从信息的角度分析会计概念结构外文翻译.docx

从信息的角度分析会计概念结构外文翻译.docx

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从信息的角度分析会计概念结构外文翻译

外文翻译

原文：

Conceptualframeworksofaccountingfromaninformationperspective

Abstract

Thispaperanalysesthebenefitsofaccountingregulationandaconceptualframeworkusinganinformationeconomicsapproachthatallowsconsiderationofuncertainty,multipleagents,demandforinformation,andmultipleinformationsources.Italsoallowsprivateinformationtoentertheanalysis.Theanalysisleadstoasetoffundamentalpropertiesofaccountinginformation.Itisarguedthatthesetofqualitativecharacteristicstypicallycontainedinconceptualframeworksdoesnotadequatelyaggregatetheinformationdemandsofusersofaccountinginformation.Forexample,theIASB'sconceptualframeworkcontainsnoguidelinesforthetrade-offbetweenrelevanceandreliability.Furthermore,neutralitymightnotbepartofanoptimalregulation.Thestatisticalbiasintroducedbythestewardshipuseofaccountinginformationisnotnecessarilyundesirableandwillalwaysremain;stewardshipisthecharacteristicofaccountinginformationthatprovidesincentivesformanagementtoactinthedesiredway.Accountinginformationisinherentlylatecomparedtootherinformationsourcesbutinfluencesandconstrainsthecontentofmoretimelysources.Theaccountingsystemdoesnotexistinavacuum.Otherinformationsourcesarepresentandthepurposeoftheaccountingsystemcannotbeanalyzedwithoutconsideringtheexistenceofotherinformationsources.Finally,financialstatementsareauditedbyanindependentauditor.Thisimpliesthataccountingdataarehardtomanipulate.

Introduction

ThequestionIhavebeenaskedtoaddressishowconceptualframeworkscontributetothequalityofcorporatereportingregulation.Thisisbynomeansaneasytask.InthepaperIshallattempttoshowthatananswerrequiresidentificationoftheconceptofqualityofcorporatereporting,ofthepurposeoftheconceptualframework,andofthebenefitsofreportingregulation.Inordertounderstandtheconceptofthequalityofcorporatereportingitisimportanttoanalyzethefundamentalcharacteristicsofaccountinginformationanditslimitations.

Previousworkhasshownthat,inasinglefirmsetting,theaccountingsystemhastobefinelytunedtothespecificsoftheorganizationanditsenvironment,includingtheeconomicsofthefirm,thedecisionproblemsathand,theprivateinformationofthe-partiesinvolved,thepublicinformation,andthemoralhazardproblemsoftheorganization.Furthermore,theworldcontainsmanyfirmsandmanydecision-makers.

ItisimpossibletoconstructanincomemeasurethatreflectstrueincomeasdefinedbyHicks（1946）whenmarketsarenotperfectandcomplete（BeaverandDemski,1979）.Suchameasuredoesnotexist.Rather,accountingshouldbeviewedasaninformationsystemasacknowledgedbybothFASBandIASBintheiroriginalconceptualframeworks（FASB,1978;IASC,1989）.Unfortunately,thereisnouniversalrankingofinformationsystems（ChristensenandDemski,2003）.Inaddition,itiswellknownthatnorationalpreferencerelationdescribesthedecisionprocessofsociety（Arrow,1951）.Theaccountingsystemistheresultofadelicatebalancingofthepossibilitiesimbeddedintheaccountingsystemandthedemandsoftheusers.Thisbalancingisnotentirelyofatechnicalnatureasitcallsforbalancingofpreferencesofthepartiesinvolved.Suchbalancingcannotbeachievedbytechnicalrule-makingandisinevitablytheresultofapoliticaldecisionprocess.

Theaccountingincomenumberreportsfirmspecificfinancialinformationtothemarketandthusreducestheinformationasymmetryinthemarket.Thepaperconsidershowinformationissimultaneouslyusedbyinvestorstomakedecisionsandtoinduceorinfluencemanagementtobehaveoptimallyortousetheentity'sresourcesefficiently.Thedecision-influencingroledistortsthereportingincentives.Oncetheaccountinginformationisusedforperformanceevaluation（orfordecisionsregardingreplacementofmanagement）,incentivesforearningsmanagementarise（BurgstahlerandDichev,1997;Grahametal.,2005）.Thereasonisthatthefinancialstatementsincludereportingofprivateinformationbymanagementaspartoftheaccruals.Auditingreducesthisproblemtosomeextent.Managersoftenhaveaninformationaladvantageovertheauditorsandthispreventstheproblemfrombeingcompletelyeliminated.

Arelatedquestionishowtheaccountingsystembestcomplementsotherinformationsources.Thefinancialstatementswillalwaysbepublishedlatecomparedtootherinformationsources.Thisisduetothenatureoffinancialstatementsasalltransactionsmustbeprocessedandauditedbeforethestatementsarereleased.Incontrast,management'sforecastmightbetimely.Theprimepurposeoffinancialstatementsmightbetoprovideincentivesforreportingofothertypesofinformatio