Mérés és értékelés a számvitelben (Measurement and evaluation in the accounting)

A cikk kiindulópontja az a tény, hogy a számvitel, azon belül is a pénzügyi beszámolás alapvető feladata döntésekhez hasznosítható információk nyújtása a vállalkozásokkal kapcsolatba kerülő érintettek számára. A gazdasági jelenségek leképezése, számviteli transzformációja során létrejövő adatok információként való hasznosításának feltétele, hogy a pénzügyi kimutatások felhasználói tisztában legyenek a leképezés mögöttes feltételezéseivel. A cikk első része a mérés általános definíciójából kiindulva mutatja be a számviteli mérés és értékelés fogalmát, ezek összefüggését, alapvető jellemzőit. Ezt követően a pénzügyi beszámolásban jelenleg érvényesülő értékelési keretrendszert vázolja fel a nemzetközi (IFRS), illetve a magyar szabályozásból kiindulva. A cikk harmadik része a szabályozás mögött meghúzódó elméleti összefüggéseket vizsgálja, kitérve a számviteli mérés és a pénzügyi teljesítmény (jövedelem) kapcsolatára, valamint bemutatja és értékeli a számviteli méréssel kapcsolatos főbb kritikákat. ____ One of the central problems of accounting theory and accounting regulation is accounting valuation, accounting as a value assignment aspect of the representation of economic phenomena. The first part of the article, setting out from the general concept of measurement, introduces the concepts of measurement and valuation as applied in accounting, describing their interconnections and basic characteristics. Following this, based on the international (IFRS) and Hungarian regulations, the paper sketches the current valuation framework used in financial reporting. The third part of the article analyses the theoretical background of the effective regulation, while also covering the connection of accounting measurement and financial performance (income), and finally it presents and evaluates the main elements of criticism concerning measurement in accounting.

A számviteli szabályozások eltérésének okairól (Causes of the differences in accounting regulations)

A számviteli szabályozások közötti eltérések oda vezethetnek, hogy ugyanarról a gazdálkodó egység, egyazon időszakáról, akár jelentősen is eltérő, és az adott szabályozási logika alapján helyes pénzügyi kimutatások készülnek. Ezek a sokszor materiális eltérések nehezen magyarázhatók, ha figyelembe vesszük azt a tényt is, hogy a különböző pénzügyi kimutatások mögött azonos gazdasági események húzódnak meg. Az eltérések a számviteli szabályozás különbségeivel magyarázhatók. A cikk feltárja, hogy a számviteli szabályozásnak milyen szintjeit lehet megkülönböztetni, és vizsgálja, hogy milyen tényezők vezettek el oda, hogy az egyes megközelítések akár markánsan eltérő megoldásokat kínálnak egy-egy adott vagyoni elem megjelenítésére és értékelésére, illetve egy tranzakció megjelenítésére. A cikk az egyes eltéréseket indukáló tényezők rendszerezése útján megkísérel deduktív úton becslést adni a számviteli harmonizáció további lehetséges irányaira. ____ Differences among the accounting regulations may lead to material dissimilarities in the financial statements prepared for the same entity and same financial year. These material differences are sometimes hard to explain, given that they shall be based on the same transactions. The differences are explained by the differences in the regulations. The paper explains the possible levels of accounting by-laws and examines – based on the relevant literature – the factors that led to different solutions for the recognition, measurement and disclosure of the same items or transactions. By structuring these factors the article tries to give possible future advances in the harmonization of such systems using a deductive approach.

The effect of mastery learning on a course in accounting information system (AIS): A comparison within public and private universities in Taiwan

The Accounting Information System (AIS) is an important course in the Department of Accounting (DoAc) of universities in Taiwan. This course is required for seniors not only because it meets the needs of the profession, but also because it provides continual study for the department's students.^ The scores of The National College and University Joint Entrance Examination (NUEE) show that students with high learning ability are admitted to public universities with high scores, while those with low learning ability are admitted only to private universities. The same situation has been found by the researcher while teaching an AIS course in DoAc of The Public Chun Shin University (CSU) and The Private Chinese Culture University (CCU).^ The purpose of this study was to determine whether low ability students enrolled in private universities in Taiwan in a mastery learning program could attain the same level as high ability students from public universities enrolled in a traditional program. An experimental design was used. The mastery learning method was used to teach three groups of seniors with low learning ability studying in the DoAc at CCU. The traditional method was used to teach the control group which consisted of senior students of DoAc of CSU with high learning ability. As a part of the mastery learning strategy, a formative test, quizzes, and homework were completed by the experimental group only, while the mid-term examination was completed by both groups as part of the course. The dependent variable was the summative test, the final examination. It was completed by both groups upon the course's completion.^ As predicted, there were significant differences between the two groups' results on the pretest. There were no significant differences between the two groups' results on the posttest. These findings support the hypothesis of the study and reveal the effectiveness of mastery learning strategies with low learning ability students. ^

Earnings management using estimates and the timing of adoption of accounting standards: An empirical examination of pensions

This study investigates the relationship between adoption timing of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 87 and earnings management after adoption. Earnings management, defined consistent with Schipper (1989), is tested through hypotheses using (1) a portfolio approach and (2) pension rates. One Hypothesis uses a Modified Jones (1991) Model as a proxy for discretionary accruals and the other uses pension rate estimates.^ Statistically significant relationships are found between adoption timing and (1) discretionary accruals and (2) estimated rate-of-return (ROR) on pension plan assets. Early adopting firms tend to have lower discretionary accruals after adoption than on-time adopters. They also tend to use higher ROR estimates which are not supported by higher actual returns. Thus, while early adopters may be using ROR to manage income, this tends to not result in higher discretionary accruals. ^

The role of death qualification in venirepersons' evaluations of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in capital trials

Death qualification is a part of voir dire that is unique to capital trials. Unlike all other litigation, capital jurors must affirm their willingness to impose both legal standards (either life in prison or the death penalty). Jurors who assert they are able to do so are deemed “death-qualified” and are eligible for capital jury service: jurors who assert that they are unable to do so are deemed “excludable” or “scrupled” and are barred from hearing a death penalty case. During the penalty phase in capital trials, death-qualified jurors weigh the aggravators (i.e., arguments for death) against the mitigators (i.e., arguments for life) in order to determine the sentence. If the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances, then the jury is to recommend death; if the mitigating circumstances outweigh the aggravating circumstances, then the jury is to recommend life. The jury is free to weigh each aggravating and mitigating circumstance in any matter they see fit. Previous research has found that death qualification impacts jurors' receptiveness to aggravating and mitigating circumstances (e.g., Luginbuhl & Middendorf, 1988). However, these studies utilized the now-defunct Witherspoon rule and did not include a case scenario for participants to reference. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether death qualification affects jurors' endorsements of aggravating and mitigating circumstances when Witt, rather than Witherspoon, is the legal standard for death qualification. Four hundred and fifty venirepersons from the 11 th Judicial Circuit in Miami, Florida completed a booklet of stimulus materials that contained the following: two death qualification questions; a case scenario that included a summary of the guilt and penalty phases of a capital case; a 26-item measure that required participants to endorse aggravators, nonstatutory mitigators, and statutory mitigators on a 6-point Likert scale; and standard demographic questions. Results indicated that death-qualified venirepersons, when compared to excludables, were more likely to endorse aggravating circumstances. Excludable participants, when compared to death-qualified venirepersons, were more likely to endorse nonstatutory mitigators. There was no significant difference between death-qualified and excludable venirepersons with respect to their endorsement of 6 out of 7 statutory mitigators. It would appear that the Furman v. Georgia (1972) decision to declare the death penalty unconstitutional is frustrated by the Lockhart v. McCree (1986) affirmation of death qualification. ^

An examination of accounting and auditing issues related to strategic environmental initiatives

Although corporate environmental accountability is receiving unprecedented attention in the United States from policy makers, the capital market, and the public at large, extant research is limited in its examination of the implications of strategic corporate environmental initiatives on accounting and auditing. The purpose of my dissertation is to address these implications by examining the association between firm environmental initiatives and audit fees, capital expenditures, and earnings quality using multivariate regression analysis. I find that firms engaged in more strategic environmental initiatives tend to have significantly higher audit fees and capital expenditures, and significantly lower levels of earnings manipulation measured using discretionary accruals. These results support the notion that auditors do recognize the importance of environmental initiatives when conducting the year-end financial statement audit, an idea that positively reflects upon the auditor’s monitoring role. The results also demonstrate the increased amount of capital resources required to participate in strategic environmental initiatives, an anecdotal notion that had yet to be empirically supported. This empirical support provides valuable insights on how environmental initiatives materially impact corporate financial statements. Finally, my results extend the extant literature by demonstrating that the superior financial performance reported by environmentally active firms is less likely driven by earnings manipulation by management, and by implication, more likely a result of real economic gains. Taken together, my dissertation establishes a strong and timely foundation for current and future research to explore corporate environmental initiatives in the United States and globally, a topic increasingly gaining momentum in today’s more eco-conscious world.^

A comprehensive study of bankruptcy prediction: Accounting ratios, market variables, and microstructure

Bankruptcy prediction has been a fruitful area of research. Univariate analysis and discriminant analysis were the first methodologies used. While they perform relatively well at correctly classifying bankrupt and nonbankrupt firms, their predictive ability has come into question over time. Univariate analysis lacks the big picture that financial distress entails. Multivariate discriminant analysis requires stringent assumptions that are violated when dealing with accounting ratios and market variables. This has led to the use of more complex models such as neural networks. While the accuracy of the predictions has improved with the use of more technical models, there is still an important point missing. Accounting ratios are the usual discriminating variables used in bankruptcy prediction. However, accounting ratios are backward-looking variables. At best, they are a current snapshot of the firm. Market variables are forward-looking variables. They are determined by discounting future outcomes. Microstructure variables, such as the bid-ask spread, also contain important information. Insiders are privy to more information that the retail investor, so if any financial distress is looming, the insiders should know before the general public. Therefore, any model in bankruptcy prediction should include market and microstructure variables. That is the focus of this dissertation. The traditional models and the newer, more technical models were tested and compared to the previous literature by employing accounting ratios, market variables, and microstructure variables. Our findings suggest that the more technical models are preferable, and that a mix of accounting and market variables are best at correctly classifying and predicting bankrupt firms. Multi-layer perceptron appears to be the most accurate model following the results. The set of best discriminating variables includes price, standard deviation of price, the bid-ask spread, net income to sale, working capital to total assets, and current liabilities to total assets.

Franchising in the Hospitality Industry: Accounting Aspects

Franchised businesses are a powerful factor in the American economy. The author provides a general overview of the area, citing statistics supporting its growth in the industry. Attention will be focused on accounting aspects of franchising, placing major emphasis on issues associated with the recognition of franchise fee revenue.

Controllers' Perceptions of the Importance of Accounting Skills to Lodging Managers

Are managerial accounting skills important to all managers? Which of the common managerial accounting skills are the most important to the non- accounting manager? The authors report on their descriptive research gathered from controllers in the hospitality industry which provides guide- lines for managers in these areas.

Industry Expresses Attitudes Toward Accounting, Finance Curricula

A survey of hospitality financial executives provides guidance for those planning accounting and finance curricula for schools of hospitality management. The authors discuss the results of their survey sponsored by the Association of Hospitality Financial Management Educators.

Accounting for microsaccadic artifacts in the EEG using independent component analysis and beamforming

© 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research. The authors would like to thank Renate Zahn and Karolin Meiß for their assistance conducting the recordings. This work was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation; DFG), grant number MU 972/16-1.

Accounting for residential and non-residential environments to measure contextual effects on health behavior : the case of recreational walking behavior

Thèse réalisée en cotutelle entre l'Université de Montréal et l'Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 06, Sorbonne Universités.

Phase d'activation transitoire et analyse spectrale en sommeil : utilisation pour la qualification des mécanismes d'éveil chez l'enfant Tourette

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Quality of transmission estimation in WDM and elastic optical networks accounting for space-spectrum dependencies

We develop a framework for estimating the quality of transmission (QoT) of a new lightpath before it is established, as well as for calculating the expected degradation it will cause to existing lightpaths. The framework correlates the QoT metrics of established lightpaths, which are readily available from coherent optical receivers that can be extended to serve as optical performance monitors. Past similar studies used only space (routing) information and thus neglected spectrum, while they focused on oldgeneration noncoherent networks. The proposed framework accounts for correlation in both the space and spectrum domains and can be applied to both fixed-grid wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and elastic optical networks. It is based on a graph transformation that exposes and models the interference between spectrum-neighboring channels. Our results indicate that our QoT estimates are very close to the actual performance data, that is, to having perfect knowledge of the physical layer. The proposed estimation framework is shown to provide up to 4 × 10-2 lower pre-forward error correction bit error ratio (BER) compared to theworst-case interference scenario,which overestimates the BER. The higher accuracy can be harvested when lightpaths are provisioned with low margins; our results showed up to 47% reduction in required regenerators, a substantial savings in equipment cost.