Issues In Financial Reporting (Questions for the final exam) Essay

Issues In Financial Reporting (Questions for the final exam) - Essay Example There are few assumptions of a financial statement. Such as, a business entity is assumed to carry on its operation forever which refers to a going concern concept. Financial statements should be prepared periodically, basically after a specified interval which is termed as ‘accounting period’. All the transaction recorded in a statement should be at cost, not market price. As per the money measurement concept, the information recorded in the statement should be in monetary terms. The business entity concept says that the legal entity of a corporate business should be different from the owners. The method or the practice that has been adopted by a company initially for presenting an event should be followed life long in order to maintain the consistency. Preparation of financial statements is subject to quite a few regulations. For the purpose, Accounting Standards should be followed. Accounting Standards are issued by Accounting Standard Board (ASB). ASB is a part of Financial Reporting Council (FRC). It is a self -regulatory body in UK and is responsible for promoting quality corporate governance. ASB collaborate with the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) to ensure the acceptance of Accounting Standard at the international level. UITF plays major role of assisting the ASB while solving a conflicting and unsatisfactory interpretation regarding the requirements of Companies Act. Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) is also a part of FRC, which check the financial statement of private and public companies to ensure that statements are presented as accordance with Accounting Standards and Companies Act, 2006. Accountability and transparency are absolute necessity for maximising long term share holder’s value. The rules and procedures of gathering data must be flexible and consistent; otherwise a scope of misinterpretation of data will

Public Interest in Theories of Regulation Essay

Public Interest in Theories of Regulation - Essay Example Theories of regulation help us to find solutions so that investors do not get exploited. Public Interest in theories of regulation pertains to allocation of resources in a regulated manner to safeguard the best interests of public. These distributions may be haphazard or aimed towards satisfying fewer people’s interests, if not regulated. This failure of markets may occur due to several reasons such as: Absence of competition Monopolies try and create barriers of entry to other interested firms Asymmetry of information Products of public goods are produced The scarce resources get deployed towards their purposes with little resources remaining for other requirements. So, to avoid such discrepancies public interest of regulation has to be undertaken by the Government. (Hertog J.D., 1999) The Government will also intervene due to its own personal interests of: Gaining votes To act before any demand from public interested groups arises Acting as neutral arbiters before the issue becomes a problem However, there are cases where Governments also have failed as regulators as they are captured by self-interest of individuals who formed groups. The accounting professionals who have not confirmed themselves to self-regulation and legitimacy have thought of a way out of their irresponsibility. They started capturing the regulator and dictating it through manipulation of accounts. This is possible because accountants argue whether to release relevant or reliable information to the investor. In the guise of these terms, they undertake accounting standards which serve their interest and avoid regulation. Situation: The Act of Sarbanes-Oxley of 2002 is a classic example in this scenario. Public interest has made it mandatory that financial reporting has to adhere to the principles of corporate responsibility. Out of some eleven sections, 6 are construed to be very important as far as compliance matters. The gist of these sections is that financial reporting authoritie s have to prove their credibility very early by establishing detailed policy of financial security. They cannot relax till the end and try to capture public interests. They are required to report according to the IFRS mandates to the investors. (Anon. 2006). As per this mandate, Accounting Standards should also take into account social and economic consequences so that relevant and reliable information is pronounced to the investors. Private Interest Theory: This theory is based on the assumption that Government is not a neutral arbiter as supposed in public interest theory. It is in fact self-interested rationally due to various reasons such as: To avoid dispute with people of financial power during re-election To transfer their power readily if people who can help them in re-election so require. If they are in power, they would like to increase their wealth by doing so. If not in power, they want to attain power and so listen to these private individuals. There are many examples o f private interest. The Oil Spill in Deep Waters in 2010 would help us in understanding the process of domination of private