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1 Chapter 3 Comparative Accounting: Europe Discussion Questions 1. Regulating and enforcing financial reporting is a government function in France. The National Accounting Board (CNC) and the Accounting Regulation committee (CRC) set accounting standards under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The Financial Markets Authority (AMF) ensures compliance with French accounting rules (for listed companies). It is also a government agency. Public and private sector bodies are involved in the regulation and enforcement of financial reporting in Germany. The German Accounting Standards Board is a private sector body that develops German reporting standards for consolidated financial statements. However, German law (the HGB) governs financial statements at the individual company level. Enforcement also involves private and public sector bodies. The Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel is a private sector body that investigates compliance and relies on companies to voluntarily correct any problems that it finds. Matters that cannot be resolved are referred to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, a government agency, for final resolution. The regulation and enforcement of financial reporting is in the public sector in the Czech Republic. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for setting accounting principles and it also oversees the Czech Securities Commission which is responsible for enforcing compliance with Czech requirements. Some observers question the effectiveness of the Czech system. A private sector group is responsible for regulating financial reporting in the Netherlands. The Dutch Accounting Standards Board issues guidelines on acceptable accounting principles. Enforcement is handled by the Enterprise Chamber, a special accounting court. It rules on whether companies have used acceptable accounting practices, but only after an interested party has brought a complaint. The Financial Reporting Supervision Division of the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets is responsible for enforcing reporting requirements for listed companies. Regulation of financial reporting is in the private sector in the United Kingdom. The Accounting Standards Board determines Financial Reporting Standards. The authority of the ASB is set out in the law. Two groups are responsible for enforcing financial reporting standards, one in the private sector and the other in the public sector. The Financial Reporting Review Panel (private sector) and the Department of Trade and Industry (public sector) can investigate complaints about departures from accounting standards. If necessary, they can go to court to force companies to revise its financial statements. 2. Given the requirement that all EU listed companies must use International Financial Reporting Standards in their consolidated financial statements, all five countries follow fair presentation principles for this group of companies’ financial statements. The difference among the countries comes with listed companies’ individual financial statements and with non-listed companies. The overall picture is quite confusing. At the individual company level, France and Germany require local accounting standards. Both can be characterized as legal compliance, conservative, and tax-driven. Individual company financial statements in the Netherlands and United Kingdom may use either local requirements 2 or IFRS. However, in either case the result is fair presentation financial statements. The Czech Republic requires IFRS in listed companies’ individual company financial statements, so the result is that they are fair presentation. In all five countries, non-listed companies may use either IFRS or local accounting standards for their consolidated financial statements. As characterized above, the resulting financial statements will be quite different for German and French companies. Czech accounting standards are mostly fair presentation, but there is still some tax influence. Thus, the resulting financial statements can also be different depending on the choice that companies make. Finally, non-listed companies’ individual financial statements must be prepared under local accounting standards in the Czech Republic, France, and Germany. Local accounting standards or IFRS may be used by this group of companies in the Netherlands and United Kingdom. 3. The recently established auditor oversight bodies discussed in this chapter are: a. France – Haut Conseil du Commissariat aux Comptes (High Council of External Auditors) b. Netherlands – Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets c. United Kingdom – Professional Oversight Board The oversight body in France is in a government agency, while the one in the U.K. is a private sector body. The Dutch body is an autonomous administrative authority under the Ministry of Finance. They are a response to recent accounting scandals and represent efforts to the tighten control over auditors. 4. Tax legislation is a significant influence on local accounting requirements in France and Germany. It is unimportant in the Netherlands and United Kingdom. Tax legislation has limited influence in the Czech Republic. Given that Czech accounting is still evolving, tax law can be expected to fill in areas where accounting standards are missing. 5. Consolidated financial statements are the statements of a group of companies under common management or control. Individual company financial statements are the statements of the separate legal entities (parent and subsidiaries) that make up the group. EU countries prohibit IFRS for individual company financial statements when these statements are the basis for taxation and dividend distributions. They are ―legal compliance‖ countries (see Chapter 2) and individual company financial statements must comply with the law. Other countries permit or require IFRS for individual company financial statements because they are ―fair presentation‖ countries (Chapter 2). Individual company financial statements are not the basis for taxation or dividends. Local accounting standards follow fair presentation principles. 6. There is no conclusive evidence linking high levels of legal accounting and reporting requirements in a country and corresponding high quality levels of financial reporting. It appears that high legal requirements (for example, in France and Germany) lead to a certain amount of professional or bureaucratic inertia and form over substance thinking in financial reporting. Indeed, countries with significant state regulation of accounting and accountants are generally not among the innovative accounting leadership countries. If anything, comparatively high levels of legal requirements appear to depress the overall quality of reporting. 7. This quote paraphrases a statement in the preamble to the charter establishing the German Accounting Standards Committee. We agree. Private sector initiatives (self-regulation) have 3 been more successful than governmental initiatives in developing financial reporting regulations for national and international capital markets. Two noteworthy examples are the Accounting Standards Board in the U.K. (discussed in Chapter 3) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board in the U.S. (discussed in Chapter 4). Both have been flexible and adaptable in developing reporting standards in response to new circumstances. They are arguably the premier national standard setting bodies in the world. It is also noteworthy that Germany and Japan (Chapter 4) have recently moved to establish private sector organizations. Chapter 8 discusses international harmonization and convergence. There, the work of the International Accounting Standards Board and the European Union are discussed. The EU was not effective in establishing standards for capital markets and has now endorsed the efforts of the IASB. 8. Existing French companies’ legislation in the form of the Plan Comptable Général and Code de Commerce have the greatest influence on day-to-day French accounting practices. The two other authoritative sources of financial accounting standards and practices have comparatively modest or sporadic influence. 9. The statement is true. The German Accounting Standards Board is a private-sector body like the FASB (U.S.), ASB (U.K.), and IASB. The process for establishing standards is also similar. Working groups examine issues and make recommendations to the Board. These groups represent a broad constituency. GASB deliberations follow a due process and meetings are open. 10. Accounting requirements in the Czech Republic are based on EU Directives. Examples noted in the chapter are the following: a. True and fair view embodied in the Accountancy Act. b. Required audit. c. Statement of cash flows not a required financial statement (though it is required in the notes). d. Disclosures of employee information and revenues by segment. e. Consolidated financial statements required. f. Abbreviated reporting requirements for small companies. g. Notes include accounting policies. h. Listed companies use IFRS in consolidated financial statements. The accounting measurements discussed are also consistent with EU Directives, for example, the requirement for the equity method. 11. The Dutch Enterprise Chamber of the Court of Justice of Amsterdam helps ensure that filed or published Dutch financial statements conform to all applicable laws. Shareholders, employees, trade unions, or public prosecutors may bring proceedings to the Chamber by alleging that officially filed or published financial statements do not conform to applicable requirements. The Enterprise Chamber carries out its mission by determining whether the allegations of deficient financial reporting are true and how material such deficiencies are. Depending upon 4 the case, the Chamber may require that financial statements be modified or it may seek penalties through the Court of Justice. The Chamber is composed of three judges and two Dutch RAs. There is no jury. Appeals of any of the Chambers rulings are difficult, may only be lodged with the Dutch Supreme Court, and are restricted to points of law. 12. British financial statements must present a ―true and fair view‖ of a company’s financial position and results of operations. The intent is similar to the U.S. ―presents fairly.‖ However, the ―presents fairly‖ test in the United States is whether financial statements conform to U.S. GAAP. The ―true and fair‖ test in the United Kingdom requires auditors to step back and see whether the financial statements – taken as a whole – result in a fair presentation. U.K. GAAP may be overridden if complying with them would result in an ―unfair‖ presentation. In other words, judgment is exercised in determining whether the financial statements are true and fair. Exercises 1. France a. The Conseil National de la Comptabilité, or CNC (National Accounting Board) through the latest Plan Comptable Général and the Comité de la Réglementation Comptable, or CRC (Accounting Regulation Committee). The CNC and CRC are attached to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. b. The Autorité des Marches Financiers (AMF) for French listed firms. The Division of Corporate Finance (SOIF) conducts a general review of legal and other filings with the AMF. The Accounting Division (SACF) verifies compliance with accounting standards. The Ministry of Justice is indirectly responsible for compliance with reporting requirements by non-listed companies through its role in supervising statutory auditors. Germany a. The German Accounting Standards Board for consolidated financial statements. Parliamentary legislation for individual company financial statements. b. The Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP). Matters that FREP cannot resolve are referred to Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Czech Republic a. The Ministry of Finance. b. The Ministry of Finance also has supervisory responsibilities. Audits are regulated by the Act on Auditors which established Chamber of Auditors to oversee the auditing profession. The Netherlands a. Dutch Accounting Standards Board. 5 b. Dutch Enterprise Chamber of the Court of Justice in Amsterdam. Financial Reporting Supervision Division of the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets for listed firms. United Kingdom a. Accounting Standards Board. b. Both the Department of Trade and Industry and the Financial Reporting Review Panel of the Financial Reporting Council can investigate complaints about departures from accounting standards and they can go to court if necessary to force compliance. 2. Good arguments can be made that France and Germany have the most effective accounting and financial reporting supervision mechanism for publicly traded companies. In France, the Autorité des Marches Financiers (AMF) is a government agency that supervises the stock market. It is the French equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Two divisions within the AMF enforce compliance with reporting rules. The Division of Corporate Finance (SOIF) conducts a general review of legal and other filings with the AMF (including the annual report). The Accounting Division (SACF) verifies compliance with accounting standards. The AMF has the power to force compliance with accounting requirements. Germany has a two-tiered system. A private sector body, the Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP) reviews suspected irregular financial statements that come to its attention. It also conducts random review of financial statements. If companies do not voluntarily change their financial statements, FREP refers the matter to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), a government agency that regulates the stock exchanges (and banking and insurance industries). In both countries, the agencies responsible for compliance are proactive. The responsibility in the Czech Republic is the Ministry of Finance, but there are many questions about its effectiveness. The responsibility in the Netherlands rests with the Enterprise Chamber. However, it isn’t proactive – cases must be brought to it first. The Financial Reporting Supervision Division of the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets is new (2006) but it can be expected to be effective. In the United Kingdom, the Financial Reporting Review Panel and the Department of Trade and Industry investigate complaints about financial reporting practices. It isn’t clear how proactive either one is in enforcing reporting standards for publicly traded companies. The United Kingdom does not have the equivalent of the U.S. SEC. In our view the most effective way to enforce accounting and financial reporting rules for publicly traded companies is a through government agency that is

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