David Alexander (autor), Stephen A. Zeff (autor), Radek Ignatowski (autor)

Opis

The monograph Global Financial Reporting: The Past, Present and Likely Future, one in the series of seven monographs written on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Department of Accounting at the University of Lodz, examines the development of financial reporting from various perspectives and presents the activities aimed at building foundations for global financial reporting. An unquestioned authority in the latter field was Professor Alicja Jaruga, head of the Department until 1998, who became interested in the worldwide harmonisation of accounting and started the comparative research on international accounting issues in the 1980s. This monograph is intended as a form of tribute to this wonderful person, who passed away in 2011. All three authors were privileged to know her well.

The first chapter, written by David Alexander, addresses the theoretical and conceptual aspects of financial reporting. It deals with the essence of the communication and transmission of financial information, the role of financial (and non-financial) reporting, and the conceptual basis for reporting, among other wide-ranging issues. Some thought is given to questions regarding the application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) after Brexit.

The second chapter, written by Stephen A. Zeff , puts global financial reporting in an institutional perspective and explores the relationship between financial and non-financial reporting. It describes also the US approach to the implementation of IFRS.

The third chapter, written by Radek Ignatowski, covers the regulatory and practical aspects of the adoption of IFRS. It provides an analysis of the Polish regulations relating to IFRS and discusses the results of quantitative and qualitative research on the conservatism of Polish regulations and the quality of financial statements prepared in accordance with EU IFRS.

As exemplified by the content of the monograph, it is possible to combine the knowledge and experience gained from working at various scientific centres in the world (University of Birmingham, UK; Rice University, Houston, USA; University of Lodz, Poland) to achieve a synergistic effect. Based on their extensive specialist expertise, the authors raise the controversial issue of the likely successful achievement, or otherwise, of the global financial reporting initiative, believing that such an issue deserves popularisation and in-depth discussion.

O autorach

David Alexander – now emeritus professor of accounting from the University of Birmingham, UK. Long career in academia; membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales since 1971. Author of many papers and several textbooks on accounting theory and international financial reporting. Research interests: theoretical aspects of financial accounting and reporting; the communication of ideas (defining the underlying ideas; transmitting an understanding of the latter through the medium of language; receiving and ‘decoding’ these communications by recipients who do not share these ideas).

Stephen A. Zeff – professor of accounting at Rice University, Houston, USA, since 1978; Dr. h.c. of foreign universities; lecturer in over 55 countries. Former editor of “The Accounting Review”; president of the American Accounting Association; international research adviser to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Member of the UK Financial Reporting Council academic panel. Author or editor of 31 books, author of over 100 articles in academic and professional accounting journals. Research interests: historical and comparative evolution of standard setting and of accounting thought and practice.

Radek Ignatowski – associate professor of accounting; PhD in economic sciences; employed at the University of Lodz, Poland, since 1984. Member of the Polish Accounting Committee, responsible for international cooperation (since 2004), and the Polish Audit Oversight Commission (since 2016). Author or co-author of about 200 publications, among them books, research papers, scientific articles for the general public, professional guides and other works. Research interests: mergers, transformations and divisions of business entities; group financial reporting; accounting harmonisation and international accounting.