The globalization of world economy has inevitably affected also the movements in harmonization process of accounting standards around the world. International Financial Reporting Standards have become the ultimate accounting and reporting tool of most developed countries. The only remaining counterpart -- the US GAAP, is slowly subsiding to the enormous spread momentum that IFRS gained in recent years. In this setting I examine the application of International standards on accounting treatment of Property, Plant and Equipment, and also the Intangible Assets. Subsequently I compare this treatment to US GAAP and document all major differences still persistent at the end of year 2008. Considering that there are still many divergences between the two sets of standards, I try to document their impact on the reporting and presentation of financial statements of several blue chip companies. My analysis suggests that differences in reported numbers depending on standards chosen can distort comparability of financial statements and performance assessment, thus potentially biasing the decision making process of involved stakeholders.

This master thesis deals with intangible results of research and development with a focus on the ICT sector from the perspective of two world-scale systems IFRS and US GAAP and their comparison with the Czech accounting standards. The introductory section focuses on the general definition of research and development by the FRASCATI manual, the macroeconomic dimension of ICT sector and ICT project life cycle, as defined by methodology MMDIS. It follows the part that deals with the specific definition of intangible results of research and development in IFRS, US GAAP and Czech accounting standards whose differences are indicated by the subsequent chapter. At the end of the thesis it deals with the examination of the relationship between the reported costs of research and development and the market price of the shares of specific companies listed on the NASDAQ comparing two methods - the date of the financial statements release and analysis of the annual changes.

This diploma thesis is focused on new standard IFRS 16 Leases and on new US GAAP codification ASC 842 Leases. It compares basic principles from old and new regulation. In the second part it analyzes impacts of transition to new accounting rules through comparing real accounting statements of three companies, issued in compliance with IAS 17 or ASC 840, with statements adjusted for impacts of new accounting standards.

The thesis focuses on the issue of the comprehensive income statement which has been recently included into the financial statements set of IFRS, following the example of US GAAP. In the theoretical part there are outlined various factors which influence the reporting of the comprehensive income and the final form of the statement. The thesis particularly compares reporting of the comprehensive income according to US GAAP and IFRS. In the practical part, the difference is shown on the example of two companies, each reporting in accordance with mentioned accounting systems.

This thesis examines the influence of financial reporting on present and potencial investors and creditors, in the context of the comparison of requirements and accounting policies applied by national regulations and U. S. GAAP. The comparison is done in the framework of the conversion of financial statements which is essensial for Czech companies simultaneously following different accounting principles. The theoretical part is devoted to examining the influence and role of financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting regulations and U. S. accounting standards, with a more detailed analysis of selected accounting areas of. Attention is also paid to the conversion process, possibilities of its implementation as well as limitations and problems associated with it. Based on the teoretical part the analysis of the conversion process is done on the example of a particular company.

The thesis deals with comparison of financial statements based on IFRS and CZ GAAP. In the theoretical part fundamental principles of both accounting systems are described and typical differencies between IFRS and CZ GAAP are specified. In the practical part financial statements of a chosen company reporting in both systems are analyzed. Using balance sheet and income statemet analysis both structure of the statements and value of particular items published in the statements are assessed. Analysis of ratio indicators and EVA explains why selected indicators differ depending on chosen accounting system.

U.S. GAAP and the software industry in particular, are on the verge of a major alteration in revenue-recognition accounting standards. The IASB-FASB joint revenue-recognition project is due to be finalized over the next year with the result being a shift from a rules-based set of accounting standards to a principles-based standard. The purpose of this research is to examine financial statement preparers' software revenue-recognition decisions under a principles-based accounting standard compared to a rules-based accounting standard both with and without a personal incentive to maximize revenue. The 2 X 2 between-subjects experiment examines the revenue-recognition judgments and decisions of financial statement preparers involved in applying rules-based standards (U.S. GAAP) and a principles-based standard (IASB-FASB Exposure Draft: Revenue from Contracts with Customers) with and without a personal incentive to maximize revenue. The study included 127 experienced financial statement preparers with an average of 20 years of experience and 82% at a manager/director level or above. The results indicate financial statement preparers applying rules-based standards in a revenue-recognition scenario provide less accurate revenue decisions than when applying a principles-based standard. Moreover, the results did not show that a personal incentive influenced the financial statement preparers in their revenue-recognition decisions. Surprisingly, in the rules-based and principles-based scenarios where a personal incentive was not present, the arithmetic mean recommended revenue amounts were higher. In providing the amount of judgment required to determine the revenue to be recognized, there was not a statistically significant difference in the amount of judgment required between subjects applying rules-based standards and subjects applying principles-based standards. The arithmetic means for rules-based subjects and principles-based indicated some judgment however not significant judgment was required. This is interesting to note as so few subjects correctly answered the revenue amount and neglected to fully apply the guidance.

The goal of the thesis Reporting of intangible assets in different accounting systems is to draw substantial differences and the implications of the application to an entity based on the analysis of methods keeping the records of long-term intangible assets within the frame of the Czech legislation, International Accounting Standards and American Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The thesis is focused especially on software and research and development. The differences are then displayed in practical examples of selected companies and also supplemented with calculated indicators of the financial analysis.

The aim of this diploma thesis is based on the analysis of the changes in the reporting of leasing, which is caused by changes in International financial reporting standards identify and quantify the effects of these changes on the financial position and productivity of selected companies. The thesis also identifies significant changes and reasons which led to the introduction of IFRS 16, farther compare of IFRS 16 with IAS 17 and US GAAP 842. In the application section, based on the analysis of the impacts on the financial statements caused by accounting leases according to the new rules and comparing them with the financial statements which was prepared under the old rules, identify significant changes in the financial analysis on selected companies and classify the potential impact on the financial position and productivity of businesses. On the basis of the results of the diploma thesis, two research questions are answered. These research questions determine whether changes in the reporting of operating leases will lead to the presentation of the financial situation and the productivity of the business, which will be more realistic and result in greater comparability of the reports.

To supplement earnings reported under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), public companies often voluntarily report alternative measures of earnings called non-GAAP earnings (NGE). These companies assert that NGE exclude the effect of non-recurring transactions, thereby helping users of financial information to better assess the company's past performance and prospects. Because NGE measures are not well defined, managers can exploit the inherent discretion in calculating NGE to mislead users. Prior studies provide arguments and evidence on the informative as well as opportunistic use of NGE. However, the studies have examined the characteristics and informativeness of NGE with a focus on U.S. companies. The results of studies that consider the NGE disclosure by U.S. companies may not be generalizable to the cross-listed companies because foreign financial reporting standards are different from the U.S. GAAP. Further, prior studies report a difference in earnings quality of U.S. firms and cross-listed firms, which can also result in a difference in the informativeness of their NGE. To fill this gap in literature, I examine whether the informativeness of NGE of cross-listed companies is different from that of U.S. companies. This study contributes to the debate on the informativeness of NGE. It provides evidence that in general, NGE are equally informative for U.S. and foreign companies but foreign companies are more opportunistic in excluding recurring items from NGE. The results of this study are of potential interest to investors, regulators, and academics who are interested in and interact with cross-listed companies.