Which items of property, plant, and equipment may be accounted for under the revaluation model, and how frequently must revaluation occur?
> How does the timing of hedges of the following differ? a. Foreign-currency-denominated assets and liabilities. b. Foreign currency firm commitments. c. Forecasted foreign currency transactions.
> What does the word hedging mean? Why do companies hedge foreign exchange risk?
> What factors create a foreign exchange gain on a foreign currency transaction? What factors create a foreign exchange loss?
> A company makes an export sale denominated in a foreign currency and allows the customer one month to pay. Under the two-transaction perspective, accrual approach, how does the company account for fluctuations in the exchange rate for the foreign currenc
> In what way is the accounting for a foreign currency borrowing more complicated than the accounting for a foreign currency account payable?
> How are changes in the fair value of an option accounted for in a cash flow hedge? In a fair value hedge?
> What are the differences in accounting for a forward contract used as a cash flow hedge of (a) a foreign-currency-denominated asset or liability and (b) a forecasted foreign currency transaction?
> How are foreign currency derivatives such as forward contracts and options reported on the balance sheet?
> What is an onerous contract? How are onerous contracts accounted for?
> Why is the principle of prudence clearly established in the German law?
> What is the Tokyo agreement?
> What was the accounting Big Bang in Japan?
> How have cultural factors influenced accounting practices in Japan?
> Identify three features of the Chinese accounting profession that are different from its counterparts in Anglo-American countries.
> What are the main pressures for accounting regulation in modern China?
> Recently, the regulators in the United Kingdom have placed increased emphasis on the importance of narrative reporting in the financial statements published by companies. Explain.
> What was the main objective of the discussion paper entitled “Louder than Words,” published by the FRC in 2009?
> What are the main features of the approach taken in the United Kingdom in setting accounting standards?
> Xanxi Petrochemical Company provided the following reconciliation from IFRS to U.S. GAAP in its most recent annual report (amounts in thousands of RMB): Required: a. Explain why U.S. GAAP adjustment (a) results in an addition to net income. Explain w
> What is the role of the UK Financial Reporting Council?
> What has been the impact of EU membership on accounting regulation in the United Kingdom?
> How have economic reforms affected the demand for accounting services in China?
> What is an important contribution that Mexican accounting has made to international accounting?
> What are the main external factors that have influenced financial reporting in Mexico in recent years?
> What is the Professional Mutual Recognition Agreement (PMRA) signed by NAFTA participants in September 2002?
> What is the role of the National Banking and Securities Commission in the area of financial reporting by Mexican companies?
> “BilMoG is not ‘IFRS light’; instead it is ‘German GAAP complex’.” Do you agree? Explain.
> What was the main focus of the GASB’s work in 2009?
> What are the main external factors that have influenced financial reporting in Germany in recent years?
> In Year 1, in a project to develop Product X, Lincoln Company incurred research and development costs totaling $10 million. Lincoln is able to clearly distinguish the research phase from the development phase of the project. Research-phase costs are $6 m
> Why does tax law have a strong influence on German accounting?
> How might the liberalization of accounting and auditing services in China result in an improved level of investor protection?
> W hat is the difference in measuring compensation expense associated with stock options that vest on a single date (cliff vesting) and in installments (graded vesting)?
> What is the basis for determining compensation cost in an equity-settled share-based payment transaction with nonemployees? With employees?
> How does a company measure the net pension benefit liability (asset) to report on the balance sheet under IFRS and U.S. GAAP?
> In a sale of receivables described as a pass-through arrangement, under what conditions can receivables be derecognized?
> How can use of the “fair value option” solve the problem of an accounting mismatch?
> Under what conditions should preferred shares be recognized as a liability on the balance sheet?
> What is a contingent liability? What is the financial reporting treatment for contingent liabilities?
> What are the five steps to follow in revenue recognition as proposed in the IASB/FASB Exposure Draft on revenue from contracts with customers?
> In its 2003 annual report, Honda Motor Company Ltd. states: Honda’s manufacturing operations are principally conducted in 25 separate factories, 5 of which are located in Japan. Principal overseas manufacturing factories are located in the United States
> What is a customer loyalty program, and how is such a program accounted for?
> Under what conditions may revenue be recognized on a “bill-and-hold” sale?
> What approaches are used to recognize revenue from the rendering of services? Under what conditions is each of these approaches used?
> What are the criteria that must be met in order to recognize revenue from the sale of goods?
> What approaches are available for disclosing the relationship between tax expense and accounting profit?
> Which income tax rates should be used in accounting for income taxes?
> How is an impairment loss on property, plant, and equipment determined and measured under IFRS? How does this differ from U.S. GAAP?
> How is the revaluation surplus handled under the revaluation model?
> What are the two models allowed for measuring property, plant, and equipment at dates subsequent to original acquisition?
> The appendix to this chapter describes what is commonly referred to as Anglo-Saxon accounting. Required: Explain why Anglo-Saxon accounting might be of interest to Chinese accounting regulators.
> What is the difference between IFRS and U.S. GAAP with regard to the recognition of gains and losses on sale–leaseback transactions?
> How does application of the lower of cost or market rule for inventories differ between IFRS and U.S. GAAP?
> How do the criteria for determining whether a lease qualifies as a finance (capitalized) lease differ between IFRS and U.S. GAAP?
> What are the differences in the amount of borrowing costs that can be capitalized under IFRS and U.S. GAAP?
> What is the process for determining whether goodwill allocated to a specific cash-generating unit is impaired?
> How are internally generated intangibles handled under IFRS? How does this differ from U.S. GAAP?
> What are the guidelines on selecting and changing accounting policies?
> What are the three major types of intangible asset, and how does the accounting for them differ?
> How does the classification of interest and dividends in the statement of cash flows differ between IFRS and U.S. GAAP?
> D o you see a major change of emphasis in the harmonization process since the establishment of the IASB? Explain.
> Refer to Exhibit 3.6 in this chapter and note the countries that do not permit domestic listed companies to use IFRS. Required: Identify three countries from this group that are likely to have different reasons for not permitting the use of IFRS by dome
> What is the IASB’s principles-based approach to accounting standard-setting?
> How does the structure of the IASB help to establish its legitimacy as a global standard-setter?
> Why was IOSCO’s endorsement of IASs so important to the IASC’s efforts?
> How has the U.S. SEC policy toward IFRS changed?
> What are the potential benefits that a multinational corporation could derive from the international convergence of accounting standards?
> In what way is the IASB’s Framework intended to assist firms in preparing IFRS-based financial statements?
> Would the worldwide adoption of IFRS result in worldwide comparability of financial statements? Why or why not?
> What information is provided in a statement of added value?
> How are the various costs that comprise cost of goods sold reflected in a “type of expenditure” format income statement?
> What are the different ways in which IFRS might be used within a country?
> Assume that you have been invited to advise the newly established accounting oversight body in one of the former Eastern European countries that became a member of the EU in May 2004. The accounting oversight body is charged with the task of identifying
> The Vanguard Group is an investment fi rm with more than 50 different mutual funds in which the public may invest. Among these funds are 13 international funds that concentrate on investments in non-U.S. stocks and bonds. One of these is the Internationa
> According to Nobes, what are the two most important factors influencing differences in accounting systems across countries?
> A re there any major accounting issues that have not yet been covered by IFRS?
> What are the hypothesized relationships between the cultural value of uncertainty avoidance and the accounting values of conservatism and secrecy?
> What are the major problems caused by worldwide accounting diversity for international portfolio investment?
> Who are the major providers of capital (financing) for business enterprises? What influence does the relative importance of equity financing in a country have on financial statement disclosure?
> How does the relationship between financial reporting and taxation affect the manner in which income is measured for financial reporting purposes?
> What are the two major types of legal systems used in the world? How does the type of legal system affect accounting?
> How does harmonization differ from convergence?
> What would be the advantages of having a single set of accounting standards used worldwide?
> Since 2005, publicly traded companies in the European Union have been required to use IFRS in preparing their consolidated financial statements. Required: a. Explain the EU’s objective in requiring the use of IFRS. b. Identify and describe two issues th
> Where might one find information that could be used to measure the “multi nationality” of a company?
> What are some of the issues that arise in evaluating and maintaining control over foreign operations?
> What taxation issues arise as a result of making a foreign direct investment?
> How important is foreign direct investment to the world economy?
> Why might a company be interested in investing in an operation in a foreign country (foreign direct investment)?
> How important is international trade (imports and exports) to the world economy?
> The Financial Times, on Tuesday, April 13, 2004, made the following comment in its editorial “Parmalat: Perennial Lessons of European Scandal: Urgent need for better enforcement and investor scepticism”: After the accounting scandals in the US, there w
> T he objective of convergence between IFRS and U.S. GAAP is no longer a priority for the IASB. Required: Discuss the possible reasons for, and the consequences of, the IASB’s above decision.
> The SEC lifted the requirement for foreign companies that have used IFRS as the basis for preparing their financial statements: that to be eligible to list their shares in U.S. stock exchanges, they should reconcile their financial statements using U.S.
> “The IASB has been repeatedly accused of devising accounting standards that pay insufficient attention to the concerns and practices of companies. Some European banks and insurers complain about poor due process by the IASB, and Frits Bolkestein, Europea
> The IASB’s main objective is to develop a set of high-quality standards for financial reporting by companies at the international level. Required: Critically examine the possibility of achieving this objective.
> Geneva Technology Company (GTC), a Swiss-based company founded in 1999, is considering the use of IFRS in preparing its annual report for the year ended December 31, 2013. You are the manager of GTC’s fixed assets accounting department. Required: Identi
> Five factors are often mentioned as affecting a country’s accounting practices: (a) legal system, (b) taxation, (c) providers of financing, (d) inflation, and (e) political and economic ties. Required: Consider your home country. Identify which of
> Refer to Nobes’s judgmental classification of accounting systems in Exhibit 2.5 and consider the following countries: Austria, Brazil, Finland, Ivory Coast, Russia, and South Africa. Required: Identify the family of accounting in which
> Cultural dimension index scores developed by Hofstede for six countries are reported in the following table: Required: Using Gray’s hypothesis relating culture to the accounting value of secrecy, rate these six countries as relative
> Refer to the income statements presented in Exhibits 2.9, 2.10, 2.11, 2.12, and 2 .13 for Callaway Golf Company, Südzucker AG, Cemex S.A.B. de CV, Sol Meliá SA, and Thai Airways. Required: a. Calculate gross profit margin (g
