Published Article / The financial crisis of the 21st century arising from the credit and sub-prime crisis has resulted in the accounting for financial instruments being placed under intense scrutiny. In reaction to this, the International Accounting Standards Board commenced a comprehensive review of financial instruments and the related accounting standards. This article analyses the disclosure of financial instruments by performing a literature review of the principles underlying financial instruments disclosure, followed by an empirical study of the current practices of the disclosure of financial instruments by selected companies on the JSE Limited. This article indicates that in certain aspects of the disclosure practices related to financial instruments, the "through the eyes of management" approach is not followed in the companies selected - a principle established in International Financial Reporting Standard 7 (IFRS 7).

The development of the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) was based on the demand for a more simplified financial reporting standard, compared to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Despite simplifications, the requirements of the IFRS for SMEs are still regarded complex and costly to apply, especially for micro entities in developing countries such as Namibia. Consequently, there is a need to further simplify financial reporting requirements for micro entities in the form of a third-tier financial reporting standard. A third-tier standard can take the form of either a separately developed standard or a simplification of existing standard(s). There are more advantages to the development of a standard based on existing standard(s), taking into account the Namibian financial reporting environment. It is therefore recommended that Namibia develop a third-tier standard based on the IFRS for SMEs. / Financial Accounting / M. Phil. (Accounting Science)

Forskning och utveckling utgör den största posten bland egenupparbetade immateriella tillgångar. Inom bara Europa uppgick läkemedelsföretagens investeringar inom forskning och utveckling till 37 500 miljoner euro. Hur dessa utgifter ska redovisas har länge varit uppe för diskussion. Det finns två möjliga sätt att redovisa utgifter för forskning och utveckling. Antingen kostnadsförs utgifterna direkt i resultaträkningen eller så aktiveras utgifterna till immateriella tillgångar i balansräkningen. Aktivering förutsätter dock att vissa kriterier enligt IAS 38 är uppfyllda.  Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur skillnaderna mellan de olika redovisningsmetoderna för forskning och utveckling påverkar företagets långivare och investerare. Vidare syftar även studien till att undersöka vilken redovisningsmetod som är mest fördelaktigt för långivare och investerare. Detta har undersökts genom konstruerade typfall där IAS 38 och K3-regelverket för egenupparbetade immateriella tillgångar har tillämpats. Empirin från typfallen har analyserats utifrån relevanta nyckeltal, positiv redovisningsteori och redovisningens kvalitativa egenskaper.  Resultatet av studien visar att vald redovisningsmetod ger endast en liten påverkan på företagens finansiella ställning. Företag som tillämpar standarderna utgivna av IASB erfordras fler krav på antal upplysningar. Vid tidpunkten då ett projekt befinner sig i utvecklingsfasen har företaget kontroll över en resurs som kommer att inbringa framtida kassaflöden. Därför blir slutsatsen att IAS 38 bör tillämpas. Denna standard ger en mer rättvisande bild och speglar verkligheten bättre samt höjer kvalitén på de finansiella rapporterna. / Research and development constitutes the largest post among internally generated intangible assets. Investment in research and development among the pharmaceutical industry amounted to 37 500 million euros, solely in Europe. How these expenditures should be accounted for has been subjected to debate for a long time. Accounting for research and development is made feasible through two methods. The company can either classify the research and development expenses as any expenditure on the income statement or capitalize the internally generated assets on the balance sheet. However, according to IAS 38 companies are required to meet certain criteria before capitalizing the assets. The purpose of the study was to examine how the discrepancies between these accounting methods affected the company’s creditors and investors. Furthermore, the study aims to examine which accounting methods are most advantageous for the creditors and investors. The study has been executed through self-constructed cases where IAS 38 and K3 framework have been practiced. The empirical results from the cases have been analyzed with regards to relevant key figures, positive accounting theory, prudence concept and accounting qualitative characteristics. The result from the study demonstrated that accounting methods have little to no effect on the financial statements. Financial statements are affected marginally regardless of the chosen method. The results concluded that compliance with IAS 38 issued by IASB offers a fair presentation of the financials, which subsequently reflects the reality better as well as heightens the quality of the financial statements and shall therefore be practiced.