Part of a series which aims to present work across a broad spectrum of regulation issues, with papers covering a wide range of topics. The volumes review essays of recent books, offering insights into regulation and its processes. A glossary related to securities, law and accounting is included.

This is a refereed, academic research annual, devoted to publishing articles about advancements in the development of accounting and its related disciplines from an international perspective. This serial examines how these developments affect the financial reporting and disclosure practices, taxation, management accounting practices, and auditing of multinational corporations, as well as their effect on the education of professional accountants worldwide.

Although the accounting standards regime has been tightened significantly in the 1990s, there are still a plethora of devices which can be used by businesses to show their performance in a better light. This book shows the potential for new schemes to evade the tougher rules. Illustrated with examples of corporate creativity, it demonstrates that despite the new regime, creative accounting is still possible. Ian Griffiths is the author of Creative Accounting.

This volume contains papers presented at the 1996 Center for International Education and Research in Accounting Conference. The theme of transitional and developing economies struggling with the introduction and implementation of international accounting standards is evident throughout the papers. While current events often seem to outstrip our ability to keep up, these papers provide insights into current events in the adoption and application of the international accounting standards.

Belkaoui offers a thorough examination of the various factors that affect the judgment/decision process in an accounting setting. As the author notes at the outset, an appreciation of the various influences on accounting decisionmaking is of critical importance to users, preparers, and verifiers of accounting information--particularly in an era of multinational corporations and global markets. In order to explain the judgment process in accounting, Belkaoui proposes a new theoretical model which assumes both that a cognitive process guides judgments and decisionmaking in accounting and that the schemata underlying this process are shaped by the crucial factors of national culture, language, organizational culture, and contractual agreements. The author examines each of these influences in turn, offering a comprehensive guide to the practitioner and researcher seeking empirical hypotheses to explain the judgment process in the international accounting arena.

The bulk of the volume is devoted to an in-depth examination of each of the five relativisms which affect the accounting judgment/decision process--cognitive, cultural, linguistic, organizational, and contractual. In each chapter, the author explores the theory and findings underlying these relativisms in the social sciences and their contribution to explaining the judgment/decision process in accounting. The final chapter synthesizes the preceding material and develops an international accounting theory based upon the judgment/decision model. Throughout, Belkaoui focuses on the complexity and richness of the judgment/decision process, cautioning that the evaluation of any accounting information must take into account the various critical influences on this process.

Corporations must decide how much to invest in the natural capital (e.g., air, water, land, and forests) that they depend upon for their economic survival. How do they project the costs of essential investments under conditions of scientific and legislative uncertainty? An innovative roadmap is laid out with the help of a case study based on the actual experiences of a forestry company that made such an attempt. Everyone interested in developing a long-range environmental strategy will find this book instructive: senior corporate management, accountants, internal auditors, academics, students, and environmentalists. Based on the author's research for the United Nations, a new methodology is advanced to compute fuller costs. In addition to practical guidance on the theory and practice of calculating these costs, the author illustrates alternatives to traditional capital budgeting models. A whole range of concepts and applications are offered on natural capital; intergenerational equity; waste minimization; asset depletion rates; application of risk-management principles to costing natural capital; off-balance sheet natural assets; modern definition of profit for natural and business capital. Pioneering reporting methods for returns on investment and product costs are recommended in the concluding chapters.

With limited exceptions, present accounting rules do not address software accounting, and state and federal rules of taxing software remain ambiguous. Up-to-date, comprehensive, and written by the leading authority in this field, "Accounting and Tax Aspects of Computer Software Manufacturing" explains these rules for anyone involved with the tax or accounting aspects of software, including accountants, attorneys, and corporate executives.

Quality is becoming the most important competitive issue. The customer demands quality making it imperative to businesses to take it in serious consideration. It has become a matter of survival to provide a quality product. The concern with quality demands a) a better definition of the quality concept for each firm; b) a constant monitoring and planning of the quality standards and actions; and c) a continuous control of operations towards a quality objective. This is essentially the message and the content of this book: That quality needs to be defined contingent on the specific activities of the firm; that quality needs to be constantly monitored through a specific planning and recording system and finally, that quality is essentially the result of strong control activities. Belkaoui reviews the various approaches to the specification of the quality concept, the type of recording systems appropriate for its monitoring and the detailed control procedures needed to achieve it.

The book should be very helpful to executives involved in a total quality control program, management accountants involved in the control of quality and accounting students in managerial accounting courses.

This book focuses on how American and non-American multinational companies can plan and manage their international business in the Gulf countries. Important issues of accounting, auditing, finance, taxation, marketing, and managerial issues are covered in each of the selected Gulf countries.

The leading professional accounting bodies in Britain today boast more than a quarter of a million qualified members and accountants are moving into top management positions in increasing numbers. Accountants have become the foremost professional grouping in British business management. The Priesthood of Industry documents the rise of the accountancy profession, from the handful of accountants listed in the trade directories of the major cities in the late-eighteenth century to the huge commercially-oriented firms of the late-twentieth century. The authors focus on the individual: the professional accountant, and adopt an economic determinist analysis to explain the rise of public practice and the transfer of staff to industry in increasing numbers. They also consider the routes through which this transfer of skills took place, and identify demand and supply side factors to explain the professional accountant's present hegemony in business management.

Distinguishing between accounting by design, in which accounting techniques and solutions are selected because they fit a pre-established goal, and accounting by principle, in which accounting techniques and solutions are selected according to principle and regardless of whether they mesh with preconceived ideas about the outcome, Riahi-Belkaoui describes designed accounting in detail. Characteristics of accounting by design can be found in income smoothing, earnings management, creative accounting, fraud, and slack. Preparers and users of accounting information, and anyone interested in the burgeoning accounting crisis, should find this book very valuable.

This book is all about how companies are applying the key principles in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and shows this by use of extensive examples of UK company accounts.
The book provides coverage of the key points of each standard and links that with actual practice. It is not a detailed guidance book as such, or a transistion book from UK standards to IFRS, but a quick reference for the busy accountant which shows how to apply the key points of each standard by reference to how other companies have done it.
Robert Kirk BSc (Econ) FCA CPA trained in Belfast with Price Waterhouse & Co., and subsequently spent two years in industry in a subsidiary of Shell (UK) and four further years in practice. He is currently Professor of Financial Reporting in the School of Accounting at the University of Ulster and has been lecturing on the CIMA Mastercourses Accounting Standards and Accounting Standards in Depth since 1985. He has authored four editions of Accounting Standards in Depth; UK Accounting Standards: A Quick Reference Guide; and International Reporting Standards in Depth Volume 1 Theory and Practice and Volume 2 Solutions.

* Shows exactly what you need to know in order to fully understand and apply IFRS
* Concepts, Standards and Regulations are explained in easy to understand terms so that you become familiar with them in the quickest amount of time
* Shows by example - features the published accounts of well known British and European companies

"Margins of Error in Accounting" covers the main reasons why published company accounts cannot be completely 'accurate' and the likely extent of the resulting errors. Separate chapters cover: the 'interim-ness' of accounts; the use of current value estimates; the cumulative effect of inflation on money as the unit of account.

Risk consideration is central to more accurate post-crisis valuation Corporate Valuation presents the most up-to-date tools and techniques for more accurate valuation in a highly volatile, globalized, and risky business environment. This insightful guide takes a multidisciplinary approach, considering both accounting and financial principles, with a practical focus that uses case studies and numerical examples to illustrate major concepts. Readers are walked through a map of the valuation approaches proven most effective post-crisis, with explicit guidance toward implementation and enhancement using advanced tools, while exploring new models, techniques, and perspectives on the new meaning of value. Risk centrality and scenario analysis are major themes among the techniques covered, and the companion website provides relevant spreadsheets, models, and instructor materials. Business is now done in a faster, more diverse, more interconnected environment, making valuation an increasingly more complex endeavor. New types of risks and competition are shaping operations and finance, redefining the importance of managing uncertainty as the key to success. This book brings that perspective to bear in valuation, providing new insight, new models, and practical techniques for the modern finance industry. * Gain a new understanding of the idea of "value," from both accounting and financial perspectives * Learn new valuation models and techniques, including scenario-based valuation, the Monte Carlo analysis, and other advanced tools * Understand valuation multiples as adjusted for risk and cycle, and the decomposition of deal multiples * Examine the approach to valuation for rights issues and hybrid securities, and more Traditional valuation models are inaccurate in that they hinge on the idea of ensured success and only minor adjustments to forecasts. These rules no longer apply, and accurate valuation demands a shift in the paradigm. Corporate Valuation describes that shift, and how it translates to more accurate methods.

The links between manpower management, financial control and information management systems are clearly defined in Business Management (A Brief Expose) where an analysis of budgeting for manpower needed for production and marketing; basic steps in accounting procedures; and stages in data processing are expounded. It is realised that whereas the factory processes raw materials and produces goods for sale, a data processing department processes basic data and produces basic business documents and control information for management to keep them informed of events within the business. This enables them to coordinate different activities of the organisation's functional groups and to control the day-to-day transactions and be in a position to take whatever corrective action is necessary to achieve the objectives of the particular business. Furthermore, an efficient data processing system makes it possible to adjust the situation before it goes out of hand by adjusting income distribution and combating organisation inefficiency. With carefully structured data processing systems, a general method can be established for decision-making or policy-making in individual cases of manpower recruitment and development; investment projects; and income distribution. A brief description of the complexities of economic and business affairs may be necessarily misleading, but I hope that this booklet is not more misleading than the average of such materials. It is an attempt to explain the immense complexity of the real world by logical theories, which provide the student with worthwhile intellectual exercise and excitement. Business Management (A Brief Expose) offers to the professional student, the start-up entrepreneur, the small- and medium-size businessman and the business executive a preliminary survey of the fields of manpower development, accountancy and electronic data processing. The wider public, whose enlightened interest is the mainspring of social progress, may, I hope, find in its pages something to stimulate reflection upon those larger issues which must be determined, if at all, by the consensus of their opinion. The purpose of this booklet is to give the reader an insight into the way organisations emerge and grow, and the relationships between manpower management, financial management and management information systems. In particular, Business Management (A Brief Expose) will be of help to the busy Chief Executive Officer who hardly has time to read through different volumes associated with manpower management, financial control and computerised management information systems. Nevertheless, more reading and details may be found in A Handbook in Business Management by the same author. Jacob Wilson Chikuhwa has also published a number of books on Zimbabwe's socio-economic developments.

Advances in International Accounting is a refereed, academic research annual that is devoted to publishing articles about advancements in the development of accounting and its related disciplines from an international perspective. This serial examines how these developments affect the financial reporting and disclosure practices, taxation, management accounting practices, and auditing of multinational corporations, as well as their effect on the education of professional accountants worldwide.

Belkaoui examines several innovative forms of financial reporting and disclosure emerging in various countries and how they can hamper attempts to harmonize accounting standards internationally. Among these are value-added reporting, information for employees and unions, the impact of value-added taxation and cash flow reporting. He also tries to summarize recent developments in comparative management research and the impact it may have on practice. The author attempts to provide a broad overview of all of these topics, which should appeal to students and to accountants with an interest in the recent developments in international accounting. "Journal of Accountancy"

This volume thoroughly examines new devlopments in international accounting from economic and social, as well as from accounting viewpoints. It reflects the current tension between attempts at unification by international standard setters and the emergence of innovative forms of reporting, disclosure, and taxation, as various countries attempt to improve their reporting accuracy. The product of this tension is the gradual but steady emergence of new accounting, reporting, disclosure, and taxation techniques of importance to the accounting practices of every country in the international arena.

Essays on Accounting Theory in Honour of Joel Demski contains an extensive review of Professor Demski's own contributions to the theory of accounting over four decades written by Jerry Feltham, professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia. The integration of Accounting and the Economics of information worked out by Joel Demski and those he inspired has revolutionized accounting thought.

This book is very practical in its international usefulness (because current risk practice and understanding is not equal across international boundaries). For example, an accountant in Belgium would want to know what the governance regulations are in that country and what the risk issues are that he/she needs to be aware of.
This book covers the international aspect of risk management systems, risk and governance, and risk and accounting. In doing so the book covers topics such as: internal control and corporate governance; risk management systems; integrating risk into performance management systems; risk and audit; governance structures; risk management of pensions; pension scheme risks e.g. hedging derivatives, longevity bonds etc; risk reporting; and the role of the accountant in risk management.
There are the case studies through out the book which illustrate by way of concrete practical examples the major themes contained in the book. The book includes highly topical areas such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act and pension risk management.

* provides a cross European perspective (because current practice and understanding is not equal across international boundaries) on the key issues of risk management, internal control and governance
* covers the implications of Sarbanes Oxley Act for European companies and the associated risks
* explains what the current risk reporting practices are and what the analysts are really looking for
* looks at the key issues you need to address in order to manage your company's pension risk

Digital Accounting: The Effects of the Internet and ERP on Accounting provides a foundation in digital accounting by covering fundamental topics such as accounting software, XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language), and EDI. The effects of the Internet and ERP on accounting are classified and presented for each accounting cycle, along with a comprehensive discussion of online controls. ""Digital Accounting: The Effects of the Internet and ERP on Accounting"" provides a conceptual approach to handling the latest developments at the intersection of the accounting and IT fields.

2004 marked the 150th anniversary of the foundation of institutionalised public accountancy in the English-speaking world. The mid nineteenth century founders were public accountants practicing in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen. Their historical legacy is a respected profession world-wide that offers a complex range of public accountancy and other services to industry, commerce, and government. This book celebrates this legacy in biographies of 138 accountants involved in the creation of three professional bodies that combined to form the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) in 1951. The biographies are presented within a historical context of Scotland at the beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria and reveal the economic and social class structure that characterised Victorian times. Many of the founders were members of families that profoundly influenced Scottish history in a variety of ways. Others had more humble origins. The biographies therefore attempt to capture not only the background of the founders but also their achievements in terms of careers, families, and friends. The book should be of interest to public accountants wishing to understand the historical foundations on which their profession is based. It is also relevant to social historians studying the impact of emerging professions on the economic, political, and social landscape of nineteenth century Scotland particularly and Britain more widely.

This book provides an integrated, technical exposition of key concepts in agency theory, with particular emphasis on analyses of the economic consequences of the characteristics of contractible performance measures, such as accounting reports. It is not a survey of the literature, but provides a succinct source for learning the fundamentals of the economics of incentives. While there is an emphasis on information issues of interest to accounting researchers, it is also relevant to researchers in economics, finance, management science, and other disciplines who are interested in the economics of management incentives.

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING A Distillation of Experience by v 4 - GEORGE O. MAY Formerly senior partner, Price, Waterhouse Co., Certified Public Accountants lecturer at the Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1946 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. All rights reserved no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in magazine or newspaper. Reprinted December, 1947 Reprinted May, 1949 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF A1CVUCA In this volume the American Institute of Account ants is commonly referred to as the Institute, the American Accounting Association as the Associa tion, and the National Association of Railroad and Utilities Commissioners as the NARUC. Foreword FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING is now generally recognized as be ing primarily historical in character and as having for its most important function the extraction and presentation of the essence of the financial experience of businesses, so that decisions affecting the present and the future may be taken in the light of the past. The rules of accounting, even more than those of law, are the product of experience rather than of logic. Similarly, this book is an attempt to extract and present the essence of an experience in financial accounting in the hope that it may be helpful to those called upon to deal with the problems of the future. It is not the result of a study and appraisal of authorities, and the views that are expressed are those of its author alone indeed, publication has been delayed until formal ties and official positionswhich might have been deemed, to imply more than a personal responsibility for them have been relinquished. In part, it is based on lectures delivered at the Graduate School of Busi ness Administration of Harvard University and papers writ ten for other purposes since 1936. A few passages have been reproduced from the volume which those who were then partners, with generous insight, prepared in that year to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the authors assumption of senior partnership. The writing of such a book seemed to be justified by the fact that the experience on which it is based extended over a period of exceptional interest and was enriched by close association with men of eminence here and abroad, not only vii viii FOREWORD in accounting but in government, business, finance, law, and economics. The obligation owed to those who have con tributed to that experience is great, but can be expressed to them here only collectively. Grateful recognition must, however, be given to the guidance, friendship, and inspiration of Arthur Lowes Dickinson, who by his abilities, his writings, and above all, by his example, earned an outstanding place among the independent accountants of America, to whom this book is gratefully dedicated. Contents CHAPTER PAGE I. THE NATURE OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING ... i II. THE USES OF ACCOUNTS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON ACCOUNTING 14 HI. ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES AND POSTULATES ... 37 IV. HISTORICAL 51 V. COST AND VALUE 86 VI. COST 108 VII. DEPRECIATION 118 VIII. DEPRECIATION AND REGULATION SINCE 1918 . . 130 IX. DEPRECIATION METHODS DEPLETION INTANGIBLES 145 X. INVENTORIES AND COMMITMENTS ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE 172 XL LIABILITIES v 191 XII. INCOME 215 XIII. FORMS OFSTATEMENTS 240 XIV. ACCOUNTING AND REGULATION 254 GENERAL INDEX 267 CASES CITED 273 IX FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING A Distillation of Experience