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WILEY
Intermediate Accounting
BRUCE J. McCONOMY,
JERRY J. WEYGANDT, Ph.D., CPA Ph.D., CPA, CA
Arthur Andersen Alumni Professor Professor and KPMG Foundation Fellow
of Accounting in Accounting
University of Wisconsin Wilfrid Laurier University
Madison, Wisconsin Waterloo, Ontario
WILEY
VICE PRESIDENT, EDUCATION Tim Stookesberry
DIRECTOR, BUSINESS, ACCOUNTING, AND FINANCE Michael McDonald
SENIOR EDITOR Emily Marcoux
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Kirsten Loose
ASSOCIATE PRODUCT DESIGNER Daleara Hirjikaka
PRODUCT DESIGN MANAGER Karen Staudinger
SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER Anita Osborne
SENIOR CONTENT MANAGER Dorothy Sinclair
PRODUCTION EDITOR Rachel Conrad
DESIGN Wiley
COVER DESIGN Joanna Vieira/Wiley
COVER PHOTOGRAPHS © Vadim Petrov/123RF
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References to the CPA Canada Handbook-Accounting are reprinted (or adapted) with permission from
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Questions adapted from the Uniform Final Evaluation and the Financial Accounting: Assets (FA2)
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Printed in the United States of America
V10015445_110719
Dedication
Dedicated to our students, who, as graduates and professional accountants, will ably lead us
through the next few decades, a period which promises to be an exciting one, with technological
advancements accelerating the pace of change.
v
About the Authors
Canadian Edition Canadian Financial Accounting Cases-2nd edition, Account-
IRENE M. WIECEK, FCPA, FCA ,isaProfessorofAccount- ing Perspectives, and Journal of Accounting Case Research.
ing, Teaching Stream at the University of Toronto, where she Bruce is an Associate Editor and is on the Advisory Commit-
is cross-appointed to the Institute for Management & Inno- tee of Accounting Perspectives and is on the Editorial Advisory
vation and the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management. Board of the International Journal of Accounting & Informa-
She has taught financial reporting in various programs, in- tion Management.
cluding the Commerce Program (Accounting Specialist) and
U.S. Edition
the CPA-accredited Master of Management & Professional
Accounting Program (MMPA). The Director of the MMPA DONALD E. KIESO, Ph.D., CPA, received his bachelor's degree
Program (previously Associate Director), she co-founded (in from Aurora University and his doctorate in accounting from
2004) and was Director of the CPA/ Rotman Centre for Inno- the University of Illinois. He has served as chair of the De-
vation in Accounting Education, which supported and facil- partment of Accountancy and is currently the KPMG Emeri-
itated innovation in accounting education until 2018. Irene tus Professor of Accountancy at Northern Illinois University.
has been involved in professional accounting education for He has public accounting experience with Price Waterhouse
over 25 years, sitting on various provincial and national pro- & Co. (San Francisco and Chicago) and Arthur Andersen
fessional accounting organization committees as well as de- & Co. (Chicago) and research experience with the Research
veloping and directing the CICA IFRS Immersion Programs Division of the American Institute of Certified Public
for practising accountants. She was appointed a member Accountants (New York). He has done post-doctorate work as a
of the E&Y Academic Resource Center, where she helped Visiting Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley and
to author a new IFRS curriculum for the Americas. In the is a recipient of NIU's Teaching Excellence Award and four
area of standard setting, she has chaired the CAAA Finan- Golden Apple Teaching Awards. Professor Kieso is the author
cial Reporting Exposure Draft Response Committee and is of other accounting and business books and is a member of the
currently a member of the IFRS Discussion Group (IDG). American Accounting Association, the American Institute of
Irene co-authored the IFRS Primer: International GAAP Certified Public Accountants, and the Illinois CPA Society.
Basics (Canadian and U.S . editions) and was the co-editor He is the recipient of the Outstanding Accounting Educator
and contributor for the books Leveraging Change-The New Award from the Illinois CPA Society, the FSA's Joseph A.
Pillars ofAccounting Education and Educating Professionals: Silvoso Award of Merit, the NIU Foundation's Humanitarian
Ethics and Judgment in a Changing Learning Environment. Award for Service to Higher Education, the Distinguished
She co-authored the Guide to IFRS in Canada series, which Service Award from the Illinois CPA Society, and in 2003
is published by CPA Canada. Irene is on the editorial board received an honorary doctorate from Aurora University.
of Accounting Perspectives.
JERRY J. WEYGANDT, Ph.D., CPA , is Arthur Andersen Alumni
BRUCE J. McCONOMY, Ph.D., CPA, CA , is a Professor Professor of Accounting at the University of Wisconsin-
of Accounting and a KPMG Foundation Fellow in Accounting Madison. He holds a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of
at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Illinois. His articles have appeared in Accounting Review, Jour-
Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. He was a Senior nal of Accounting Research, Accounting Horizons, Journal of
Audit Manager with Deloitte before returning to Queen's Accountancy, and other academic and professional journals.
University to obtain his Ph.D. in accounting. Bruce is Director Professor Weygandt is the author of other accounting and
of the Graduate Diploma in Accounting program at Laurier financial reporting books and is a member of the American Ac-
and was Director of the CPA Ontario Centre for Capital Mar- counting Association, the American Institute of Certified Pub-
kets and Behavioural Decision Making, and its predecessor lic Accountants, and the Wisconsin Society of Certified Public
Centre, from 2005-2018. He has been teaching intermediate Accountants. He has been actively involved with the American
financial accounting since the late 1990s in Laurier's B.B.A. Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has been a mem-
and M.B.A. programs, and also teaches in Laurier's Ph.D. in ber of the Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC)
Management program. Bruce has published articles in Con- of that organization. He also served on the FASB task force that
temporary Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting, Audit- examined the reporting issues related to accounting for income
ing and Finance, Journal of Business, Finance and Accounting, taxes. He is the recipient of the Wisconsin Institute of CPAs'
Accounting, Auditing &Accountability Journal , Canadian Jour- Outstanding Educator's Award and the Lifetime Achievement
nal of Administrative Sciences, and Accounting Perspectives. He Award. In 2001, he received the American Accounting Associ-
has also published cases in Issues in Accounting Education, ation's Outstanding Accounting Educator Award.
vi
ABO UT THE AUTHORS vii
TERRY D. WARFIELD, Ph.D. , is the PwC Professor in Review, Accounting Horizons, and Issues in Accounting
Accounting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He Education. Professor Warfield h as served on the Finan-
received a B.S. and M.B.A. from Indiana University and a cial Accounting Standards Committee of the American
Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Iowa. Professor Accounting Association (Chair 1995-1996) and the AAA-
Warfield's area of expertise is financi al reporting, and pri- FASB Research Conference Committee. He currently serves
or to his academic career, he worked for five years in the on the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council of
banking industry. He served as the Academic Accounting the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Professor War-
Fellow in the Office of the Chief Accountant at the U.S. Se- field has received teaching awards at both the University of
curities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., Iowa and the University of Wisconsin, and he was named
from 1995-1996. Professor Warfield's primary research · to the Teaching Academy at the University of Wisconsin in
interests concern financial accounting standards and dis- 1995. Professor Warfield h as developed and published sev-
closure policies. He has published scholarly articles in The eral case studies based on his research for use in account-
Accounting Review, Journal ofAccounting and Economics, Re- ing classes. These cases have been selected for the AICPA
search in Accounting Regulation, and Accounting Horizons, Professor-Practitioner Case Development Program and have
and he has served on the editorial boards of The Accounting been published in Issues in Accounting Education .
Preface
As we present the twelfth edition of this course, we note that over continuing to refine the conceptual framework, working on the
the years, so much has changed in the accounting profession. We principles of disclosure framework, and rethinking perform-
adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in ance measures. So as you work your way through the material
Canada as well as Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises in this course, think about two things: foundations and reflec-
(ASPE), both starting in 2011-moving us into a multiple GAAP tion. We have added some new features to help with this.
environment. In addition, we saw a merger of the three main leg-
acy accounting bodies (representing Chartered Accountants, Cer-
tified Management Accountants, and Certified General Account- Engaging Students Digitally
ants), resulting in one unified group: the Chartered Professional
Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada). From an educational Intermediate Accounting, Twelfth Canadian Edition, is
perspective, the outcome was a new CPA Canada Competency completely integrated with WileyPLUS, featuring a suite of
Map with a broader curriculum, newly formatted professional teaching and learning resources. WileyPLUS allows you to
examinations with a changed emphasis (Common Final Exami- create a personalized study plan, assess your progress along
nations), and a new roadmap for accredited programs and educa- the way, and access the content and resources needed to
tional pathways into the CPA profession. master the material. WileyPLUS provides immediate insight
The body of knowledge seems to have swelled as a result into your strengths and problem areas with visual reports
of these changes. We have been striving to navigate these new that highlight what's most important for both the instructor
waters as well as thinking about how the different technical and student.
areas interrelate. As we have found out, "more" is not always Many dynamic resources are integrated into the course to
better. Our curricula seem to be ever expanding. Many of us, as help you build your knowledge and understanding, stay moti-
accounting educators, feel that the more we add to the curric- vated, and prepare for decision making in a real-world context.
ulum, the less students learn (and retain). So what do we do? WileyPLUS also includes Orion, an integrated adaptive prac-
It is important to emphasize that students must continue to tice that helps you build proficiency and use your study time
learn the technical material (both quantitative and qualitative). most effectively. Additional features of the WileyPLUS course
This is the foundation of who we are as accountants. But stu- include:
dents must also learn to think through unstructured problems,
especially given the impact of new technologies on emerging
Chapter OAccounting Cycle Review
industries and business models. How do we get there? We all
need to clear time and space for working through messy prob- This section offers you adaptive review and practice for
lems and for subsequent reflection-not an easy task when essential accounting topics necessary to master Intermedi-
there is so much foundational material that needs to be learned. ate Accounting. Built to serve as a refresher of introductory
This edition reaffirms the need for foundational, techni- accounting content, this chapter includes reading content,
cal knowledge but it also reaffirms the need to help students algorithmic practice, and interactive tutorials built to improve
deal with complicated problems. Part of the key to the latter your performance.
is reflection. Who uses financial statements and why? How
do accounting standards help provide useful information?
Our hope is to help produce capable decision-makers who are
New Solution Walkthrough Lightboard Videos
thoughtful and able to continue to grow and evolve even when These videos feature the authors working through more
things keep changing. We encourage students to reflect and than fifty end-of-chapter problems. In these videos, we work
to think about things a little more deeply. This can be surpris- through numerous problems to help you gain a deeper under-
ingly fruitful in developing insights and lasting knowledge. By standing of various technical and conceptual issues. You
continually going back to the basics of decision-making in the can watch these multiple times if needed, in order to master
accounting environment, we can start the reflection process. the material. These will help you not only to master techni-
It is a good time to do this because IFRS and ASPE are, cal materials, but also to pause and think about the issues.
for the moment, fairly stable (after a flurry of new standards Many of these videos anchor and reinforce the foundations of
affecting financial instruments, measurement, revenue recog- accounting. In addition to the Lightboard videos, the Wiley-
nition and leases (IFRS 9, 13, 15, and 16)). Many of the larger, PLUS course also offers approximately sixty additional solu-
more complex accounting topics have been studied with new tion walkthrough videos offering just-in-time homework
accounting standards produced and put in place. We are now assistance and problem-solving techniques. Questions that are
looking at how these are being implemented. We note that accompanied by videos are identified by a ~ word
the standard setters seem to be going back to basics as well, mark. ·
viii
PREFACE ix
Excel Templates and Excel Function Videos and governance, and taxation. Many of our end-of-chapter
questions have an integration aspect. For those problems that
These videos provide you with step-by-step examples of how most directly focus on integration, we also include integration
to use Excel Functions. Excel templates are also available for word marks so that they are easily identified. By integrating
selected end of chapter questions. accounting knowledge with knowledge in related areas, you
will gain a deeper understanding of things. We continue with
New Module on Data Analytics our Office Hour Video feature developed for the eleventh edi-
tion, focusing on integration-related topics in most chapters.
A new accounting-specific data analytics module with interac-
tive lessons, case studies, and videos has been prepared using
industry-validated content to help you develop the profes- CPA Competency Map Integration
sional competencies needed for the Common Final Examina- At the start of each chapter, we provide a chart linking that
tion (CFE) and the changing workforce. chapter's Learning Objectives with the related requirements
of CPA Canada's Competency Map. This information will help
those of you planning to obtain their Advanced Certificate in
New and Continuing Features Accounting and Finance (ACAF) or write the CFE to link the
coverage of intermediate accounting topics to the CPA educa-
New Practice Problems tional requirements. We have also mapped the content against
We have included a Practice Problem at the end of each chap- the Competency Map and Knowledge Supplement. These
ter that reviews some of the key material from the chapter, appear in Appendix D. In addition, the material in WileyPLUS
together with the related solution. As a first step after reading has been more comprehensively mapped.
the chapter, you will find these problems a jumping-off point
to working through the end-of-chapter material. Emphasis on Business
New Examples
Each chapter has been rewritten and reformatted to provide Books
specific examples within the chapter illustrating key con-
cepts. Each example has a fact set, instructions, and a solu-
tion. Highlighting the examples and structuring them in a Cash
consistent manner means that you will be able to test your
Company Customer
knowledge and to quickly identify examples in any chap-
ter. The numerous examples are easily searchable and rein-
force the basics as well as covering nuances and explaining The focus of many of the feature stories that start each chapter in
reasoning. this edition is on the business models of various companies and
industries, along with accounting issues that affect them. The
first section of most chapters focuses on Understanding the
New Emphasis on Data Analytics Business, which introduces the accounting topic in the context
With the advent of new technologies, more data are being of everyday business. Many chapters have a business trans-
created and collected. How do companies use this explo- actions example box. In most business transactions, you give
sion of data to make accounting and other decisions? We something up and receive something. These boxes are meant to
have highlighted the exciting developments in the growing help you understand what has been given up and what has been
field of data analytics in vignettes and in chapter topics. received in the transaction. This is tremendously helpful when
The word mark calls the reader's atten- you are trying to decide how to account for a transaction or eco-
tion to this new addition. These additions will allow you nomic event. We have added some new feature stories dealing
to begin to think about emerging issues and their impact with current issues relating to new technologies.
on accounting. Selected chapters include an Analytics in
Action question that allows you to apply the information Emphasis on IFRS and ASPE
derived from the analysis of "big" data to various real-
life accounting scenarios. You will find the data sets and Ilia mJ Individual IFRS and ASPE word marks call
detailed instructions accompanying these questions in your attention to items treated differently by the two sets of stand-
WileyPLUS course. ards. When the IFRS and ASPE word marks appear side by
side this indicates a direct comparison between the two
approaches. Side-by-side journal entries are used to illus-
Emphasis on Integration with Related Areas
trate differences in treatment between IFRS and ASPE, and
We have included integration word marks (such as U!.fl.Igj help with analytical thinking. The end-of-chapter charts that
and rJmD) in each chapter to help identify key areas of identify the major differences between IFRS and ASPE include
integration, including integration of accounting with finance, a column with cross-references to relevant examples, illustra-
law, economics, managerial accounting, auditing, strategy tions, and brief exercises that describe the differences outlined
X PREFACE
in the comparison chart. The chapter's Looking Ahead feature impact of each transaction on the company's financial position
alerts you to upcoming changes to accounting standards. and cash flows.
• reducing key terms where necessary and adding a few elements, and other items to help assess the maintenance
new ones dealing with biological assets; and and impairment requirements.
• streamlining learning objectives and headings.
Chapter 12 Intangible Assets and Goodwill
• Examples and financial statement disclosures have been
updated and refreshed. • The Looking Ahead section was updated to discuss some
changes being considered in relation to goodwill impairment
• The opening story features the use of new technologies in
and a related Discussion Paper/Exposure Draft being con-
collecting large amounts of data to assist with inventory
sidered by the IASB.
count procedures and subsequent analyses.
• A data analytics example has been included that discusses
the use of "Big Data" by bricks and mortar and online
Chapter 9 Investments
retailers to enhance their customers' shopping experience.
• Chapter 9 has been reorganized and simplified. We have: The discussion of the most valuable brands in Canada,
• restructured the main headings to coincide with learn- and the world, was updated to reflect the rise in high tech-
ing objectives; nology firms internationally.
standardized journal entries (sale, dividend income,
revaluations); Appendix C The Accounting Information System
• moved the summary of methods to the end of the chap- • The prior Chapter 3 (from the eleventh edition) has been
ter; and split into two parts for ease of use and flexibility.
• removed references to IAS 39, since IFRS 9 is now fully • The overview and review of accounting transactions,
in effect. journal entries, and other aspects of the accounting cycle
• The recording of premium/discounts on bonds under the has been moved to Appendix C (after Chapter 12) for
FV-NI model is no longer identified as an IFRS/ASPE instructors who prefer to have this as a review and ref-
difference in the chapter. Examples reflect recording of erence tool for students (rather than something that they
premium/discount amortization separately in journal will teach in class).
entries since, under IFRS, companies may capture the infor- • For instructors who prefer to have an in-class review of
mation in this manner (similar to the ASPE treatment). the accounting information system material, they can
• We have added some commentary on why the standards still do so because the chapter material (including the
are different to help learners with critical thinking and 10-column work sheet approach to assist with financial
reflection. statement presentation) is retained in the self-contained
Appendix. Extensive exercise and problem material has
also been retained as part of Appendix C.
Chapter 10 Property, Plant, and Equipment:
Accounting Model Basics
• A more detailed discussion of the full cost and successful
Other Special Student Supplements by Wiley
efforts methods of accounting for natural resource prop- The Intermediate Accounting Simulation Practice
erties is now included. Set by Fred Pries will help students see how the individ-
• The revaluation method described in Appendix lOB (the ual topics they study in intermediate accounting are related
proportionate method) was reworked and includes an to the accounting systems of an organization and to the
additional column to better illustrate how the amounts in financial statements as a whole. Students play the role of
the journal entries are calculated. a newly hired accountant for Woodlawn Engineering, an
owner-managed company, and prepare a full set of financial
• We updated the Looking Ahead section for recent and
statements starting from an unadjusted trial balance. Each
upcoming changes relating to IAS 16 for property, plant,
module of the simulation is linked to a particular topic
and equipment and IFRS 6 (on mineral resources).
covered in the intermediate accounting course and intro-
duces new information. Students analyze this information,
Chapter 11 Depreciation, Impairment, recommend what adjustments are needed to the books and
and Disposition financial statements of the company, and write reports to
the chief financial officer explaining the basis for their rec-
• The Looking Ahead section was updated to discuss some
ommendations.
changes being considered in relation to goodwill impair-
ment and a related Discussion Paper/Exposure Draft being Canadian Financial Accounting Cases by Camillo Lento
considered by the IASB. and Jo-Anne Ryan provides additional cases at the interme-
• A data analytics example has been added examining how diate level that may be used either for assignment purposes or
companies use predictive analytics to track baseline asset for in-class discussion. The cases are keyed to various topics
performance, machinery failure, the impact of things covered by the two volumes of Intermediate Accounting and
like weather conditions on assets that are exposed to the have been developed using IFRS and ASPE.
PREFACE xiii
Acknowledgements
We thank the users of our eleventh edition, including the many in- We are grateful to the following reviewers for their valuable in-
structors, faculty, and students who contributed to this revision sights and feedback :
through their comments and instructive criticism.
Appreciation is also extended to colleagues at the University of Peter Alpaugh George Brown College
Toronto and the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Darrin Jay Ambrose University of Calgary
Laurier University, who provided input, suggestions, and support, es- Robert Bruce Capilano University/ University of British
pecially Peter Thomas and Allan Foerster, for their professionalism Columbia
and wisdom. A special thanks to Nicola Young, who devoted her time Megan Costiuk University of Regina
and significant energies to reviewing much of the material. Kevin deWolde University of Fraser Valley
It takes many people and coordinated efforts to get an edition Robert Ducharme University of Waterloo
off the ground. Many thanks to the team at John Wiley & Sons, who Catherine Duffy Humber College
are superb: Emily Marcoux, Senior Editor; Daleara Hirjikaka, Product Kathy Falk University of Toronto
Designer; Karen Staudinger, Product Design Manager, who has been Camillo Lento Lakehead University
an integral part of the last seven editions; Rachel Conrad, Production Marie Madill-Payne George Brown College
Editor; Deanna Durnford, Supplements Coordinator; and Anita Cameron Morrill University of Manitoba
Osborne, Senior Marketing Manager. Their enthusiasm and support have Flora Niu Wilfrid Laurier University
been invaluable. The editorial contributions of Laurel Hyatt, Zofia Lau- Jeffrey O'Leary McMaster University
bitz, Denise Showers, and Belle Wong are also very much appreciated. Laura Simeoni York University
Because this was our first time doing Solution Lightboard
We are particularly grateful to Cecile Laurin and Maria Belanger for
Videos, we especially thank Paul Chen, Lisa Holloway, Eric Hurst,
all their help with the end-of-chapter material and solutions. Thanks also
and Caitlyn Flowers, who helped and guided us during a very busy
go to Laura Cumming, Ilene Gilborn, Chris Leduc, Debra Lee-Hue, Ross
and productive three days of studio recording time. Megan Garvin
Meacher, Marisa Morriello, Joel Shapiro, and Marie Sinnott, who contrib-
was very helpful in terms of setting up the slides and formatting as
uted so much to the related supplements and the accuracy of the course.
well as keeping us on track.
We thank CPA Canada and the IFRS Foundation for allowing us
We appreciate the suggestions offered by the following partici-
to quote from their materials.
pants who attended our focus groups:
We appreciate the opportunity to reach out to so many colleagues
and students through this course. Your conversations and input have
Megan Costiuk University of Regina
greatly helped shape the content and made it all it can be. We are
Catherine Duffy Humber College
thankful to be part of a group of such dedicated educators! Let's keep
Joseph Faello Mississippi State University - Meridian
the conversation going.
Arsineh Garabedian Simon Fraser University /Douglas College
Suggestions and comments are always appreciated. We have
WenxiaGe University of Manitoba
striven to produce error-free content, but if anything has slipped
Irene Herremans Simon Fraser University
through the variety of checks undertaken, please let us know so that
Karel Hrazdil Simon Fraser University
corrections can be made to subsequent printings.
Sandra Iacobelli York University
Camillo Lento Lakehead University IRENE M. WIECEK
Sarah Magdalinski Northern Alberta Institute of Toronto, Ontario
Technology wiecek@rotman.utoronto.ca
Ana Marques Nova School of Business and Economics
Deborah Mortimer University of Winnipeg BRUCE McCONOMY
Elizabeth Peltier Concordia University Waterloo, Ontario
Wendy Schultz University of Manitoba bmcconomy@wlu.ca
Wendy Wilson Northern Alberta Institute of Technology October 2018
Brief Contents
VOLUME ONE VOLUME TWO
GLOSSARY G-1
xiv
Contents
Financial Reporting Issues 2-31
1 The Canadian Financial Reporting
Principles-Based Approach 2-32
Environment 1-1 Financial Engineering 2-32
Fraudulent Financial Reporting 2-33
Financial Statements and Financial Reporting 1-3 IFRS/ASPE Comparison 2-34
Accounting and Capital Allocation 1-4 Looking Ahead 2-34
Stakeholders 1-5
Objective of Financial Reporting 1-7
Information Asymmetry 1-9 3 Measurement 3-1
Standard Setting 1-12
Need for Standards 1-12 Measuring Financial Statement Elements 3-2
Parties Involved in Standard Setting 1-12 Valuation Techniques 3-3
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles 1-17 Value in Use Measurements 3-7
GAAP Hierarchy 1-17 Disclosures Relating to Measurement 3-9
Measuring Fair Value Using IFRS 13 3-9
Professional Judgement 1-19
Challenges and Opportunities for the Accounting Present Value Concepts 3-13
Profession 1-19 The Nature of Interest 3-13
Oversight in the Capital Marketplace 1-19 Fundamental Variables in Present Value
Centrality of Ethics 1-20 Calculations 3-14
Different Ways to Perform the Calculations 3-16
Standard Setting in a Political Environment 1-21
Principles versus Rules 1-22 Some Additional Calculations 3-25
IFRS/ASPE Comparison 3-27
Impact ofTechnology 1-23
A Comparison of IFRS and ASPE 3-28
Integrated Reporting 1-24
Conclusion 1-25 Looking Ahead 3-28
xv
xvi CONTENTS
Other Key Measures 4-37 Usefulness of the Statement of Cash Flows 5-34
IFRS/ASPE Comparison 4-38 Financial Liquidity 5-35
A Comparison of IFRS and ASPE 4-38 Financial Flexibility 5-35
Looking Ahead 4-39 Perspectives 5-35
Appendix 4A: Application of the Cash and Accrual Bases IFRS/ASPE Comparison 5-37
of Accounting 4-39 A Comparison of IFRS and ASPE 5-37
Differences Between Cash and Accrual Bases 4-39 Looking Ahead 5-38
Conversion from Cash Basis to Accrual Basis 4-41 Appendix SA: Ratio Analysis: A Reference 5-39
Theoretical Weaknesses of the Cash Basis 4-44 Business Risks 5-39
Financial Ratios 5-40
Usefulness of the Statements of Financial Position Understanding the Nature of Sales Transactions
and Cash Flows from a Business Perspective 5-3 from a Business Perspective 6-4
Analyzing a Statement of Financial Position 5-4 Economics of Sales Transactions 6-4
Assessing Earnings Quality 5-4 Legalities of Sales Transactions 6-9
Assessing the Creditworthiness of Companies 5-4 Information for Decision -Making 6-10
Usefulness and Limitations of the Statement The Asset-Liability Approach to Revenue Recognition:
of Financial Position 5-4 An Overview of the Five-Step Process 6-10
Usefulness 5-5 Identifying the Contract with Customers-Step 1 6-13
Limitations 5-6 Basic Accounting 6-14
Classification in the Statement of Financial Position 5-7 Contract Modifications 6-15
Monetary versus Non monetary Assets Identifying Separate Performance Obligations-Step 2 6-16
and Liabilities 5-7 Material Rights 6-17
Financial Instruments 5-8 Warranties 6-18
Elements of the Statement of Financial Position 5-8 Upfront Fees 6-19
Preparation of the Classified Statement of Financial Series of Goods and Services That Are Substantially the
Position (Balance Sheet) 5-10 Same 6-20
Current Assets 5-10 Determining the Transaction Price-Step 3 6-21
Non-current Investments 5-15 Variable Consideration 6-21
Property, Plant, and Equipment 5-15 Time Value of Money 6-25
Intangible Assets and Goodwill 5-17 Non-cash Consideration 6-27
Other Assets 5-17 Consideration Paid or Payable to Customers 6-27
Current Liabilities 5-18 Allocating the Transaction Price to Separate Performance
Long-Term Debt and Liabilities 5-18 Obligations-Step 4 6-28
Owners' Equity 5-20 Recognizing Revenue When (or As) Each Performance
Statement of Financial Position Format 5-21 Obligation Is Satisfied-Step 5 6-32
Other Required Disclosures 5-22 Earnings Approach to Revenue Recognition 6-35
Contingencies and Provisions 5-22 Selling Goods 6-36
Accounting Policies 5-23 Selling Services 6-37
Contractual Situations 5-23 Measurability and Collectibility 6-38
Additional Detail 5-24 Other Revenue Recognition Issues 6-38
Subsequent Events 5-24 Repurchase Agreements 6-38
Techniques of Disclosure 5-24 Bill-and -Hold Arrangements 6-39
Parenthetical Explanations 5-24 Principal-Agent Relationships 6-39
Notes 5-25 Consignments 6-40
Cross-References and Contra Items 5-25 Summary of Other Revenue Recognition Issues 6-42
Supporting Schedules 5-26 Presentation and Disclosure 6-42
Terminology 5-26 Presentation 6-42
Purpose, Content, and Format of a Statement Disclosure 6-45
of Cash Flows 5-26 IFRS/ASPE Comparison 6-47
Preparation of the Statement of Cash Flows 5-29 A Comparison of IFRS and ASPE 6-47
CONTENTS xvii
1-1
1-2 CHAPTER 1 The Canadian Financial Reporting Environment
potential investors and other stakeholders accurately and consistently with financial reporting
standards-using a common "language" that investors understand.
Sources: John Harrington, "Global UAV Technologies: Pure Play Drone Sector Exposure with Earnings Just Starting
to Take Off," Public Entrepreneur (Canadian Securities Exchange), April 4, 2018; Hamish Khamisa, "Interview with
Canadian Securities Exchange CEO Richard Carleton: Year-End Review 2017," CSE website, January 5, 2018; Armina
Ligaya, The Canadian Press, "Canadian Securities Exchange Trades Record $7.81 Billion in 2017, Thanks to Pot, Block-
chain Buzz," The Financial Post, January 4, 2018; Canadian Securities Exchange corporate website, http://thecse.com;
Global UAVTechnologies 2017 annual report; Global UAVTechnologies corporate website, www.globaluavtech.com.
1. Understand the financial Financial Statements and Financial 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.1, 5.2.3
reporting environment. Reporting
3. Explain the meaning of generally Generally Accepted Accounting 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.1
accepted accounting principles Principles
(GAAP) and the significance
• GAAP hierarchy
of professional judgement in
applying GAAP. • Professional judgement
4. Discuss some of the challenges Challenges and Opportunities for 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.4, 1.2.1, 1.3.1
and opportunities for accounting. the Accounting Profession
Preview of Chapter 1
North American financial reporting systems are among the best in the world. Our commitment to
keeping our financial reporting systems strong is as intense as ever, because in this changing busi-
ness world, information must be relevant and reliable for our capital markets to work efficiently.
Financial Statements and Financial Reporting 1-3
This chapter explains the environment of financial reporting and the many factors that affect it.
It provides the theory and concepts underpinning the topics covered in the rest of the chapters,
giving you the foundation to exercise professional judgement in the many issues that require it.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1
Understand the financial reporting environment.
Like other human activities and disciplines, accounting is largely a product of its environ-
ment. This environment includes conditions, constraints, and influences that are social, eco-
nomic, political, and legal-all of which change over time. As a result, accounting theory and
practices have always evolved and need to continue to evolve in order to remain relevant.
Over the past decade or two, the accounting landscape has changed dramatically, being
shaped by many things-some good and some not so good. These include:
• spectacular business failures, including WorldCom Inc., Enron, and Arthur Andersen;
• capital market failures, including the subprime lending crisis and bank failures;
• near bankruptcies of several countries;
• globalization of capital and other markets;
• globalization of financial reporting standards;
• increasing use of more sophisticated technology; and
• increasing access to information. 1
All of these factors, as well as many others, provide accountants with great challenges but also
great opportunities!
Accounting is defined best by describing its three essential characteristics. Accounting is
(1) the identification, measurement, and communication of financial information (2) about
economic entities (3) to interested persons.
Financial accounting (financial reporting) is the process that culminates in the prepa-
ration of financial reports that cover all of the enterprise's business activities and that are used by Alternative
both internal and external parties. Users of these financial reports include investors, creditors, Terminology 1.1
and others. In contrast, managerial accounting is the process of identifying, measuring,
These financial statements
analyzing, and communicating financial information to internal decision-makers. This in-
are also sometimes called:
formation may take varied forms, such as cost-benefit analyses and forecasts that management
uses to plan, evaluate, and control an organization's operations. This textbook focuses on financial 1. balance sheet,
accounting, while managerial accounting is covered in other courses. 2. income statement,
Financial statements are the principal way of communicating financial information and
to those who are outside an enterprise. These statements give the firm's history, quantified in 3. cash flow statement.
terms of money. The most frequently provided financial statements are the:
Under Accounting
1. statement of financial position, Standards for Private
Enterprises, a statement
2. statement of income/comprehensive income, of retained earnings is
3. statement of cash flows, and generally prepared instead
4. statement of changes in equity. of a statement of changes
in equity.
See Alternative Terminology 1.1.
'Ju lia Christensen Hughes and Joy Mighty, in their book entitled Taking Stock (Queen's School of Policy Studies,
Kingston , 2010), refer to this as the ubiquity of information, meaning that information is now more freely, openly,
and readily available. In the book, Christensen Hughes and Mighty discuss the impact of this phenomenon on
education; however, it applies equally to the capital marketplace.
1-4 CH A PT ER 1 The Canadian Financial Reporting Environment
In addition, note disclosures are an important part of each financial statement. Some
financial information cannot be expressed in the financial statements or is better expressed
through other means. Examples include the president's letter and supplementary schedules
in the corporate annual report, prospectuses, reports filed with government agencies, news
releases, management forecasts, and descriptions of an enterprise's social or environmental
impact. Such information may be required by a pronouncement by an authority, or a regula-
tory rule 2 or custom, or because management wants to disclose it voluntarily. The main focus
of this textbook is the basic financial statements (including notes).
ILLUSTRATION 1.1
$
Capital Allocation Process
capital marketplace-
debt and equity markets
Investors and
Companies
financial institutions
information
(including financial reporting)
In Canada, the primary exchange mechanisms for allocating resources are debt and eq-
uity markets,3 as well as financial institutions such as banks.4 The debt and equity market-
place includes both public stock markets/exchanges and private sources.
illustration 1.2 shows the sources of capital in Canada for various stages of company
growth.
Providing an effective system to facilitate capital allocation is critical to a
healthy economy. Efficient capital markets promote productivity, encourage innovation,
2
All public companies must disclose certain information under provincial securities law. This information is collected
by the provincial securities commissions under the Canadian umbrella organization, the Canadian Securities
Administrators (CSA), and is available electronically at www.sedar.com.
' The largest, most senior equity market in Canada is the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The junior market-the
TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV, formerly called the CDNX Stock Market)- was created in 2001 to handle start-up
companies and the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), another junior market, was launched in 2004. The Montreal
Exchange (MX), known also as the Canadian Derivatives Exchange, is the main market for derivatives and futures
trading. In 2014, the TMX Group, which operates the TSX, launched a new market to help private companies raise
capital (called TSX Private Markets).
' According to Bloomberg in an article entitled "Big 5 Canadian Banks Now Big 3 as Assets Diverge" on July 7, 2014,
what were previously known as the "Big 5"-the Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova
Scotia, Bank of Montreal, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce-have now become the "Big 3" with the first
three listed being the largest.
Financial Statements and Financial Reporting 1-5
PROJECT OR IDEA RESEARCH AND COMMERCIAL STAGE STABLE PRODUCTION OPERATING HISTORY
DEVELOPMENT OR PROTOTYPE STAGE
and provide a platform for buying and selling securities and obtaining and granting credit. 5
Unreliable and irrelevant information leads to poor capital allocation, which hurts the
securities markets and economic growth. The accounting numbers that companies report
affect the transfer of resources among companies and individuals. Consider the fact that
stock prices generally rise when positive news (including financial information) is unexpect-
edly released. In addition, credit rating agencies use accounting and other information to
rate companies' financial stability.6 This gives investors and creditors additional indepen-
dent information to use when making decisions. For companies, a good rating can mean
greater access to capital and at lower costs.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders are parties who have something at risk in the financial reporting environment,
such as their salary, job, investment, or reputation. Key stakeholders in the financial report-
ing environment include traditional users of financial information as well as others. In the
stakeholder context, users may be more broadly defined to include not only parties who are
relying directly on the financial information for resource allocation (such as investors and
creditors) but also others who help in the efficient allocation of resources (such as financial
analysts and regulators).
The broader definition of users includes anyone who prepares, relies on, reviews, au-
dits, or monitors financial information. It includes investors, creditors, analysts, manag-
ers, employees, customers, suppliers, industry groups, unions, government departments and
ministers, the public in general (such as consumer groups), regulatory agencies, other compa-
nies, and standard setters, as well as auditors, lawyers, and others. Illustration 1.3 shows the
relationships among these stakeholders.
Various stakeholders have specific functions in the financial reporting environment. Com-
pany management prepares the financial statements. It has the best insight into the business
and therefore knows what should be included in the financial statements. The statements
are then audited by auditors, who may discuss with management how economic events and
transactions have been communicated in the financial statements. The value that auditors add
to the statements lies in the auditors' independence. They act on behalf of the shareholders to
ensure that management is accounting properly for the economic transactions. The auditors
also review the information to ensure that it reflects sound accounting practices.
' AICPA Special Committee on Financial Reporting, "Improving Business Reporting: A Customer Focus," supplement
in Journal of Accountancy (October 1994).
6
For example, institutions such as Dom inion Bond Rating Service, Moody's Investor Services (Moody's), and Standard
& Poor's rate issuers of bonds and preferred shares in the Canadian and global marketplaces.
1-6 CH A PT ER 1 The Canadian Financial Reporting Environment
ILLUSTRATION 1.3
Selected Key Stakeholders Securities commissions and Analysts/Credit
stock exchanges/markets rating agencies
in the Financial Reporting
Environment
discuss issues review/monitor review/rate provide information
INVESTORS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
MANAGEMENT CREDITORS
RELATED DISCLOSURES
OTHERS
use to make decisions
GAAP
Auditors
Standard setters
* Not all financial statements are required to be audited . In general, all companies whose shares or debt is publicly traded must have an
audit and therefore comply with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Private companies may decide not to have an audit but
must have unanimous shareholder consent according to the Canada Business Corporations Act. For private companies, the decision to
have an audit or not may depend on whether the statements' users would find audited GAAP statements more useful.
l!IJ Investors and creditors rely on the financial statements to make decisions. It is up to
these parties to carefully examine the information given. Standard setters set generally accepted
accounting principles (GAAP). Securities commissions and stock exchanges monitor the
financial statements to ensure full and plain disclosure of material information and to determine
whether the companies may continue to list their shares on stock exchanges. Finally, the credit
rating agencies and analysts monitor and analyze the information produced by the company,
looking for signs of change; that is, an improved or weakened financial condition.
Illustration 1.4 identifies what is at stake for each stakeholder. This is not meant to be a
complete list. Rather, it identifies the major stakeholder groups.
ILLUSTRATION 1.4
What Is at Stake for Each Stakeholder What Is at Stake
Stakeholder
Investors/creditors Investment/ loan
Securities commissions and stock Rep utation, effective and efficie nt capital
exchanges marketplace
Others Various
As noted in Illustration 1.3, the system provides checks and balances to ensure that the
people with capital-the investors and creditors-have good information to use when decid-
ing where best to invest or allocate their capital. The system does not always work, however.
Because the system involves people, human behaviour is often a key unpredictable variable.
People often act in their own self-interest rather than in the best interest of the capital
marketplace, and by extension, the economy. See What Do the Numbers Mean? 1.1.
Financial Statements and Financial Reporting 1-7
Consider the much-publicized crisis that arose when large num- loan agreement, often becoming significantly higher. Therefore,
bers of borrowers with lower-quality, "subprime" mortgages de- even though the borrowers may have been able to afford the loan
fau lted, which was partly responsible for destabilizing the capital payments initially, many could no longer afford them once the
markets and the economy, starting in 2007. What was this all about interest rates became higher. The borrowers borrowed the funds
and how did it trigger a global recession? Much has to do with in- anyway because they wanted to buy houses, even though they
dividuals and entities acting in their own self-interest and a lack of knew or should have known that they might not be able to keep
transparency or lack of understanding of the true risks involved. up with the loan payments in future.
Financial institutions regularly securitize pools of assets in Third, many investors in the SPE did not understand the
order to access the cash that is tied up in the assets. As a general risks they were taking on by investing in this type of pool of assets,
rule, the securitization involves selling the assets to a separate en- which was systemically risky due to the creditworthiness of the
tity, often for cash. The entity then sells units or shares in the pool borrowers and the mortgages' interest rate reset feature.
of assets to investors. The following are the steps in a normal secu- Things began to unwind when the mortgages' interest rates
ritization of mortgage assets: were set higher. This caused many borrowers to default on their
mortgages and lose their homes. These homes were repossessed
1. Lender lends money to customers to buy homes.
and flooded the market, driving house prices down. Many borrow-
2. Lender sells pool of mortgage assets from the above loans to a ers found that the amounts of their mortgages were now higher
separate entity (often referred to as a special purpose entity or than the value of their homes and they walked away from their
SPE). debt, causing more homes to go on sale in an already depressed
3. SPE sells units or shares in the pool of mortgages to investors. market. The investors in the SPE suffered large losses due to the
defaulted loans. All this contributed to a depressed housing mar-
ljj.itd There is nothing inherently wrong with this struc- ket and economy.
ture and it can work very well for all parties as long as they under- From a financial reporting perspective, a few lessons were
stand the risks involved. It is good for borrowers because it makes learned:
funds more accessible. It is good for lenders because they are able
to get their cash out of the mortgage assets. It is good for SPEs 1. Many capital market participants act in their own self-interest
because they earn interest on the pool of assets. Finally, it is good to the potential harm of others.
for investors because they earn a return on their investment. What 2. The amount and nature of risk are not always properly com-
went wrong in the subprime lending situation, then? municated to investors.
First, the lenders or their designated mortgage brokers loaned
3. Investors do not always understand what they are investing in.
money aggressively, in the hopes of higher profits, to borrowers
who may not have been creditworthy. Stakeholders in the capital marketplace continue to work
Second, many of the loans were adj ustable-rate notes, which to ensure that this type of situation does not happen again. For
meant that, initially, the interest rates were low-often below the instance, the International Accounting Standards Board has de-
prime lending rate, which is where the term "subprime" comes clared that it intends to make better communication in financial
from. But afterward, the rates reset themselves according to the reporting an underlying theme in its work over the next few years.
' IASB Conceptual Framework, Chapter l. Copyright © IFRS Foundation. All rights reserved. Reproduced with per-
mission. Reprinted/adapted with permission from the CPA Canada Handbook- Accounting © 2018, Part II, Section
1000.12, by Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. All rights reserved by the copyright owner.
1-8 CHAPTER 1 The Canadian Financial Reporting Environment
the perspective that financial reporting should be focused only on the needs of shareholders-
often referred to as the proprietary perspective-is not considered appropriate.
As mentioned earlier, investors are interested in assessing (1) the company's ability to
generate net cash inflows and (2) management's ability to protect and enhance the capital pro-
viders' investments. Financial reporting should therefore help investors assess the amounts,
timing, and uncertainty of prospective cash inflows from dividends or interest, and the pro-
ceeds from the sale, redemption, or maturity of securities or loans. In order for investors to
make these assessments, they must understand an enterprise's economic resources, the claims
to those resources, and the changes in them. Financial statements and related explanations
should be a primary source for determining this information.
The emphasis on "assessing cash flow prospects" does not mean that the cash basis is pre-
ferred over the accrual basis of accounting. Information based on accrual accounting generally
better indicates a company's present and future ability to generate favourable cash flows than
does information limited to the financial effects of cash receipts and payments. Recall from your
first accounting course the objective of accrual-basis accounting. It ensures that a company re-
cords events that change its financial statements in the periods in which the events occur, rather
than only in the periods in which it receives or pays cash. Using the accrual basis to determine net
income means that a company recognizes revenues when it provides the goods or services rather
than when it receives cash. Similarly, it recognizes expenses when it incurs them rather than
when it pays them. Under accrual accounting, a company generally recognizes revenues when
it makes sales. The company can then relate the revenues to the economic environment of the
period in which they occurred. Over the long run, trends in revenues and expenses are generally
more meaningful than trends in cash receipts and disbursements.
Providing information that is useful to users is a challenging task because they have dif-
ferent needs and levels of knowledge. Institutional investors,8 such as the Canada Pen-
sion Plan (see What Do the Numbers Mean? 1.2), hold an increasing percentage of equity
The Canada Pension Plan ( CPP) is one of the 10 largest retirement invest the CPP funds. Its mandate is to "maximize returns without
funds in the world according to its website. Over 20 million Cana- undue risk of loss."
dians participate in the plan. The plan is managed by the Canada The chart below (based on the CPPIB 2017 Annual Report)
Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), which decides how to shows where the money is invested by type of asset and region.
'Institutional investors are corporate investors such as insurance companies, pension plans, mutual funds, and others.
They are considered a separate class of investors because of their size and fin ancial expertise, and the large size of
the investmen ts that they hold in other companies. In general, for these reasons, institutional investors have greater
power than the average investor.
Fi nancial Statements and Financial Reporting 1-9
The fund stood at $316.9 billion as at March 31, 2017 and CPPIB has increasingly expanded its investment in real assets in-
experienced an 11.8% rate of return for 2017. As you can see in the cluding real estate, infrastructure, agricultural land, energy, and
following diagram, the composition of types of assets has shifted natural resources. As a large institutional investor with substantial
from primarily fixed income to primarily equities-including equities holdings, the CPP is a significant stakeholder in terms of
shares in publicly traded corporations as well as private companies. how publicly traded companies report their financial informat ion.
shareholdings and generally put a lot of their resources into managing their investment portfolios.
Can those who prepare financial information therefore assume that the average individual inves-
tor has the same needs and knowledge level as an institutional investor when it comes to business
and financial reporting? Likely not. 9 We will discuss this issue further in Chapter 2.
Information Asymmetry
Ideally, to facilitate the flow of capital in the most efficient and effective manner, all stake-
holders should have equal access to all relevant information. In other words, there should be
symmetry of access to information (information symmetry). This is nice in theory but it
does not always work in practice. Management may feel that disclosure of too much informa-
tion may hurt the company's competitive advantage or position. For instance, if the company
were in the middle of a lawsuit, management would want to be careful about how much in-
formation was disclosed because it might affect the outcome of the lawsuit. In cases such as
this, the company must weigh the costs and benefits of sharing information. On the one hand,
if the company is known to be open and forthright, revealing information may facilitate the
flow of capital to the company and perhaps lower the cost of capital. On the other hand, if
the company is too open, it might give away proprietary information that might cause profits
to fall. For this reason, perfect information symmetry does not exist and, as a general rule,
management rightly has access to more or better information than others because they run
the company. In other words, there is information asymmetry. (See What Do the Numbers
Mean? 1.3 for a discussion on how the Internet is changing information asymmetry.)
'The Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG) is a group of institutional investors that manages over $3.0
trillion in investments (including investments in private and public equities and bonds). Its members include many
sign ificant pension funds in Canada, such as the Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan,
OPSEU Pension Trust, and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, as well as many significant mutual
funds and financial institutions, such as Mackenzie Financial Corp. , RBC Global Asset Management Inc., and TD
Asset Management Inc. According to its website (www.ccgg.ca), CCGG was started in 2002 "to represent Canadian
institutional shareholders in the promotion of corporate governance practices that best align the interests of boards
and management wi th those of the shareholder." As a comparison point, the total market capitalization of the TSX is
estimated at $2.8 trillion (as at March 2017).
1-10 CHAPTER 1 The Canadian Financial Reporting Environ ment
In their book Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner acknowledge that has changed this. Now, most people do a bit of research before
it is very common in most transactions for one party to have more they go to the doctor. By doing a quick search on the Internet, pa-
or better information than the other. Often, in a transaction, one tients are able to get information so that they know what ques-
party is an expert and the other not. In the capital marketplace, tions to ask and what options might be available for treatment.
experts, including accountants, bankers, institutional investors, Patients can now freely access information about side effects and
and company managers, all have more and better information new drugs. Many people keep their own medical histories. Doc-
than the average consumer or investor. Levitt and Dubner go on to tors understand that their role is to help their patients navigate the
argue, however, that the Internet allows information to pass very significant amount of information that is available, not necessarily
freely from experts to non-experts. They argue that the Internet (only) to dictate a diagnosis and treatment.
has "vastly shrunk the gap between experts and the public." Returning to the business world, the real question is: As peo-
Shifting to another discipline, for example, consider your ple turn more and more to the Internet and the information there
own relationship with your family doctor. Several decades ago, becomes more and more robust, what is the role of experts in the
if something was wrong with you, you would have made an ap- capital marketplace and how will the issue of information asym-
pointment and sat passively in the doctor's office while he or she metry evolve?
analyzed your symptoms and made a diagnosis. At that time, the
doctor might have shared the analysis and diagnosis with you and Source: Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics, HarperCollins
might have handed you an illegible prescription to fill. The Internet Publishers, New York, 2005.
As well as the above, there are other reasons why information asymmetry exists in the
marketplace. This might be due to the way the markets operate or to human nature. Some
issues are as follows:
1. Capital markets such as stock exchanges are not necessarily fully efficient; that is, not all
information is incorporated into the stock prices of companies. The problem, of course,
is that the prices may not reflect hidden or insider information. This may be due to the
reasons noted above, or other reasons in point 2 below.
2. Human behaviour sometimes results in individuals and companies acting in ways that
will maximize their own well-being at the cost of other capital market participants. For
instance, management may wish to show only positive information about a company in
order to ensure access to capital markets or maximize their own personal bonuses.
Accounting and economic theory tries to help us understand these issues. The efficient mar-
kets hypothesis proposes that market prices reflect all publicly available information about
a company. 10
li,!4'14'1 In addition to researching whether market mechanisms are efficient or not, ac-
counting theorists look at the issue of information asymmetry from other perspectives. There
are two common types of information asymmetry problems that are studied by academics.
These are identified and briefly explained below. Basically these theories argue that informa-
tion asymmetry results in a suboptimal or inefficient capital marketplace. In markets where
this phenomenon is observed, investors may discount share prices, require higher returns
on investment (as a penalty for having to deal with the lack of information), or choose not to
invest in the market. In the extreme, information asymmetry may interfere with a company's
ability to access capital and/or minimize the cost of capital.
We will refer back to these concepts throughout the text. Because these concepts are also
studied in other disciplines, the examples below look at them from a financial reporting and
capital marketplace perspective.
Adverse selection-Basically, this means that, where information asymmetry exists, the
marketplace may attract the wrong types of market participants (including buyers and sellers
as well as investors). If buyers cannot assess the quality of the product they are buying, they
may decide not to buy anything or to buy at a discount. Sellers, knowing this, will therefore
HlThere are three forms of the efficient markets hypothesis: (1) the weak form (market prices incorporate all historic
publicly available information), (2) the semi-strong form (market prices incorporate all public information), and (3)
the strong form (market prices incorporate all information whether public or not). Historically, economists have ar-
gued that North American markets are less than perfectly efficient and that they are efficient in the semi-strong form
only. This hypothesis has come under attack in recent years. Many feel that we have put too much faith in the belief
that markets are efficient and may need other mechanisms to deal with information asymmetry.
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THE REBEL CAMP.
Upon a high plateau, the heavy trees had all been cut away over a
large area. They were designed for the construction of an abattis, and
though nothing had been done beyond chopping down the heavy
timber, the large trunks and limbs, lying in all directions, would have
presented almost insurmountable obstacles to the approach of
cavalry or artillery, had the rifle-pits, just beyond, been filled with
men.
Crossing the rifle-pits, the Unionists were in the enemy’s camp,
though still more than half a mile from the fort. Here were the wall
tents of a regiment, all standing in complete order, with the camp-
fires still blazing, the copper pots of soup for dinner boiling over
them, and the half-made biscuits in the pans. Inside the tents
everything was just as the enemy had left it—pistols, shot-guns,
muskets, bowie-knives, clothing, tables partially set for dinner,
letters half-written, with the ink scarcely dry upon the open page,
cards thrown down in the midst of the game, overcoats, blankets,
trunks, carpet sacks, and so on through all the articles of camp life. It
seemed as if the men were out at guard-mounting, and expected to
return in ten minutes.
Along the river bank were long rows of log barracks, enough to
accommodate two or three thousand men, and finished comfortably.
Inside they bore the same indications that the inmates had
decamped without a moment’s warning.
ADVANCE OF NATIONAL GUNBOATS UP
THE TENNESSEE RIVER.
In accordance with the instructions of Commodore Foote, given
before the attack on Fort Henry, immediately after the capture of the
fort, February 6, the gunboats Conestoga, Lexington and Tyler,
under the command of Lieutenant Phelps, advanced up the river
twenty-five miles, to the crossing of the Bowling Green and Memphis
railway, breaking up a portion of the railway bridge, and rendering it
impassable. They next proceeded to destroy the rebel gunboats and
transports, capturing large quantities of munitions of war and
supplies, and advanced up the river for upwards of two hundred
miles to Eastport, in Mississippi, and Florence, at the foot of Muscle
Shoals, in Alabama, annihilating the rebel flotilla in the Tennessee
river. The expedition was welcomed at every point by the
inhabitants. Twenty-five Tennesseans enlisted at Cerro Gordo, where
also three steamers were seized, containing 250,000 feet of valuable
ship timber.
Toward the latter part of February, intelligence reached Fort
Henry that the rebels were fortifying a point on the Tennessee river,
near the Mississippi State line, whereupon Lieutenant-Commanding
William Gwin, with the gunboats Tyler and Lexington, were sent
forward to reconnoitre the position.
Having learned that the rebels had occupied and were fortifying a
place called Pittsburgh, nine miles above, on the right bank of the
river, he determined to attack them.
At twelve M. the Taylor, followed by the Lexington, Lieutenant-
Commanding Shirk, proceeded up the river. When within twelve
hundred yards of Pittsburgh, they were opened upon by the rebel
batteries, consisting of six or eight field pieces, some rifled. Getting
within one thousand yards, the Taylor and Lexington opened a well-
directed fire, and had the satisfaction of silencing the batteries.
They then proceeded abreast of the place, and, under the cover of
grape and canister, landed two armed boats from each vessel,
containing, besides their crews, a portion of company C, Captain
Thaddeus Phillips, and company K, First-Lieutenant John C. Rider,
of the Thirty-second regiment, Illinois Volunteers (sharpshooters).
Second-master Jason Gondy, commanded the boats of the Taylor,
and Second-master Martin Dunn, commanded the boats of the
Lexington. The landing was successfully accomplished. This small
force drove back the rebels, and held them in check until they had
accomplished their difficult object, which was to discover the real
strength and purpose of the enemy, and to destroy a house in close
proximity to the batteries. In addition to their artillery, the enemy
had a force of not less than two regiments of infantry, and a regiment
of cavalry.
February 8, 1862.
Bravely as the army of the West had sustained the honor of the
Union, the crowning glory of taking Fort Donelson remained to be
accomplished. To attack a strongly-defended fort, formidable by
nature and rendered almost impregnable by military art, was a work
of extreme danger, nay, of impossibility to less resolute men.