This research monograph examines whether International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are interpreted and applied in a consistent manner within and across countries, and questions the implicit assumption that accounting convergence will automatically lead to comparability in financial reporting.
As a result of the global convergence of financial reporting standards, U.S. GAAP is changing profoundly. U.S. GAAP is also being abandoned by many public and private companies, and will eventually be replaced by a higher-quality set of global standards. The Convergence Guidebook for Corporate Financial Reporting provides the timely, practical guidance that CFOs, controllers, and other financial managers need in order to prepare for the impact of Convergence on their companies, departments, and careers. Guidebook readers will also learn why they must begin preparing for "the next big challenge in corporate financial reporting" now.
Project Report from the year 2012 in the subject Business economics - Accounting and Taxes, grade: 100, Argosy University, course: Contemporary Accounting Theory (B7630), language: English, abstract: The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) set out to complete their ambitious goal of convergence before the year of 2015. The author provides an outline of these efforts, emphasizing the importance and ramifications of International Accounting Standards (IAS) as a means to globally improve quality and clarity of financial reporting across financial sectors. An extensive review of pertinent literature is given, visualizing the two-pronged approach of converging global accounting standards while continuing to improve the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP). As no significant agreement has been implemented since 2008, the main areas of interest to this date remain income tax, revenue recognition, leases, and financial instruments. The present work puts in perspective the roadmap by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whilst assigning pivotal roles in the harmonization process to Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs). The author offers a conceptual framework and strategies for the successful completion of the convergence project, adding special emphasis on business mergers and taking a strong position on the active involvement of major players and stakeholders.
Purpose: Convergence of accounting standards to IFRS has become an important issue in the present era of globalization as every country has their own set of financial statements. So there is a need for common accounting standards for increasing cross-border investments and borrowings. The main purpose of the study was to understand the convergence of accounting standards, advantages of convergence to accounting standards, challenges in adopting IFRS and the responsibility of training of accountants. The study tries to understand the perception of qualified accountants towards the convergence and their inherent benefits, obstacles, responsibility for training of accountants and developing a common understanding about the convergence. The study used the survey method to approach the respondents through a pre-tested and well structured questionnaire. It consisted of structured closed ended questions. 150 questionnaires were distributed among the various qualified accountants in the five major cities of Rajasthan (Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kota and Ajmer) and only 130 responses were complete in all respects and hence were considered for the study. F-test was used to find out the significance of association between the demographics and the variables selected for the study. Accounting practitioners feel that convergence would be beneficial for India, it will create financial information more comparable and reliable but cultural differences will make difficulties in convergence across the years of experience in job. In case of responsibility of training of accountants practitioners feel that they must train themselves for IFRS and even audit firms must arrange training for their employees and partners. Convergence of IFRS would help the businesses and services in increasing their cross- border investments and borrowings. It would also help in raising the foreign capital as all the concerned shareholders will be able to understand the financial statements of foreign companies and this would finally help in improving the quality and consistency with the local economic, social and legal conditions.
The fiscal market is an unpredictable torrent of information that modern organizations strive to understand. Business professionals dedicate themselves to understanding uncertain results around economic performance to improve management, reporting standards, and predict trends in financial statements. International Financial Reporting Standards and New Directions in Earnings Management is an essential reference source that discusses identifying the behavioral patterns of managers and the accounting policies they use in different opportunistic circumstances. Featuring research on topics such as earnings quality, risk reports, and investor protection, this book is ideal for regulatory authorities, accountants, impression managers, auditors, academics, students, and researchers seeking coverage on the theoretical, empirical, and experimental studies that relate to the different themes within earnings management.
This text presents international accounting within the context of managing multinational enterprises, focusing on business strategies and how accounting applies to these strategies. This unique approach gives students the opportunity to learn about international accounting from a perspective similar to what they will experience in the business world. The book explains the key factors that influence accounting standards and practices in different countires, and how those factors impact the convergence of standards worldwide. Particular emphasis is given to culture and its unique contribution to accounting standards and practices worldwide. The book focuses on the needs of users of financial and accounting information across borders with the aim of enhancing their understanding of how to use information and make more informed decisions in an increasingly complex and dynamic international business environment.
As a result of the global convergence of financial reporting standards, U.S. GAAP is changing profoundly. U.S. GAAP is also being abandoned by many public and private companies, and will eventually be replaced by a higher-quality set of global standards. The Convergence Guidebook for Corporate Financial Reporting provides the timely, practical guidance that CFOs, controllers, and other financial managers need in order to prepare for the impact of Convergence on their companies, departments, and careers. Guidebook readers will also learn why they must begin preparing for "the next big challenge in corporate financial reporting" now.
The main idea behind this paper is to highlight the background and current movements of International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) toward convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Subsequent to introductory chapter the second chapter discusses the historical perspectives describing the various events that shaped the IASB and FASB current efforts towards convergence of IFRS and US GAAP. The third chapter describes the strategies policies and procedures adopted by the IASB/FASB to achieve the goal for international accounting convergence. The focus is on the maintainability of investors' interest and integrity of capital markets that can only be achieved by observing methods required for high quality accounting standards. Fourth chapter identifies the substantive differences and similarities between IFRS and US GAAP and catalogue those differences in which a specific accounting treatment is permissible under one basis of accounting standards but not permissible under the other.
