Questions and Answers of Comparative International Accounting

explain the historical, comparative and harmonization reasons for studying comparative international accounting
explain why international differences in financial reporting persist, in spite of the adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) by the member states of the European Union and
1.2 Why have the major accounting firms become ‘international’? From what countries have they mainly originated? Why?
1.5 What factors have made possible the ‘internationalization’ of the world’s stock markets?
1.6 What factors have led to the establishment of multinational enterprises?
1.8 Why are there more accountants per head of population in New Zealand than in France?
1.9 Why are some EU companies listed on non-European (especially North American)stock exchanges?
1.10 Why is English the leading language of international corporate financial reporting?
1.11 Access the website of GlaxoSmithKline (www.gsk.com) to explain the differences disclosed in its annual reports between US GAAP and IFRS and UK GAAP from 2004 onwards. Could these differences
discuss the degree to which international cultural differences might explain accounting differences;
explain how the predominant methods of financing of companies can differ internationally and how this may affect the purpose and nature of accounting
illustrate the linkages between taxation and financial reporting, and show how these are stronger in some countries than in others
explain the difference between a provision and a reserve, and show how the definition of provision is wider in some countries than in others
2.7 How do the causal factors discussed in the chapter affect corporate governance structures in different countries?
explain why classification can be useful in the natural and political sciences and in the study of accounting
3.5 Which of the main models of international classification of accounting do you prefer?Explain your reasoning.
3.7 The countries listed below are not covered in any detail in this book. Which of the six ‘vital’ countries (see Section 3.6.3) does each most closely resemble so far as accounting and
3.8 Do the accounting classifications suggest that there is or was such a thing as Anglo-Saxon accounting?
3.9 To what extent have the accounting classifications become irrelevant because of international harmonization?
Illustrate how harmonization can be measured
explain how the IASC had different effects in different types of country;
Explain the structure and workings of the International Accounting Standards Board
4.1 Was the IASC successful? Explain your reasoning.
4.2 Which parties stand to gain from the international harmonization of accounting?What are they doing to achieve it?
4.3 What arguments are there against the process of international harmonization of accounting?
4.4 Discuss whether the standards of the IASB should be directed to all companies or to some defined subset of companies.
4.5 Why have the UN and the OECD interested themselves in the harmonization of accounting? How have they gone about it?
4.6 Distinguish between harmony, harmonization and standardization.
explain the difference between adoption of IFRS and convergence of one accounting system with another
give reasons why some companies list on foreign exchanges, and why some investors buy shares in foreign companies
illustrate the scale of differences between national and international accounting rules
5.1 Distinguish between harmonization, standardization, convergence, adoption and EU endorsement.
5.2 Using the reconciliations of this chapter and the information in Chapter 2, comment on the adjustments necessary when moving from German or UK to US or IFRS accounting.
5.3 Which sort of companies might wish to list on a foreign exchange? Is this practice increasing or decreasing, and why?
5.4 Discuss the high-level differences between IFRS and US GAAP. Is the SEC right to demand reconciliations of IFRS to US GAAP from foreign companies that are listed on US exchanges?
explain the various layers of governmental requirements and the difference between Commercial Code statements and Securities Law statements;
illustrate the main differences between Japanese practices and those used elsewhere
explain how China has fused old and new ideas in accounting;
12.1 ‘Unlike US accounting, Japanese accounting is not a product of its environment but of outside influences.’ Discuss.
12.2 Which factors could have been used at the beginning of the 1990s to predict the direction in which Chinese accounting would develop?
12.3 Compare and contrast the roles of the JICPA and the AICPA.
12.4 Discuss the causes of differences in financial reporting and its regulation (giving relevant examples of the effects) between your own country and Japan.
12.5 ‘Japan is unique, so Japanese accounting is unique.’ Discuss.
12.6 Imagine that you are a financial analyst used to US or IFRS company statements;what difficulties would be met when assessing Japanese companies?
12.7 Discuss the classification of Japanese accounting in Nobes’s (1998) model(see Figure 3.4). Which features give rise to this classification, and what have Japanese accounting and its
12.8 From your knowledge of Japanese accounting, what characteristics do you think it has in terms of Gray’s (1988) model?
12.9 Why did Chinese accounting develop differently from Eastern European accounting in the 1990s?
12.10 Compare the importance of the influences of Anglo-Saxon accounting and continental European accounting in Eastern Europe and in China during the 1990s.
23.7 How, and to what extent, does culture provide a more useful tool for the analysis of international differences in managerial accounting than it appears to do for financial reporting?
23.6 Explain how and why the process of budgeting used by multinational enterprises varies depending on the enterprise’s home country.
23.5 Starting with Table 23.2, prepare Zambezi Board’s next year’s sales budget and variance report for 2008. Assume that Zambezi plans that its 2008 results in Australia will mirror those
23.4 What problems are created for performance measurement in multinationals by the existence of foreign currencies?
23.3 In what ways does managerial accounting change by adding an international dimension?
23.2 What various models of control could be used to describe the organization of multinational companies? Which ones are found in practice?
23.1 Explain how and why the objectives of multinational enterprises vary depending on their home countries.
explain the impact of the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act on global control.
explain the differences between behaviour control, outcome control and clan control;
explain how multinational companies attempt to avoid foreign currency translation, transaction and economic exposures;
discuss the choice, by companies, of a strategic objective
22.7 Explain how the international differences in tax rules might be used to advantage by a multinational company.
22.6 Relating to the taxation of corporate income, examine international differences in:(a) the calculation of taxable income;(b) the ‘system’ of taxation (e.g. classical, imputation);(c) the
22.5 ‘The classical system of corporation tax is useful because it causes companies to retain more profit for investment purposes.’ Discuss.
22.4 In what ways might classification be useful in any field of study? Use international differences in financial reporting and in corporate taxation as illustrations of your answer.
22.3 In which countries does taxation tend to have a major influence on published company accounts? Discuss how this influence takes effect and what the position is regarding the treatment of
22.2 ‘There is no point in harmonizing tax systems and tax rates without harmonizing the calculation of taxable income.’ Discuss.
22.1 ‘Corporate tax systems differ internationally more than accounting systems differ, so it is impossible to classify them into groups.’ Discuss.
briefly outline the purposes and progress of EU harmonization of corporate taxation.
contrast the purposes and the workings of classical and imputation systems of corporate taxation;
explain the objectives of companies and tax authorities in the area of international tax planning, including transfer pricing;
21.8 What effect did the Enron affair have on the International Standards on Auditing?
21.7 The IFAC’s Code of Ethics for professional accountants lists a number of fundamental auditing principles. Discuss to what extent such principles may mean different things in different
21.6 Discuss the effect that the growth of multinational enterprises has had on audit firms.
21.5 Is it easier to reach agreement on international standards on auditing than on international accounting standards? If so, why?
21.4 In what senses can certain aspects of auditing be described as ‘international’?
21.3 Why do auditing standards differ internationally?
21.2 Would it be better if international auditing standards were set by the United Nations rather than under the existing system?
21.1 Why is it necessary to have international auditing standards?
discuss the audit expectations gap in an international context.
describe the stages of the international audit process;
discuss the role of ethics, technical standards and quality control in international auditing;
explain why and how IFAC has become the principal setter of international standards on auditing (ISAs);
explain why and how auditing has been internationalized, with particular reference to the role of MNEs, international capital markets, international accounting firms and harmonization;
20.7 Is worldwide application of IFRS going to solve the problems of international financial analysis?
20.6 Identify and discuss cultural and institutional factors which an analyst will have to consider before being able to isolate and examine the ‘residual’ behaviour attributable to a company’s
20.5 Two approaches to measuring conservatism are discussed in the chapter: the comparison of profit figures under different GAAPs; and asymmetric recognition of good and bad news. What are the
20.4 Into what languages do multinational companies translate their annual reports?Why?
20.3 ‘The best thing for users of annual accounts is to steer clear of foreign companies.’Discuss.
20.2 What are the major difficulties met by analysts when trying to compare companies’annual reports internationally? Which areas of financial reporting could be most usefully improved to aid such
20.1 In an unharmonized world, how do preparers and users of annual financial statements of listed companies cope with international differences?
discuss the factors affecting analysts’ forecasts of the future earnings of MNEs.
explain the use of benchmark ratios;
explain why companies do not report a standard set of ratios calculated in accordance with standard definitions;
show how ‘convenience currency translations’ may produce apparently different indications of movements on sales and profits;
describe the several ways in which MNEs attempt to provide additional information for foreign readers of their financial reports;
explain why there may be differences in financial reporting behaviour between internationally listed multinationals and domestic-only listed MNEs;
discuss the impact of different social, financial, tax and legal systems on accounting;
19.7 Discuss the view that IFRS 8 ignores the needs of many stakeholders
19.6 Discuss to what extent segment reporting is beneficial to different user/stakeholder groups.
19.5 A number of companies voluntarily prepare segment reports beyond what is required by regulation. Given the difficulties faced by regulators in developing rules for segment reporting, is
19.4 Using segment reporting as an example, explain how standard-setters could use research when planning to impose extra disclosure requirements.

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