4昆明理工大学论文的英文附录.docx

4昆明理工大学论文的英文附录.docx

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4昆明理工大学论文的英文附录

附录（英译文献）

【英文原文】

ThefutureofAccountingandFinancialReporting

PartⅡ:

TheColorizedApproach

InthissequeltoanearlierCommentaryontheFutureofAccountingandFinancial

Reporting,theauthorfirstdiscussestheimportanceofaccountingandfinancialreportingto

（1）asset,capitalandinvestmentallocation,

（2）contractingand"exposesettlingup,"and（3）corporatestewardshipandmonitoring.Hethenreviewsseveralreasonsfortheconcernthataccountingandfinancialreportingarebecomingincreasinglylessuseful,includingchangingconceptsofthetraditionalterm,recognitionandmeasurementdifficulties,issuesrelatedtothetimelinessoffinancialreports,andlimitationsassociatedwithcurrentinformationdistributionchannels.Arefinementtothecurrent"blackandwhite"accountingparadigmissuggestedtobegintoaddresscertainoftheseconcerns,andtoquickenthedebateontheneedandbenefitsforchange.Bydecreasingtheemphasiscurrentlydevotedtodeterminingwhetheraparticularitemshouldberecognized,andfocusinggreaterattentiononwhethertheitemisrelevantandthedegreeofattestationthatmaybeassociatedwithanyrelateddisclosure,amorefinelytextured"colorized"accountingmodelmightbedeveloped.Thegoalofsuchasystemwouldbetoprovidemoreusefulinformationinconnectionwithaccountingandfinancialreporting,whilemaintainingthecurrentcoredisclosures.Theauthorprovidesexamplesofhowthe"colorized"modelmightoperate,discusseslimitationsofthemodel,andsuggeststhatgreaterattentionbedevotedtorefiningthecurrentaccountingparadigmtomeettheneedsofusersofaccountingandfinancialinformationbetter,regardlessofwhethersucha"colorized"modeliseveradopted.

TheImportanceofAccountingandFinancialReporting

Fromthemostgeneralizedperspective,thepurposeofaccountingandfinancialreportingistoprovideinformationthatisusefultoinvestors,creditors,monitorsandothers—increasinglyincludingemployeesandmajorsuppliersandcustomers—^inmakinginvestment,credit,monitoringandotherdecisions.Thisgeneralgoalmaybefurtherdefinedandanalyzedbydescribingthreespecificanddistinctpurposesandfunctionsoffinancialreporting:

（1）asset,capitalandinvestmentallocation;

（2）"contracting"and"expostsettling-up";and（3）corporatestewardshipandmonitoring.

Determining"What"toValue:

RecognitionandMeasurementIssues

Wealsoshouldquestionexactly"what"itiswearemeasuringandreporting.Asdiscussedabove,historically,theassetsandliabilitiesusedtoproducewealthwererecognizedinfinancialstatementsatcostandwere"hard"ortangible—likeplantandequipment.However,theshifttoaknowledge-basedeconomyhascreatedorfocusedincreasedattentiononentirelydifferentcategoriesofassetssuchasbrandnamesandother"soft"assetspreviouslymentioned.

Withcertainlimitedexceptions,suchasthepurchaseofabrandname,these"soft"assetsarenotrecognizedinthefinancialstatements.Theprimaryobstaclesrelatetovaluationdifficulties,theinherentuncertaintyofanyvalueultimatelydetermined,andtheresultingpotentialforfraud.Asaresultoftheseconcerns,weattributenovalueinfinancialreportstosomethingasobviouslysignificantasDisney'sMickeyMouse.Thiscannotbethecorrectresultforthelong-termutilityoffinancialreporting,particularlygiventheincreasingimportanceoffirmswith"soft"assets.

Somesuggestthatthevaluesoftheseassetsareultimatelyreflected,implicitly,inthestatementofcashflowsorinearnings,andthereforetheyneednotbereflectedelsewhere.Unfortunately,however,becauseitwouldmakelifeveryeasyifsuchananswerwereright,thesamecanbesaidforallotherassetsonthebalancesheet.Ourtasktheniseithertoimprovethecredibilityandreliabilityofsoftassetvaluations,ortofindothercreativesolutionstotheproblem—nottoignorethisfastgrowingsegmentofoureconomy.

"When"toReport?

TheTimelinessofFinancialReporting

Therapidaccelerationofeventsthatmaysignificantlyaffectsharevalueshasstartedtomakeoursystemofannualauditsandquarterlyreportsobsolete.Today’sannualandevenquarterlyreports—relyingonrecognizeditemsasthecoreofthereports—donotcaptureandcommunicatematerialdevelopmentsinsufficienttimetomeetthemarketsinformationneeds.Productcycleshaveshortened,riskmanagementpracticeshaveimprovedandaremoreprevalent,andproductsandwholecompaniesbecomeobsoletemuchmorequicklynowthaneverbefore.Itishardtoobtainagoodpictureofan3hingthatismovingsoquicklyandchangingsooftenwhenonlysnapshotsaretakenatrelativelylongintervals.AsImentionedlastyear,Iamnotnowsuggestingasystemofmonthly,weekly,ordailyauditsandreportfilingswiththeCommission.Iamsuggesting,though,thatovertimewewillneedtodevelopasystemthatfillstheneedfortimely—andultimatelyreal-time—financialinformation.Forwardlookinginformationwillobviouslybeanincreasinglycriticalcomponentofthedisclosures.

ADifferentPerspective:

ColorVS.BlackAndWhite

Backgroundisdividedintofourbroadsegments.Atthefirstlevelwehavethefinancialstatementsthemselves,whichfocusonrecognizeditemsthatpertaintotheresources（assets）ofanentity,theclaimstosuchresources（liabilitiesandequity）andtheresultsofoperations.Withinthissystem,therecognitionofitemsinthefinancialstatementsassumesprimarystanding.Toberecognizedinfinancialstatementsanitemmustmeeteachoffourcriteria:

•First,theitemmustmeetthedefinitionofanelementofthosefinancialstatements:

Itmustbeanasset,liabilityorcomponentofequity;

•Second,theitemmustbemeasurable:

Itmustbesusceptibletoquantificationinmonetaryunitswithsufficientreliability;

•Third,theitemmustberelevant:

Itmustmakeadifferencetotheinvestmentorcreditdecision;and

•Finally,theitemmustbereliable:

Itmusthaverepresentationalfaithfulness,beverifiableandneutral.

Itisgenerallyexpectedthatthemostusefulinformationaboutassets,liabilities,revenues,expensesandotheritemsoffinancialstatementswouldberecognized.Thereisalsoanexpectationthatsuchinformationwouldhaveutilityinmakingcapitalallocationdecisions.Thatis,itcanbeusedtohelppredictfuturecashflowsandiscomparableacrossentities.Inaddition,becausesuchinformationisviewedasmorereliableandisaudited,itisviewedashavinggreaterutilityincontractingandmonitoring.Thesecondsubsetoffinancialreportingconsistsofthenotestothefinancialstatements.Thenotesaredesignedtoexplaininformationinthefinancialstatements.Thefinaltwocategoriesaresupplementaryinformation（suchasinformationrelatedtochangingprices）andotherinformationsuppliedbyacompany（suchasmanagement'sdiscussionandanalysis）.Thisinformationaddstothefinancialstatementsorthenotes.Itoftenincludesinformationthatmayberelevantbutthatdoesnotmeetallcriteriaforrecognition.Itisfrequentlynotsubjecttothirdpartyattestation.

Thecurrentaccountingandfinancialreportingmodelworksreasonablywellformanyoftheitemsthatarerecognizedwithinfinancialstatements.However,themodelincreasinglyissubjecttocriticism.First,potentiallyrelevantitemsareomittedbecausetheydonotmeetrecognitioncriteria（usuallyduetoreliabilityconcerns）.Second,itemsthatarelessandlessusefulduetovaluationorotherconcernsareneverthelessincluded.Finally,itisnotalwaysclearwhysoiréeinformationisincludedandotherinformationisexcludedfromfinancialreports.Theseconcernsareexacerbatedbythedevelopmentsinthegeneralbusinessenvironmentpreviouslydiscussed.

TheAlternativeModel

Inresponsetotheseconcerns,Ibelieveitistimetorefineourperspectiveonfinancialreporting.Weneed,inparticular,tomoveawayfromamodelthatprimarilyreliesonblackandwhiterecognitioninthefinancialstatements.Weneedtomovetowardsamodelwherefinancialstatementsandrelateddisclosuresareviewedmoreasdifferentlayersofinformation—justasafinelytexturedcolorpicturecanprovidemoreinformationthanablackandwhiterepresentation.

ThemodelthatIamabouttodescribemaybeviewedasrefiningthecurrentsystembyaddingnewsetsorlayersofinformation.Italsorefocusesouranalysistode-emphasizerecognitionandtowardsprovidinggreaterdisclosureofusefulinformation.

Inthismodel,theprimaryfocusisonprovidingrelevantinformation,withspecificationofboththeitemstobereportedandtheformandlevelofassuranceoftheseitems.Themostrelevantandreliablymeasureditemswouldrepresentthecoreofthefinancialreports—theclearblackandwhite,withnoshadesofgrayorcolor—similartotherecognizedcontentofthefinancialstatementitemsintoday’smodel.Successiveouterlayersofthefinancialreportingpicturewouldconsistofinformationthatmeetsome—butnotall—oftherequirementsofrecognition,orthatarenotassusceptibletoverificationprocedures.

Underthisapproach,insteadofstartingwiththequestionofwhetheranitemmustberecognizedinthefinancialstatements,thefirstquestionwouldbewhetheranitemshouldbepartofthefirm'sfinancialdisclosure,withaprogressionthentoadiscussionoftheappropriatelayerinwhichtheitemshouldbereported.Suchaframework—wherethedifferentlayersofinformationcouldreflectinessence,differentlevelsofsatisfactionofthetraditionalrecognitioncriteriaconcepts（e.g.,relevance,reliability,measurability）,orcouldreflectentirelydifferentconcepts