I. Changes in the new accounting standards
(a) Changes in basic norms
Among the basic standards, the most striking change is the introduction of fair value. Under fair value measurement, assets and liabilities are measured according to the amount of assets exchange or debt settlement voluntarily conducted by both parties familiar with the situation in fair trade. Fair value method is one of the methods of asset appraisal, and other methods include historical cost method, replacement cost method, realizable present value method and present value method. According to the fair value method, the evaluation of assets is "voluntary by both parties who are familiar with the situation", so there may be a large room for profit manipulation. In addition, domestic appraisal agencies lack experience in fair value, so there may be some difficulties in actual operation.
In some western developed countries, fair value has been widely used, so the introduction of fair value in China is an important symbol of domestic accounting standards in line with international standards. In order to prevent the abuse of fair value and profit manipulation, the standard stipulates the premise of fair value, that is, fair value should be "reliably measured".
(b) Reserve for depreciation variation
According to the new accounting standards, "inventory depreciation reserve", "fixed assets depreciation reserve", "construction in progress depreciation reserve" and "intangible assets depreciation reserve" cannot be reversed after being withdrawn from 2007, and can only be accounted for after the relevant assets are disposed of.
When profits rise, more depreciation is accrued; When the profit drops, the price reduction preparation will rush back. This is one of the means for listed companies to adjust their profits. After the change of accounting standards, listed companies cannot rush back to the above preparations.
(C) the reform of debt restructuring methods
In the new accounting standards, debt restructuring will stipulate that the benefits obtained by the debtor due to the concessions of creditors are directly included in the current income and entered the income statement. Originally included in the capital reserve; The introduction of fair value, in physical debt, will be measured at fair value. Therefore, once some companies unable to repay their debts are exempted in whole or in part, their earnings will be directly reflected in the current income statement, which may greatly increase the earnings per share (EPS).
Equity incentive
Under the new accounting standards, the incentive mechanism has a negative impact on the current profits.
Recently, the draft of "share-based payment" was released, and the Ministry of Finance adopted international accounting standards and American accounting treatment methods, and adopted the fair value method to calculate the option cost, which had a negative impact on the performance of companies that implemented equity incentives.
For example, according to the new accounting standards, the total share capital of Company A is 65,438+00,000 shares, and the market price is 2 yuan, and 65,438+000 call options are issued to the management at the subscription price of 65,438+0 yuan. According to the option pricing model, its subscription option price is 1.5 yuan. Therefore, the company must list the expenses of100x1.5 =150 yuan in the income statement, and accordingly reduce the earnings per share by 0.0 15 yuan. Moreover, the above expenses are not deductible.
(v) Inventory management reform
Under the new accounting standards, the change of inventory management mode may have a certain impact on companies that adopt "LIFO" mode and companies with long production cycle.
In the new inventory accounting method, the "last in first out" method is cancelled and the "first in first out" method is adopted for accounting. For companies that used to adopt "last in, first out", large inventory and low turnover rate will cause abnormal fluctuations in gross profit margin and profit.
For example, in the process of falling raw material prices, once the electrical equipment company adopts the "LIFO" method, the cost will rise sharply, the gross profit margin will drop rapidly, and the current profit will drop.
Second, the impact of the new accounting standards on listed companies
(A) some new standards affect corporate profits.
The current standards stipulate that the debt exempted or underpaid in debt restructuring can only be included in capital reserve, while the new standards stipulate that the difference between the book value of the original debt and the fair value actually paid when repaying the debt with cash or non-cash assets or debt-to-equity swaps is recognized as the income from debt restructuring and included in the current profit and loss.
The accounting method of inventory has also been adjusted in the new standard. The "LIFO method" has been cancelled, and all enterprises should adopt the LIFO method. For enterprises that originally adopted the "LIFO method", the conversion of accounting methods will at least cause fluctuations in gross profit margin. The specific impact depends on factors such as inventory turnover and fluctuation of raw material prices.
(B) reduce the choice of accounting estimates and accounting policies.
The new accounting standards reduce the choice of accounting estimation and accounting policies, limit the spatial scope of enterprise profit adjustment, standardize and control artificial manipulation of profits, whitewash business performance and improve the quality of accounting information.
First, the "last-in, first-out method" was abolished and the "first-in, first-out method" was adopted. The choice of inventory valuation method will have a great impact on the current profit. When the inventory price rises, the LIFO method will increase the current cost and decrease the current profit; Using the first-in first-out method, the current cost of the enterprise is reduced and the profit is increased. When inventory prices fall, the effect is the opposite. In the past, enterprises can adjust the current profit level by changing the valuation method of inventory. Because LIFO method can't truly reflect the circulation of inventory, the new standard is in line with international standards and the LIFO inventory pricing method is cancelled. The change of this criterion will make it impossible for enterprises to change the inventory valuation method as a means of profit adjustment, so that the inventory of enterprises can truly reflect the actual historical cost and reduce the factors of human manipulation.
Second, the provision for asset impairment cannot be reversed, and accounting treatment is only allowed when assets are disposed of. It is a common means for enterprises to manipulate profits by withdrawing and turning back assets impairment reserves. During the loss accounting period, the enterprise can reduce the current expenses and increase the current profits by reversing the asset impairment reserves accrued in the previous period; In the profit accounting period, reverse manipulation is carried out, and the impairment reserve is greatly accrued, so as to increase the current expenses and reduce the current profits, so as to turn back when the profits fall in the future period.
(3) Restrain related party manipulation
Related party manipulation is one of the ways for enterprises to manage earnings, and the inhibitory effect of the new accounting standards is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
First, increase the disclosure of related party transactions. In profit manipulation, enterprises often tend to use unfair related party transactions to transfer profits from one party to the other, so as to achieve the purpose of manipulating profits. According to the principle that substance is more important than form, the new standard clearly expands the definition of related party, including a series of three categories that have control over the enterprise, * * jointly control and have great influence. And whether related party transactions occur or not, related party enterprises with control relationship should disclose the parent-subsidiary relationship in the notes to the statements, and clearly point out that the levels to be disclosed specifically include the parent company, the ultimate controller and the lowest intermediate holding company that provides financial statements to the public. In addition, when the related party has a transaction, the disclosure option of the amount or proportion is cancelled, and the enterprise is required to disclose the transaction amount. For major transactions, both the transaction amount and the proportion of the transaction amount to the total transaction amount should be disclosed; Require the disclosure of detailed information and amount of unsettled items; It is emphasized that only when sufficient evidence is provided can an enterprise disclose that related party transactions adopt the same terms as fair trade. On the one hand, the new standards increase the scope and content of related party transactions disclosure; On the other hand, it clarifies and concretizes the previous general requirements and enhances the transparency of related party transactions.
The second is to expand the scope of consolidated statements. The new standard stipulates that all subsidiaries that can be controlled by the parent company should be included in the scope of consolidated statements, and the equity ratio should not be used as a measure. In addition, the new standards stipulate that the types of consolidated financial statements include consolidated balance sheet, consolidated income statement and consolidated profit distribution statement as stipulated in the old standards, as well as consolidated cash flow statement, consolidated statement of changes in owners' equity and notes, among which the standardization of consolidated cash flow statement timely and effectively fills the theoretical gap in current practice. The change of this rule follows the substantive accounting principle, so that the consolidated statement truly reflects the operating results and financial status information of the enterprise group composed of the parent company and subsidiaries, and blocks the usual tricks of some enterprises to split several subsidiaries, reduce the shareholding ratio and exclude businesses with poor operating conditions from the scope of consolidation, thus whitewashing the overall performance of the enterprise group.
To sum up, compared with the existing 17 accounting standards, the new accounting standards system consists of a basic standard and 38 specific standards, and its standardized transactions and matters are more comprehensive. The new accounting standards were first implemented in listed companies, but the scope of application is still different from that of international financial reporting standards. Except for a few matters, the new accounting standards system has achieved convergence with international financial reporting standards. Obviously, the new accounting standards will improve the quality of accounting information, have an important impact on listed companies, and also provide useful help for accounting information users.