The State of Segment Reporting by US Public Entities: 1976-2017

This paper offers an in-depth data driven overview of the history and status as of 2017 of segment reporting by public entities trading in U.S. capital markets. Our analysis focuses on the perceived issues identified in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) 2016 Invitation to Comment on FASB's Agenda - the extent of disaggregation into reportable segments, the stability of segmentation over time, the line-items disclosed, and the reconciliation of segment to consolidated totals. We document the trends in and status of segment reporting as of 2017 as another round of efforts to improve segment reporting proceeds. The paper concludes with a discussion of several unanswered questions suggested by the data. Keywords: Segment disclosures, SFAS 131, SFAS 14, ASC 280.

Segment Reporting Practices in India: A Case Study of TCS

Segment reporting requires companies especially those which are multi-product and multi-location to disclose their segment-wise operations in their annual reports as well as in their quarterly reports. The users of financial statements have different utilities for the financial information. The users of accounting information are the stakeholders and they are mainly concerned with financial information of various segments of business. The concept of segment reporting in a formalized form is almost 32 years old. It was proposed in 1974 when the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) of USA issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 14. After, this International Accounting Standards Committee issued IAS 14 reporting financial information by segment in 1981. Both SFAS 14 and IAS 14 were revised to make segment reporting more informative. SFAS 14 was revised by the FASB with the issue of SFAS 131 in 1997, whereas IAS 14 was revised in 1998. Now, several countries through the standards issued by their respective national institutions have made the segment reporting mandatory. AS 17 in India mandates listed and other companies to report their financial information by segments. The present case study highlights the segment reporting of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). How the critical analysis of segment reporting is carried out and how it is useful for the external users? This study develops an empirical proxy for the quality of segment reporting from the data in company’s annual reports. Information about an entity’s geographical and business segments is relevant in assessing the risks and returns of a diversified or multinational entity for which such information is often difficult or impossible to determine from aggregated data.

International Diversification, SFAS 131, and Debt Maturity Structure

This study examines the impact of geographic segment disclosures under the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 131 (SFAS 131) on the debt maturity structure of internationally diversified firms. I find that the proportion of short-maturity debt increases with a firm’s international diversification. Moreover, the implementation of SFAS 131 attenuates the positive relation between international diversification and short-maturity debt. This attenuation effect is more pronounced for firms that continue to disclose geographic segment earnings in the post-SFAS 131 period than firms that do not. As short-maturity debt subjects firms to refinancing and potential costly liquidation risks, these results suggest a beneficial role of SFAS 131 in reducing firms’ reliance on short-maturity debt to address information asymmetry and agency costs of debt arising from international diversification. Furthermore, this study suggests that enhanced mandatory disclosure has a real effect on firms’ financing activities and capital structure.

Морально-этические аспекты манипулирования финансовой информацией

В работе анализируются потенциальные возможности манипулирования финансовой информацией при подготовке финансовой и управленческой отчетности, раскрываются особенности применения профессиональных стандартов бухгалтерского учета и бухгалтерской (финансовой) отчетности - МСФО (IFRS) 8 «Операционные сегменты» и SFAS 131 «Раскрытие информации о сегментах бизнеса и связанной информации», а также противоречия, возникающих при их использовании.