Several studies indicate that stock option plans are becoming more and more a substantial part of compensation schemes in U.S. companies. This paper shows the tax implications and accounting rules for stock option plans. By comparison of the tax and accounting rules for different compensation...

Residual income valuation is based on the assumption that the clean surplus relation holds. As pointed out by Ohlson (2000), among others, the standard clean surplus relation is frequently violated. Moreover, standard residual income valuation models rest on the implicit assumption that future...

This chapter analyzes the role of financial accounting in the German financial system. It starts from the common perception that German accounting is rather 'uninformative'. This characterization is appropriate from the perspective of an arm's length or outside investor and when confined to the...

When liquidity plays an important role as in times of financial crisis, asset prices in some markets may reflect the amount of liquidity available in the market rather than the future earning power of the asset. Mark-to-market accounting is not a desirable way to assess the solvency of a...

Multinational groups (MNGs) produce a major part of global output. Further, a substantial fraction of international transactions happens to be internal, i.e., intermediate products and services are traded between group members. Thus, the problem of co-ordinating economic decisions like...

Sowohl nach Handelsgesetzbuch (HGB) als auch nach International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) kann die Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung entweder nach dem Gesamtkostenverfahren oder nach dem Umsatzkostenverfahren aufgestellt werden. Beide Verfahren führen zwar zum gleichen Ergebnis,...

Cash flow statements have gained popularity worldwide and are now mandatory also under German GAAP for listed companies. Based on International Accounting Standard No. 7 we review their analytical value from both a shareholder's and a creditor's point of view. Cash flow patterns do vary from...

In May 2004 the CFO Forum harmonized the various efforts of reporting the embedded valueof life insurance companies by issuing the European Embedded Value (EEV) Principles.In this working paper a methodology is proposed to derive a maximum lending amountfrom EEV figures without much additional...

Different methods for the translation of financial statements of foreign subsidiaries result in different profit contributions in the consolidated financial statements and accordingly to different amounts of capital maintained as measured in the group's reporting currency. The translation...

The German Commercial Code (HGB) allows banks to build visible reserves for general banking risks according to section 340g HGB. These GBR reserves may, in addition to their risk provisioning function, be used to enhance capital endowment, for internal financing, signaling or earnings management...