原則導(dǎo)向會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則研究外文文獻(xiàn)翻譯

原則導(dǎo)向會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則研究外文文獻(xiàn)翻譯(含：英文原文及中文譯文)文獻(xiàn)出處：GaryKablake.Theresearchofprinciple-orientedaccountingstandards[J]ComplianceWeek,2016.6(4):10-21.英文原文Theresearchofprinciple-orientedaccountingstandardsGaryKablakeThedebateonprinciple-orientedaccountingrulesandrules-orientedaccountingprincipleshasbeengoingonfordecades.Intheforeseeablefuture,thiskindofargumentcannotbeended.Ofcourse,thisisausefulargument.Iftheprinciplesaresettoohigh,therewillbemanyissuessuchascomparabilityandotherchallenges;andoverlydetailedruleswillleadtounnecessarycomplexityandinducethesubjecttoconductbusiness.Structureddesign.Inthisarea,IhavespentfortyyearsasanauditorandfinancialreporteditorintheUnitedStates.AsamemberoftheInternationalAccountingStandardsBoard,Ihavebeeninvolvedforseveralyears,soIcaneasilylearnfromit.Adifferentperspectivetoobservethisissue.Incontrast,Ithinkthereisnodoubtthatusingtheprinciple-orientedapproachtobuildingaccountingstandardsisabetterandfeasibleway.However,theprinciple-orientedapproachcanonlysucceedifithascertainprerequisitesforcertaintechnologiesandconcepts.Thisisthecentraltopicofthisarticle.Thestartingpointofprinciple-orientedaccountingstandardsisthepowerfulconceptualframeworkBoththeInternationalAccountingStandardsBoard(IASB)andtheUnitedStatesFinancialAccountingStandardsBoard(FASB)haveawell-designed,closely-intuitivesimilarconceptualframeworkthatprovidesaglobalumbrellaformanyaspectsoffinancialreportingatahighlevel.Amongothergoals,theconceptualframeworkalsoprovidesguidancetofinancialreportpreparersandauditorsintheabsenceofguidelinesattheguidelinelevel.Forexample,theconceptframeworkoftheInternationalAccountingStandardsBoardisclearandtheaccountingpoliciesformulatedbytheentitymustproduceclearandhonestoutcomes.Thesubstantiveemphasisisonformprioritization,neutrality,andimpartiality.Allavailableinformationisconsideredinitsentiretyandtheresultscanbereviewed.Wait.Theconceptualframeworkalsoprovidesaconcisedefinitionoftheassetsandliabilities.Icancontinuetogiveexamples,butIwouldliketopointoutthatinordertoavoidrule-orientedaccountingrules,theremustfirstbeatheoreticallyreasonable,sensibleandunderstandableconceptualbasissothatallparticipantscanfindguidanceinthem.Thispoint,theInternationalAccountingStandardsBoardhasalreadyachieved.Rulescan'tcovereverythingIftherulesareall-encompassing,thenalotofaccountantsarenotneeded,andacomputerwithadecisiontreecansolveeveryproblem.Fortunately,nooneisenthusiasticaboutit.However,suchahypotheticalquestiontouchesonakeypoint:Howmanydetailedrulesmustbeconsideredexcessive?Ifthegoalofformulatingrulesistocompletelyeliminatenon-comparability,thisisadaydreamandcannotbeachievedatall.Verydetailedrules,theresultsofwhichcanonlyleadtoflexibilityintheprocessingandstructureddesignofthebusiness,andtheentitycanalwaysachieveitsownpurpose,Imagine89.9%ofthecurrentleaseaccountingfor90%ofthissituationisenough.Ifyouformulateadetailedruletodealwithit,thisnewrulewillbecomeanotherflexibleoperationopportunity.Whereistheend?Irememberthatthe“DerivativeFinancialToolsApplicationGroup”onceformulatedrulesforscrutinyandnitpickingasmanyasseveralhundredpages.Thekeypointoftheproblemisthatthesedetailedrulescannotanswerallquestions.Whendetailedrulesdonotsolvetheproblem,professionaljudgmentswilldebutandplayarole.Anddon'tforgetthatrulesdonotpreventwell-plannedbadbehavior.Someofthelargestfinancialaccountingfraudsthathaveoccurredinthepast15yearsincludesomemarginalandambiguoustransactions.Asaresult,theyhavealsobecomeatypicalcaseoftechnicalcomplianceandtechnicalcompliance.Inaddition,ifthementalityofengaginginbadbehavioris“Ifyoucanstopmeifyouhavetheability”,thenitdoesn’treallymatterwhattherulessay.Iamnotsayingthatthedetailedrulesareabsolutelyunnecessary.Imean,undernormalcircumstances,theycannotrelyondetailedrulestoconsistentlyachievetheirgoals.Rulesareoftenmaskedbytheirownredtape.Therefore,astrongconceptualframeworkistheappropriatestartingpoint,anddetailedrulesoftenlosetheoverallgoal.Then,wherearetheforwardpathsforformulatingandimplementingprinciple-orientedaccountingstandardstoproducecomparableresults?Ithinkthattheanswerwillbefoundinthefollowingthreeinterrelatedsteps:theexpressionofaccountingstandards,respectforprofessionaljudgments,andunderstandingofthemostimportantneedsofthemainusersoffinancialstatementsarediscussedseparatelybelow.Whenformulatingguidelines,youshouldclearlyexpressthegoalsofaccountingtreatmentThisproblemseemsobvious,butit'seasiersaidthandone.Iwilldemonstratethisasanexampleoftheexpenseofemployeestockoptions,becausesuchcomplexityandcurrentrequirementsarestillnew.Wecansimplyputforwardsucharequirement:"employeestockoptionsshouldbeincludedinthecostduringtheacquisitionperiod."Althoughthisisaprinciple,itneedsalotofdevelopmentworkaroundit.Inordertoproperlyaccountfortransactionswithinthescopeofthenormativenorm,thefinancialstatementpreparersshouldatleasthaveclearguidelinesformeasurement,confirmation,presentation,anddisclosurethatreflecttheintentofthestandardsetter.Thesefouraspectsarepreciselythefourpillarsoftheconceptualframeworkfortheaccountingtreatmentofequity-settledemployeestockoptionawardsonthegrantdate,whichareassumedtobeexpressedasfollows:Employeestockoptionawardsshouldbevaluedatfairvalueatthegrantdate.Thefairvalueshallberecognizedasafeeandaliabilityonastraight-linebasisfromthegrantdatetotheexercisedate.Attheearliestdateofcancellation,exerciseorexpiration,allrecognizedliabilitiesshouldbereclassifiedasequity.Ifthesubsequentmodificationofconditionsaffectstheexerciseofexpectationsoraffectsthevalueofemployees,thefairvalueoftheoutstandingawardsshallbere-measured.Theresultingfairvaluedifferenceshallbeappliedfromthedateofmodificationtotheperiodofexercise,usingfutureapplicablelaws.Straightlinebasisforconfirmation.Regardlessofwhetherornotpeopleagreewiththeaboveaccountingtreatment,the100easilyunderstandableEnglishwordsintheaboveparagraphhaveprovidedclear,principle-orientedaccountingguidelinescoveringtheentirelifecycleofemployeestockoptionawards,including:measurement(fairvalue).),Confirmation(straight-linemethod),vestingperiod(grantingdatetoexercisedate)andpresentation(firstlistedasliability,thereafterreclassifiedasequity).Moreover,theaboveparagraphalsoprovidesguidelinesforchanginginitialconditions.Ofcourse,optionawardsarecomplicated.Althoughtheaboveparagraphsprovidethenecessarykeyguidelines,itisoftennecessarytomakesomelower-leveldecisions.ThisisalsotheissuethatIwilldiscuss.RespectrationaljudgmentOncetheguideline-orientedguidelineisestablished,low-levelquestionswillarise.Insomecases,theanswerwillbeobviousaslongastheyrefertotheconceptualframework.Insomecases,generallyacceptedpracticeswillemergeinthesesituations,andcomparabilityshouldnotbeaffected.Thecomparabilityofatleastproperdisclosureshouldnotbecompromised.Thentherearealltheotherissuesbesidestheabovetwotypesofsituations.Iftheguidelinesmakersrecognizetheneedtoprovideguidanceonthis,detailedtheorizingrulesforothertransactionstructuresandunconventionalsituationswillbedeveloped(butlikelynottimelyenough).Justastoday’smoderntechnologywillbecomeobsoletetomorrow,detailedaccountingrulesarealsotrue,asnewtypesoftransactions,creativetermsandclauses,andcomplexstructuresemergealmostdaily.Theuseofprofessionaljudgmentistheonlyreasonableresponsemethodundertheguidelinesandconstraintsofthestandardlevelorconceptualboundary.Theexistenceofprofessionaljudgmentsrunsthroughthecurrentaccountingmethods.Forexample,inthetwoimportantguidelinesrecentlyissuedbytheInternationalAccountingStandardsBoardforincomerecognitionandleasing,theterm“judgment”hasappearedalmost50times.Therefore,thejudgmentispartoftheaccountingprocess,butwhatkindofjudgmentisit?Themostconservativechoicesmayoftenbetheonesthataretheeasiesttoprotectanddocumentproof.However,alwayspickingthemostconservativeanswerisobviouslynottheintentionoftheconceptualframework.Assessingtheso-called“reasonableness”oftheUSauditingstandardsjudgedbymanagementjudges,inmyopinion,isaboutchoosingtherightconceptsandmindsetstobereasonable,wemusttakeresponsibility:Managementmustbeimpartialandobjectivelyconsiderallavailableforuse.Information;Intheperformanceofattestationresponsibility,theauditorshouldrespecttheclient'sreasonableconclusions,andmustnotrequestexcessivedocumentationorevidence;thesupervisormustrespectreasonableaccountingconclusions,evenifthisconclusionisnottheoutcomeofthesupervisor'spreferences.Finally,asthestandardsetter,theIASBmustprovideenoughguidancebasedonprinciplestolimittheunavoidablediversityinpracticewhenitisnecessarytomakejudgments.ThisisthelastpointIwillelaborateon.ComparabilityoffinancialstatementsandmajorusersOneofthemainargumentsforclaimingrules-basedaccountingstandardsisthatwithoutrules,financialstatementslosetheircomparability.However,asmentionedabove,itisnotpossibletowritedowntherulesforeachcase,sosomejudgmentsanddifferencesinpracticeareinevitable.Butwhatdoes"comparability"mean?Comparabilityisnotunity.Incolloquialterms,comparabilityreferstotheabilitytodrawcloseenoughconclusionswithouthavingtoworryaboutpotentialdifferences.Accountingprinciplesprimarilyservemajorusers(ie,investors,creditors,lenders,andothercapitalproviders)andhelpthemmakedecisionsaboutbuying,selling,holding,orlending.Thesebasicdecisionsareusuallymadebasedonthecompany'soverallsituation,seldomrelyonacertainaspectofinformationoranisolatedaccountingjudgment.Ifonelooksatcomparabilityinthisway,itisdifficulttoimaginethelackofcomparabilityresultingfromthetypeofjudgementandthedegreeofjudgement,sothatmajoruserswillmakeasignificantdifferenceinmakingassetallocationdecisions.Iftheaccountingresultsdonotleadtosignificantdifferencesintheuser'sanalysis,itisnotimportantbydefinition.Therefore,thedifferencesarisingfromrationaljudgmentsarenotimportantfromtheoverallperspective.ConclusionWell-designed,principle-orientedaccountingstandards,underpinnedbyastrongconceptualframework,togetherprovidenecessaryguidanceforthedevelopmentofalmostallmajoraccountingdecisions.Sinceitispracticallyimpossibletomakearuleforeachsituation,judgmentisakeycomponentoftheaccountingprocessandshouldnotbeworriedaboutmaking,protectingandacceptingrigorousjudgments.中文譯文原則導(dǎo)向會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則研究加里·卡布萊克關(guān)于原則導(dǎo)向會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則與規(guī)則導(dǎo)向會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則的爭(zhēng)論，已經(jīng)持續(xù)了數(shù)十年。在可見(jiàn)的將來(lái)，這種爭(zhēng)論也不可能終結(jié)。當(dāng)然，這是有益的爭(zhēng)論。如果把原則規(guī)定得層次過(guò)高，會(huì)產(chǎn)生可比性和其他挑戰(zhàn)等諸多問(wèn)題；而過(guò)分詳細(xì)的規(guī)則，則會(huì)導(dǎo)致不必要的復(fù)雜性，還會(huì)誘使主體進(jìn)行業(yè)務(wù)的結(jié)構(gòu)化設(shè)計(jì)。在此領(lǐng)域，我作為一位在美國(guó)從業(yè)的審計(jì)師和財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表編報(bào)者已經(jīng)浸淫了四十載的光陰，作為國(guó)際會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則理事會(huì)的理事也已涉獵若干年，因而我也便于從幾個(gè)不同的角度來(lái)觀察這個(gè)問(wèn)題。相比之下，我覺(jué)得毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，使用原則導(dǎo)向法來(lái)構(gòu)建會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則是較好的可行之路。但是，只有具備某些技術(shù)和理念上的先決條件，原則導(dǎo)向法才能取得成功，這也正是本文的中心議題所在。原則導(dǎo)向會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則的起點(diǎn)是強(qiáng)有力的概念框架國(guó)際會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則理事會(huì)（IASB）和美國(guó)財(cái)務(wù)會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則委員會(huì)（FASB）均有一套設(shè)計(jì)良好、推理嚴(yán)密的類似概念框架，在較高層次上為財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表的諸多方面提供了全局性總括原則。除其他目標(biāo)外，概念框架還在財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表編報(bào)者和審計(jì)師遇到準(zhǔn)則層面不存在指南的情況下，為他們提供了指引。例如，國(guó)際會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則理事會(huì)的概念框架明確，主體制定的會(huì)計(jì)政策，必須產(chǎn)生明確無(wú)誤的誠(chéng)實(shí)后果、實(shí)質(zhì)重于形式優(yōu)先、中立、不偏不倚、完整地考慮所有可利用的信息、結(jié)果可復(fù)核等。概念框架還提供了資產(chǎn)和負(fù)債要素簡(jiǎn)明扼要的定義。我可以繼續(xù)舉例，但我要指出的是，為了避免規(guī)則導(dǎo)向的會(huì)計(jì)條規(guī)，首先就必須有一個(gè)在理論上合理、明智和可理解的概念基礎(chǔ)，以便所有參與者都能在其中找到指南。這一點(diǎn)，國(guó)際會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則理事會(huì)業(yè)已實(shí)現(xiàn)。規(guī)則不可能囊括一切如果規(guī)則能夠無(wú)所不包，那就不需要很多會(huì)計(jì)師了，帶有決策樹(shù)的計(jì)算機(jī)就可解決一切問(wèn)題。幸運(yùn)的是，無(wú)人熱衷于此。但是，這樣一個(gè)假設(shè)性問(wèn)題觸及了一個(gè)關(guān)鍵點(diǎn)：要有多少詳細(xì)的規(guī)則才算過(guò)多呢？如果制定規(guī)則的目標(biāo)是要徹底消除非可比性，這就是一個(gè)白日夢(mèng)，根本無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)。非常詳細(xì)的規(guī)則，其結(jié)果只能導(dǎo)致靈活變通的處理和業(yè)務(wù)的結(jié)構(gòu)化設(shè)計(jì)，而且實(shí)體總能實(shí)現(xiàn)自己的目的，試想一下現(xiàn)行租賃會(huì)計(jì)中的89.9%對(duì)90%這種情況就夠了。如果你再制定一個(gè)詳細(xì)規(guī)則應(yīng)對(duì)它，這個(gè)新規(guī)則又會(huì)變成另外一個(gè)靈活操作的機(jī)會(huì)。何處才是終點(diǎn)呢？記得“衍生金融工具應(yīng)用小組”曾經(jīng)制定了條分縷析、吹毛求疵般多達(dá)幾百頁(yè)的規(guī)則。問(wèn)題的關(guān)鍵點(diǎn)是，這些詳細(xì)的規(guī)則并不能回答所有的問(wèn)題。當(dāng)詳細(xì)規(guī)則不能解決問(wèn)題的時(shí)候，職業(yè)判斷就必然登場(chǎng)亮相、發(fā)揮作用。而且不要忘記，規(guī)則并不能阻止精心策劃的不良行為。過(guò)去15年發(fā)生的一些規(guī)模最大的財(cái)務(wù)會(huì)計(jì)舞弊，就包括了某些邊緣性的、模棱兩可的交易，因而它們也成為照本宣科地處理但又技術(shù)合規(guī)的典型案例。另外，如果從事不良行為的心態(tài)是“如果你有能力就阻止我啊”，那規(guī)則怎么說(shuō)也真的無(wú)關(guān)緊要了。我并不是說(shuō)詳細(xì)規(guī)則絕無(wú)必要，我的意思是：在通常情況下，不能依靠詳細(xì)的規(guī)則一貫地實(shí)現(xiàn)其目標(biāo)，規(guī)則經(jīng)常被自身的繁文縟節(jié)掩沒(méi)。因此，強(qiáng)有力的概念框架是恰當(dāng)?shù)钠瘘c(diǎn)，詳細(xì)的規(guī)則通常會(huì)迷失總體目標(biāo)。那么，制定和實(shí)施原則導(dǎo)向會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則從而產(chǎn)生可比結(jié)果的前行路徑在哪里呢？我認(rèn)為，在以下三個(gè)相互關(guān)聯(lián)的步驟中會(huì)找到答案：會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則的表達(dá)方式、尊重職業(yè)判斷以及理解財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表主要使用者最重要的需求。以下分別論述之。制定準(zhǔn)則時(shí)應(yīng)清晰地表達(dá)會(huì)計(jì)處理的目標(biāo)這個(gè)問(wèn)題似乎顯而易見(jiàn)，但說(shuō)起來(lái)容易做起來(lái)難。我將以雇員股票期權(quán)費(fèi)用化為例證明這一點(diǎn)，因?yàn)檫@種復(fù)雜性和現(xiàn)行要求尚屬新鮮事物。我們可以簡(jiǎn)單地提出這樣的要求：“雇員股票期權(quán)應(yīng)在獲得期間內(nèi)計(jì)入費(fèi)用”，盡管這是一條原則，但圍繞它需要開(kāi)展大量的制定工作。為了對(duì)準(zhǔn)則規(guī)范范圍內(nèi)的交易進(jìn)行恰當(dāng)?shù)臅?huì)計(jì)處理，財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表編報(bào)者至少應(yīng)該獲得計(jì)量、確認(rèn)、列報(bào)和披露方面清晰的、反映準(zhǔn)則制定者意圖的指南。這四個(gè)方面恰恰是概念框架的四根支柱。以權(quán)益結(jié)算的雇員股票期權(quán)獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)在授予日的會(huì)計(jì)處理方法，假定按如下方式表述：雇員股票期權(quán)獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)應(yīng)以授予日的公允價(jià)值計(jì)價(jià)。該公允價(jià)值應(yīng)在授予日至行權(quán)日期間，以直線基礎(chǔ)確認(rèn)為一項(xiàng)費(fèi)用和一項(xiàng)負(fù)債。在取消、行權(quán)或期滿三者中的最早日期