将对未来的估计包含在今天的财务报表中

Including Estimates of the Future in Today's Financial Statements

本文阐释了将对未来的估计包含在今天财务报表中的方式,而不是为什么应当将对未来的估计包含在今天财务报表中的问题。在今天的财务报表中包含对未来的估计并不是一个新概念,但用处却日益增加。这主要是因为会计准则制定机构认为,反映当前经济状况、并根据对未来的预期更新的对资产和负债的计量方式,将产生有利于做出经济决策的更为有用的信息,这正是财务报告的目标所在。这也是会计准则制定机构关注公允价值会计的原因。如何将对未来的估计包含在财务报表中,取决于资产和负债的计量属性,以及从财务报告角度对资产和负债的定义。现行资产和负债的定义取决于确定产生预期经济利益流入或流出的过去交易或事项,对于预期经济利益流入,还需要关注对预期的控制。因此,并不是所有预期经济利益的流入或流出都予以确认。附注披露能够帮助财务报表使用者理解已经在财务报表中确认的估计,并提供尚未确认估计的相关信息。将对未来的估计更多地包含在今天的财务报表中,将会产生与目前反映的收益有所不同的收益计量方式,但值得讨论的是,这种计量能够对经济决策提供更好的信息。

This paper explains why the question is how,not if,today's financial statements should include estimates of the future.Including such estimates is not new,but their use is increasing.This increase results primarily because standard setters believe asset and liability measures that reflect current economic conditions and up-to-date expectations of the future will result in more useful information for making economic decisions,which is the objective of financial reporting.This is why standard setters seem focused on fair value accounting.How estimates of the future are incorporated in financial statements depends on the asset and liability measurement attribute,and on financial reporting definitions of assets and liabilities.The present definitions depend on identifying past transactions or events that give rise to expected inflows or outflows of economic benefits and,for inflows,control over the expected benefits.Thus,not all expected inflows or outflows of economic benefits are recognized.Disclosures in the notes can help users understand recognized estimates and can provide information about unrecognized estimates.Including more estimates of the future in today's financial statements would result in an income measure that differs from today's income,but such a measure arguably provides better information for making economic decisions.