對(duì)可操控資產(chǎn)計(jì)提減值的審視外文翻譯

1、<p><b>　　中文2845字</b></p><p>　　本科畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計(jì)）</p><p>　　外 文 翻 譯</p><p>　　外文出處 Accounting Horizons </p><p>　　Sep92，vol6，issue3，

2、p30-41 </p><p>　　外文作者 Linda j.Zucca and David R.Campbell 原文：</p><p>　　A Closer Look at Discretionary Writedowns of Impaired Asset</p><p>　　The Current Envirome

3、nt</p><p>　　An asset is said to be "impaired" when its book value exceeds some measure of its "fair" value. When a firm recognizes this impairment and subsequently records the effect by d

4、ecreasing the book value of the asset and debiting an income statement account, the firm has recorded a "writedown." GAAP clearly allows these writedowns in several situations. First, certain current assets, su

5、ch as marketable securities and inventories, are examined periodically and adjusted to the lower of cost or market.</p><p>　　Timing and Motivation</p><p>　　At the current time, partial writedown

6、s of impaired long-lived assets are recognized at the discretion of management (and with the subsequent support of their auditors). Thus, it is important to investigate when management decides that the impairment should

7、he recorded and what might motivate them to make such a dedsion. It is very difficult to assess the factors which might motivate a manager to record any discretionary event because of the manager's inahility or retic

8、ence to describe the dedsi</p><p>　　of and motivation for discretionary writedowns.</p><p>　　By observing reported earnings surrounding the period in which the writedown was announced, two possi

9、hle patterns of earnings management can be identified: income smoothing and 'l)ig baths." Income smoothing describes sm earnings pattern in which management aspires to maintain a steady and predictable rate of e

10、arnings growth. Management may try to record discretionary gains, losses, or accruals in the period which will best help them to attain their goal of steady growth. This goal may he percei</p><p>　　A second

11、form of earnings management has been referred to as the "big bath." Under this scenario, the firm appears to "save up" discretionary losses or accruals and then record several in the same period or in

12、 a period in which the firm has already experienced below normal earnings. Management might undertake a "big bath" to signal investors that "bad times" are behind them and hetter times will follow. In

13、 the case of discretionary asset writedowns, this reasoning is particularly appropriate sin</p><p>　　Financial Consequences of Discretionary Writedowns</p><p>　　The financial consequences of rec

14、ording discretionary writedowns of impaired assets can be assessed by observing certain finandal indicators at the time of and after the writedown. Three specific indicators have been chosen in this study: (1) the reacti

15、on of the stock market, (2) the frequency of subsequent merger or acquisition activity, and (3) the subsequent financial health of the firms as measured by certain key ratios. Each of these three indicators will be discu

16、ssed separately.</p><p>　　Stock Market Reaction. The average stock returns of the writedown firms (adjusted for cash and stock dividends as well as firm-spedfic risk) were compared with the market return for

17、 a period of sixty days before to sixty days after the announcement of the writedown. On the average, there were no significant unusual or excess returns earned by the writedown firms over this period of time.In addition

18、, they performed similarly to a control group of firms matched on the basis of industry and asset s</p><p>　　These results do not refute the anecdotal evidence that firms announcing discretionary price incre

19、ases. Rather, they indicate that for every firm that achieves these positive results, there is a firm for which the market acts negatively.Thus, a firm which records a writedown is just as likely to experience a negative

20、 market reaction as it is a positive market reaction.</p><p>　　Subsequent Merger or Acquisition Activity. Some people in the business and academic communities believe that a writedown may be an indicator of

21、some sort of major capital structure change such as an acquisition of,acquisition by, or a merger with another similarly sized organization. To investigate this contention, each writedown firm was observed £rom the

22、writedown date through the end of 1987 for evidence of merger or acquisition activity, and the results were compared with those of firms in s</p><p>　　The results indicate that a greater number of the writed

23、own firms engage in subsequent mergers or acquisitions than do firms in similar industries and of similar size which do not record writedowns. However, a chisquared test found that the frequency of subsequent merger or a

24、cquisition activity is not significantly higher (at a 0.05 level of significance) for the writedown firms. This means that the apparent differences could be due to chance. There is no statistical evidence to support the

25、cont</p><p>　　Subsequent Financial Health. To evaluate the comparative financial health of the writedown and control firms in the periods surrounding the writedown, four financial variables, (1) Cash Dividen

26、d Growth, (2) Earnings/Price Ratio, (3) Debt to Equity Ratio, and (4) Quarterly Return on Assets, were measured at six points in time over the period of three years before to three years a|ter the writedown. The period i

27、n which the writedown was recorded is not included because of its obvious impact on the</p><p>　　writedowns.</p><p>　　The results of these calculations and variables are presented in Figure 4. T

28、he significance of the difference in the means of the three groups (large writedowns, small writedowns, and control) at each point in time and for each variable is evaluated using a oneway analysis of variance design.<

29、;/p><p>　　Summary and Conclusions</p><p>　　There are several conclusions that can be drawn firom the results of these empirical tests of discretionary writedowns of impaired assets. First, the numb

30、er of events located dxiring the test period of 1981 to 1983 is low. This observation may indicate two different situations. First, asset impairments not already covered by GAAP could be infrequent. Second, and probably

31、more realistic, the number of partial impairments may be significant, but, given the paucity of specific regulatory guidance o</p><p>　　Second, the writedowns occur primarily in the fourth quarter of the fis

32、cal year, probably because of the more extensive review due to the budgeting and audit processes occurring in that period. Management tends to view the writedowns as unusual events and highlights them as separate line it

33、ems after income from operations. However, even in a period preceding the SEC's prohibition of extraordinary income statement treatment, none of the firms disclosed the writedown after continuing operations.</p>

34、;<p>　　Third, the majority of the firms wrote down their assets in a period of already below normal earings (a "big bath"), but 25 percent offset the writedown with other gains or unusually high earnings

35、 (income smoothing).These results provide support for the contention that writedowns are being used to manage earnings. Finally, the writedowns are not a precursor of improved financial health for the firm. No significan

36、t evidence of positive stock market reaction to the writedown announcement</p><p>　　could be foiind. There is no significant increase in merger or acquisition activity for writedown firms as compared to a co

37、ntrol group of firms. In general, control firms outperformed writedown firms on the basis of key financial characteristics. In addition, the larger the writedown as a percentage of assets, the larger the decline in finan

38、cial health.</p><p>　　For those firms which did decide to record partial writedowns despite the lack of specific regulatory requirements, this study indicates a less than positive picture. Recording the writ

39、edown as a fourth quarter adjustment without "warning" evidence of earnings management,and finally declining financial health which intensifies as the relative size of the writedown increases are all contradict

40、ory to the impression often given by the financial press, and perhaps management itself, that the writedo</p><p>　　Source: Zucca,Linda J,David R.Campbell.A closer look at discretionary writedowns of impaired

41、 assets[J].Accounting Horizons,1992(3):30－41.</p><p><b>　　譯文：</b></p><p>　　對(duì)可操控資產(chǎn)計(jì)提減值的審視</p><p><b>　　當(dāng)前環(huán)境</b></p><p>　　當(dāng)一項(xiàng)資產(chǎn)的賬面價(jià)值超過(guò)其公允價(jià)值的時(shí)候。這項(xiàng)資產(chǎn)

42、被認(rèn)為是“減值的”。一個(gè)公司確認(rèn)資產(chǎn)價(jià)值的減損，隨后記錄由減少資產(chǎn)的賬面價(jià)值和借記損益表賬戶而帶來(lái)的影響時(shí)，這個(gè)公司就記錄了“資產(chǎn)減值”。一般的公認(rèn)會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則清楚地認(rèn)同這幾種情況下的減記。首先，一定的流動(dòng)資產(chǎn)，如有價(jià)證券、存貨，都被定期進(jìn)行檢查，調(diào)整為較低的成本或者市價(jià)。同樣，長(zhǎng)期股權(quán)投資的價(jià)值也定期地調(diào)整，以成本與市價(jià)孰低計(jì)量，盡管利潤(rùn)表沒有受到影響。最后，任何擬出售的長(zhǎng)期資產(chǎn)(包括資產(chǎn)作為停止經(jīng)營(yíng)而被出售的一個(gè)組成部分)也被調(diào)整為可變

43、現(xiàn)凈值。一個(gè)公司進(jìn)行的資產(chǎn)減記大部分都屬于以上這三種類別。</p><p><b>　　時(shí)機(jī)和動(dòng)機(jī)</b></p><p>　　目前，部分受損的壽命較長(zhǎng)的資產(chǎn)價(jià)值的減記被認(rèn)為是在管理層決策（和他們的審計(jì)人員的支持）的結(jié)果。因此，研究管理層作出決策記錄資產(chǎn)減值的時(shí)間和動(dòng)機(jī)是十分重要的。由于管理層的無(wú)能和對(duì)于決策過(guò)程的沉默，我們很難評(píng)估是什么促使管理層記錄資產(chǎn)減值。通常研

44、究者可以從得到的數(shù)據(jù)中得出結(jié)論來(lái)提供明顯的驅(qū)動(dòng)因素。在本文中，盈余管理將被認(rèn)為企業(yè)決策資產(chǎn)減值的一種可能的解釋。</p><p>　　通過(guò)觀察，存在兩種盈余管理的可能模式：1.收益平滑。2.大清洗。收益平滑是這樣一種盈利模式：管理層渴望保持一種穩(wěn)定的可預(yù)測(cè)的盈利增長(zhǎng)速率。管理層可能嘗試記錄一些可以支配的收益和虧損，在此期間，盡量幫助他們實(shí)現(xiàn)增長(zhǎng)穩(wěn)定的目標(biāo)。這個(gè)目標(biāo)被視為是可取的，因?yàn)楣芾砟Ｊ降募?lì)結(jié)構(gòu)，以平滑盈余

45、獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)計(jì)劃，或者這樣一種希望：市場(chǎng)把收益平滑視為一種降低風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和隨之帶來(lái)的較高收益的股票的一種手段。因此，在資產(chǎn)價(jià)值減記的情況下，一個(gè)有減值資產(chǎn)公司可能會(huì)試圖記錄在一個(gè)時(shí)期高于正常收入的損失，也可能控制損失的時(shí)間，以配合可支配收益（例如，贏得了大量的訴訟及和解）。盈余管理的第二種形式被稱為“大清洗?！痹谶@種情況下，公司出現(xiàn)大量計(jì)提資產(chǎn)減值的，公司在改期的收益低于正常收益，管理層更有可能進(jìn)行“大清洗”，目的在于提示投資者說(shuō)：“困難時(shí)期”的背后

46、他們美好的時(shí)間將隨之而來(lái)。在可以控制的資產(chǎn)計(jì)提</p><p>　　減值準(zhǔn)備的情況下，這個(gè)理由是合適的，因?yàn)橘Y產(chǎn)價(jià)值的減計(jì)在以后期間可以降低折舊費(fèi)用?！按笄逑础北徽J(rèn)為是一種進(jìn)行資產(chǎn)價(jià)值減計(jì)的可能動(dòng)機(jī)。確定盈余管理是否在本研究中是適時(shí)減計(jì)資產(chǎn)價(jià)值的可能動(dòng)機(jī)：收益平滑被認(rèn)為是在計(jì)提資產(chǎn)減值之前的收入要高于計(jì)提之后的收入。通過(guò)計(jì)提資產(chǎn)減值，報(bào)告收益比較接近（但不低于）預(yù)期的水平。而“大清洗”的特點(diǎn)是計(jì)提資產(chǎn)減值之前的收

47、入低于預(yù)期的業(yè)績(jī)，因此，公司記錄了一些其他損失，在該會(huì)計(jì)期間內(nèi)，收益遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于預(yù)期。</p><p>　　計(jì)提資產(chǎn)減值的經(jīng)濟(jì)后果</p><p>　　通過(guò)觀察計(jì)提資產(chǎn)減值中或之后的經(jīng)濟(jì)指標(biāo)來(lái)評(píng)估價(jià)值毀損資產(chǎn)的計(jì)提資產(chǎn)減值記錄的結(jié)果。此次研究有三個(gè)指標(biāo)：股票市場(chǎng)對(duì)此的反映，并購(gòu)的頻率，以及通過(guò)主要比率來(lái)衡量公司財(cái)政的健康度。其中每一個(gè)指標(biāo)都得分開討論。</p><p>

48、　　股票市場(chǎng)對(duì)此的反映。在披露計(jì)提資產(chǎn)減值之后的減記公司平均股價(jià)的回升（調(diào)整后的現(xiàn)金股利、股票股利和公司特定的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)）帶來(lái)的市場(chǎng)回報(bào)與減計(jì)之前60天的平均股價(jià)相比較。平均而言，在這段時(shí)間內(nèi)，減記公司并沒有其他主要的或是多余的報(bào)酬。他們就像公司的控制組一樣在同一時(shí)間控制著工業(yè)和資產(chǎn)的規(guī)模。</p><p>　　這些結(jié)果并不違背公司的價(jià)格自由上漲的實(shí)例的證據(jù)。相反，這表明市場(chǎng)一定會(huì)對(duì)一些公司產(chǎn)生消極影響。 因此，公司的

49、減記記錄就像是經(jīng)歷一個(gè)與消極的市場(chǎng)一樣的積極市場(chǎng)反應(yīng)。</p><p>　　隨后的并購(gòu)活動(dòng)。一些經(jīng)商的和學(xué)術(shù)領(lǐng)域的人士認(rèn)為減記意味著主要資金結(jié)構(gòu)的變化，例如收購(gòu)，或是與同等規(guī)模的公司兼并。為了調(diào)查這一論點(diǎn)，每個(gè)減記公司都要從減記日起，以1987年末開始的并購(gòu)為依據(jù)，與同規(guī)模的公司相比較，結(jié)果如表2，表明大量的減記公司從事并購(gòu)。 然而，測(cè)試檢測(cè)并購(gòu)的頻率并非大大高于減記公司（只多出0.05個(gè)等級(jí)）。這意味著一個(gè)偶然

50、可能導(dǎo)致明顯的不同。并沒有數(shù)據(jù)支持被損害資產(chǎn)的自由減記如同公司的并購(gòu)。</p><p>　　隨之而來(lái)的財(cái)務(wù)狀況。要想評(píng)估減記的相對(duì)財(cái)務(wù)狀況，并且在減記階段管理公司，我們選取四了個(gè)金融變量進(jìn)行測(cè)定，以六個(gè)百分點(diǎn)為取點(diǎn)，以減記的三年前和三年后為時(shí)間段，而這四個(gè)金融變量分別是（1）現(xiàn)金分紅增長(zhǎng)率（2）收入/性價(jià)比（3）債務(wù)產(chǎn)權(quán)率（4）資產(chǎn)收益率。由于對(duì)金融變量的顯著影響以及對(duì)</p><p>　

51、　每個(gè)變量闡明了長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)上更加明晰的發(fā)展趨勢(shì)，這段記錄在案的減記時(shí)期并未算作在內(nèi)。另外，由于減記項(xiàng)目的種類變化較多，減記公司會(huì)基于減記總額占公司資產(chǎn)總額的百分比來(lái)分成兩組。以這種方式進(jìn)行的分組，將有利于觀察在隨后一階段，減記規(guī)模對(duì)公司財(cái)務(wù)狀況的影響。而這兩組也將會(huì)被稱為大減記和小減記。</p><p>　　這些運(yùn)算及變量的結(jié)果將會(huì)在數(shù)據(jù)4中呈現(xiàn)出來(lái)。在此期間，這三組數(shù)據(jù)（大減記，小減記，控制）不同之處的重要性，將在每

52、個(gè)百分點(diǎn)的特定時(shí)間，通過(guò)方差分析的方法評(píng)估出來(lái)。</p><p><b>　　概括與總結(jié)</b></p><p>　　對(duì)于有損資產(chǎn)的自由減記的統(tǒng)計(jì)檢驗(yàn)，得出以下結(jié)論：</p><p>　　第一，1981至1983年的事件發(fā)生的率很低。此種結(jié)果表明兩種情形：其一，有損資產(chǎn)在一般會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則中不常出現(xiàn)；其二，更現(xiàn)實(shí)的說(shuō)，局部受損的數(shù)目占主要，但是少數(shù)特

53、別的規(guī)則要求，減記不被記錄。此種情形為社區(qū)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)設(shè)定做了暗示，因?yàn)樗鼘?duì)潛在規(guī)則的評(píng)估帶來(lái)了困難。公司的記錄減記趨向于資本密集型，并將在紐約證券交易所進(jìn)行交易。減記也有絕對(duì)和相對(duì)之分，可能反映所包含的受損資產(chǎn)。</p><p>　　第二，這些記錄主要是記錄本年第四季度的財(cái)政狀況的，也許是因?yàn)轭A(yù)算和審計(jì)等過(guò)程都在那個(gè)時(shí)間段，所以進(jìn)行吸引了更加廣泛的注意。管理層傾向于將這些記錄視作對(duì)不尋常事物的記錄，強(qiáng)調(diào)將它們當(dāng)作獨(dú)立

54、的，反映公司收入的曲線指標(biāo)。但是，甚至在證券委員會(huì)頒布對(duì)特別的所得計(jì)算書待遇的禁令之前，沒有任何一家公司在繼續(xù)業(yè)務(wù)運(yùn)行之后，公布了這些記錄。</p><p>　　第三，大多數(shù)公司記錄下它們的財(cái)產(chǎn)總值時(shí)，其利潤(rùn)已經(jīng)低于正常時(shí)的收益了（一個(gè)大水缸）。但是，通過(guò)其他收入或者是不同尋常的高利潤(rùn)（收入波動(dòng)）補(bǔ)償了記錄所表明的25%的財(cái)產(chǎn)。這些理由為記錄被用于管理利潤(rùn)這一議題提供了有利的支持。</p><

55、p>　　最后，這些記錄不是公司改良財(cái)政狀況的前兆。尚未發(fā)現(xiàn)確切的證據(jù)表明股票市場(chǎng)和記錄之間有確定的聯(lián)系。通過(guò)同一些集團(tuán)化的公司做對(duì)比，通過(guò)合并或提升公司能夠使得這些記錄的數(shù)據(jù)獲得顯著增加。</p><p>　　總而言之，支配性的公司在一些基關(guān)鍵性的關(guān)于財(cái)政基礎(chǔ)方面的特征要優(yōu)于記錄公司。而且，關(guān)于財(cái)產(chǎn)部分所做的記錄越多，公司其財(cái)政健康度也更加傾向</p><p><b>　　

56、于不良。</b></p><p>　　對(duì)于那些即使缺乏特殊的規(guī)章條件但依然確實(shí)決定記錄部分資產(chǎn)減值的公司，這項(xiàng)研究表明其結(jié)果并非是有利的。缺乏盈余管理的警告的證據(jù)而將這些計(jì)提的減值作為第四季度的調(diào)整記錄下來(lái)，最終導(dǎo)致的與計(jì)提資產(chǎn)減值相關(guān)的財(cái)政健康程度的下降都與記錄可以產(chǎn)生良好效果的映像是相矛盾的，作為政策制定者而言，它提供了一個(gè)進(jìn)退兩難的困境，那就是到底有多少公司實(shí)際上有不良資產(chǎn)，但是迄今為止，并未記