外文翻译捷克共和国的新会计制度会计审计.docx

外文翻译捷克共和国的新会计制度会计审计.docx

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外文翻译捷克共和国的新会计制度会计审计

ThemewaccountingsystemintheCzechRepublic

RudolfSchroll

VysokaskolaekonomickavPraze

Abstract

Thepurposeofthepaperisthreefold.First,toprovideanassessmentoftheaccountingsystemoperatedinCzechosolovakiaduringtheperiodoftheso-calledcentrallyplannedeconomy（i.e.thecommandeconomy）.Second,toprovideacharacterizationofthenewaccountingsystemintroducedin1993.third,toprovidesomeindicationofdevelopingtendencieslikelytobecomesignificantinthefuture.

ACCOUNTINGINTHECENTRALLYPLANNEDECONOMY

Itisimportanttounderstandthattheobjectivesofaccounting,especiallyoffinancialaccounting,inthecentrallyplannedeconomyarefundamentallydifferentfromtheobjectivesofaccountinginthemarketeconomy.Thesedifferenceshaveimplicationforthedirectionandrateofaccountingchangeduringthetransitiontothemarketeconomy.

Thespecificnatureofaccountinginthecentrallyplannedeconomymaybeexaminedfromfouraspects.First,accountingwasnot,inprinciple,aninstrumentatthedisposalofthemanagementofanenterpriseorotherentity（e.g.institution,organization）.Onthecontrary,accountingwasrequiredtofulfiltheneedsofthecentralinstitutionoftheplannedeconomy,suchastheStatePlanningCommissionCentralStatisticalOffice,MinistryofFinance.Theeconomicministries（forvariousbranchesofthenationaleconomy）.

Itwasthereforenecessaryfortheaccountingsystemtobecentrallydirectedandcontrolled.Thiswasachievedthroughtheintroductionofthefollowingmeasures:

·auniformchartofaccounts,designedcentrallyandobligatoryforallprofitmakingenterprisesandothereconomicentities.Aseparateandobligatorychartofaccountswaspreparedfornon-profitseekingentities;

·adetailedaccountingmethodology,adherencetowhichwasobligatoryforallaccountingentities.ItspreparationwastheresponsibilityoftheMinistryofFinance;

·auniformsystemoffinancialstatementsintendedtoservetheneedsofthecentralauthorities.Thesecomprisednotonlythebalancesheetandtheprofitandlossaccountbutalsofromeighttotensupplementarystatementsdealingwithvariousaspectsofanenterprise’sactivities.Therewereseveralreportingcyclesofdifferinglengths.Forexample,theprofitandlossaccountwassubmittedtothecentralauthoritiesmonthlywhereasthebalancesheetwassubmittedonlybiannually.Theotherstatementsweresubmittedeitherquarterlyorannually.Therewasnocashflowstatementsbecausethefinancingofenterpriseswasnocashflowstatementbecausethefinancingofenterpriseswascentralized.

Thefinancialstatementaccordedmostimportancewastheprofitandlossaccount.Itwasnotpreparedfortheneedsoftheenterprisebuttosatisfytheneedsofthecentralauthoritiesthroughthegenerationofmacroeconomicstatistics.Intheprofitandlossaccountexpenseswereclassifiedbyelementsofcost.Revenueswereclassifiedsoastorevealtheflowsindifferentsectorsoftheeconomy,suchasproduction,tradeandtransport.Theprofitandlossaccountwasintendedtoserveasabasisforthecomputationoftheprinciplemacroeconomicindicators,suchasnationalproduct,nationalincomeandsoon.

Becauseofthesystemofcentralizedfinancingthebalancesheetwasnotconsideredtobeanimportantfinancialstatement.Becauseoftheabsenceofprivateownershipinthemeansofproductiontherewasnoconceptionof“owner’scapital”.Thepassive（i.e.capitalandliabilities）sideofthebalancesheethadanespeciallypoorinformationcontent.

Thedetailedmethodologywasissuednotonlyforfinancialaccountingbutalsoforcostaccounting.Theprincipleofmonism（i.e.theunifiedperceptionofreality）wasappliedstrictly.Thesameresulthadtobeshowninfinancialaccountingandcostaccounting.

Second,thefinancialstatementswererequiredtoprovideinformationfortheuseofthecentralauthoritiesintheadministrationoftheplannedeconomy.Thesefinancialstatementshadverylimitedimportanceforthemanagementoftheenterprise;theywererelevanttothefunctioningofthecentralizedsystemoffinancing.Featuresofsystemwere:

·themonopolypositionofthestatebank;

·theabsenceofbankruptcy（forallpracticalpurposes）;

·thecentrallyorganizedsystemofpricefixing;

·theveylimitedinfluenceofinterest.

Pricesweredeterminedprimarilyonthebasisof‘costplus’.However,thesystemofwholesalepriceswasindependentofthesystemofretailprices.Similarly,thesystemofforeigntradepricewasself-contained.

Becauseofthesystemofcentrallydeterminedandcontrolledpricessomeenterpriseswerehighlyprofitablewhileotherenterpriseswereoperatedataloss.However,theplannedlosseswerealmostalwaysautomaticallycoveredbyasystemofsubsidies.Ontheotherhand,nearlytheentireamountofprofitgeneratedbyenterpriseswaswithdrawnbythestate.Asaconsequencecreditsforoperatingactivitieswerereceivedsemi-automatically.

Theinvestmentinfixedassetswasalmostfullycontrolledbythecentralauthorities.Thesystemofsubsidieswasusedasthebasicinstrumentinthefinancingoftheacquisitionoffixedassets.

Third,thefinancialstatements,asalsothecomplementarystatisticalstatements,fulfilledadualrolebuttheroleswerecontradictory.Thefinancialstatements:

1、wereusedasaninstrumentofcontroloverthefulfillmentoftheplannedtargetsforthecurrentperiod;

2、providedinformationservingasabasisforfixingtheplannedtargetsforthenextperiod.

Theinherentcontradictionbetweenthesetwopurposesisclear.Iftheplannedtargetswerenotfulfilledtherewouldbenobonusesforthemanagementoftheenterpriseandnoincreaseinthe‘funds’forthepaymentofsalariesandtheprovisionofotherbenefits.Toavoidtheoccurrenceofsuchasituationtheaccountingandstatisticaldatabecamesubjectedto‘manipulation’.

Ontheotherhand,iftheactualperformance,incomparisonwiththeplan,washighinthecurrentperiodtheenterprisewouldreceivehigherplannedtargetsforthefollowingperiods.Theadverseconsequencesfortheenterprise,intermsofreducedbonusesandreducedentitlementtootherbenefits,couldbesubstantial.Thereforetherewasatendencytodiscloseonlyaclosefulfillmentoftheplaninthefinancialandstatisticalstatements.Again,thefinancialandstatisticaldatabecamesubjectedto‘manipulation’.

Theeffectofthe‘manipulation’ofthecontentoftheaccountingrecordswasself-evident.Themanagementoftheenterprisecouldnotusethe‘official’accountinginformation.However,realisticdatawererequiredbytheenterprisemanagementforcontrolanddecisionmakingpurposes.

Enterprisemanagerscreatedtheirownpersonalandprivateinformationsystems.Thesituationwithrespecttoauditing,amongotherthings,madepossiblesuchadevelopment.

Fourth,theaccountingdatawasconsideredtobesecretandthefinancialstatementswerenotpublished.Therewasnosystemofauditingcomparabletothepracticeestablishedinmarketeconomies.Instead,therewasonlyasystemofaccountinginspection（revise）.However,theaccountinginspectionwasnotcarriedoutbyspecializedindependentauditors.Itwasundertakenbytheaccountantsofenterprisesinvariousbranchesoftheeconomy,orotherorganizationsofcontrol,secondedtosomeotherenterpriseforthepurpose.

Theaccountinginspectionwasverysuperficial.Thereasonwasself-evident:

anyaccountant,makinganaccountinginspectioninsomeotherenterprise,wasawarethattheaccountantoftheinspectedenterpriseatafuturedatacouldmakeaninspectioninhis,orher,enterprise.Therefore,andstepbystep,accountinginspectiondegradedtoasystemof‘mutualsolidarity’.

BASICFEATURESOFTHENEWACCOUNTINGSYSTEM

Afterashorttransitionalperiod（1990-92）anewaccountingsystemwasintroducedon1January1993.Ithasbeenconceivedasasystemsuitedtothemarketeconomy.Afeatureofthenewsystemisthatonlywhensubjecttotransferfromthecost（‘internal’）accountingrecordstothefinancialaccountingrecords.

Asfarasthestandardizationoffinancialaccountingisconcernedisconcernedthebasicstructureisasfollow:

1TheAccountingLaw1991establishedthebasicaccountingprinciples.Itisforeseenthatitsamendmentwillbepreparedin1996or1997（i,e.afterhavingacquiredpracticalexperiencewiththeoperationofthenewsystem）.

2Threebasicchartsofaccountshavebeenpublished.Theseareintendedfor:

·entrepreneurs;

·non-profitseekingorganizations;

·otherorganizationgs（e.gpoliticalparties,culturalandsocialmovements）notundertakingeconomicactivities.

Thereisaspecialchartofaccountsforbanksandinsurancecompanies.

3Theobligatorymethodologyforrecording‘current’transactions（i.earisingduringthemonthlyaccountingperiod）inthefinancialaccountingrecords（i.e.’currentaccounting’）wasissued.‘Currentaccounting’,inCzechterminology,referstothecompilationoftheaccountingrecordfromtheprimeentrythroughtotheentriesintheledgeraccounts.Sometimesalternativeaccountingtreatmentsarepermitted.

4Thesystemoffinancialstatementswasdetermined.Theobligatorystructuresforthebalancesheetandtheprofitandlossaccountprovidefortwosituations:

thedevelopedorexpandedversionforsmallenterprises.

5Anewregulationonthecontentsofthecashflowstatementandtheappendixtothefinancialstatementshasbeenissuedrecently.ThecashflowstatementisbasedonthestandardproposedbytheInternationalAccountingStandardsCommittee（IASC）（orontheUSASFAS95）.Thatis,taxationandreturnoncapitalarenotshownassep