The Financial Reporting Environment Soluti
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ons
Questions
Q1-
1 Financial information is a much broader concept than simply the financial statements and f
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ootnotes to the financial statements. Financial information includes items such as the President
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‘s letter to the owners, management‘s discussion and analysis, the auditors‘ report, the manag
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ement report and press releases. Of course, the basic financial statements and footnotes are in
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cluded in the term financial information. The basic financial statements are: the balance sheet
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(also referred to as the statement of financial position), the statement of comprehensive inc
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ome (also referred to as the statement of net income and the statement of comprehensive inc
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ome), the statement of cash flows, and the statement of shareholders‘ equity. Financial infor
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mation is not synonymous with the term financial statements because the financial statements
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are a subset of the different types of financial information provided.
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Q1-
2 The purpose of generating financial statements is to provide useful information to users to e
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valuate economic entities and make efficient resource allocation decisions based on the risks
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and returns of a particular investment. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) i
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dentifies investors, lenders and other creditors as the primary users of the financial statement
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s. The financial statements are the culmination of the financial reporting process.
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Q1-
3 Capital is a scarce resource. Investors and creditors have to make decisions as to how much
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Vcapital to invest in any given entity; therefore, they demand relevant and faithfully representa
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tive information about the economic performance and financial position of a company. This i
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nformation is provided in the financial statements.
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Q1-
4 External auditors ensure that the management of a company has prepared financial stateme
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nts in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and fairly present the financ
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ial position and economic performance of a company. In addition, external auditors must be a
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n independent party and cannot be employees of the company they are auditing. External au
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ditors provide a significant amount of credibility to the financial statements.
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Q1-
5 Data analytics is the process of analyzing large data sets in order to draw useful conclusio
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ns. It involves converting raw data into useful knowledge. In financial reporting, data analytic
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s can be used to improve the quality of estimates and valuations.
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Q1-
6 Standard setters create accounting concepts, rules, and guidelines to ensure that financial sta
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tements accurately present the economic performance and financial position of a firm. The st
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andards encourage transparent and truthful reporting.
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C C O U N T ING
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Q1-
7 U.S. companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges do not have the option to report under IFR
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S. However, foreign companies that trade in the U.S. exchanges can report under IFRS. The
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SEC permits the use of IFRS-
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based financial statements by international companies with shares trading on U.S. stock exch
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anges.
Q1-
8 The FASB seeks and welcomes comments from all parties in the financial reporting proces
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s including managers, investors, accountants, preparers, creditors, lenders, financial statement
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users, governmental agencies, financial analysts, industry groups, and auditors. FASB also re
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ceives feedback from public roundtable discussions, public meetings, the FASAC, the Private
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Company Council, and EITF.
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Q1-
9 Yes, the promulgation of financial accounting standards is a political process. There are se
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veral groups that influence the standard setting process. The standard setting process is a poli
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tical process that is affected by the impact of several lobbying groups. The government, thro
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ugh the SEC, influences accounting standards. The SEC has the authority to issue accounting
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standards but has assigned this responsibility to the private sector. Nonetheless, the SEC can
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exert pressure on the FASB to issue accounting standards and veto the standards promulgated
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by the FASB. Auditing firms, the corporate sector, creditors, financial analysts, the financial
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Vcommunity, accounting organizations, industry groups, and investors can influence the FASB
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Vby written comments about Exposure Drafts and participation in public meetings and public
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roundtables regarding a proposed financial reporting standard.
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Q1-10 A principles- NV NV
based standard is consistent with a theoretical framework. In contrast, a rules-
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based standard does not necessarily rely on a consistent theoretical framework. Rather, it co
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ntains more specific and prescriptive rules.
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Q1-
11 Recently, the FASB has taken an asset/liability approach in setting standards. With this a
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pproach, a transaction is recorded based on whether an asset or liability is created. Another t
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rend has been the movement toward the use of fair value measurements as an alternative to
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historical cost. FASB has also focused on the promulgation of principles-
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based standards instead of rules-based standards.
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Brief Exercises Solut NV NV
ion to BE1-1 NV NV
General-
purpose financial statements provide general financial information about an entity that will be
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useful to many types of users. General-
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purpose financial statements provide information to a wide spectrum of user groups: investors
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, creditors, financial analysts, customers, employees, competitors, suppliers, unions, and gover
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nment agencies. Most financial information in general purpose financial statements is provide
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d to satisfy users with limited ability or authority to obtain additional information, which incl
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udes investors and creditors. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) identifies in
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© 2021 Pearson Education, In
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, CH AP TE R 1 T HE
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N VIR ON MENT
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vestors, lenders, and other creditors as the primary users of the financial statements.
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© 2021 Pearson Education, In
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, 1 -4
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Solution to BE1-2 NV NV
Financial accounting is the process of identifying, measuring, and communicating financial i
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nformation about an economic entity to various user groups within the legal, economic, polit
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ical, and social environment. This definition contains four major elements: 1. Financial infor
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mation; 2.Economic entity; 3. User groups and 4. Legal, economic, political, and social envir
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onment
Solution to BE1-3 NV NV
Financial Statement Users NV NV NV
and Other Parties NV NV Role
NV 10 Equity Investors
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10. Are shareholders of the company. NV NV NV NV
1. Are banks and other financial institutions that len
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NV 1 Creditors
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5. Use financial information to review and analy
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NV5 Financial Analysts
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ze reported results of the companies they cover
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and make investment recommendations.
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8 Employees and Labor Union
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s 8. Use financial information during negotiation of
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new labor agreements and compensation contracts
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NV2 Suppliers and Customers
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2. Use financial statements to determine whether t
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NV7 Government Agencies
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a company. NV
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7. Review the financial statements of publicly traded
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companies for a variety of reasons that are in the
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NV 4 External Auditors
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public interest.
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NV 6 Internal Auditors
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3. Use financial information to determine their mark
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et position relative to the reporting entity and to
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NV 11 Regulatory Bodies
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ng entity. NV
NV9 Professional Organizations
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4. Are independent of the company and responsibl
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e for ensuring that management prepares and iss
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ues financial statements that comply with accou
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nting standards and fairly present the financial
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position and economic performance of the com NV NV NV NV NV NV
pany.
6. Are employees of the company serving in an adv
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isory role to management. They provide informati
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on to management regarding the company‘s operat
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ions and proper functioning of its internal controls.
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11. Protect investors and oversee the accounting an NV NV NV NV NV NV
d auditing standard setting processes.
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9. Support accounting professionals throughout their NV NV NV NV
© 2021 Pearson Education, In
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