For a long time, our country has been implementing an undifferentiated accounting information disclosure system, that is, regardless of the size of the enterprise, regardless of the organizational form, regardless of the complexity of its operations, the accounting statements it is required to provide must be The format and content are consistent. This "one size fits all" approach makes my country's accounting standard-setting departments face a dilemma when formulating accounting systems (standards). On the one hand, for listed companies, joint-stock companies and large enterprise groups, since they have basically established relatively complete modern enterprise systems and have many users of accounting information, they require that the accounting systems (standards) formulated be as exhaustive as possible. Integrate with international practices as much as possible and be as comprehensive and detailed as possible; on the other hand, for small and medium-sized enterprises, they need to be as comprehensive and detailed as possible regardless of their size. Neither the management level nor the demand for accounting information can be compared with that of large enterprises. The accounting systems (standards) they require to formulate only need to be able to meet the basic needs of limited information users. They do not need to be as demanding as large enterprises. Meet the needs of numerous shareholders, government departments and other stakeholder groups in the capital market. Therefore, the accounting system of small and medium-sized enterprises should conform to their own actual situation. It should not be overly complicated.
If a compromise approach is adopted, the unified accounting system should not only meet the requirements of large state-owned enterprises, but also take into account the actual situation of small and medium-sized enterprises. On the one hand, this approach makes the accounting information provided by large enterprises unable to fully meet the needs of information users. On the other hand, small business accountants are tired of dealing with a unified system that is very complicated for themselves and pay excessive costs. In response to this situation, after the Ministry of Finance implements the "Enterprise Accounting System" on January 1, 2001, it will formulate and publish an accounting system suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. This article attempts to theoretically analyze the necessity of formulating and implementing accounting systems for small and medium-sized enterprises.
1. Theoretical support for the formulation and implementation of accounting systems for small and medium-sized enterprises
Theoretically, enterprises of different sizes apply accounting systems of different complexity and simplicity, which is in line with basic accounting principles .
1． From the perspective of cost and benefit principles. The provision of accounting information has costs, and this cost mainly includes two aspects: first, the cost of formulating the accounting system; second, the operating cost of the accounting system.
From the perspective of the cost of formulating the accounting system, since my country's current "Enterprise Accounting System" has been formulated and released, the accounting system for small and medium-sized enterprises is different from the current "Enterprise Accounting System" in terms of basic accounting assumptions, basic principles and Most of the differences in the setting of main accounting accounts and the presentation of accounting statements are only in complexity and simplicity, and there is no substantive difference. Therefore, after the Ministry of Finance has formulated and promulgated the "Enterprise Accounting System", the incremental cost caused by formulating an accounting system for small and medium-sized enterprises is negligible compared with the benefits obtained by millions of small and medium-sized enterprises across the country.
From the perspective of the operating cost of the accounting system, it includes two parts: one part of the cost is the cost for the enterprise to provide accounting information in accordance with the requirements of the accounting system, and the other part is the cost for relevant interest groups to obtain and use accounting information. From an enterprise perspective, small and medium-sized enterprises are generally smaller in scale than large corporate enterprises, and the accounting institutions of small and medium-sized enterprises are generally relatively simple; many small and medium-sized enterprises do not have full-time financial managers, and the financial management functions are generally performed by accounting institutions. Tube. If they are forced to provide accounting information in accordance with the "Enterprise Accounting System" formulated with large enterprises as the target, small and medium-sized enterprises will pay excessive reporting costs and make the accounting personnel of small and medium-sized enterprises tired of filling in various requirements for use. Reports that are of little significance to investors will not only fail to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises can provide useful accounting information, but will also "make matters worse" for my country's current serious situation of accounting information distortion, which is not conducive to the sustained, healthy and stable development of our national economy. . From the perspective of users of accounting information, the current users of accounting information for small and medium-sized enterprises in my country are mainly the single owner or limited shareholders of the enterprise, as well as the national taxation department. For single owners or corporate shareholders, they are not necessarily familiar with financial accounting. It is difficult to fully understand the accounting information provided according to the complex accounting system. At the same time, since many small and medium-sized enterprises have ownership and management rights integrated into one, owners or shareholders can obtain relevant information by directly participating in the operation and management of the enterprise, rather than obtaining it entirely through accounting information.
For the national tax department, all they need to know is the tax status of the company, and they are not concerned about other accounting information. From this point of view, the accounting information provided by small and medium-sized enterprises according to complex accounting systems is actually a waste of resources.
To sum up, whether it is from the perspective of the establishment cost or operating cost of the accounting system, it is not in line with the principle of cost and benefit for small and medium-sized enterprises to provide financial information in accordance with the unified "Enterprise Accounting System".
2 From the perspective of the principle of relevance. As an information system that mainly provides financial information, accounting's basic task is to provide relevant and useful accounting information to information users. However, as mentioned above, different enterprises have different financial management methods and channels, as well as the level and complexity of internal management due to their different sizes and organizational forms. In comparison, users of accounting information from small and medium-sized enterprises need single, simple, and comprehensive accounting information that is sufficient to meet their decision-making needs, while users of accounting information from large-scale enterprises need more, more complex, more detailed, and comprehensive information. Accounting information can meet the needs of all parties concerned. The design of the accounting system should objectively reflect the different requirements for accounting and the different needs for accounting information in actual work, that is, the development of differentiated accounting systems. Only in this way can the accounting information provided by the enterprise be closely related to the decision-making process of its users, and can it better comply with the principle of accounting relevance.
3. From the perspective of reliability principles. The so-called reliability refers to the quality that ensures that accounting information is free from errors and deviations and can faithfully reflect the phenomena or conditions intended to be reflected. If the information is unreliable, it will not only be unhelpful for decision-making, but may also lead to wrong decisions.
As we all know, my country's current accounting information is seriously distorted, and there are many reasons for this. In addition to the fact that my country's current relevant laws and regulations are not perfect and difficult to implement, the quality of accounting personnel is relatively low and lacks due professional ethics, and corporate managers instruct accounting personnel to make false claims out of personal interests considerations, etc., is the design of the accounting system reasonable? , Effectiveness is also an important reason we should consider. It should be said that enterprises of different sizes in our country in the past and present provide accounting information according to the same accounting system without distinction, which is also an important reason for causing and exacerbating the distortion of accounting information in our country. If we formulate and implement accounting systems of different complexity and simplicity for enterprises of different sizes, it will help improve the reliability of accounting information, thereby mitigating the current situation of accounting information distortion to a certain extent.
4. From the perspective of the principle of comparability. The comparability of accounting information should be based on reflecting reality. Comparisons between accounting information that lack reliability are meaningless. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the formulation of the accounting system for small and medium-sized enterprises is conducive to improving the reliability of my country's current accounting information, which is conducive to improving the quality and effect of accounting information comparison.
On the other hand, the comparability between things can only be relative, there is no absolute comparability, and the comparability between things should be based on a meaningful basis. It is difficult for us to imagine the significance and necessity of comparing the accounting information of a small business with only a few dozen employees to a multinational or listed company. If we force large companies and small companies to use the same chart of accounts, prepare accounting statements with the same content and format, and provide accounting information with the same level of detail, this is actually a one-sided and rigid understanding of comparability accounting principles. . The result can only be "using the small to drag down the big and using the big to burden the small", resulting in the failure to improve the quality of accounting information disclosed by large companies because of consideration for small companies; the accounting information provided by small companies is one-sided because of the pursuit of comparability with large companies. , and pay excessive reporting costs. Therefore, it is in line with the principle of accounting comparability to implement a differentiated accounting information disclosure system so that the comparison of accounting information can obtain more meaningful results within a specific scope.
5. From the perspective of importance principle. Whether a piece of information is important. Whether it should be provided or disclosed separately shall depend on its nature and relevant circumstances. Some accounting information that is very important to large companies may not be of any practical use to small companies; while some accounting information that is very important to small companies is not important to large companies. therefore. Implementing a differentiated accounting information disclosure system allows enterprises of different sizes to provide differentiated accounting information adapted to their characteristics, thereby meeting the needs of information users at different levels; it can promote the accounting work of enterprises to be more effective.
It can be seen that appropriately formulating accounting systems with different levels of complexity and simplicity for enterprises of different sizes is in line with the basic principles of accounting. It is also in line with my country's current state-owned enterprise reform of "grasping the big and letting go of the small" and accelerating the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. the general idea. On the one hand, it adapts to the weak accounting personnel of the vast number of small and medium-sized enterprises. Accounting information users have relatively low requirements for accounting information, which at the same time makes people put forward higher requirements for the disclosure of accounting information of listed companies and large enterprises. Instead of worrying about whether small businesses can accept it, this will be more conducive to the improvement of my country's accounting theory and practice, and also the improvement of the quality of accounting information.
2. The formulation and implementation of accounting systems for small and medium-sized enterprises in the world
As an accounting practice, differentiated accounting information disclosure systems have long been adopted by many countries in the world. The internationally differentiated accounting information disclosure systems can be roughly divided into two categories: one is a simplified accounting system specifically tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the main representative of countries adopting this type is France; the other is accounting standards (systems). ) is still formulated with large enterprises as the standard, and exemptions from certain guidelines (systems) are given to some qualified small and medium-sized enterprises. The countries that adopt this type are mainly the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and other countries. In France, in order to meet the different needs of accounting information users of enterprises of different sizes for accounting information, France’s “National Accounting Plan” divides the unified chart of accounts and accounting statements into three series with significantly different levels of detail: Abbreviation Series, Basic Series and Development Series. Enterprises can choose one of the series according to their own circumstances and in accordance with relevant legal provisions.
In addition, the 17th meeting of the United Nations Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Accounting and Reporting Standards was held in Geneva from July 3 to 5, 2000. The Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development submitted a topic to the General Assembly. Discussion paper for Accounting by Small and Medium-sized Enterprizes. The discussion paper pointed out: Because small and medium-sized enterprises occupy a very important position in the economic development and social life of various countries, the accounting needs of small and medium-sized enterprises are very different from those of large enterprises and listed companies, and small and medium-sized enterprises are required to comply with international accounting standards. Reporting based on standards is obviously meaningless. Therefore, accounting standards for SMEs should be specifically formulated based on their operational and financial characteristics.
In the United States, its Generally Accepted Accounting Principles' requirements for company financial reporting and company-related accounting information disclosure are only legally binding on companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is not binding on other companies. In addition, the United States provides exemptions from the requirement for companies to provide cash flow statements to companies that meet specified conditions. The United Kingdom has implemented more differentiated accounting information disclosure systems in its accounting practices, and qualified small and medium-sized enterprises can provide simplified accounting reporting materials. Medium-sized companies can provide abbreviated profit and loss statements and formal balance sheets and formal board of directors reports, while small-sized companies enjoy exemptions from preparing and providing cash flow statements.
In view of the current quality of accounting personnel in my country’s enterprises and the different needs of internal and external accounting information users for accounting information quality and quantity, our country should actively learn from the experience of other countries in the world. Develop an accounting system for small and medium-sized enterprises that is consistent with my country's actual conditions, thereby promoting the improvement of my country's accounting theory and accounting practice, and enabling accounting to better serve my country's socialist modernization drive.