Impact of International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） Adoption on Key Financial Ratios＂ The Case of the Czech Republic

This contribution analyzes the impact of new International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） reporting rules on financial ratios prepared in the Czech companies. Using a sample of 16 Czech firms, we attempt to measure the scope and size of the differences in the selected set of financial ratios as calculated with data reported according to the traditional Czech accounting standards （CAS） and under the IFRS provisions. Our study discovers that there are important differences resulting from the two reporting formats. Our research comes to a conclusion that translation of Czech statements to IFRS may cause changes in the values of financial indicators without relationship to the real change in the firms＇ value, performance, and stability. Even though the findings were not statistically significant, the indicative results of our measurements disclosed an important fact that the transition to IFRS could cause deterioration of key indicators and thereby could impact on the overall rating of companies. One needs to be cautious with generalization due to the small sample size.

Roadmap to Future Mandatory Application of International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） in Japan From the Perspectives of Financial Statement Preparers

This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion on the future mandatory application of Intemational Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） using data from a questionnaire-based survey administered to financial statement preparers, that is, management in Japan. The important findings of this paper are as follows. The majority of Japanese companies consider that the domestic markets are more important than overseas markets; the most important differences between IFRS and Japanese standards are goodwill, comprehensive income, and the recognition of revenue; it is expected that IFRS would be applied only in consolidated financial statements or in both consolidated and parent companies＇ separate financial statements; and the lack of legislation making it mandatory is the main reason why IFRS has not been adopted by Japanese companies. Overall, this paper found that Japanese management is prudent and passive regarding IFRS adoption, leaving room for further discussions on the future mandatory application of IFRS in Japan.

The Relevance of International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-Sized Entities （IFRS for SMEs） in Swaziland

The purpose of this study is to explore the relevance of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） for small and medium-sized entities （SMEs） in Swaziland. The study further seeks to determine if IFRS for SMEs can be the solution to better reporting by local SMEs. There has been a growing need for different reporting standards for small firms and big firms over the years due to the unique challenges and attributes they face especially in the area of financial reporting. This research is based on a statistical analysis of questionnaires completed by accountants from SMEs in Swaziland as well as other stakeholders who have a direct or an indirect interest in the financial statements of SMEs. These stakeholders included audit firms and the financial institutions. The sampling rate of 10% was applied across each industry to come up with a sample of 60 SMEs. Furthermore, a 100% sampling rate on the other stakeholders was applied. These were nine financial institutions and eight audit finns. The findings from the study revealed that SMEs in Swaziland are having challenges with the current reporting framework but to some extent, the framework is suitable. Most SMEs are not aware of IFRS for SMEs, therefore the accounting profession in Swaziland （SIA） has a huge role to play in training auditors and accountants in the country. Overall, IFRS for SMEs is applicable in Swaziland.

The Differences between Chinese Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises and International Financial Reporting Standards as well as the Convergence Strategy Method

The continuous development and progress of international economic integration has resulted in the increasing of economic and trade exchanges between various countries.In order to implement a more systematic corporate financial supervision mechanism effectively and adapt to the needs of economic development,it is necessary to clarify corporate accounting standards and international financial reporting standards.The relationship between them are crucial to improve the transparency of financial statements and optimize management levels.This paper analyzes the differences between Chinese business accounting standards and international financial reporting standards as well as discusses the convergence process and convergence strategy methods for reference.

Claim reserving for insurance contracts in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards 17:a new paid‑incurred chain approach to risk adjustments

This study considers the risk management of insurance policies in line with the implementation of the new International Financial Reporting Standards 17.It applies the paid-incurred chain method to model the future unpaid losses by combining the information channels of both the incurred claims and paid losses.We propose the recovery of the empirical distribution of the outstanding claims liabilities associated with a group of contracts via moment-based density approximation.We determine the risk measures and adjustments that are compliant with the new standard using the Monte–Carlo simulation method and approximated distributions.The historical data on the aggregate Ontario automobile insurance claims over a 15-year period are analyzed to examine the appropriateness and accuracy of our approach.

International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） and Financial Accounting Standards Board （FASB） Convergence Project： Where Are They Now？

The convergence project between the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） and the Financial Accounting Standards Board （FASB） in the United States （US） was signed on September 18, 2002 in Norwalk, Connecticut in the US. The first is responsible for issuing International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） nowadays, which were created 40 years ago. More than one century ago, local regulations are used in the US. The boards differ in years of experience. With the signing of the agreement, both institutions are working to reduce the divergence of accounting. Although they have made a significant progress, it is appropriate to examine whether the difference in approaches to accounting will affect the achieved agreements. It is relevant to investigate whether the years leading the standards adopted in different countries will impact the final result. The date of completion of the project has been postponed and still has not indicated the date of termination. This research is an analysis of the importance of the convergence of accounting standards at a global level. The study presents statistics on the status of the adoption of international standards by country. The study shows a summary of the expressions made by the directors of both boards about the future of the project.

Analysis of Hidden Value and Value Relevance of Financial Statements Pre- and Post-IFRS Adoption

This study analyses the hidden value and value relevance of financial statements pre- and post-IFRS （International Financial Reporting Standards） adoption. Prior studies on IFRS adoption provide conflicting evidence on value relevance. Market-to-book ratio and IFRS adoption value relevance using price is examined for Australian listed firms. Results show that IFRS adoption is value relevant over a longer period of time. Results are opposite for profit-making firms compared to loss-making fu＇ms which may explain the conflicting results. In the presence of goodwill, IFRS is not value relevant when post-global financial crisis （GFC） period is included. Market-to-book ratio has increased in the post-IFRS period lowering the usefulness of financial statements. Moreover, results show mic changes affecting valuation of firms may explain for differences in the results for market-to-book ratio and value relevance in different jurisdictions and time periods

The Impact of International Accounting Standards Board （IASB）＇s Guidelines for Preparing Management Commentary （MC）： Evidence From Italian Listed Firms

This paper investigates the Italian firms＇ disclosure in response to the new guidance on the management commentary （MC） contained in the International Financial Reporting Standard （IFRS） practice statement issued by International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） in 2010. The study is organized as follows. After reviewing the relevant literature on financial disclosure and MC, this paper examines the content of the Italian management＇s report-----known as ＂Relazione sulla Gestione＂ and that of the recent IASB＇s IFRS practice statement. Hence, it applies a self-constructed disclosure index and a multiple correspondence analysis （MCA） on MC of a sample of 66 Italian non-financial listed firms. The results show that the level of disclosures provided by the Italian listed firms does not seem to be affected by the IASB＇s guidelines. However, the survey highlights large differences in the level and type of disclosure provided in MC among the sectors and firms. This paper aims to contribute to the financial reporting debate by understanding the IASB＇s guidelines and their impacts on the voluntary disclosure practices of Italian listed firms.

Financial Statements of Banks as a Source of Information About Implementation of IFRS 15： The Evidence from Poland

Banks in the economies of individual countries play the role of entities of public trust and are perceived as ＂too big to fail＂. In fact, they are exposed to risks associated with business operations. In practice, there are even instances of banks going bankrupt. Therefore, the reliability of the financial statements of a bank as a source of information about its financial condition is of particular importance. The main objective of creating IAS/IFRS and their implementation within the European Union is the strive to standardize accounting rules utilized by companies and other organizations. IFRS, as any other regulations, are subject to change over years. One of the recent changes is the introduction of IFRS 15 ＂Revenue from Contracts with Customers＂. In all entities using IAS/IFRS, communication of planned changes should involve disclosure ahead of time, regarding the analysis of their impact on the financial statements. The purpose of this paper has been to analyze whether the financial statements of banks contain any records on the impact of IFRS 15. These analyses are within the mainstream of studying how complete and prospective is the information contained in the financial statements for external users. The subjects for research are the consolidated financial statements of five major banks in Poland. As a result of research, it was found that in all studied cases, work on the implementation of IFRS 15 was observed. However, looking at every bank separately, a differentiated approach to presenting information on the standard is observed, which may be a hindrance for users of banks＇ financial statements.

The Market Reaction to the Pronouncements Related to International Accounting Standards （IAS） 19R

This paper examines whether and how investors reacted to the pronouncements related to International Accounting Standards （IAS） 19R. Using a sample of 401 European firms reporting pension and retirement expense during the period of 2006-2011, this paper finds negative abnormal returns around the pension project initiation by the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB）. More importantly, the abnormal returns are more negative for firms with higher financial leverage and lower ratios of net periodic pension cost to net income, but less negative for firms in countries with weak creditor rights （CR） and infrequent use of the corridor approach under IAS 19. Additionally, the effects of financial leverage and the ratio of net periodic pension cost to net income on the abnormal returns are more pronounced for smaller firms. Overall, the results are consistent with the view that recognition of previously disclosed off-balance-sheet pension liabilities as required by IAS 19R increases debt contracting costs, and highlight the importance of considering firm size and CR in international tests of debt contracting theory.

Audit Reports of Financially Distressed Companies： Emphasis of Matter （EOM） Versus Disclaimers

This paper examines audit reports issued to 39 Malaysian listed companies in financial distress categorized as Practice Note 17 （PNI7） companies by Bursa Malaysia. The study finds that for companies which experienced financial distress, the audit reports are not similar, despite all companies are similarly troubled financially. Companies receive either a disclaimer or an emphasis of matter （EOM） report. The study finds that which of the two reports is given is associated with three variables： current-year operating loss, shareholders＇ deficit, and default status, implying that audit reports do convey information that financial distress is not of the same level and severity among PN 17 companies.

强制采用IFRS对信息环境的影响研究——基于分析师预测的视角

基于国际资本市场数据,通过研究强制采用IFRS对信息环境的影响,发现分析师对强制采用IFRS公司的预测准确性高于其他类型的公司;进一步通过控制相关影响因素,对具体公司层面的预测数据和分析师特征进行分析,研究发现分析师预测准确性的提高与强制采用IFRS所带来的会计信息可比性和会计信息质量提高相关,而与管理层利用盈余管理空间迎合分析师的预测无关。结论表明,强制采用IFRS提高了信息的可比性和信息质量,从而改善了资本市场中会计信息的媒介作用及其信息环境。

Financial Statement Comparability： Empirical Evidence From Brazil

The convergence of accounting standards started in the 1970s, with international norms issued by the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） and with the efforts of various countries to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS）, already mandatory in Brazil since 2010. Thus, comparable accounting information is clearly important, and this study plans to confirm the level of comparability of net income and equity of companies in the financial sector （in Brazil, ＂Finance and Others＂）, listed in the stock exchange, futures, and commodities （BM＆F Bovespal）, issued according to Brazilian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles （BR GAAP） and the IFRS. This study is descriptive, using a quantitative approach. Data were collected from secondary sources, more specifically, from the explanatory notes in the financial statements of the companies listed in the financial sector of the BM＆F Bovespa in the fiscal year of 2010. The results showed a reasonable level of comparability, with 68% of the companies presenting materially comparable information for net income and 72% of them for equity. However, decisions made based on data issued following the two different standards may have suffered the influence of asymmetric information; in other words, the comparability of information did not seem to satisfy those companies during the studied period of time. The main limitations of this study were data collection and selection for the development of the research because of： （1） inconsistence in net income and equity reconciliation criteria in the companies investigated; and （2） lack of uniformity in designating the adjustments that affect net income and equity in the conversion of the BR GAAP standard into the IFRS.

The Impact of Voluntary IAS/IFRS Adoption on Medium Italian Private Entities： Implications for the Adoption of IFRS for SMEs

The EU Regulation 1606/2002 enhanced the financial statement comparability by requiring the International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） mandatory application. In Italy, the implementation of EU regulation stated that listed firms are required to prepare their financial statements in accordance with IFRS, then extended to private entities on a voluntary basis. The study examines the extent to which the change from Italian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles （GAAP） to IFRS has affected Italian small and medium-sized entities （SMEs）. The results suggest that profit and equity reported under IFRS is higher than that reported under Italian GAAP and that the most relevant and frequent impacts are caused by the adoption of IAS 38, IAS 16, IAS 19, IAS 17, 1AS 39, and IAS 18. This study can inform companies and policy makers of the consequences of IFRS adoption in those countries which intend to expand the application of IFRS more widely to smaller companies. Moreover, comparing the similarity and differences between full IFRS and IFRS for SMEs, this study supports the opinion that SMEs regulation cannot provide significant simplification especially designed for the needs of SMEs.

IAS-IFRS Adoption Impact on Accounting Information： The Case of France

The International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） has established international standards （International Accounting Standards （lASs） and International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRSs）） to ensure more comparability and transparency and also higher-quality financial statements. The creation of such standards by the IASB aims at achieving harmonization of accounting practices among countries. The objective of this research is to show that in accordance with the expectations of international organizations, the adoption of IAS-IFRS increases the information content of financial statements and also to identify the key accounting variables that have been affected by this adoption. This article used a sample of year observations of 150 French firms which have adopted IAS-IFRS since 2005 as data to study the association relationship between accounting variables and stock returns before and after the adoption of IASs. The findings of this paper show that the application of IAS-IFRS as accounting standards increases the information content of accounting numbers. Dividends, long-term debts, equity, and revenue variables are most correlated with stock returns. Their information content has reached 80% after the adoption, while it was 30% before.

The Impact of Switching Standard on Accounting Quality

In a developing country, modernization and change of the accounting regime are possible if the standards are in compliance with global ones. The change of accounting standards adopted by Turkey started to be implemented, and this created a number of qualitative and quantitative results. This study examines the impact of change of accounting standards on accounting quality. In order to determine how switching standard reflects accounting quality, first of all, the earnings management, timely loss recognition, and value relevance variables pertaining to accounting quality were listed and the findings were stated after subjecting the obtained data to statistical analyses. Accordingly, by the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS）, the earnings management practices were observed to decrease as compared with the pre-IFRS period and the timely loss recognition and value-relevance values were observed to increase, which constitute the dimensions of accounting quality. It was also concluded that by the switch from domestic accounting standards to International Accounting Standards （IAS）, the quality of accounting in the country was improved and the market became more active than it was before.

How to improve IFRS for intangible assets?A milestone approach

This study focuses on the decreasing relevance of financial information associated with current financial reporting standards for intangible assets.We summarize and compare three approaches to improving financial reporting standards for internally generated intangibles—the recognition approach,the fair value approach and the disclosure approach,among which we focus on the recognition approach.We investigate the impact of current International Accounting Standard 38 on the R&D capitalization policies of the high-tech industry,particularly among medical device firms in China.We conclude that the current recognition criteria are so stringent that they disincentivize firms from capitalizing their R&D investments.A large variation exists in capitalization timing within the medical device industry.Accordingly,we propose the milestone approach to revising financial reporting standards for intangible assets.We suggest that determining the capitalization criteria for intangibles based on the R&D cycle and capitalization timing should be moved forward.

财务报表列报改革及启示

会计准则国际化是各国经济发展和适应经济全球化的必然选择,我国财政部已于2010年4月2日发布《中国企业会计准则与国际财务报告准则持续趋同路线图》。中国作为全球最大的发展中国家和新兴市场经济国家,在会计准则已实现国际趋同的前提下,应密切跟踪国际会计准则理事会关于国际会计准则的重大修改和制定工作,并结合我国的制度背景,坚持与国际准则持续趋同的改革方向和渐进式的改革策略,以此来推进中国企业会计准则建设。

国际保险会计准则的最新发展及对我国的影响——基于IFRS 17和IFRS 9

中国采用了会计准则与国际财务报告准则实际持续趋同的路径。国际会计准则理事会IFRS 17与IFRS 9的发布与生效,将对中国保险行业的会计实务、财务信息、经营管理与战略等多方面产生重大影响与冲击。本文讨论国际保险会计准则最新变化对我国的影响,分析IFRS 17关于保险合同会计准则确认、计量与披露的重大调整,讨论IFRS 17与IFRS 9与我国当前会计实务的差异与影响,在此基础上讨论我国保险合同会计与保险公司所面临的改革与挑战。