IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-00565498.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Disharmony in international accounting standards setting: The Chinese approach to accounting for business combinations

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Baker

    (Pôle de Recherche - Rouen Business School - Rouen Business School)

  • Yuri Biondi

    (CRG - Centre de recherche en gestion - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Qiushong Zhang

    (EM - EMLyon Business School)

Abstract

The paper addresses two distinct aspects of disharmony in international accounting standards setting. The first aspect relates to the political economic context of financial accounting standards. This is illustrated by the Chinese standards setters' decision to allow the pooling of interests method of accounting for business combinations despite the prohibition of this method by both the FASB and the IASB. This decision by the Chinese standards setters appears to have been based on political economic factors related to the need for industrial reorganization in China rather than a desire to serve the needs of global capital markets. The second aspect of disharmony relates to the role played by differential understandings of the fundamental objectives of financial reporting in an international context.The IASB's goal of producing one set of global accounting standards to serve the needs of global capital markets has led to a reduction in the number of permissible accounting methods and a move towards the fair value accounting model. In particular, the IASB concluded that the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations should be the only method allowed for business combinations. In contrast, the Chinese standards setters have recognized the existence of both mergers and acquisitions, and in response they created two different methods of accounting for business combinations. Effectively, the Chinese standards setters developed an alternative approach to accounting for business combinations which challenges the IASB's goal of achieving international accounting convergence through the fair value model.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Baker & Yuri Biondi & Qiushong Zhang, 2010. "Disharmony in international accounting standards setting: The Chinese approach to accounting for business combinations," Post-Print hal-00565498, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00565498
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2009.11.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ding, Yuan & Jeanjean, Thomas & Stolowy, Herve, 2005. "Reply to discussion of "Why do national GAAP differ from IAS? The role of culture"," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 359-362.
    2. Leuz, Christian & Pfaff, Dieter & Hopwood, Anthony (ed.), 2004. "The Economics and Politics of Accounting: International Perspectives on Trends, Policy, and Practice," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199260621.
    3. Xu, Wen & Uddin, Shahzad, 2008. "Public sector reforms, privatisation and regimes of control in a Chinese enterprise," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 162-177.
    4. Wen Xu & Shahzad Uddin, 2008. "Public sector reforms, privatisation and regimes of control in a Chinese enterprise," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 162-177, June.
    5. Hines, Ruth D., 1988. "Financial accounting: In communicating reality, we construct reality," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 251-261, April.
    6. Ding, Yuan & Jeanjean, Thomas & Stolowy, Herve, 2005. "Why do national GAAP differ from IAS? The role of culture," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 325-350.
    7. Burchell, Stuart & Clubb, Colin & Hopwood, Anthony & Hughes, John & Nahapiet, Janine, 1980. "The roles of accounting in organizations and society," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 5-27, January.
    8. Hopwood, Anthony G., 1983. "On trying to study accounting in the contexts in which it operates," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 8(2-3), pages 287-305, May.
    9. C.R. Baker & Yuri Biondi & Qiusheng Zhang, 2008. "Should Merger Accounting be Reconsidered?: A Discussion Based on the Chinese Approach to Accounting for Business Combinations," Post-Print hal-00407842, HAL.
    10. Ezzamel, Mahmoud & Xiao, Jason Zezhong & Pan, Aixiang, 2007. "Political ideology and accounting regulation in China," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(7-8), pages 669-700.
    11. Aspers, Patrik, 2009. "How are markets made?," MPIfG Working Paper 09/2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    12. Robson, Keith, 1992. "Accounting numbers as "inscription": Action at a distance and the development of accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(7), pages 685-708, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tsunogaya Noriyuki & Okada Hiromasa & Patel Chris, 2011. "The Case for Economic and Accounting Dualism: Towards Reconciling the Japanese Accounting System with the Global Trend of Fair Value Accounting," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 1(2), pages 1-56, October.
    2. Ramanna Karthik, 2013. "The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 1-46, January.
    3. Karen Handley & Elaine Evans & Sue Wright, 2020. "Understanding participation in accounting standard‐setting: the case of AASB ED 192 Revised Differential Reporting Framework," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(4), pages 3621-3645, December.
    4. Natalia Aversano & Ferdinando Di Carlo & Giuseppe Sannino & Paolo Tartaglia Polcini & Rosa Lombardi, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility, stakeholder engagement, and universities: New evidence from the Italian scenario," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1892-1899, July.
    5. Ross Taplin & Yafang Zhao & Alistair Brown, 2014. "Failure of auditors: The lack of compliance for business combinations in China," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(3), pages 310-331, September.
    6. Helen Hong Yang & Colin Clark & Changyu Wu & Alan Farley, 2018. "Insights from Accounting Practitioners on China's Convergence with IFRS," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(1), pages 14-27, March.
    7. Hopper, Trevor & Lassou, Philippe & Soobaroyen, Teerooven, 2017. "Globalisation, accounting and developing countries," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 125-148.
    8. Francesco Bellandi, 2023. "Business Combinations under Common Control: The Gain/loss Group Perspective. What the IASB Project Leaves Unaddressed," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(11), pages 1-59, February.
    9. Ortiz Horacio, 2015. "A Comment on “The Institutional Transformation of China’s Stock Exchanges: A Comparative Perspective” by Kay Lyu (AEL: A CONVIVIUM, 2015)," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 91-97, March.
    10. Gårseth-Nesbakk, Levi, 2011. "Accrual accounting representations in the public sector—A case of autopoiesis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 247-258.
    11. Zhang, Eagle & Andrew, Jane, 2016. "Rethinking China: Discourse, convergence and fair value accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-21.
    12. Magdalena Janowicz, 2021. "Business Combination Under Common Control (BCUCC) - What Kind of Disclosure is Enough? The Polish Experience," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2B), pages 1004-1013.
    13. Nölke Andreas, 2013. "A Political Economy Explanation for Country Variation in IFRS Adoption – A Comment on ‘The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization’ by K. Ramanna," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 69-76, January.
    14. Noriyuki Tsunogaya & Parmod Chand, 2012. "The Complex Equilibrium Paths towards International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the Anglo-American Model: The Case of Japan," The Japanese Accounting Review, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, vol. 2, pages 117-137, December.
    15. Peipei Pan & Chris Patel, 2018. "The Influence of Native Versus Foreign Language on Chinese Subjects’ Aggressive Financial Reporting Judgments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 863-878, July.
    16. Kusano, Masaki & Sakuma, Yoshihiro & Tsunogaya, Noriyuki, 2016. "Economic consequences of changes in the lease accounting standard: Evidence from Japan," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 73-88.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nhu Tuyên Le, 2009. "Liens Entre Comptabilite Et Systeme Economique : La Transition Vietnamienne," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) halshs-00460227, HAL.
    2. Nhu Tuyên Le, 2009. "Liens Entre Comptabilite Et Systeme Economique : La Transition Vietnamienne," Post-Print halshs-00460227, HAL.
    3. Robson, Keith & Ezzamel, Mahmoud, 2023. "The cultural fields of accounting practices: Institutionalization and accounting changes beyond the organization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    4. Englund, Hans & Gerdin, Jonas & Burns, John, 2011. "25 Years of Giddens in accounting research: Achievements, limitations and the future," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 494-513.
    5. Baker C. Richard & Yuri Biondi & Qiusheng Zhang, 2009. "Résistance Et Confusion Dans L'Harmonization Des Normes Comptables Internationales : L'Approche Chinoise Aux Fusions Et Acquistions," Post-Print halshs-00458944, HAL.
    6. Suzuki, Tomo, 2003. "The accounting figuration of business statistics as a foundation for the spread of economic ideas," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 65-95, January.
    7. Modell, Sven & Yang, ChunLei, 2018. "Financialisation as a strategic action field: An historically informed field study of governance reforms in Chinese state-owned enterprises," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 41-59.
    8. Jørgensen, Brian & Messner, Martin, 2010. "Accounting and strategising: A case study from new product development," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 184-204, February.
    9. Ahrens, Thomas & Mollona, Massimiliano, 2007. "Organisational control as cultural practice--A shop floor ethnography of a Sheffield steel mill," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 305-331.
    10. Lai, Alessandro & Leoni, Giulia & Stacchezzini, Riccardo, 2014. "The socializing effects of accounting in flood recovery," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 579-603.
    11. Li, Xinxiang & Soobaroyen, Teerooven, 2021. "Accounting, Ideological and Political Work and Chinese multinational operations: A neo-Gramscian perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. Ogden, S. G., 1995. "Transforming frameworks of accountability: The case of water privatization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(2-3), pages 193-218.
    13. Sundström, Andreas & Catasús, Bino, 2023. "Let the right one in: ‘Accounting proxemics’ in the design of performance indicators," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    14. Neu, Dean, 2006. "Accounting for public space," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 391-414.
    15. Huikku, Jari & Mouritsen, Jan & Silvola, Hanna, 2017. "Relative reliability and the recognisable firm: Calculating goodwill impairment value," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 68-83.
    16. Haslinda Yusoff & Glen Lehman, 2009. "Corporate environmental reporting through the lens of semiotics," Asian Review of Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 17(3), pages 226-246, September.
    17. Bigoni, Michele & Funnell, Warwick, 2015. "Ancestors of governmentality: Accounting and pastoral power in the 15th century," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 160-176.
    18. Quattrone, Paolo, 2009. "Books to be practiced: Memory, the power of the visual, and the success of accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 85-118, January.
    19. Power, Michael, 2015. "How accounting begins: Object formation and the accretion of infrastructure," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 43-55.
    20. Neu, Dean & Everett, Jeff & Rahaman, Abu Shiraz, 2015. "Preventing corruption within government procurement: Constructing the disciplined and ethical subject," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 49-61.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00565498. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.