未來的會計和財務報告第二部分彩色的方法[文獻翻譯]

1、<p><b>　　中文3160字</b></p><p>　　本科畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計）</p><p>　　外 文 翻 譯</p><p>　　題 目 全面收益理論的發(fā)展研究 </p><p>　　專

2、 業(yè) 會 計 學 </p><p>　　外文題目 The future of Accounting and Financial Reporting,PartⅡ:The Colorized Approach </p><p>

3、;　　外文出處 Accounting Horision 1996（6） </p><p>　　外文作者 Steven M. H. Wallman </p><p><b>　　原文：</b></

4、p><p>　　The future of Accounting and Financial Reporting PartⅡ:The Colorized Approach</p><p>　　In this sequel to an earlier Commentary on the Future of Accounting and Financial</p><

5、p>　　Reporting, the author first discusses the importance of accounting and financial reporting to (1)asset, capital and investment allocation, (2) contracting and "exposf settling up," and (3) corporatestewa

6、rdship and monitoring. He then reviews several reasons for the concern that accounting and financial reporting are becoming increasingly less useful, including changing concepts of the traditional' Tirm,"recogni

7、tion and measurement difficulties, issues related to the timeliness of financial repor</p><p>　　greater attention on whether the item is relevant and the degree of attestation that may be associated with any

8、 related disclosure, a more finely textured "colorized" accounting model might be developed. The goal of such a system would be to provide more useful information in connection with accounting and financial rep

9、orting, while maintaining the current core disclosures. The author provides examples of how the "colorized" model might operate, discusses limitations of the model, and suggests t</p><p>　　The Impo

10、rtance Of Accounting And Financial Reporting</p><p>　　From the most generalized perspective, the purpose of accounting and financial reporting is to provide information that is useful to investors, creditors

11、, monitors and others—increasingly including employees and major suppliers and customers—^in making investment, credit, monitoring and other decisions. This general goal may be further defined and analyzed by describing

12、three specific and distinct purposes and functions of financial reporting: (1) asset, capital and investment allocation; (2) "c</p><p>　　Determining "What" to Value: Recognition and Measuremen

13、t Issues</p><p>　　We also should question exactly "what" it is we are measuring and reporting. As discussed above, historically, the assets and liabilities used to produce wealth were recognized in

14、 financial statements at cost and were "hard" or tangible—like plant and equipment. However, the shift to a knowledge-based economy has created or focused increased attention on entirely different categories of

15、 assets such as brand names and other "soft" assets previously mentioned. </p><p>　　With certain limited exceptions, such as the purchase of a brand name, these "soft" assets are not reco

16、gnized in the financial statements. The primary obstacles relate to valuation difficulties, the inherent uncertainty of any value ultimately determined, and the resulting potential for fraud. As a result of these concern

17、s, we attribute no value in financial reports to something as obviously significant as Disney's Mickey Mouse. This cannot be the correct result for the long-term utility of fina</p><p>　　Some suggest tha

18、t the values of these assets are ultimately reflected, implicitly, in the statement of cash fiows or in earnings, and therefore they need not be refiected elsewhere. Unfortunately, however, because it would make life ver

19、y easy if such an answer were right, the same can be said for all other assets on the balance sheet. Our task then is either to improve the credibility and reliability of soft asset valuations, or to find other creative

20、solutions to the problem—not to ignore this </p><p>　　"When" to Report? The Timeliness of Financial Reporting</p><p>　　The rapid acceleration of events that may significantly affect sh

21、are values has started to make our system of annual audits and quarterly reports obsolete. Today’s annual and even quarterly reports—relying on recognized items as the core of the reports—do not capture and communicate m

22、aterial developments in sufficient time to meet the markets information needs. Product cycles have shortened,risk management practices have improved and are more prevalent, and products and whole companies become ob</

23、p><p>　　A Different Perspective:Color VS. Black And White</p><p>　　Background be divided into four broad segments. At the first level we have the financial statements themselves, which focus on rec

24、ognized items that pertain to the resources (assets) of an entity, the claims to such resources (liabilities and equity) and the results of operations.Within this system, the recognition of items in the financial stateme

25、nts assumes primary standing. To be recognized in financial statements an item must meet each of four criteria:</p><p>　　? First, the item must meet the definition of an element of those financial statements

26、:</p><p>　　It must be an asset, liability or component of equity;</p><p>　　? Second, the item must be measurahle: It must be susceptible to quantification in</p><p>　　monetary units

27、 with sufficient reliability;</p><p>　　? Third, the item must be relevant: It must make a difference to the investment or</p><p>　　credit decision; and</p><p>　　? Finally, the item

28、must be reliable: It must have representational faithfulness, be</p><p>　　verifiable and neutral.</p><p>　　It is generally expected that the most useful information about assets, liabilities, re

29、venues,expenses and other items of financial statements would be recognized. There is also an expectation that such information would have utility in making capital allocation decisions.That is, it can be used to help pr

30、edict future cash flows and is comparable across entities. In addition, because such information is viewed as more reliable and is audited, it is viewed as having greater utility in contracting</p><p>　　but

31、that does not meet all criteria for recognition. It is frequently not subject to third</p><p>　　party attestation.</p><p>　　The current accounting and financial reporting model works reasonably

32、well for many of the items that are recognized within financial statements. However,the model increasingly is subject to criticism.First, potentially relevant items are omitted because they do not meet recogn

33、ition criteria (usually due to reliability concerns). Second, items that are less and less useful due to valuation or other concerns are nevertheless included. Finally, it is not always clear why soirie informa</p>

34、<p>　　The Alternative Model</p><p>　　In response to these concerns, I believe it is time to refine our perspective on financial reporting. We need, in particular, to move away from a model that primar

35、ily relies on black and white recognition in the financial statements. We need to move towards a model where financial statements and related disclosures are viewed more as different layers of information—just as a finel

36、y textured color picture can provide more information than a black and white representation.</p><p>　　The model that I am about to describe may be viewed as refining the current system by adding new sets or

37、layers of information. It also refocuses our analysis to de-emphasize recognition and towards providing greater disclosure of useful information.</p><p>　　In this model, the primary focus is on providing rel

38、evant information, with specification of both the items to be reported and the form and level of assurance of these items. The most relevant and reliably measured items would represent the core of the financial reports—t

39、he clear black and white, with no shades of gray or color—similar to the recognized content of the financial statement items in todays model. Successive outer layers of the financial reporting picture would consist of in

40、formatio</p><p>　　Under this approach, instead of starting with the question of whether an item must be recognized in the financial statements, the first question would be whether an item</p><p>

41、;　　should be part of the firm's financial disclosure,with a progression then to a discussion</p><p>　　of the appropriate layer in which the item should be reported. Such a framework—where the different l

42、ayers of information could reflect,in essence, different levels of satisfaction of the traditional recognition criteria concepts(e.g., relevance, reliability, measurability),or could refiect entirely different concepts—w

43、ill be useful in progressing beyond the current recognition versus non-recognition debates.</p><p>　　Application of this model to the current business environment requires: (1) specification of the additiona

44、l layers, outside the core financial statements, including the criteria for inclusion of items in one layer versus another,and (2) consideration of how different levels of attestation might attach to information in the v

45、arious layers. Admittedly, establishing these components of this model is not an easy task. However, for discussion purposes, specification of the differing layers might be b</p><p>　　There are several disti

46、nctions between the colorized model and the current accounting and financial reporting model. First, as noted above the colorized approach places the emphasis of financial reporting on providing information that is relev

47、ant and useful and having a high degree of utility to investment,credit or other decisions as opposed to deciding whether information should be recognized in the financial statements. While recognition is an important co

48、ncept in this new model, it should be</p><p>　　In sum, the colorized approach is more aligned with the purposes of financial reporting and more compatible with dealing with the d3Tiamic nature of information

49、 that is relevant to end-users of financial reporting, than the current black and white system. It allows us to make finer distinctions among various types of information, thereby avoiding the daunting task of determinin

50、g whether items that are close to the recognition/non-recognition line are in or out of the financial reporting paradigm</p><p>　　Source: Steven M. H. Wallman.The Future of Accounting and Financial Reporting

51、 Part ii: The Colorized Approach. Accounting Horision 1996（6）</p><p><b>　　譯文：</b></p><p>　　未來的會計和財務報告 第二部分:彩色的方法</p><p>　　在這部有點像續(xù)評以前有關(guān)未來會計與財務報告的文章中,作者首先論述了會計與財務報告的重要性:(1

52、)資產(chǎn)、資金和投資分配間的關(guān)系,(2)簽訂合同和“事后解決”和(3)公司的管理和監(jiān)控。然后綜述了有關(guān)財務報告越來越缺乏有用性這一會計難點出現(xiàn)的相關(guān)原因：包括傳統(tǒng)公司概念的轉(zhuǎn)變、確認和計量的困難、財務報告的及時性以及當前信息分布渠道下的局限性。提煉目前的“黑和白”會計模式可看做是著手對以上特定的一些問題的關(guān)注，加快了民眾對辯論和福利改變的需要。通過減少重點，目前用于確定一個特定的項目是否予以承認，判斷重點主要放在這些項目是否具有相關(guān)性和與

53、相關(guān)披露的相關(guān)聯(lián)的程度，這樣一個結(jié)構(gòu)更完整的“彩色會計模式”就得到了發(fā)展的可能。這樣的模式目標在于為信息使用者提供與會計和財務報告相聯(lián)系的更有用的信息，同時也包括對核心問題的披露。作者提供的例子說明了如何將“彩色模式”在實務中加以應用，探討了這種模式的局限性，并著重為改善當前會計模式，使之更好的滿足會計和財務信</p><p>　　息使用者的需要，提出了自己的建議。</p><p>　　會

54、計和財務報告的重要性</p><p>　　從最廣義的角度來看,會計與財務報告的目標是提供對投資者、債權(quán)人、監(jiān)管者、員工、主要供應商,顧客等利益相關(guān)者，有助于投資、信貸、監(jiān)測等決策的信息。這個總的目標可能通過描述三個具體不同的財務報告的目的和功能得以進一步界定和分析:(1)資產(chǎn)、資金和投資分配間的關(guān)系,(2)簽訂合同和“事后解決”和(3)公司的管理和監(jiān)控。</p><p>　　決定什么該被確

55、認為價值：確認與計量問題</p><p>　　我們也應該質(zhì)疑什么是該計量和報告的。如上所述,從歷史上看,用來制造財富的資產(chǎn)和負債按取得時的實際成本計入財務報告中，像廠房和設(shè)備等有形資產(chǎn)一樣實現(xiàn)“硬著陸”。然而,轉(zhuǎn)向以知識為基礎(chǔ)的經(jīng)濟已經(jīng)創(chuàng)造或有針對性的把注意力集中在完全不同類別的資產(chǎn)上,比如品牌和其他前面提到的“軟”資產(chǎn)。</p><p>　　當然也存在某些有限的例外,例如購入一個品牌,這

56、些“軟”資產(chǎn)就不被確認進的財務報表。最主要的障礙與確認價值的困難有關(guān),判定任何有價值的不確定性,最終導致潛在的欺詐行為。由于這些問題,我們忽略了在財務報告中明顯重要的像迪士尼的米老鼠等之類無形資產(chǎn)的價值計算。對于長期效用財務報告，這不可能是正確的結(jié)果,尤其是考慮到公司“軟”資產(chǎn)重要性的提高。</p><p>　　一些人認為,這些資產(chǎn)的價值最終含蓄地體現(xiàn)在現(xiàn)金流或收益的報表中,因此,就不需要在其他地方再加反映。然而

57、,遺憾的是,如果這種回答是對的,那么生活很容易了，同樣對于資產(chǎn)負債表里的所有資產(chǎn)的計量也就容易多。我們的任務則是提高軟資產(chǎn)估價的可信性和可靠性,或者在考慮這個發(fā)展迅速的經(jīng)濟背景下，找到其他有創(chuàng)造性的解決方案。</p><p>　　"何時"被報告?財務報告的及時性</p><p>　　明顯影響股價系統(tǒng)的加速事件已開始使年度審核和季度報告過時。目前的年度甚至季度報告-以已確

58、認的項目為核心的報告-不足以在有限的時間內(nèi)捕捉和傳達信息的發(fā)展，以滿足市場對信息需求。產(chǎn)品周期已被縮短,風險管理實務有長足的進步,變得更普遍,產(chǎn)品及整個公司被淘汰的速度比以往任何時候都快。而在事物改變和移動的那么快的境況下，較長時間間隔內(nèi)的快照，是很難得到一張好照片的。像我去年提到的那樣, 我現(xiàn)在不是建議建立一個每月，每周或每天都向委員會審核和報告文件的系統(tǒng)。我只是認為，我們需要建立一個系統(tǒng),及時或適時的滿足我們對財務信息的需要。有前瞻

59、性的信息顯然會成為一個越來越重要的披露組成部分。</p><p>　　一種不同的觀點:顏色vs黑與白</p><p>　　背景被分為四個主要的部分。在第一個層次,我們有自己的財務報表,關(guān)注實體企業(yè)資源(資產(chǎn))已確認項目、對這種資源(負債和股權(quán))的利益訴求和經(jīng)營結(jié)果。在這個系統(tǒng)下，已被確認的項目在財務報表中承擔主要地位。要認識到列入財務報表中的每一個項目必須符合四個準則:</p>

60、<p>　　?第一,該項目必須符合財務報表中元素的定義。它必須是一個資產(chǎn)、負債或權(quán)益的組成部分</p><p>　　?第二,項目必須可計量:它一定要容易量化，貨幣單位有足夠的可靠度</p><p>　　?第三,項目必須有關(guān):它一定會影響投資或信貸決策。</p><p>　　?最后,該項目必須是可靠的:它一定具有代表性的忠誠，可以證實的和中立。</

61、p><p>　　人們普遍認為關(guān)于資產(chǎn)、負債、收入、費用和其他項目的最有用的信息將在財務報表中得到確認。也有一個期望,認為這些信息將有助于資本配置的決策，也就是說,它可以被用來幫助預測未來的現(xiàn)金流量,提高實體企業(yè)間的可比性。此外,因為這些信息被看作是更可靠和被審計過,它被看作在簽訂合同和監(jiān)控上有很大的效用。第二部分的財務報告由會計報表附注組成，這些附注被用來解釋財務報告中的信息。最后兩個類別是補充信息(如價格變化)和其

62、他公司提供的信息(如管理部門的內(nèi)部討論和分析）。這些信息增加了財務報表或其附注的內(nèi)容，它通常包括相關(guān)的但不滿足確認標準的項目，也常常不受到第三方的認證。</p><p>　　當前會計和財務報告模型中有許多合理的項目在財務報告中得到了確認。然而,該模型越來越受批評。首先，潛在的有關(guān)事項被忽略了，因為他們不符合確認條件(通常是由可靠性確認）。然后，在價值或其他標準下有用性越來越差的項目仍然是包括在內(nèi)。最后，它并不總能

63、解釋為什么有些信息被包括而有些信息被排除于財務報告。而這些問題在一般商業(yè)環(huán)境被預先討論的情況下更為惡化了。</p><p><b>　　另一種模式</b></p><p>　　針對這些問題，我相信是時候改變我們對財務報告的某些觀點。我們尤其需要拋棄主要依靠黑與白確認項目的傳統(tǒng)財務報表模式,而引入一個模型，能夠在不同層面對財務報表和相關(guān)披露進行查看，就像一結(jié)構(gòu)更為完整的

64、彩色照片能提供比黑白下更多的信息。</p><p>　　我即將介紹的模型，被認為是通過增加新的部分或多層的信息來完善當前的系統(tǒng)。它鞏固了我們不再重視確認的觀念，同時提供了更多有用信息的披露。</p><p>　　在該模型中,主要關(guān)注提供相關(guān)信息,比如有規(guī)格說明的事項的報告、形式和可信程度。最有關(guān)和最可靠的已計量項目為核心的黑與白的財務報表模式，將與今天的彩色模式，在已確認的列入財務報表項目

65、上，有很大的相似性。連續(xù)的外層財務報告將由不是滿足所有確認條件的項目組成,或者對核查程序不那么敏感。</p><p>　　用這個方法,而不是考慮某一項目是否該在財務報表中得以確認,第一個問題是關(guān)于一個項目應不應該列入公司的財務披露,進而接著來討論在何種情況下，項目該被報告。這樣的框架，將使不同層次的信息得以在報表中反映，本質(zhì)上，則滿足了不同層次的傳統(tǒng)確認標準(例如相關(guān)性、可靠性、可測性)，同時，也擱置了當前對于確

66、認與不確認的爭議，對會計工作的順利展開很有幫助。</p><p>　　在目前的商業(yè)環(huán)境應用此模型,需要:(1)在財務報表核心之外的額外層次的說明書,包括不同層次中項目標準的設(shè)立(2)考慮不同層次的認證如何提供不同層次的信息。誠然,建立該模型是件不容易的任務。然而,為了討論的需要，規(guī)格不同的層次的建立,在某種程度上，將依據(jù)現(xiàn)有的確認條件(如FASB第5號聲明(1984年)中的相關(guān)內(nèi)容)。</p>&l

67、t;p><b>　　與目前模式的區(qū)別</b></p><p>　　彩色模式和當前的會計與財務報告模式有幾個區(qū)別。首先,如上所述的彩色的方法,強調(diào)對財務報告提供相關(guān)有用的信息,對投資、信用貸款或其它的決策有高度的效用,而不是決定信息是否應確認列入財務報表。確認在新模式下是一個非常重要的概念,在這個新模式中,我們必須記住,已被確認的信息是財務報告的一部分，目標是為使用者提供有用的信息。在彩

68、色的方法下,被確認的項目將以高度的相關(guān)性、可靠性和可計量性為第一或核心判斷條件，也就是相關(guān)性、可靠性和可計量性符合條件的項目，將或多或少的，更容易被經(jīng)濟準則制定者和信息使用者接受,核心的項目將會隨著客觀條件的轉(zhuǎn)變而膨脹和收縮。但確認將不再作為被強調(diào)的一大問題。</p><p>　　總之，彩色的方法在目標上與財務報告更為一致，并協(xié)調(diào)處理動態(tài)的信息，與黑與白的模式比起來，更好的為終端財務報告使用者服務。它允許我們對各