Chapter 2 Flashcards
(68 cards)
Why is a conceptual framework is needed?
to:
1. Create standards based on established concepts
- Increase user’s understanding of and confidence in financial reporting
- Enhance comparability of different companies’ financial statements
- Solve new and emerging practical problems more quickly
The objective of financial reporting is to communicate information that is:
- useful to investors, creditors, and other users
- Useful in making decisions about how to allocate resources
Decision usefulness
Determining the amount and types of information to present requires choosing alternatives that provide the most useful information
Fundamental qualities that make accounting information useful for decision-making
relevance and representational faithfulness
What is relevance?
To be relevant, information must be capable of making a difference in a decision
- Has predictive value - helps users make predictions about past, present and future events
- Has feedback/confirmatory value - helps users confirm or correct previous expectations
- Is material - how important the information is; would it make a difference to the decision-maker?
What is representational Faithfulness?
- Transparency - represents economic reality
- Completeness - include all information needed to portray underlying events and transactions
- Neutrality - information does not favour one set of interested parties over another; supported by the concept of conservatism/prudence
- Freedom from error - reliability; arises form good information systems and strong internal controls
3 steps to ensure information has relevance and representational faithfulness
- Identify the economic event or transaction
- Identify the type of information that would be relevant and can be faithfully represented
- Assess whether the information is available (cost/benefit) and can be faithfully represented.
Enhancing qualitative characteristics
- Comparability
- Verifiability
- Timeliness
- Understandability
Comparability (def)
information is measured and reported in a similar way - company to company and year over year
Verifiability (def)
knowledgeable, independent users achieve similar results
Timeliness (def)
information is available in sufficient time to influence decisions
Understandability (def)
information must be of sufficient quality and clarity so reasonably informed users can see its significance
Cost-Benefit relationship
cost of providing information is weighed against the benefits of providing it
Elements of FS
Assets
Liabilities
Equity
Revenues/Income
Expenses
Gains/Losses
Assets: 3 essential characteristics
- They represent a present economic resource - a right to use an asset that produces economic benefit or that has the potential to produce economic benefits
- Entity has control over that resource - entity’s ability to decide how to use the asset and receive economic benefits (through legal ownership or a contractual or other right)
- Resource results from a past transaction or event
Liabilities: 3 essential characteristics
- They represent a present duty or responsibility - and there is no practical ability to avoid them
- Entity is obligated to transfer an economic resource
- Obligation results from a past transaction or event
Types of liability obligations
- Contractual or statutory requirements
- Constructive - acknowledging a potential burden
- Equitable - from moral or ethical considerations
Equity
A residual interest in an entity that remains after deducting liabilities form assets
How is revenue/income defined in ASPE compared to IFRS
ASPE: revenue is defined as increases in economic resources, which result form ordinary operations
IFRS: Income is defined as increases in assets or decreases in liabilities, that result in increases to equity, other than those relating to contributions from shareholders
How are expenses defined in ASPE compared to IFRS
ASPE: decreases in economic resources that result from ordinary revenue-generating activities
IFRS: No distinction between ordinary revenue-generating activities and losses. Focuses on decreases in assets or increases in liabilities, that result in decreases in equity.
How are gains/losses defined in ASPE compared to IFRS
ASPE: increases/decreases in equity from an entity’s peripheral or incidental transactions except revenues/expenses and owner’s activity.
IFRS: revenues and gains are grouped together under income (they are not separately defined), and expenses and losses are grouped together under expenses.
Items included in FS (IFRS vs ASPE)
IFRS
1. statement of financial performance
OR
Statement of profit and loss and statement of other comprehensive income (OCI)
2. Statement of financial position
3. Statement of changes in shareholders’ equity
4. statement of cash flows
ASPE:
1. Income statement (OCI does not exist)
2. Balance sheet
3. Statement of retained earnings
4. Cash flow statement
What is other comprehensive income (OCI)
includes all changes in equity except for net income and owner’s investments and distribution
10 Foundational Principles
Recognition/Derecognition
1. Economic entity assumption
2. control
3. revenue recognition and realization principles
4. matching principle
Measurement
5. periodicity assumption
6. monetary unit assumption
7. going concern assumption
8. historical cost principle
9. Fair value principle and value in use
Presentation/Disclosure
10. Full disclosure principle