M48 - Accounting and Auditing: Government Policy and RegulationReturn

The objective of this paper is to examine the factors influencing voluntary disclosures during the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process. Through a systematic review of the literature, the paper identifies and analyses the theoretical frameworks that underpin disclosure practices, including the constraints that may limit such disclosures. Based on an examination of 330 research papers obtained from the Scopus database, the findings indicate that the dominant theoretical perspectives in this field are the signalling theory and the proprietary costs theory. By integrating insights from competing theoretical frameworks, this review offers a comprehensive understanding of the determinants driving the decision-making process undertaken by management to reveal private information in IPO prospectuses.

This paper is a quantitative content analysis followed by qualitative analysis that aims to give evidence on carbon emissions disclosures of Czech banks and insurance companies in the period 2019–2021. It narrows literature review on Carbon accounting with focus on the Czech Republic. It further analyses carbon footprint reporting of the financial companies with focus on GHG emissions protocol and carbon financing. It tests hypothesis that large corporations and multinational firms have better ESG disclosure than small local Czech firms. It adds to the current knowledge how environmental reporting progressed in the past couple year. Additionally, it confirms previous findings that too many various standards for CO2 measurements are used and therefore, difficulty in comparability of reported data remains.

The article puts into context the issue of information asymmetry with financial reporting, specifically strengthening the information potential from the investors’ perspective by adopting IFRS in healthcare facilities in the United Kingdom. The mandatory introduction of IFRS across the public sector from 2009/10 onwards was aimed to increase transparency and improve the comparability of financial information. This step also brought an unintended effect in the form of an impact on the amount of the dividend Public dividend capital (PDC). The performed empirical analysis thus tested the significance of the given effect and influences on its change. Based on the correlation analysis performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and the significance analysis, carried out by T-test, of publicly available data of 16 NHS Foundation Trusts overreaching university and teaching hospitals, it can be stated that the PDC dividend changed significantly after IFRS adoption mainly due to the Surplus (Deficit) for the year.

The National Accounting Board (NAB) is an independent professional organization which is created by Chamber of Auditors of the Czech Republic, Chamber of Tax Advisers of Czech Republic, Union of Accountants and Faculty of Finance and Accounting of the University of Economics, Prague. Apart from commenting on legislative changes in accounting regulations NAB, also prepares interpretations of Czech accounting legislation for situations which are not regulated by this legislation or when its interpretation is not unified. Interpretations explain topics proposed by accountant or auditors from their practice. Interpretations thus express opinions which were agreed by the professionals of the NAB. The NAB assists in improving professional qualifications and professional ethics in the area of accounting methodology. The goal of interpretations is to ensure that accounting information in financial statements will give a true and fair view of the financial situation and management of the company to users of financial statements who make financial decisions.

The Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) are monopolistic companies, subject to regulation. The EU regulation 550/2004 requires that ANSP shall comply with the international accounting standards. The majority of European ANSPs draws the grants of the SESAR project. IAS 20 sets the rules for accounting for government grants. The subject of this article is transparency, obeying the rules of the EU Regulation 550/2004 and publishing the information according to IAS 20 in the years 2015-2017, when the ANSPs drew significant amounts from the government grants. The aim of the article is to research how the requirements of transparency of both legal documents are obeyed, with special regard to impact of grants to price setting of ANSPs. The annual reports of 17 ANSPs, members of A6 alliance were subject of this research. The outcomes of the research are that these rules are obeyed in quite a low extent, that the form and content of the annual reports are very diverse and thus the effects of the regulations, stemming from the programme Single European Sky is low.

The article deals with the comparability of the requirements for accounting for leases as a source of a long-term financing of lessees in accordance with the IFRS and national accounting legislation in Slovakia. Even though current Slovak legislation has been inspired by the IFRS (namely, IAS 17), no full compliance has been ever achieved. The gap between national and international regulation was even widened by the introduction of the standards IFRS 16 (which came into force in 2018). Consequently, the Slovak legislation is dealing with the task of how to resolve these differences. The article compares accounting treatments of leases (from the point of view of lessees) as required by the Slovak accounting regulation for the businesses, by the former international standard IAS 17 and also by the new standard IFRS 16. It could be concluded that the national regulation is more prone to tampering the accounting principles than both the IFRS 16 and IAS 17. On the other hand, by unifying the accounting treatment to virtually all leases (for lessees), the IFRS 16 provides more consistent and sound approach. Were there not tax related issues, the accounting regulation in Slovakia has to be changed immediately.

The aim of this paper is to identify whether small and medium-sized companies in the Czech Republic disclose non-financial information even though non-financial information disclosure is not obligatory. To answer on research question meant to determine non-financial information in the article as a first step. As a next step of research, manually collected data from annual reports and explanatory notes to financial statements for selected Czech small and medium-sized companies in Commercial Register were established as the databases for small and medium-sized companies doesn't exist in the CR. Content analysis for 650 companies was used to select 75 small and medium-sized companies according to conditions of research. There were determined three key research questions for companies in research sample: disclosure of non-financial information in sample of medium-sized companies, in sample of small audited companies and sample of small non-audited ones. As it also seems that there is a tendency in group of small-sized companies, that small audited companies disclose non-financial information more often than small non-audited companies, as an integral part of research was to proof this tendency at least. However, the statistical significance of these results is questionable.

The aim of the contribution is to identify and characterize the requirements for keeping information databases of simple accounting and tax records in 2016. The analysis and comparison methods made it possible to formulate the findings and conclusions. Both databases have gone through the stages of development, stagnation and reduction since they were introduced into the Czech legislation. Simple accounting was initially a part of the national accounting system. Its abolition from 2004 onwards was one of the consequences of the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union. By being restored in 2016, simple accounting did not return to the position of an accounting system. It is intended for an accounting entity which is not VAT registered, whose total income does not exceed CZK 3 million, the value of its assets does not exceed CZK 3 million, and it must be one of the enumerated non-profit organizations. Tax records became a part of the Czech legislation in 2004, when they replaced simple accounting for natural persons. Tax records are intended only for natural person entrepreneurs, who are not accounting entities. For small non-profit organizations, an information database was created, not a fully-fledged accounting system, as the name might suggest. The newly arranged structure of accounting decreases its reliability since it is missing complex information. If simple accounting is to be retained, it is necessary to add duties, so that it is unequivocally differentiated from tax records.

The article deals with the extent of using of accrual based financial reporting in public sector of EU member states. The extent is expressed by the number of member states on the one hand and monetarily through budgetary expenditure on the other hand. Besides, the article describes the current attitude and actions of European institutions to introduce the accrual basis in the public sector at EU level. At the same time the article discusses the specific possibilities of implementation of accrual based accounting with the emphasis on introducing the principles based on International Public Sector Standards (IPSAS).

The aim of this article is to find a multicriterial indicator of financial health of municipalities. Such an indicator should meet the need for a robustness and complexity to cover all the significant areas of activities of municipalities. It should be also understandable for key users of the information on financial situation of a municipality - for its citizens. This concept of its construction has been made using a literature search method in this field since 1960s and synthesis of its findings into 6 basic dimensions of such an indicator. Each of this 6 dimensions should allow a drill-down approach to get 2 - 3 partial aspects of that dimension. Also these should be evaluated separately.

The Czech National Accounting Board, an independent national accounting body that was established by the initiative of Czech accountants, the Chamber of Auditors, academics from the University of Economics in Prague, and the Chamber of Tax Advisors in 1999 is subject of the article. The main goal of the Board is to support the development of accountancy toward an independent respected profession in the Czech Republic and accounting methodology. This goal is realized through the process of issuing Interpretations to consider accounting issues in the Czech legislation that are likely to receive divergent or unacceptable treatment in the absence of authoritative guidance. Research shows that issuing of Interpretations has impact on accounting practice and profession (e.g. majority of tax advisors knows Interpretations and use them). In spite of the fact, that Interpretations are not an inner part of accounting regulatory system in the Czech Republic, they represent professional opinion of highly respected members of the Czech National Accounting Board and therefore they are accepted by practice.

This paper discusses the criminal liability of auditing companies which came into force in the legal system of the Czech Republic on 1 January 2012. It explains new principles of legal regulation concerning criminal liability of corporations and actions against them and it goes on to apply these principles to (unlawful) activity of auditing companies. This paper further offers an overview of potential sanctions that can be imposed on corporations (an auditing company) for unlawful conduct classified as a criminal offence. I also discuss the core of criminal liability of corporations, i.e., the question of culpability or, in other words, conduct of individuals that a corporation is subsequently held responsible for. I also provide an overview of some criminal cases concerning activity of auditing companies.

This paper deals with detailed analysis of sanctions imposed in the Czech Republic for unlawful conduct concerning accounting provided for in Act No. 563/1991 Coll., on Accounting, as amended. I analyze the difference between an infraction and an administrative offence including implications for determining sanctions for particular unlawful conduct. The paper provides a brief overview of potential sanctions in relation to the facts of particular unlawful conduct and to the person who committed such unlawful conduct. I also consider the problem of administrative punishment in a wider context. There are also discussed procedural provisions which are to be followed when imposing a penalty.

The paper focuses on distribution of unrealized profits. It identifies arguments for such a discussion. Substance of creditor protection, equivalent rights for shareholders and creditors, capital maintenance concepts and accounting aspects of these phenomena are discussed. The paper clearly states and distinguishes the position of accounting and law and identifies relationships between both systems. Authors tend to distribution of unrealized profits for sufficient creditor protection under contemporary capital maintenance concept.

As governmental accounting standards have developed, the complexities of preparing financial statements for governmental entities have greatly increased. Providing meaningful financial information to a wide range of users is not an easy task. Adding to these challenges, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) recently introduced sweeping changes to the governmental financial reporting model. Currently, governmental accounting standards are established by the GASB. The first of several collections of municipal accounting standards issued by the National Council on Governmental Accounting (NCGA) in 1934 became known as the "blue book". The GASB has completed its new model for financial reporting by governments that results in a radically different look to governmental financial statements from those of the past. The need for separate financial reporting standards for governments depends on the identities of the groups of users of the financial statements of state and local governments, the objectives of these readers and users, and the overall objectives of governmental financial reporting. Financial reporting should help users assess whether current-year revenues are sufficient to pay for the services provided that year and whether future taxpayers will be required to assume burdens for services previously provided.

As a reaction on bankruptcy and financial scandals of the important international corporations, the Congress U.S.A. issued in 2002 a new law - Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The important part of it deals with the regulation of auditor profession by means of a new established institution - PCAOB. This paper is a disputation with an opinion that this institution could contribute significantly to rectification. The right reason dwells in generally accepted shareholder theory, which economists and managers consider as only legit and scientific. But this theory is not neutral as it has a powerful ideological background and undesirable economical and social subsequences. Paper alerts on the existence of stakeholder theory, acceptation of which could contribute to resolution of these problems.