Reporting on the Past: A New Approach to Improving Accounting Today

1999 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell J. Lundholm

In the last few years the financial accounting model has been attacked on a number of fronts. Some argue that the model reports irrelevant information in today's knowledge-based economy, while others argue that the model's reporting discretion makes the results unreliable. Accruals allow the model to report wealth creation or depletion in a more timely manner, yet they also allow abuse when the underlying estimates are intentionally distorted. But surprisingly, the accuracy of the estimates underlying the accruals is never examined; rather current accruals are mixed together with the reversals of prior accruals. I propose that the financial reporting model be amended to report on the ex post accuracy of a firm's prior estimates. Doing so will identify firms that have abused their reporting discretion in the past and provide valuable information about the expected credibility of the firm's disclosures in the present. Firms will also have a greater incentive to make accurate estimates and accruals if they know that opportunistic estimates will be explicitly revealed in the future. Finally, accounting regulators might be more inclined to recognize nontraditional assets in the financial statements if a system is in place that gives firms an incentive to accurately estimate the value of these assets. In this paper I give an example of the type of disclosure I am proposing, discuss the benefits it offers to investors, and address some practical implementation issues.

Author(s):  
Ana Milijić ◽  
◽  
Vanja Vukojević ◽  

For a knowledge-based economy, the basic drivers of economic growth and development are the knowledge, innovation and specific skills of individuals whose „incorporation” into a product/service makes them attractive to customers in the market according to the needs of the 21st century. Thus, in the era of the knowledge economy, individuals with their knowledge, specific abilities and skills represent the basis for creating and maintaining a competitive advantage in the market. However, the traditional financial reporting model cannot fully meet the information requirements of users of 21st century financial statements due to the limited absorption of data concerning the company’s ownership of intangible resources such as knowledge, specific skills of employees and other intellectual resources. In order to fully, reliable and truthful business reporting Many companies choose to voluntarily report on non-financial performance through various reports such as the Business Report and the Notes to the Financial Statements. The aim of this paper is to present modern models of reporting on intellectual capital and to point out possible directions of their further development in the future. Also, in this paper, special emphasis is placed on segments of business assets whose balance sheet (non) coverage leads to significant differences between the book and market values of companies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Koolivand ◽  
Mahdi Salehi ◽  
Meysam Arabzadeh ◽  
Hassan Ghodrati

Purpose This paper aims to assess the relationship between a knowledge-based economy and fraudulent financial reporting. Design/methodology/approach The study is descriptive-correlation based on published information from enlisted firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange during 2013–2019 with a sample of 178 firms (1,246 observations). The method used for hypothesis testing is linear regression using the panel data. Findings The results show that a knowledge-based economy is associated negatively and significantly with financial reporting. Moreover, robust testing has also examined the hypotheses (including fixed effects, OLS and t + 1) that confirmed the study’s preliminary results. Originality/value As the study was carried out in the emergent financial markets, like Iran, to figure out the relationship between knowledge-based economy and financial reporting, it can provide helpful information for the practitioners in this field.


1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-226
Author(s):  
Adelaide Maria Coelho Baěta

This paper examines the significance of the technology incubator in Brazil's transition from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy. The author examines how incubators can contribute to technology development and enterprise creation, stressing their ability to provide a two-way flow of information between higher education institutions and the private sector, breaking down the mutual distrust that has often hindered the successful exploitation of R&D in the past. The author discusses both the learning needs of companies and the ways in which universities need to change to adapt to the demands of the new knowledge society, placing this analysis in the context of how incubators can be organized to function efficiently. In illustration, she provides the working example of the Biominas Incubator in the state of Minas Gerais.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11/1 (-) ◽  
pp. 27-30
Author(s):  
Nina OVSIUK ◽  
Zhanna SHALIIEVSKA ◽  
Kateryna HULKO

The essence of effective management of each business entity depends primarily on transparency and disclosure of information about its financial and economic activities. The financial report itself covers all important information about the state of the enterprise and provides an opportunity to obtain financial status with it by the interested user for further analysis and decision-making on further activities. As a rule, investors of creditors, state bodies, representatives who are preparing in construction with the business entity are interested in financial reporting. In order to provide more detailed and informative financial reporting to users, it is necessary to compile it with international standards, which act as tools for globalization of the economy and contribute to the development of global economic relations. During 2020–2021, the activities of enterprises took place in extremely difficult conditions, which is why the pandemic significantly affected the financial reporting indicators. Today, there is an appropriate use of intelligent technology and computer technology in the formation of financial statements. Financial statements based on taxonomies of financial statements for IFRS are prepared and presented in a single electronic format using Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). XBRL is a generally accepted international standard for presenting financial statements in accordance with IFRS in electronic form. With the help of IFRS, Ukrainian companies have more effectively solved the following tasks: attracting investments and loans from the world's largest companies and banks, the ability to service financing from foreign banks and other organizations; placement of shares on international stock exchanges; providing the company's management with reliable information for making management decisions, as well as evaluating their adoption. Thus, today the economy of Ukraine depends on the choice of IFRS as a conceptual basis for accounting and its practical implementation. After all, the financial statements are fully open to internal and external users to make informed management decisions regarding cooperation with the relevant entity.


2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 983-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Johnstone ◽  
Brandy Mackintosh ◽  
Fred Phillips

ABSTRACT This instructional case requires students to provide advice to a client who is currently the sole owner of a for-profit company that reconditions and sells used electronics. The client is considering purchasing a similar company with the vision of expanding into the sales and service of emerging technologies. The target company's unaudited financial statements contain questionable accounting choices and judgments that appear to enable the company to meet external financial reporting constraints. In their role as financial advisers, students are expected to use critical thinking skills to identify and evaluate questionable choices in the target company's financial statements. This case is suitable for use in introductory and intermediate financial accounting as well as introductory auditing and assurance courses, and can be used as a context for in-class discussion, as a basis for exam questions, and/or as a writing assignment. Assessment rubrics and Teaching Notes accompany the case for use by instructors.


e-Finanse ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 58-71
Author(s):  
Karolina Palimąka ◽  
Mateusz Mierzejewskl

Abstract The concept of a knowledge-based economy is a relatively new topic, but it does not mean that the previous economies did not use knowledge. For many years, knowledge formed the basis of any economy, it was a factor that set the pace of each of them, but just nit is making a significant impact on the entrepreneurial environment, and more. Inherent KBE is the concept of intellectual capital. The article raises both theoretical approaches towards the concept of intellectual capital, and points to the importance (from the point of view of managing this intangible value in the company) -of measuring intellectual capital. The process of good management of the value of intangible assets must be supported by knowledge about, e. g.,its size, value, etc. The authors focus on presenting methods of measuring intellectual capital from two groups of methods by the classification made by K. E. Sveiby, who is considered one of the fathers of the IC concept. The goal of the article is to compare methods from these two groups in terms of their flaws and advantages as regards preparing business analysis. This is done through presentation of the topic, including the concept and methods of intellectual capital measurement, which was based on the review of the literature.Furthermore, based on financial statements of companies from the WIG- oil&gas index and WIG- food industry indexwaysof interpreting the final results are presented.


2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marinilka Barros Kimbro

This paper empirically tests a model that links economic, cultural, and information/monitoring variables to corruption in 61 countries. The results offer significant evidence to suggest that higher GNP per capita, moderate economic growth, effective legal and financial accounting systems, collectivist values and low power distance are associated with countries that have low corruption. Countries that have better laws, more effective judiciary, good financial reporting standards, and a higher concentration of accountants are found to be less corrupt.


2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony H. Catanach ◽  
David B. Croll ◽  
Robert L. Grinaker

This paper describes a creative approach to the instruction of intermediate financial accounting that relies primarily on a business activity model (BAM). Initially funded by an Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) grant, this curriculum revision is designed to (1) motivate students for their chosen profession, (2) promote their technical competency, and (3) develop in them an expanded set of educational objectives including critical-thinking, communication, and research skills. The BAM emphasizes financial disclosure and technical research as well as those topics commonly found in “traditional” intermediate accounting courses. Working in professional service teams, students mimic the accounting and financial-reporting processes found in the “real world” by conducting analytical reviews, soliciting information from clients, preparing adjusting and correcting entries, and drafting financial statements and notes for a fictitious client company.


Author(s):  
Carlos Scheel ◽  
Nathalíe Galeano

Economic forces and industrialization are determinant factors in wealth creation; however, an important part of the equation has been omitted by most of the industrial and social players, especially in developing countries. The business cycle’s impact on the environment, on the life cycle assessment, and on the biocapacity of the earth has had a tremendous effect on the equilibrium of all the sub-systems (economic, social, and environmental resources). Based on these systemic requirements, a synergistic approach involving all the stakeholders has been collated and a systemic framework, the Sustainable WIT Model has been developed, and is designed to build “sustainable clusters of high value, globally competitive industries” for developing regions. This paper discusses how the Sustainable WIT Model has been applied to one of the most important industries currently having an impact on economic, social, and environmental ecosystems worldwide - the sustainable construction industry - in a region where it is creating suitable conditions for a city to become part of a knowledge-based economy. The SWIT Model considers the economic growth of the industrial life cycle as a priority, but also includes other external forces that have previously been ignored, such as societal impact, human well-being, and bio capacity, in such a way that the sustainability cycle can be economically viable.


2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 2515-2536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S. Pyzoha

ABSTRACT Prior archival studies find that firms that voluntarily adopted clawback policies have experienced a reduction in restatements. I experimentally examine this outcome by investigating the influence of two key factors (i.e., executive compensation structure and auditor quality) on financial reporting executives' (hereafter, “executives”) decision-making regarding a proposed restatement that will lead to a clawback of their incentives. I find that executives (i.e., CFOs, controllers, and treasurers) facing a lower quality auditor are less likely to agree with amending prior financial statements when a higher proportion of their pay is incentive-based. However, this tendency is reduced when executives face a higher quality auditor, indicating that higher quality auditors can act as effective monitors. My results identify an ex post unintended consequence of clawback regulation that could at least partially offset the benefits of the ex ante deterrent effects of clawbacks, and that could contribute to findings of less frequent restatements when clawback policies are in place. I discuss potential implications regarding the role of executives during restatement decisions and auditors' risk assessments in a clawback environment. Data Availability: Data are available from the author upon request.


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