworks with respect to the definitions of the elements of financial statements. INTRODUCTION At the October 2004 joint IASB-FASB meeting, the Boards agreed to add to their respective agendas a joint project to develop a common conceptual framework—a single framework that both converges and improves upon the existing frameworks of the two Boards. (The Boards had previously discussed a staff proposal for this project at their April joint meeting.) The Boards also agreed that the project should be divided into phases. Initially, the focus will be on objectives, qualitative characteristics, elements, recognition, and measurement. The Boards will give priority to addressing issues that are likely to yield benefits to the Boards in the short term, that is, cross-cutting issues that affect a number of their standards-level agenda projects. Therefore, the first step is to identify and prioritize those cross-cutting issues. Possible examples that the staff have suggested include the meaning and role of reliability; the definition of liability; the meaning of probable; the effect of conditions, contingencies, or other uncertainties; the unit of account; and accounting...
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...Conceptual Framework A conceptual framework establishes the concepts that underlie financial reporting. Conceptual framework includes objectives, qualitative characteristics, elements, measurement, and recognition concepts. The FASB Concepts Statements guide the board in developing accounting principles and provide understanding. These concept statements are non-authoritative and do not establish generally accepted accounting principles. Entities do not use the FASB Concept Statements in routine preparation of financial statements. (8,2) The IASB and the Interpretations Committee use conceptual framework when developing new or revised International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and interpretations or when amending existing IFRSs. It is used as a point of reference to help preparers of financial statements in applying IFRSs or when no specific guidance is given. The IASB’s Conceptual Framework is not an International Financial Reporting Standard and does not override any specific IFRS. However, the Conceptual Framework is used in development of future standards and the IASB is reviewing IFRSs and the Conceptual Framework to eliminate all conflicts between them. (2,7) Basis of Accounting Both U.S. GAAP and IFRS use a modified historical cost basis with a growing emphasis on fair value when preparing financial statements. When non-U.S. entities operate in a highly inflationary environment and prepare GAAP financial statements; they have the choice to either report price-level...
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...(dirty surplus) or an all-inclusive income (clean surplus). Dirty surplus accounting excludes all items not related to the current operations of the firm and is generally based upon by past firm transactions. The all-inclusive method recognises both operating income as well as revaluation increments (gains and losses) of net assets as part of income (clean surplus) (Hodgson, 2014). The all-inclusive income method was adopted by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in 1997 and subsequently the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), leading to ‘comprehensive income’ reporting. Comprehensive Income (CI) is the sum of Profit or Loss (P&L) and OCI. OCI comprises of items of income and expense not recognised in profit or loss as required or permitted by AASB (AASB, 2014) Recent Amendments permit P&L and OCI to be presented in as a single statement or in separate statements with the P&L section first. In the past, the FASB permitted a third alternative to recognize OCI in statement of equity (FASB, 1997), (AASB, 2011). Items within OCI also need to be grouped together, on the basis of whether they will eventually be ‘recycled’ to the profit or loss section of the income statement. One of the issues within the current Conceptual Framework is recycling. Presently there is no clear distinction on how it should be treated, with many diverging opinions among respondents ranging from ‘always recycle’ to ‘never recycle’ with majority supporting a ‘broad approach’, citing...
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...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. Discussions have been underway to converge the United States to the...
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...standards. We identify several shortcomings with this approach and focus on two of them. First, the format (type) of a standard is dependent on the contents of what the standard regulates. Given the asset/liability approach combined with fair values, we argue that the combination of this measurement concept with principlesbased standards is inconsistent because it requires significant guidance for management judgment. Second, we propose the inclusion of a trueand-fair override as a necessary requirement for any format that is more than ‘principles-only’ to deal with inconsistencies between principles and guidance. We discuss the benefits of this override and present evidence from the United Kingdom’s experience. Key words: Accounting standards; FASB; Principles; Rules; Rules-based. According to a widely-held view, U.S. accounting standards are more rules-based than principles-based.1 This observation stems in large part from the emphasis put on two aspects of the wording of the typical attestation statement: ‘the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of X Company as of Date, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles [GAAP]’ (emphasis added).2 ‘Present...
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...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 it imposes on financial reporting. This thesis will discuss these implications, as well as the continuing search for convergence of FASB and IASB as they strive to make leases as transparent and honest as possible. OFF-BALANCE SHEET FINANCING Leases: Off-Balance Sheet Financing and the Strive for Transparency Today Historical Perspective Lease accounting dates back well into the early...
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...Comparing IFRS to GAAP Essay ACC/291 10/12/15 James Ferguson Comparing IFRS to GAAP Essay The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) have some similarities and differences when it comes to accounting for liabilities. There are steps that are taken by both the FASB and IASB to move to fair value measurement for financial instruments. There are some differences between these approaches. IFRS 8-1 What are some steps taken by both the FASB and IASB to move to fair value measurement for financial instruments? In what ways have some approaches differed? It doesn’t matter if the FASB or IASB is followed; the steps taken to move to fair value measurement for financial instruments are to be noted in the financial statements regarding fair value measurement practices. Under each system, a company must report the assets at book value or fair value situational depending. Every asset in the same class of assets must get the same valuation. When valuing receivables, the IFRS operates under a two-tiered method that will analyze individual receivables first then takes a look at receivables as a whole to see if there is any impairment. IFRS 9-1 What component depreciation, and when must it be used? Component depreciation should be used when parts of the assets are fundamentally different. It is when the asset has different components with varying lifespans. Under IFRS, companies are required to use component depreciation...
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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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...AN EXAMINATION OF INVENTORY COSTING CONVERGENCE UNDER GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS Casey Reineking Department of Accounting Murray State University Murray, KY 42071-3314 E-mail: casey.reineking@hotmail.com Don H. Chamberlain Department of Accounting Murray State University Murray, KY 42071-3314 Holly R. Rudolph Department of Accounting Murray State University Murray, KY 42071-3314 L. Murphy Smith* Department of Accounting Murray State University 351 Business Building Murray, KY 42071-3314 Tel: 270-809-4297 Email: msmith93@murraystate.edu *Corresponding author Forthcoming in Journal of International Business Research AN EXAMINATION OF INVENTORY COSTING CONVERGENCE UNDER GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS ABSTRACT Accounting principles in the United States are converging toward international standards. If convergence continues, and there are proponents and detractors, then the U.S. system of accounting, called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), will eventually be replaced by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Convergence has profound implications for publicly traded companies and their many stakeholders such as investors, lenders, government agencies, and employees. A key issue facing accounting standard-setters is the treatment of inventory costing, an area in which GAAP and IFRS differ. This study addresses three...
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...IFRS vs. GAAP ACC/291 June 1, 2015 Judith Bines IFRS vs. GAAP The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are rules used to ensure ethical reporting of financial information. During Accounting 291, we have learned how to apply these rules however the differences between the United States GAAP and the IFRS make it difficult to compare companies. Some of these differences appear in the measurement of “fair value”, component depreciation, the revaluation of plant assets, product development expenditures, contingent liabilities, and the accounting for liabilities. Moving to Fair Value Measurement To the average person, the meaning of “fair value” would seem to have one meaning but this is not the case under GAAP and IFRS. “Under IFRS 1-3, the fair value of a financial liability is the cost to transfer it to another market participant in an orderly transaction at the measurement date. This is subtly different to how the fair value of a financial liability is determined under the previous rules in IAS 39 where the fair value of a financial liability is the amount at which it could be settled between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm's-length transaction” (McCarroll & Khatri, 2012). “The Accounting Standards Update (ASU) provides a converged meaning of "fair value," defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market...
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...financial reporting system has become popular for its use globally. In the text Intermediate Accounting by C.P.A Kieso, GAAP also known as generally accepted accounting principles are standardized guidelines and procedures to financial accounting and reporting. There are three major parties that are involved in the standard setting where U.S companies must abide by. Securities and Exchange (SEC), established by the federal government to help create and regulate financial information presented to stockholders. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), an organization of practicing Certified Public Accountants (CPA’s) established to contribute to the effort. And the major operator Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), objective is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, which includes issuers, auditors, and use of financial information. Transpired by the London-based International Accounting Standards Boards (ISAB); for international purposes U.S GAAP or (IFRS) International Reporting Standards, also known as IGAAP are two rules accepted for financial reporting. Requirements for IFRS;...
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