The objective of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is to provide useful information to the users of financial statements to assist in making economic decisions. To be useful, information has to be relevant and reliable, but the reliability of information suffers when the guidelines for the reporting of specific issues are not clear and managerial discretion arises. Write-offs are one of those accounting issues that are regularly related to earnings management. By now it is seen as common knowledge that write-offs, especially those on goodwill, do not reflect declines in asset value; rather, they are used as a device to manipulate financial reports. However, there is a striking lack of grounded theoretical research that can confirm this assessment. The aim of this dissertation is to provide valuable analytical and empirical insights on fixed asset write-offs under IFRS. In a first step, the practical implementation of IAS 36 in Europe has to be analyzed, which is best done empirically. Based on the findings from these empirical surveys, the most substantial questions remaining are subject to an in-depth analytical discussion. Since IAS 36 entails different measurement issues that have their origins in finance theory, this dissertation also aims to introduce some basic techniques from theoretical finance to accounting research. Lastly, as the analyses presented in this dissertation do not cover all open questions on fixed asset write-offs, the author hopes to encourage further research on this important topic.

The objective of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is to provide useful information to the users of financial statements to assist in making economic decisions. To be useful, information has to be relevant and reliable, but the reliability of information suffers when the guidelines for the reporting of specific issues are not clear and managerial discretion arises. Write-offs are one of those accounting issues that are regularly related to earnings management. By now it is seen as common knowledge that write-offs, especially those on goodwill, do not reflect declines in asset value; rather, they are used as a device to manipulate financial reports. However, there is a striking lack of grounded theoretical research that can confirm this assessment. The aim of this dissertation is to provide valuable analytical and empirical insights on fixed asset write-offs under IFRS. In a first step, the practical implementation of IAS 36 in Europe has to be analyzed, which is best done empirically. Based on the findings from these empirical surveys, the most substantial questions remaining are subject to an in-depth analytical discussion. Since IAS 36 entails different measurement issues that have their origins in finance theory, this dissertation also aims to introduce some basic techniques from theoretical finance to accounting research. Lastly, as the analyses presented in this dissertation do not cover all open questions on fixed asset write-offs, the author hopes to encourage further research on this important topic.:1. Analytical and Empirical Analyses on Fixed Asset Write-Offsffs: An Overview... 1 2. Determinants of the Write-Off Decision under IFRS: Evidence from Germany... 20 3. What Drives Companies? An Analysis of Fixed Asset Write-Offs in Europe in the Context of Different Institutional Settings... 60 4. A Critical Analysis of the Requirements of IAS 36 - A Pre-Tax CAPM?... 134 5. A New Perspective on Fixed Asset Write-Offs - When is Earnings Management Optimal... 166

本研究探討我國於2004年發佈之第35號財務會計準則公報，有關『資產減損之會計處理準則』。35號公報要求企業必須評估公司資產之價值，以避免資產價值之虛列，增加資產價值資訊之透明度。本研究就公開資訊之揭露與資訊透明度的觀點，探討與資產減損有關的三項議題：(1)資產減損之股價反應幅度與公司特質及減損資產類別的關聯性；(2)資產減損對分析師盈餘預測特性之影響；(3)資產減損對本益比之影響。本文之研究結果顯示：(1)對於提前於2004年年報適用的樣本與準時於2005年第一季季報適用的樣本，公司特質變數與股價反應幅度的關聯性有不同；而減損資產類別變數與股價反應幅度則未有顯著之關係；(2)相較於同產業且資產總額接近之未宣告認列資產減損的控制組公司，宣告認列資產減損之公司，其分析師盈餘預測之離散性與預測誤差降低；並且公司揭露認列的減損比率愈大，其分析師間盈餘預測的離散性及預測誤差愈小；(3)在與同產業且資產總額接近之未宣告認列資產減損之控制組公司相較下，宣告認列資產減損之公司，其減損認列後的本益比較減損認列前的期間為高，且認列減損之比率愈大者，其認列減損之後的本益比愈高。這些結果顯示35號公報之公布實施，強制規定公司全面檢視資產或重大投資之潛在未實現損失，將有助於增加資產及盈餘資訊之透明度與穩健性，並提高了分析師對公司盈餘預測能力及市場對公司盈餘資訊之評價。 / This paper studies the effects of the implementation of Statement on Financial Accounting Standards (hereafter, SFAS No. 35) in 2004 on “Accounting for Asset Impairments”. SFAS No. 35 requires that the company has to assess its assets to reflect the potential unrealized losses of assets and improve the transparency of the value of assets in financial statements. From the viewpoints of the disclosure on public information and the transparency of financial statements, this study examines the following three issues related to the asset write-offs: (a) how is the association between the magnitude of market reaction to write-off announcements, firms’ characteristic, and the categories of the asset written-off? (b) what is the impact of asset write-offs on analysts’ forecast dispersion and errors? (c) what is the impact of asset write-offs on price/earnings ratios? The results show that the magnitudes of market reaction in the early adoption samples in 2004 financial statements are different from that in the timely adoption samples in first quarter of 2005’s financial statement. However, The magnitudes of market reactions to the write-off are not significantly associated with categories of asset written-off. Furthermore, compared to control sample of non-adopting firms in the same industry and with similar total assets, the adopting firms have less analysts’ earnings forecast dispersion and errors. And, the larger the asset write-offs, the smaller the analysts’ earnings forecast dispersion and errors. Finally, the adopting firms have larger price/earnings ratios after the asset write-offs than control sample. The larger proportions of asset write-offs to total assets, the larger the price/earnings ratios after the firm the asset write-offs. Accordingly, the above evidence indicates that the reports implementations of SFAS No. 35 improves the transparency and conservatism of assets and earnings information, and to increase the valuations of earnings in the stock market in that the adopting firms are required to evaluate the potential unrealized losses on their long-lived assets and investments.

Claims are special kind of property. They are tangible property, where its owner has limited possibilities of its exploitation. They ae property, which is bailed to another person without compensation. Claims are interest-free commercial credit granted to a debtor. High share of claims in total circulating property can affect negatively on trend of conditions for economic activity. Claims tie sources necessary to acquisition stock needful for production or business activity. In case of irrecoverable claims is possible to reach indirect reduction their evaluation in accounting by way of adjusting items. Claims are the only property, where is creation of adjustment on fulfilment of a condition tax deductible cost. On the limiation of claim do not arise obligation for creditor to eliminate claim from the property. Creditor can willingly decide of elimination of claim anytime. On fulfilment of conditions fixed in the Income Tax Act is junk value of claim tax deductible. When the lawful conditions are not fulfiled, in the case of claim retirement is not the cost incurred by the write-off tax deductible. Here is also the possibility to transfer a debt to another person. In this way is danger of default of payment eliminated. Achievement of claim settlement is also possible by inclusion mutual claims between creditor and debtor.

The goal of this thesis is the individual types of debts characteristic including their control, posting and taxation incidence in a concrete business company. The thesis is divided into some separate chapters. In the first chapter there is described the selected business company making in a branch of production and trade. The second chapter refers to debts posting including tax aspects. It is concentrated on accounting transaction, that are accounted differently in the company by posting said in the theoretical part of the thesis or that occur extra here. From tax aspects it is mentioned not only their posting but also the way and amount of the creation of adjusting items to overdue outstanding debts and write-off. It is also said their impact on economic result and tax base in 2008 here. The last chapter engages debts control. First it is made financial analysis of debts, time test and Marko analysis. Later on it is described the current system of debts control related to business conditions, customers information, safety instruments and recovery of debts.