Bakgrund och problem: En av de konvergerade redovisningsstandarder som finns i IFRS och US GAAP är standarden om rörelseförvärv av bolag. Enligt regelverket får inte goodwillposten innehålla identifierbara materiella eller immateriella tillgångar och den ska endast utgöra en minoritet i förvärvsanalysen. Trots standardiseringar kvarstår skillnader mellan förvärv redovisas i Sverige och USA. Enligt tidigare forskning i Sverige utgör goodwill fortfarande en majoritet i köpeskillingen vilket går emot IFRS rekommendationer. En studie av bolag i USA görs för att jämföra med den svenska undersökningen. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka fördelningen av köpeskillingen vid rörelseförvärv i amerikanska bolag under år 2013. Detta för att se hur fördelningen av köpeskillingen skiljer sig mellan de amerikanska bolagen och tidigare studie av svenska bolag. Metod: Studien utgår från en kvantitativ metod där 80 stycken bolag undersöks. Urval har gjorts från de bolagen med störst börsvärde på Nasdaq. Datan om rörelseförvärv kommer från årsredovisningar från kalenderåret 2013. En kvalitativ forskningsstrategi används sedan med komparativ inriktning för att besvara syftet med studien. Författarna ämnar att tolka och hitta ett mönster för hur fördelningen av köpeskilling skiljer sig. Resultat: Resultatet av undersökningen visar att vissa skillnader finns i fördelningen av köpeskillingen i länderna men skillnaderna är inte markanta. Bolag i USA har en högre andel av immateriella tillgångar än bolag i Sverige. Detta kan förklaras med den hårdare kontrollen från SEC i USA. Med 57 % i immateriella tillgångar och 46 % i goodwill av den totala köpeskillingen kan slutsatsen dras att amerikanska bolag följer rekommendationerna men det är fortfarande en ganska hög andel i goodwill.

Syftet med studien är att tolka två olika intressenters resonemang kring konceptet nedskrivning av goodwill med hänsyn till redovisningens kvalitativa egenskaper och standarden IFRS 3. Studien är genomförd med en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och en itterativ ansats. Det empiriska materialet är insamlat genom fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med två revisorer och två ekonomianalytiker. Vi har kommit fram till att resonemanget kring nedskrivning av goodwill tyder på att de subjektiva bedömningar företagen har fått frihet till, skapar en viss oenighet om hur goodwillvärdet verkligen uppskattas till verkligt värde. Ett resonemang vi misstänker skapar svårigheter för att redovisning skall anses vara tillförlitlig i olika anseenden.

Comparability is a desirable qualitative characteristic of financial information and critical for financial statement users' ability to identify and understand similarities and differences in financial results among reporting entities. Yet, little research explicitly considers either the determinants or benefits of comparability because of difficulty in identifying and measuring the theoretical construct of comparability. Further, the widespread global adoption of IFRS, a relatively homogenous set of accounting standards, is expected to increase comparability among companies that operate in different national jurisdictions. However, prior studies that examine the average impact of mandatory IFRS adoption on comparability find mixed results. I hypothesized that the impact of mandatory IFRS adoption on comparability varies with managers' reporting incentives and differences between countries' domestic standards and IFRS. Using listed firms from 34 countries, I documented that comparability under non-IFRS domestic standards is higher in countries that provide strong reporting incentives (i.e. countries with strict enforcement regimes or high earnings transparency). Additionally, I found an increase in comparability following IFRS adoption (relative to a control sample of non-adopters) in countries that provide strong reporting incentives or with large domestic GAAP-IFRS differences. In contrast, I found evidence of a decrease following IFRS adoption (relative to a control sample of non-adopters) in countries with weak reporting incentives or with small domestic GAAP-IFRS differences. Finally, I showed that changes in comparability surrounding adoption are positively associated with changes in the quality of firms' information environments.

Diploma thesis researches the impacts of methodical processes of showing of leasing contracts of a lessee, which are in programme of convergence discussed by International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board in the USA. Theoretical part of this thesis describes some leasing problems, current and a suggested method of showing leasing of a lessee. Practical part of this thesis focuses on an application of these suggested methodical procedures within some particular leasing contracts. One part of this thesis also contains a view, whether these suggested methodical procedures are suitable for small and medium companies.

This master's thesis deals with leases accounting in different accounting systems -- specifically comparison to czech accounting rules, IFRS for SMEs and US GAAP. The emphasis is put on leases accounting in small and medium-sized enterprises, therefore I was looking for an ideal way how to account leases within SMEs in Czech republic. An important chapter of this thesis is the process of leases accounting harmonization, which still continues and is trying to make the most faithful image of the company. Practical part of this thesis is made via questionnaire and it deals with an attitude of SMEs in Czech republich to implementation of IFRS for SMEs and to leases harmonization between IFRS and US GAAP.

This diploma thesis deals with the amendment of the Standard IAS 17 - Leases, which is result of negotiating between the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board. This thesis is primary focused on the lessee's impact of issues and deals with situation, when the contract contain an element of uncertainty, specifically the possibility of using option for extended or variable payments. First part is devoted to the theoretical information about leasing based on current Standard IAS 17. Second part of this thesis describes the historical background of the Project Leases and explains the new proposal of methodical approach. In the third part there are applied the new knowledges described above and assessed the impact of new methodology to the items appeared in balance sheet and income statement.

The diploma thesis is aimed to explore the issue of the inventory while comparing CAS and IFRS. The section concerning the theory of the issue includes the inventory characteristics, methods of valuation and the accounting of the inventory according to the CAS. The following section of the theory is describing the inventory, its valuation, and showing it in statements according to the IFRS. The section concerning the issue in practice provides information about selected manufacturing concern with determining the inventory. First part includes the analysis of differences between the method used by the accounting entity and methods approved by the IFRS when valuating the consumption of the inventory. In the following part of the section are solved problems of the spare parts accounting in the CAS in comparison with the IFRS. The last part of the section includes the analysis of the sale of their own products at the end of the accounting period relevant to the accounting entity in comparison with the methods the IFRS. Each chapter provides some suggestions or solutions to should achieve the true and fair view of the company's accountancy.

Cette thèse contient trois essais distincts sur la publication d’information sectorielle que les entreprises européennes ayant plusieurs secteurs opérationnels effectuent en vertu des IFRS 8 Secteurs Opérationnels. Chaque essai vise à améliorer notre compréhension collective sur la politique de communication financière des cadres dirigeants en examinant diverses caractéristiques des informations sectorielles. Le chapitre I, “L’interaction entre la qualité et la quantité des publications sur l’information sectorielle” examine le choix des cadres dirigeants à l'égard de la quantité et de la qualité, ainsi que l’utilité de ces deux caractéristiques pour les analystes financiers. J’utilise le nombre de segments opérationnels publiés comme mesure quantitative et la variation inter-sectorielle de la profitabilité comme mesure qualitative et soutiens que plus de pouvoir discrétionnaire peut être exercé par les dirigeants sur la qualité que sur la quantité. Je trouve que les cadres dirigeants résolvent les préoccupations liées aux renseignements commerciaux de nature exclusive soit en déviant de a quantité recommandée par la norme, ou, lorsqu’ils suivent la norme, en réduisant la qualité de l’information sectorielle. Les analystes financiers n’apprécient pas toujours la qualité de l’information sectorielle, ce qui suggère que le modèle business crée des difficultés même pour des utilisateurs avertis. Mes résultats informent les normalisateurs lorsque ceux-ci initient le développement d’un nouveau cadre conceptuel et lorsqu’ils semblent envisager l’approche du modèle business pour le reporting. Le chapitre II s'intitule «La non-conformité des secteurs opérationnels à travers des documents d'entreprise. » Les régulateurs de marché examinent des cas de présentations lorsqu'une entreprise fournit des informations différentes sur le même sujet dans différents documents. En mettant l’accent sur les secteurs opérationnels, cet essai utilise des données recueillies manuellement auprès de quatre documents d’entreprise afin d'analyser l'impact de la publication d’information non-conforme sur l’exactitude des prévisions de résultat des analystes financiers. La non-conformité qui découle de la déségrégation supplémentaire des secteurs semble introduire de nouveautés et contribue à l’exactitude des prévisions. La publication des segmentations difficilement réconciliables entraine une exactitude réduite des prévisions. Ces résultats contribuent à notre compréhension des effets de la politique de communication des dirigeants à travers plusieurs documents et ont des répercussions sur le travail les régulateurs. Le chapitre III s'intitule « Prévisions managériales au niveau sectoriel. » Je considère les prévisions au niveau sectoriel (PNS) comme un type d'information désagrégé que les entreprises fournissent ensemble avec leur stratégie de gestion. J’examine l’utilité de cette information pour l’exactitude des prévisions de résultat par les analystes ainsi que l’impact de cette information sur la manipulation du résultat. Je constate que les entreprises de haute technologie réputées pour l’incertitude supplémentaire liée à profitabilité sont moins susceptibles de fournir des PNS et que le PNS est associé à une prévision améliorée. Cependant, alors que la communication de davantage de PNS désagrégé par secteur a tendance à améliorer la précision, plus de précision ne semble pas avoir d’importance. Du point de vue des cadres dirigeants, les PNS les incitent à manipuler le résultat comptable, mais le PNS désagrégé par poste semble décourager la manipulation, fort probablement due à une surveillance supplémentaire. Dans un contexte où une orientation narrative et désagrégée est considérée comme la solution pour empêcher la vision à court terme, comprendre quel type d'information permet d’atteindre cet objectif, et de quelle manière, est tout autant pertinent pour les cadres dirigeants, les investisseurs et les régulateurs. / This thesis contains three stand-alone essays on the operating segment disclosures that European multi-segment companies make under IFRS 8 Operating Segments. Each essay aims to improve our collective understanding about managers’ disclosure strategy by examining various characteristics of operating segment disclosure. Chapter I, entitled “The Interplay between Segment Disclosure Quantity and Quality,” investigates managers’ choices with respect to both disclosure quantity and disclosure quality, and the usefulness of these two characteristics for financial analysts. Focusing on segment disclosures under the management approach, I measure quantity as the number of segment-level line items and quality as the cross-segment variation in profitability, and argue that greater managerial discretion can be exercised over quality than over quantity. I hypothesize and find that managers solve proprietary concerns either by deviating from the suggested line-item disclosure in the standard, or if following standard guidance, by decreasing segment reporting quality. Moreover, financial analysts do not always understand the quality of segment disclosures, which suggests that a business-model type of standard creates difficulties even for sophisticated users. My results inform standard setters as they start working on a disclosure framework and as they seem to consider the business model approach to financial reporting. Chapter II is entitled “Inconsistent Segment Disclosure across Corporate Documents.” Market regulators in the U.S. and Europe investigate cases of inconsistent disclosures when a company provides different information on the same topic in different documents. Focusing on operating segments, this essay uses hand-collected data from four different corporate documents of multi-segment firms to analyze the impact of inconsistent disclosure on financial analysts’ earnings forecast accuracy. Inconsistencies that arise from further disaggregation of operating segments in some documents seem to bring in new information and increase analyst accuracy. However, when analysts must work with different, difficult-to-reconcile segmentations, their information processing capacity and forecasts are less accurate. These findings contribute to our understanding of the effects of managers’ disclosure strategy across multiple documents and have implications for regulators and standard setters’ work on a disclosure framework. Chapter III is entitled “Management Guidance at the Segment Level.” Prior research has found that managers add information to their earnings guidance to justify, explain, or contextualize their forecasts. I identify segment-level guidance (SLG) as a type of disaggregated information that multi-segment firms provide with their management guidance, and investigate its usefulness for financial analysts’ earnings forecasting accuracy, as well as its influence on managers’ earnings fixation. I further characterize the level of precision (point and range, maximum or minimum estimate, or simply narrative) and of disaggregation of SLG. I find that companies in high tech industries known for increased uncertainty in future performance are less likely to provide SLG, and that SLG is associated with better forecasting accuracy. However, while providing more item-disaggregated SLG improves accuracy, increased precision has no impact on forecast accuracy. From the manager’s point of view, SLG creates incentives to engage in earnings management, and the more precise the SLG is the greater the incentive. In contrast, more item-disaggregated SLG discourages earnings management, perhaps by improving monitoring. In a context where qualitative, narrative, and disaggregated guidance is regarded as a solution to avoid earnings fixation and short termism, understanding which types of information achieve this goal, and how, is relevant for managers, investors, and regulators alike.

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