Exploring the influences and constraints on creative accounting in the United Kingdom
Exploring the influences and constraints on creative accounting in the United Kingdom
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探讨英国创意会计的影响和制约因素
DOI：
10.1080/096381898336592
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发表时间：
1998
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
A. Shah
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
A. Shah
对英国上市公司管理层创造性会计的指控并没有减少。由于这些做法扭曲了公司报告的基本财务业绩，它们与会计监管的基本目标-向用户提供一致和可比的财务信息-相冲突。研究表明，会计选择受到一系列订约、融资和业务因素的影响。然而，我们仍然不知道存在什么限制，对创造性会计的实践，以及如何有效地这些。诸如新闻界和分析师在多大程度上成功地限制了创造性会计，以及“真实和公平的观点”原则和审计师在防止这种做法方面发挥的作用等问题仍然没有得到解决。本文探讨了这些主题，通过研究两家英国公司的会计实务，发行了一个创造性的融资工具。通过综合使用访谈、文件和财务报表信息，分析表明，管理层利用会计准则的空白，对财务业绩进行了有偏见的描述。审计员似乎没有约束这种做法，真实和公允反映原则，而不是统一的会计做法，似乎容忍一系列的解释。从中期来看，媒体的负面宣传似乎是一种成功的威慑，但由于新闻界不是监管机构，它们的报道不一定是一致的或可预测的。当时，英国分析师没有对会计实务进行任何重要的详细评估，因此，这种潜在的限制并不有效。总体而言，本研究阐明了创造性会计的影响和限制，为我们理解财务报告提供了新的见解。
Allegations of creative accounting by management of listed corporations in the UK do not abate. To the extent that these practices distort the underlying reported financial performance of firms, they conflict with the basic aims of accounting regulation - to provide consistent and comparable financial information to users. Studies have shown that accounting choices are influenced by a range of contracting, financing and operational factors. However, we still know little about what constraints exist against the practice of creative accounting and how effective these are. Issues such as the extent to which the press and analysts are successful in restraining creative accounting, and the role the 'true and fair view' principle and auditors play in the prevention of such practices still remain unresolved. This article explores these themes by examining the accounting practices of two UK companies which issued a creative financing instrument. Using a combination of interview, documentary, and financial statement information, the analysis shows that management took advantage of gaps in accounting standards to present a biased picture of financial performance. Auditors did not appear to restrain such practices, and the true and fair view principle, rather than unifying accounting practice, appears to tolerate a range of interpretations. Adverse media publicity appears to be a successful deterrent in the medium term, but since the press are not regulators, their reporting is not necessarily consistent or predictable. UK analysts at the time did not evaluate accounting practices in any significant detail, and thus this potential restraint was not effective. Overall, the influences and constraints on creative accounting are illuminated in this study in a way which provides new insights into our understanding of financial reporting.