The Chinese Characteristics Of Accounting And The Truthfulness Of Accounting Information

The study of accounting problems with Chinese characteristics is inseparable from international and domestic development.

Based on the research and Reflection on the related issues in the political and economic life in recent years, this paper draws some views on the Chinese characteristics of accounting and the authenticity of accounting information.

It is the goal of accounting theory research proposed by the Chinese accounting society to establish the accounting theory and method system with Chinese characteristics. 1.

The accounting theory and method system with Chinese characteristics was held by the Chinese Accounting Association. After its first seminar in Changsha in December 1999, the Specialized Committee held second seminars in late 2000.

So far, there are still different views on whether China's accounting has its own characteristics and whether there are "accounting theory and methodology system with Chinese characteristics".

Some people are in favour of it.

Many people believe that China's accounting backwardness should not be regarded as a Chinese characteristic.

Some people believe that China can only copy the model of developed countries.

After 2 years, 15 years after the publication of the sixth series of financial accounting concept announcements, the US financial accounting standards board (FASB) issued seventh sets of Statement of Fianncial Accounting Concepts No.7 (SFAC7) in February 11, 2000.

The international accounting standards board (IASC) has listed its "discount" (Discounting) as the "Present Value" project since April 1998. After more than two years of research, it is expected to issue an outline of the present value question (Issues Paper) in the near future.

At least 6 of the 10 specific accounting standards issued in China now involve cash flow and its present value.

However, in our guidelines, it is stipulated that the present value should not be adopted for the time being.

In 3 and June 21, 2000, Premier Zhu Rongji issued the enterprise financial accounting report Ordinance in the form of 287 order of the State Council, which was implemented in January 1, 2001.

It systematically standardizes the major aspects of the composition, compilation, external supply and legal liability of financial accounting reports.

As the supporting laws and regulations of the accounting law, as the accounting law, the purpose of the regulation is to improve the truthfulness of financial accounting reports. Its publication and implementation is known as "a major move to improve the quality of information in enterprise financial accounting reports".

Among them, in order to achieve the purpose of improving accounting information authenticity, the regulations focus on Revising the definition of the six accounting elements in the enterprise accounting standards, emphasizing the importance of the basic characteristics of the assets (liabilities) that the future economic interest may flow into (out) enterprises in the definition of assets (liabilities).

In 4 and from October 9 to 11, 2000, the Communist Party of China deliberated and adopted the proposal of the CPC Central Committee on formulating the Tenth Five Year Plan for national economic and social development in the fifth Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee.

The meeting stressed that the goal of formulating and successfully implementing the "fifteen" plan must take development as the theme, structural adjustment as the main line, and reform and opening up and scientific and technological progress as the driving force, and improve the people's living standards as the fundamental starting point.

Two, 1, Chinese accounting must be distinctive, and this feature will always exist.

Because the characteristics of accounting in different countries are determined by the characteristics of their environment. The accounting environment of different countries is different and will never be the same.

However, the environment of different countries will change, so accountants in different countries have different characteristics at different stages.

Characteristic is a dynamic concept.

What can be called characteristic at one stage may no longer be characteristic at other stages.

The environment of countries will never be exactly the same, but it may become more and more similar in some aspects (such as market economy system), that is to say, the characteristics of accounting will be less and less, but it will never disappear completely.

2, to study the Chinese characteristics of accounting, we must emphasize the fast developing perspective.

Research on the issue of Chinese characteristics of accounting should be based on macroscopic rather than microscopic level. It should be examined from the whole society rather than from specific methods. (Liu Yuting, 2000), but this is far from enough.

Because what I see is only the accounting characteristics of China up to now (such as the absolute influence of government action), and can not see the accounting characteristics of China in the near future (such as the continuous expansion of market behavior and the shrinking of government behavior). This is not conducive to the development of Chinese accounting, nor is it the original intention of establishing and improving the accounting theory and method system with Chinese characteristics.

Therefore, we must also study the Chinese characteristics of accounting with a fast developing perspective. This is even more true today when we enter the Tenth Five Year Plan of national economic and social development.

Because development is the absolute principle and the key to solving all the problems in China.

Facing the trend of economic globalization, the rapid development of the science and technology revolution, the quickening pace of industrial restructuring, and the new situation of international competition becoming more intense, facing the arduous task of domestic modernization and solving the contradictions and problems existing in economic and social life, we must maintain a relatively fast development speed.

"Promoting industrialization with information technology, giving full play to the advantages of late development and realizing the leaping development of social productive forces".

The CPC Central Committee's deliberation and approval of the Tenth Five Year Plan for national economic and social development, which was deliberated and adopted by the CPC in the fifth Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee, is also a guiding document for our study of Chinese characteristics and other accounting issues.

Rapid development will lead to rapid marketization and internationalization, which means that the present value (the important part of fair value) measurement will soon be available in China.

As an accounting theorists, the current task is to think about China's accounting problems in a fast developing or even leaping way. It is necessary to sum up the past and the present (it is necessary), and also to see the future.

That is to say, rapid development also means the foresight of research. Only in this way can theory guide practice without dragging behind the practice.

Although forward-looking and advanced are not the same concept, they are not completely mutually exclusive concepts.

So long as the foresight of our research is to adapt to the rapid development of the situation and adapt to the process of improving China's market economic system, such foresight can also be advanced.

Secondly, we can also study the Chinese characteristics of accounting from the micro level, which can at least become a method of studying Chinese characteristics of accounting.

Because even the developed market economy countries are different in many specific ways.

Otherwise, the International (other) accounting research is less "half of the world", "Chinese characteristics of the accounting theory and method system" will not be true.

As an accounting standard setting body, in the next 5 to 10 years, we should take development as the theme, take the development of accounting standards as the main line, take reform and opening up and scientific and technological progress as the driving force, and provide high-quality accounting information as the starting point.

3, the authenticity of accounting information (a manifestation of reliability) and the correlation are interrelated and mutually pformed. There is no contradiction between the two.

Indeed, some accounting information is more authentic (such as the historical cost of assets), and some accounting information is more relevant (such as the current cost of assets); some accounting information has more truthfulness characteristics on the surface, but in fact more related characteristics (such as the amount of assets calculated according to the above new regulations), some accounting information is more relevant on the surface, but in fact, it has more real characteristics (such as present value and fair value).

The purpose of the State Council's promulgation of the regulations on enterprise financial accounting report is to improve the authenticity of financial accounting reports.

To this end, the Ordinance redefines the six accounting elements in the enterprise accounting standards and standardizes the object of providing financial accounting reports.

Although the regulation does not emphasize the relevance of accounting information on the surface, it can be seen from the lines that it is mainly aimed at improving the relevance of accounting information.

The equipment that has been eliminated or idle for a long time is a material reality in the current space and time sense, but it can not bring "expected future economic benefits", so it is not a kind of economic reality in the future space and time sense.

Eliminating such equipment from assets makes accounting information both predict value and feedback value at the same time, that is, it has relevance.

It improves authenticity by providing relevance.

No current value, $1000 cash flow due tomorrow and $1000 cash flow after 10 years do not appear to have material differences, but there are economic differences.

The purpose of present value measurement is to reflect the economic differences between a group of future cash flows as far as possible, so as to provide more relevant information for economic decision making.

On the surface, the present value measurement is to pursue the relevance of accounting information, but in fact, it first aims at pursuing the economic authenticity of accounting information.

It improves relevance by providing authenticity.

Therefore, we should not give people a misunderstanding that we only guarantee the authenticity of accounting information and do not guarantee the relevance of accounting information. In fact, we can win a win-win situation.

We believe that the major initiatives, including the revision of the definition of accounting elements, are just the beginning of a series of important measures to be taken urgently. In order to ensure the rationality of the results of accounting information (more reliable and relevant), we must try to achieve the procedural rationality of accounting information, that is, to eliminate the irrationality of the accounting information process determined by the relevant laws and regulations.

There's a lot of work to do here.

For example, at the appropriate time, we should abolish the ban on the present value measurement, which is in conflict with the fair value measurement objectives in accounting standards.

Some people may think that the present value measurement is complex and subjective, because it is necessary to estimate future cash flow and choose discount rate. The definition of assets before and after revision has little change in the complexity and subjectivity of actual measurement.

In fact, the definition of revised assets also adds subjective judgement, not only to estimate whether there is an inflow or outflow of the original economic interest (future cash flow), but also to estimate its specific amount (measurement) and its present value.

It also involves professional judgment and puts forward higher requirements for accountants.

Its emergence has raised the importance of the concept of present value and the possibility of its application in China from another angle.

4, the characteristic of current Chinese accounting is to "renew ideas, seize opportunities and accelerate development".

Although the definitions of FASB and IASC have long been published, it is not easy to be convinced by ourselves.

Although we have been engaged in the socialist market economy for several years, when we are in the conceptual or practical way, we can not accept the things that have been proven mature in the market economy.

In the fifth Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee, we have made clear the steps to improve the socialist market economic system, and we must take a step to a larger extent and deeper level with international economic cooperation and competition as one of the main objectives of China's economic and social development in the "fifteen" period.

We believe that the characteristics of current Chinese accounting, in short, are "updating ideas, seizing opportunities and accelerating development".

For the development of China's accounting standards, only by "updating concepts, seizing opportunities and accelerating development" can we solve the contradictions between the developed market economy background of China's accounting standards which are mainly based on international accounting standards and the development stages of China's market economy.