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The logic of pension accounting

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  • Christopher Napier

Abstract

Accounting for pensions has been a problem for standard‐setters for over 30 years. Early attempts to develop accounting standards were based on a cost orientation and reflected funding considerations. More recently, a balance sheet focus has led to issues over identification and measurement of pension liabilities and assets. Accounting standards that permit enterprises to ignore, spread or segregate elements of pension cost, or to create artificial cost measures, are open to criticism and are gradually disappearing. The aim of a principle‐based pension accounting system will be to ‘tell it as it is’, fairly reflecting the rights and obligations of employers, employees and funding vehicles. This means, though, that these complex rights and obligations must be properly understood. By focusing on pension liabilities, this paper illustrates how accounting standards translate rights and obligations into numbers in financial statements.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Napier, 2009. "The logic of pension accounting," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(3), pages 231-249.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:39:y:2009:i:3:p:231-249
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2009.9663363
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. McGill, Dan M. & Brown, Kyle N. & Haley, John J. & Schieber, Sylvester J., 2004. "Fundamentals of Private Pensions," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 8, number 9780199269501.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Power, 2010. "Fair value accounting, financial economics and the transformation of reliability," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 197-210.
    2. Himick, Darlene, 2016. "Actuarialism as biopolitical and disciplinary technique," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 22-44.
    3. Samira Demaria & Dufour Dominique & Moïse Louisy-Louis & Philippe Luu, 2012. "An exploratory study of the exposure draft of IAS 19 due process," Post-Print halshs-00721326, HAL.
    4. Samira Demaria & Dominique Dufour & Moïse Louisy-Louis & Philippe Luu, 2012. "An exploratory study of the exposure draft of IAS 19 due process," Post-Print hal-00690943, HAL.
    5. Josiah, J. & Gough, O. & Haslam, J. & Shah, N., 2014. "Corporate reporting implication in migrating from defined benefit to defined contribution pension schemes: A focus on the UK," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 18-37.
    6. Gordon, Isabel & Gallery, Natalie, 2012. "Assessing financial reporting comparability across institutional settings: The case of pension accounting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 11-20.
    7. Bräuning, Michael & Hüllermeier, Eyke & Keller, Tobias & Glaum, Martin, 2017. "Lexicographic preferences for predictive modeling of human decision making: A new machine learning method with an application in accounting," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 258(1), pages 295-306.
    8. Kaifala, Gabriel B. & Paisey, Catriona & Paisey, Nicholas J., 2021. "The UK pensions landscape – A critique of the role of accountants and accounting technologies in the treatment of social and societal risks," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    9. Luca Larcher & Francis Breedon, 2020. "Discounting and the market valuation of defined benefit pensions," Working Papers 932, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    10. Jan Faßhauer & Martin Glaum & Tobias Keller & Donna L. Street, 2011. "Erfassungsmethoden für versicherungsmathematische Gewinne und Verluste nach IAS 19: Motive der Wahl-rechtsentscheidung europäischer Unternehmen," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 63(8), pages 774-809, December.

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