QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONVERGENT CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The necessity to research the approaches to specification of the system of qualitative characteristics of accounting information in the international systems of accounting regulation is substantiated. An existing hierarchical system of qualitative characteristics of accounting information in the convergent conceptual basis published by FASB and IASB is considered.

Analysis of differences of the convergent conceptual basis enables to confirm the process of convergence of the developers of accounting standards GAAP US and IAS/IFRS, since the latter has included the best achievements of the previous conceptual bases issued by IASB or FASB.

In accordance with the convergent conceptual basis, accounting information quality is determined by its usefulness, which can be identified through the use of two levels of qualitative characteristics and their more detailed profiles: fundamental – relevance (predicted value; confirming value) and true submission (completeness, neutrality, freedom from errors); reinforced – comparability, verifiability, timeliness, clarity.

The paper highlights a comparative analysis of the structure of qualitative characteristics in the convergent conceptual basis with the conceptual basis IAS/IFRS and conceptual basis GAAP US in terms of the following aspects: specification of the object concerning which the concept of qualitative characteristics is applied; specification of the users of financial statements due to a clearer justification of the objectives of financial reporting; change of the hierarchy of qualitative characteristics of financial information; change of the content of certain types of qualitative characteristics; replacement of some types of qualitative characteristics of financial information by the others. Issue of the convergent conceptual basis is the result of a compromise understanding by IASB and FASB representatives of the ways of further development of accounting standards in the world and means of their implementation. Analysis of convergent basis shows that in the course of its development there have been rejected both certain elements of SFAC No. 2 and elements of conceptual basis IASB.

Trends of transformation of the system of qualitative characteristics of accounting information as a means of improving the quality of the enterprise’s accounting system are identified.