国际会计第七版课后答案(第五章)作者：弗雷德里克

精品文档Chapter 5Reporting and DisclosureDiscussion Questions 1.Accounting measurement is the process of assigning numerical symbols to events or objects. Disclosure, on the other hand, is the communication of accounting measurements to intended users. Advances in financial disclosure are likely to outpace those related to accounting measurement for a number of reasons. First, many would argue that financial disclosure is a less controversial area than accounting measurement. Second, changes in disclosure requirements are more rapidly implemented than changes in accounting measurement rules. Finally, whereas a single set of accounting measurement rules may not serve users equally well under different social, economic and legal systems, a company can disclose without necessarily sacrificing its accounting measurement system. 2. Four reasons why multinational corporations are increasingly being held accountable to constituencies other than traditional investor groups: a. The development and growth of the influence of trade unions. b. The growing recognition of the view that those who are significantly affected by decisions made by institutions in general must be given the opportunity to influence those decisions. c. The rejection by many governments of classical economic premises such as the belief that the regulated pursuit of private gain maximizes societys welfare. d. The increasing concern over the social and economic impact of multinational corporations in host countries. 3. Arguments in favor of equal disclosure include: a. The absence of equal disclosure would create an unfair playing field for U.S. companies. Non-U.S. companies would have a competitive advantage in that they would not have to disclose the same information and so would not incur the costs involved in generating and publishing it. b. Investors in non-U.S. companies have the same information needs as those who invest in U.S. companies. A market concerned with investor protection would make sure that investors have timely and material information on all listed companies, not just those domiciled in the United States. c. Unequal disclosure might impede cross-company comparisons involving U.S. and non-U.S. companies. Possible reasons against equal disclosure include: a. The high cost of meeting equal disclosure requirements may deter foreign issuers from listing in the United States. b. The extra costs involved work against the benefits of listing to the foreign companies. Evaluation of arguments: All of these arguments have merit. There is no unambiguously correct answer as to what disclosure requirements should be imposed on foreign issuers, and there has been a contentious debate on this subject in the U.S. in recent years. In practice, fairness arguments often carry great weight in public debate, even when objective economic analysis does not support them. 4. Managers in Continental Europe and in Japan have for many years strongly objected to disclosing information about business segment financial results. These managers have argued that the information can be used by their competitors. In addition, Continental Europe and Japan have had traditions of low disclosure. Requirements for disclosure about segment results have become more stringent in Japan, France, and Germany in response to strong investor and analyst demand for the information. More generally, the three countries are striving to improve the quality of their financial reporting standards in order to improve the reputation and credibility of their capital markets. 5. The simple answer is that mandatory disclosures are corporate disclosures made in response to regulatory requirements (for example, rules issued by national regulators or stock exchanges), and that voluntary disclosures are purely discretionary in nature. The distinction between mandatory and voluntary disclosures can be ambiguous in some settings, however. For example, the requirement that U.S. companies must file Form 10-Ks with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is straightforward. However, measurement and disclosure approaches for some of the items in the Form 10-K are not. Similarly, there are widely divergent views concerning what types of press announcements are mandatory versus voluntary.Two possible explanations for differences in managers voluntary disclosure practices are: (1) Managers in highly competitive industries may be less forthcoming than managers in less competitive industries due to the expected cost of releasing information of potential use to their competitors. (2) Managers are expected to be more forthcoming when there is good news to disclose, than when there is bad news, particularly when the news can be expected to affect share prices. Two explanations for differences in managers mandatory disclosure practices are: (1) Cross-jurisdictional differences in disclosure requirements. (2) Differences in the extent of compliance with disclosure rules due to cross-jurisdictional differences in enforcement. 6.Triple bottom line reporting refers to reporting on a companys economic, social, and environmental performance. It is a form of social responsibility reporting designed to demonstrate good corporate citizenship. So-called “sustainability” reports are an increasingly popular means of triple bottom line reporting. There is substantial variation in social reporting today. More regulation would improve comparability, but it might also stifle reporting innovations. The usefulness of social reporting to outside parties, particularly investors, needs to be demonstrated before implementing more regulation for it.6. Often we expect to observe less voluntary disclosure by companies in emerging market countries than by those in developed countries: a. Equity markets are relatively less developed in many emerging market countries, resulting in lower total demand for company information by investors and analysts. b. In many emerging market countries, most financing is supplied by banks and insiders such as family groups. This also leads to less demand for timely, credible public disclosure, and in these markets enhanced disclosure may have limited benefits. 8.In general, for the same reasons as in Discussion Question 7, we expect to observe fewer regulatory disclosure requirements in emerging market countries than in developed countries. The equity markets and disclosure requirements in many emerging market countries are not yet well developed, and accounting and auditing systems in emerging market countries are less well developed than in more developed market countries. 9.The two broad objectives of investor-oriented equity markets are investor protection and market quality. In the absence of investor protection, investors will not be willing to participate in a market. However, in the absence of market quality, markets will not function satisfactorily. Many would consider the objectives equally important. 10.It certainly is possible that more required disclosure will further encourage investor participation in capital markets by providing more and better information on which to base investment decisions. Benefits of increased investor participation include increased liquidity, reduced transaction costs, and more accurate and efficient market pricing. However, it can also be argued that in some situations disclosure requirements are excessive. In markets where disclosure requirements are considered too stringent, companies may be deterred from publicly listing their shares, and may choose to use secondary markets (such as the over-the-counter market in the United States) that lack the investor protections of regulated stock exchanges, and which provide investors with lower liquidity and higher transaction costs. Thus, more required disclosure is not necessarily better than less.11.Forecasts of revenues and income are relatively uncommon because there can be legal repercussions if forecasts are not met. Forecasts rely on subjective estimates of uncertain future events, making them unreliable in many situations. Vaguer forms of forward looking information are more common than precise forecasts. For example, directional forecasts (up or down) of revenues and income are more common than range forecasts which are, in turn, more common than precise forecasts of these amounts. 12.Corporate governance refers to the structure of relationships and responsibilities among shareholders, board members, and corporate managers. Investors and financial analysts use information about a companys corporate governance (for example, whether an audit committees members are independent, and responsibilities and remuneration of board members) to better assess the level of investor protection (and therefore, expected cash flows to investors) at the company. Exercises1.a.Transparent financial reporting means that timely and accurate disclosures are made on all important matters affecting a companys financial position and performance. It implies openness, communication, and accountability.b.Transparent financial reporting protects investors because nothing is hidden from them. Investors can better assess the risks of owning securities when information is truthful and complete. Transparent financial reporting also improves market quality. It enhances investor confidence. Open communication creates markets that are fair, orderly, efficient, and free from abuse and misconduct.c.The financial reporting requirements on the Hong Kong Exchange promote transparent financial reporting and they protect investors and promote market quality. For example, they require a complete set of audited financial statements, including a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and explanatory notes. Substantial disclosures are also required, including segments and forward looking information discussed in the chapter. Reports must include a management discussion and analysis. Accounting principles may be either Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards or International Financial Reporting Standards. Both sets of standards are known for their high quality. All reports must be in English. There are requirements on corporate governance. Timely disclosure of price sensitive information is required. Annual reports must be published within four months of year-end and half-yearly reports must be published within three months. Overall, the reporting requirements are substantial and complete.2. Schering AG provides a qualitative forecast of one-year-ahead and two-year-ahead net sales. One-year-ahead net sales are expected to increase in the “mid to high single-digit” range. From this, an investor would likely infer growth of between 6 and 8 percent. Two-year-ahead sales are expected to increase further. Thus, this forecast is directional (up). There are similar forecasts of net sales for certain products and for certain regions. For example, Yasmin is expected to experience “double-digit” growth, while Betaferon is expected to grow at “high single-digit” rates. Net sales in Europe are expected to grow at “mid single-digit” rates, while those in the United States are forecast to be “above average.” Schering also forecasts an operating margin of 18 percent for the next year. This is a precise forecast. There is no forecast of net income. Investors should find this information useful, but specific growth percentages would be even useful. Investors are concerned about a companys future prospects. Managements expectations guide users own forecasts. Investors would also find a forecast of net income useful.3.IFRS 8 requires that the following items be disclosed for each reportable segment:a. Profit or loss.b. Assets.c. Particular income and expense items if such measures are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker.d. Reconciliations of reportable segment revenues, profit or loss, assets, and liabilities to consolidated totals.(A reportable segment is an operating segment about which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by management in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources to operating segments.)In addition to the above items, information must also be disclosed about:a. Revenues derived from products or services.b. Revenues derived from countries.c. Major customers.d. How operating segments are determined. Lafarge discloses that its reportable segments are its four product lines. The company discloses all of the items required to be disclosed by reportable segment. Operating income, assets, and individual income and expense items are reported. Segment revenues, operating income, assets, and liabilities are reconciled to consolidated totals.Lafarge also discloses revenues by selected countries and regions of the world. In addition, capital expenditure and capital employed by selected countries and regions are disclosed. There is no information about major customers, but Lafarge may have a large, diversified customer base. Overall, Lafarge complies with the requirements of IFRS 8 and even goes beyond its requirements in some cases.4.a.Overall headcount has increased between the two years. Both of its divisions (pharmaceuticals and diagnostics) show increased levels of employment. With the exception of Latin America, all regions of the world also show increased levels of employment. Roche attributes these increases to the fact that it has been expanding faster than its competitors.b. “Regretted losses” refers to “fluctuations not initiated by Roche,” presumably employees who quit the company on their own accord. While the overall percentage of employees lost (“fluctuation”) has increased between the two years, the percentage of regretted losses has decreased.c. Roche states that it “places a high value on diversity and seeks to benefit from it.” Roche seems to have had some success in improving diversity in the company. Roche notes that it employs people from over 190 countries and that the 336 employees in its Corporate Center come from 23 countries. General managers from the local country head 60 percent of its affiliates, and the trend is rising. Data presented on women in the workplace all show improvements.d. Outside investors may find this information useful because it speaks to the welfare of company employees. For example, satisfied employees will work harder to achieve a companys goals than unsatisfied ones will. The information is also useful in judging whether companies comply with employment laws, such as those dealing with nondiscriminatory hiring.5.The overall conclusion is that Roches safety record worsened while its environmental record improved.Safety: Note that Roches total number of workdays increased by 17 percent, while the total number of employees grew by 6 percent. Accidents and other measures of safety can be expected to increase, but not at rates higher than these. Occupational accidents increased by 14 percent, while work-related accidents per million working hours decreased 3 percent. These measures suggest that accident rates are about the same between the two years. There were no work-related fatalities in either year. Workdays lost due to work-related accidents increased by 31 percent, occupational illnesses increased by 60 percent, illnesses per million working hour increased 36 percent, and workdays lost due to occupational illnesses increased 42 percent. These measures indicate a worsening safety record. Transport accident per metric ton transported decreased. In general, most measures got worse.Environmental:Energy consumption increased by 5 percent and TOC t/year increased 36 percent. However, the other pollution measures (such as CO2 t/year and NO2 t/year) decreased. Figures later in the disclosure compare eco-efficiency measures for 2005, 2004, and 1992. Long-term trends (92/05) of all measures beside the one for CO2 show significant decreases. In general, Roches environmental record has improved.6.a.According to the Web site, the objective of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) is to serve the public interest by: setting, independently and under its own authority, high quality standards on auditing, quality control, review, other assurance, and related services, and facilitating the convergence of national and international standards, thereby enhancing the quality and uniformity of practice throughout the world and strengthening public confidence in the global auditing and assurance profession.b. According to this Web site, auditing standards refer to the audit or review of historical financial information, while assurance standards refer to engagements dealing with subject matters other than historical financial information. c. PricewaterhouseCoopers states that Roches internal sustainability reporting guidelines are properly applied, that its data collection system is functioning as designed, and that its “social dimension reporting provides an appropriate basis for the disclosure of social dimension information” Thus, Roche has received a “clean opinion” on its sustainability reporting.7.a.Corporate social responsibility is about how companies conduct themselves in relation to “stakeholders,” such as workers, consumers, and the broader society in which firms operate. b. Some argue that “the business of business is business.” In conducting their business, companies provide huge and critical contributions to society. Among these are productivity gains, innovation and research, employment, and human ca