The paper analyses the problems of financial reporting disclosures by public companies, particularly in the context of the apparent contradiction between widespread claims of information overload on the one hand and continuing claims from users that they do not receive all the information they...

This paper reviews the principal candidates for bases of measurement in financial reporting - historical cost, value to the business (also known as deprival value or current cost), fair value, realisable value, and value in use - explains how they work, and discusses their advantages and...

The paper reviews calls for a new reporting model for business, including calls for recognition of intangible assets in accounts or for a framework for disclosure of intangibles in non-financial reporting. The paper argues for business reporting to be seen as a complex social institution that...

The paper summarises the development of the economic theory of the firm, with particular reference to the work of Knight, Coase and Williamson, and examines its potential relevance to questions of measurement in financial reporting. Based on differences between firms' business models, and...

The paper notes a growing demand for risk reporting in recent decades. Researchers who have looked at the experience of risk reporting across different sectors often express a degree of disappointment with it. The paper reviews the findings of research on this subject, and identifies reasons why...

The report looks at the costs and benefits of regulating SMEs' financial reporting, at why SMEs may require a different regime from other businesses, and at what research can tell us about these questions. It concludes that the evidence available to date is insufficient to develop policies that...

The report looks at various ways in which it is possible that financial reporting encourages short-termism, including use of fair values, short-period reporting, excessive frequency of reporting, the conflict between timeliness and reliability, and externalities. It concludes that – with the...

Hereditary monarchy was the dominant form of government until the modern era. In view of its obvious disadvantages, its success needs explaining. The primary explanation has four components. (1) In the pre-modern era, collective action problems made oligarchy and democracy difficult except in...

This paper reviews the empirical research evidence on the effects of mandatory IFRS adoption in the EU. The research is classified and assessed in relation to the objectives of EU Regulation 1606/2002, which made IFRS mandatory in the EU. The review finds that there is evidence of benefits...

The report explains why accounting is not a purely mechanical activity, but is affected by the incentives of those involved in the accounting process and by surrounding institutions, which help shape incentives and facilitate and constrain managers' actions. It looks at the principal factors...