The Faithful Representation of Electrical Energy Sale and Purchase Agreements Under International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards （IAS/IFRS）

This article aims at giving a contribution to the issue of accounting electrical energy sale and purchase agreements in accordance with the faithful representation principle. To this end, it must be ascertained whether electrical energy is bought/sold for an industrial use exclusively, so that the relevant transaction will be accounted as a normal purchase/sale, or through the lease of the relevant production plant, which would require the supply contract to be accounted in compliance with International Accounting Standards （IAS） 17 ＂Leasing＂. Alternatively, it must also be ascertained whether the relevant party is implementing financial trading strategies, as in such hypothesis, the supply contract is to be accounted as a financial instrument according to International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） 9/IAS 39 ＂Financial Instruments＂. Finally, the modalities used by a number of companies listed on European regulated markets to account such kind of contracts will be analyzed.

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.

Review of International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） Proposed New Conceptual Framework： Discussion Paper （DP/2013/1）

The International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） is one of the largest independent accounting standard setters whose publications, International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRSs）, have revolutionalized the accounting profession, investors, finance providers, and the entire accounting information stakeholder community. The conceptual frameworks are the theoretical accounting bases that are constituted by a set of principles that underlie as a bedrock foundation cornerstone for the development and updating of IFRSs. The existing conceptual frameworks were issued by IASB in 2010, after long years of protracted and wide consultation and joint project with the biggest American standard setter Financial Accounting Standards Board （FASB）. In year 2013, the IASB embarked on a solo project to update the conceptual framework and issued a discussion paper （DP/2013/1） to its users and stakeholder community for comments. The methodology used in this study of an extensive review of literature （secondary/primary） from the discussion paper, existing conceptual framework, and comment letters from investors, accounting, insurance, and international audit firms has been manipulated. The findings revealed that the existing conceptual framework has opposing objectives especially that of decision usefulness （future-oriented information） and concepts of ＂prudence and stewardship/accountability＂, which are deeply embedded within the framework as subsumed, but their prominence has been overshadowed and watered down by not identifying them as objectives. The finding also revealed that almost all public accounting and audit firms are advocating not only for the reinstatement of the ＂prudence and stewardship/accountability＂ but also for a clear definition of recognition, de-recognition, and measurement of statement of financial position elements （assets and liabilities） and also elements of the comprehensive income statement （revenues and expenses）, which have seriously compromised investors, public accounting profession, learning/teaching of a framework-based understanding, and the entire IFRS user stakeholder community. A recommendation for further studying the abandoned joint IASB/FASB project should be investigated in the best interest of international accounting standards convergence.

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.

International accounting system and its major challenges in time

The process of globalization is one of the biggest social processes which the humanity has faced ever. That＇s why its impact on the global economy is huge and due to this the accounting sector is very important. That＇s why one of the main international accounting processes on the actual period is the harmonization of the national accounting systems. The harmonization process is influenced by several factors like culture, politics, economy and sociological behaviors. The paper is trying to present the evolution of harmonization process during the time advantages and weakness generated by its solutions. The paper is trying to present also the efforts of the process to main accounting systems： US GAAP and IAS/IFRS, in order to achieve in the next period the convergence, in order to be able to propose to the financial world a unique accounting model.

International Public Sector Accounting Standards （IPSAS） Implementation in the European Union （EU） Member States

The aim of this paper is to analyze the implementation level of International Public Sector Accounting Standards （IPSAS） in the member states of the European Union （EU）. After an introduction of the legislative framework in the EU and a review of the literature about the implementation of IPSAS in the EU member states, this paper classifies, on the basis of a survey, the states according to their formal implementation levels of IPSAS. It also analyzes the types of accounting （cash basis accounting, modified cash basis accotmting, accrual accounting, and modified accrual basis accounting） used by the states studied. The survey shows that there are important disparities among the member states, both for the application of IPSAS and for the type of accounting that is used. Furthermore, it appears that even if IPSAS is not legally adopted in most European member states, there is a tendency to use modern accounting systems based on accrual accounting close to IPSAS.

Global Financial Crisis and Accounting Rules： The Implications of the New Exposure Draft （ED） Financial Instruments： Expected Credit Losses on the Evaluation of Banking Company Loans

During the financial crisis, the delayed recognition of credit losses on loans and other financial instruments was identified as a weakness in existing incurred loss model of impairment stated by International Accounting Standards （IAS） 39, because it is believed that this delay might generate pro-cyclical effects. In response to the recommendations of G20, Financial Crisis Advisory Group （FCAG）, and other international bodies, the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） has undertaken, since 2009, as a part of the project to replace IAS 39, a project （partially shared with Financial Accounting Standards Board （FASB）） aimed at introducing an expected loss model of impairment. Within the scope of this subset project, the IASB has previously issued two exposure documents proposing models to account for expected credit losses： an exposure draft （ED） Financial Instrument： Amortized Cost and Impairment, published in November 2009, and a supplementary document （SD） Financial Instrument： Impairment, published jointly with the FASB in January 2011. However, neither of the two proposals received strong support from interested parties. Recently, the IASB, after the FASB＇s decision to withdraw from the joint project and to develop a separate expected credit loss model based on a single measurement approach consisting in the sole recognition of lifetime expected credit losses, published a third proposal--Ahe so-called expected credit losses model （ED/2013/3 Financial Instruments： Expected Credit Losses）.

Accounting and Value Relevance of Intangibles:A longitudinal Study in Italian Stock Exchange 2010-2018

This paper aims at exploring whether single items of intangible recognized in the financial statements under International Financial Reporting Standards(IFRS)are value relevant to investors on the Italian Stock Exchange.The data were gathered from all non-financial Italian listed companies covering the period 2010-2018.Using the Ohlson’s(1995)model,a panel data regression analysis with fixed effect has been adopted to test the relationship between intangibles and stock prices.We found that intangibles(goodwill,R&D expenditure,and other intangibles that are the sub-categories displayed on Orbis Database)are positively related to security price.The implications involve managers that must give much interest to intangibles as well as standards setters that should require further disclosure.This work covered a very recent set of longitudinal accounting data and offered an updating view of the association between intangible information and value relevance in the Italian Stock Exchange.

Assessing the Application of Intemational Accounting Standards （IAS） in Jordan： Factors Explaining Non-compliance

The main objective of this study is to assess the application of International Accounting Standards （IAS） in Jordan. The main purposes of this study are to： （1） present an analyzed study of the general concepts of IAS; （2） clarify the suitability of the IAS in Jordan and the possibility of using them as guidelines in adapting local standards; and （3） state the deficiency aspects and difficulties facing Jordanian firms in applying these standards in local businesses. A questionnaire is designed for these purposes. The sample is restricted to accountants, financial executives, and professional members of the Jordan Association of Accountants and Auditors. We used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences （SPSS） to analyze the data and answer the research questions. Descriptive statistics are the main tests used in this study. The results indicate that lASs are necessary to be applied by Jordanian companies, since the advantages of applying IAS in Jordan are seen to be more than its disadvantages, mainly in the scene of improving the information content of financial statements. The results also indicate that the compliance with IAS will be of great benefits to shareholders and the stock market comparing to its benefits to top management and board members. Auditors, accountants, and financial executives argue that government agencies in Jordan should enforce and supervise the implementation of IAS in Jordan.

The Development of Accounting Regulation in Extractive Industries in Australia, South Africa and Canada

In view of the economic significance of extractive industries, the special accounting issues raised, and the numerous calls over many years for standardization, there has been less regulation of their accounting than as expected. The development of accounting regulations and practices in the extractive industries in 3 countries is reviewed, which are Australia, South Africa and Canada.

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.

Implications of internal accounting controls and accounting education under the network environment

Internal control is a hot topic at present academics and for practitioners to explore. Especially under the background of China＇ s rapid integration into the global economy, the rapid establishment and improvement of the context of the modem enterprise system, the issue is of utmost importance. The internal accounting control system is the core part of internal control, which determines the extent of establishing the entire sound internal control system, With the progress of the time, the rapid development and wide application of Internet technology has changed the survival environment and management philosophy for business. The development of network technology achieves the online office, mobile office and decentralized offices, etc. Accounting entity is no longer subject to space limitations of traditional methods, thus a large number of accounting information is transmitted tbaough the network communication lines, so that accounting activities can be extended to every node in the world, which achieves the purpose of remote processing. Under the network environment, sources of information are of diversity and multi-channel. A large number of accounting information transmitted from the network communication lines is likely to be illegally intercepted, stolen and tampered by molecules or people with ulterior motives.

The Risk Identification and Corresponding Strategy of Transnational Financial Accounting Outsourcing

Financial Accounting outsourcing in recent years has been the development of new outsourcing model with more and more enterprises management and CFOs of all ages. With the development of financial accounting outsourcing services, it will lead to economic, social and development prospects that are also widely recognized. Not only small and medium companies are keen to own non-core financial accounting processes outsourced to agencies, large group has the entire basis of accounting processes tend to be outsourced to a qualified and experienced outsourcing service. Group companies or large multinationals are gradually re-integration of the financial sector, the basic financial accounting processes separate from the daily work out for outsourcing to focus resources on the development of core competencies.

The IAS/IFRS application on the intangible assets of non-listed companies

With the introduction of IFRS （International Financial Reporting Standards） most of the intangibles are expensed on the income statement and hence they ＂disappear＂ from the balance sheet, while investments in tangible assets are capitalized. Based on a sample of 128 firms, made up of 99 SMEs （Small and Medium Enterprises） and 29 large firms, and through a simulation of IAS （International Accounting Standards） transition, the authors＇ study finds that IAS 38 reduces the amount of intangible assets recognized on the balance sheet of SMEs, while large firms do not appear to experience such large reductions in their intangible assets. The differential effect of IAS 38 on SMEs and large firms can be explained by the different growth strategies of these firm types. SMEs largely depend on internal paths of growth and intangibles assets that typically arise from internal growth strategies are eliminated from the balance sheet under IAS 38. Larger firms are less exposed to such reductions in their intangibles assets, because they mostly follow external paths of growth and the treatment of those intangible assets that typically arise from external growth strategies requires the impairment test.

The Role of Comprehensive Income as Financial Performance Predictor： Panel Evidence From Italy

The aim of this study is to investigate whether the comprehensive income （CI） and its individual components are useful in assessing the future cash flows for Italian listed companies. In addition, we verify whether the recent requirement of International Accounting Standard （IAS） 1 （r2011） of providing the other comprehensive income （OCI） separates in two sub-totals （recycling and non-recycling items groups） is useful to explain the expected cash flows. We consider a sample of 121 Italian non-financial companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange for the testing period of 2008-2011, employing a fixed-effect regression model, and we test the relationship between the changes in the variables considered and not the relative absolute value reducing, in this way, the risk of not grasping a report if the independent variable and the response variable do not have the same sign. Our results stress that CI and the two new sub-aggregates are not relevant to explain future cash flows, while net income （NI） and OC1 as a whole seem to be more relevant to make explicit the future financial position. The study contributes, as a sort of post-implementation review, to the current debate on the ability of Cl to predict the future cash flows and on the real usefulness of the CI and the sub-aggregate identified by the IAS 1 revised as well.

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.

Are IFRS Harder to Implement for Emerging Economies Compared to Developed Countries？ A Literature Review

In practice, the international accounting harmonization process faces cultural resistance in the concrete situations of accounting reforms. We often tend to believe that this resistance is felt more in the so-called emerging countries, rather than the developed ones. It is precisely this idea that the paper attempts to analyze, based on a literature review. The literature shows that emerging countries do not have the infrastructure or the real needs justifying a reform of international harmonization, except the need to display an IFRS label （Daske, Hail, Leuz, ＆ Verdi, 2007）, to facilitate the access of firms from emerging economies to developed financial markets. Moreover, the Anglo-American culture attached to IFRS leads to a difficulty in adopting those standards by any country whose original accounting system is continental. Indeed, for these countries, the process of international harmonization begins with an adaptation to the Anglo-Saxon accounting culture, the latter being different from the continental accounting culture at several levels.

The defects of fair value under global financial crisis

With the advent of the economic crisis, fair value once again becomes a hot topic. This paper discusses the issues of fair value from three aspects including the meaning of fair value, its serious impacts and its inapplicability in China. As for this point, this paper stress that the rub of the fair value is its inaccurate recognition elements which will inevitably lead to the inaccurate measurement. Finally, the paper puts forward the viewpoint that China should be careful enough to apply the fair value accounting.

Self-Dealing Among Convergence and Path-Dependency Opportunities： An Empirical Analysis of Regulatory From Six European Countries

Self-dealing refers to all kinds of transactions and operations diverting value from a company to corporate controllers. In order to tackle self-dealing, academics and regulators have emphasised the legal tools. However, there is a divergence between those supporting the existence of a benchmark model towards which to converge （convergence hypothesis） and those underscoring the importance of socio-economic factors on the efficacy of governance rules （path-dependency view）. The aim of this paper is to join in the convergence vs. path-dependency debate by focusing on the efficiency of mandatory rules and investigating their effectiveness. Considering the current market integration, the traditional cost-benefit analysis has been extended in order to embrace costs specifically associated to the issue of domestic rules in a global scenario. This analysis supports the convergence view and encourages at least a partial and gradual adjustment of national legislations towards the prevailing Anglo-Saxon model. In order to test this hypothesis, an examination of the self-dealing regulatory （on conflict of interests and self-dealing） adopted in some Western （Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom （UK）） and Eastern （Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland） European countries has been conducted.

Concerning the Capitalization Restriction of Training Cost According to IAS 38

In today＇s knowledge-based economy, the role played by human capital in the determination of the market value of a firm is recognized. To be able to persist in the open competition, entities are forced to invest increasingly in the professional training of their employees. Inconsistent with this rising importance is the prohibition to capitalize professional training cost according to international accounting standards （IAS） 38.69 （b）. Highly qualified employees ensure competitive advantages and thus lead to an increase in shareholder value. Regarding the financial statement as a primary source of information, it does not seem reasonable to leave such a valuable resource completely unnoticed in the balance sheet. Consequently, a truthful representation of a firm＇s asset should take training costs into account. This article pleads for a limitation of this general legal prohibition and analyzes under which premises those expenditures for training can comply with the common criteria of capitalization according to IAS 38.