Academic literature on the topic 'Accounting of property'

Approved for public release, distribution unlimited<br>One area not identified by the Defense Management Review currently in progress is accountability for the commercial use of the Government Furnished Property located in Defense contractors' facilities. This study focused on this issue to determine if the Department of Defense should strengthen its accounting for contractors' use of Government Furnished Property on commercial work. The results of interviews with 50 Government and contractor Property Administrators at headquarters, field level activities, and contractors' facilities are reported. It was concluded that the current accounting procedures utilized by Defense agencies involved with contractors using Government Furnished Property for commercial work are inadequate and 15 recommendations are presented to correct these accounting deficiencies.

"June 2002" Includes bibliographical references: (p. 30-35). The papers examines the association between the transparency of corporate financial reporting on intangible assets relative to a proxy for total intangible assets, and analyst incentives to follow firms and properties of analysts' earnings forecasts - controlling for endogeneity among these factors. More transparent financial reporting on intangible assets is measured by higher recognition of intangible assets on the balance sheet relative to a proxy variable for total (underlying) intangible assets, market value added which equals equity market value minus book value with intangible assets subtracted. The results suggest (1) a reputation for transparent financial reporting on intangible assets is associated with increased demand for analyst research and thus analyst following incentives; and (2) a reputation for less transparent reporting on intangible assets is associated with higher forecast dispersion and errors due to analysts' greater reliance on their own private information. The study extends research on determinants of analyst following, forecast dispersion and accuracy, and research on the impact of public disclosure on private information acquisition activity.

The aim of this Masters thesis has been to find out if, and how, listed Swedish property companies have prepared themselves for the regulation passed by the European Parliament that requires all EU companies listed in a regulated market as well as companies preparing admission to trading, at the latest from 2005 onwards, to prepare their consolidated financial statements in accordance with a single set of accounting standards, International Accounting Standards (IAS). The thesis work has been concentrated on the analysis of the fair value model in IAS 40, investment property and how companies will measure the fair value of their property. The data and results for this study were collected through interviewing various actors in the real estate market in Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands on the use of fair value accounting for investment properties. Results from the study show that: • 57% of the listed Swedish property companies have started preparations to apply IAS by the year 2005 but it is not likely that any of the companies will change before 2005. • Currently there is significant divergence between some of the IAS and the RRs, which is causing some problems in the conversion process. However there is a general misconception that Swedish laws will need to be revised before the EU regulation can come into effect. • Changes in accounting principles will not affect the underlying cash flows and financial analysts will probably not take much notice of the new " IAS profits". • Unlike in the UK and the Netherlands, use of the fair value model will not affect the dividend payouts or remuneration policies in Sweden. But it will affect the accounting for long leasehold property investments in all of the three countries. • The fair value model was considered to have a lot of advantages over the cost model. • Listed Swedish property companies, unlike the English and Dutch companies, are not ready to adopt the use of the fair value model mainly due to the uncertainty surrounding the measurement of the fair values. • Measurement of the fair values will be based mainly on the discounted cash flow method. • In contrast to the companies studied in the UK and the Netherlands, Swedish property managers were distrustful of the exclusive use of external valuers.<br>Enligt ett beslut i EU-parlamentet ska bolag vars aktier eller skuldebrev är noterade på en börs, upprätta sin externa redovisning enligt International Accounting Standards (IAS)/International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)1 senast år 2005. Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att undersöka om och hur svenska börsnoterade fastighetsbolagen har förebrett sig för kravet om IAS som i praktiken kommer att medför redovisning enligt verkligt värde. Arbetet har koncentrerats till att analysera verkligt värde modellen i IAS 40 och hur fastighetsbolagen kommer att verkligt värdera sina fastigheter. För att får en uppfattning av hur redovisning av fastigheter enligt verkligt värde fungerar i praktiken gjordes ett antal intervjuer hos noterade fastighetsbolag och andra aktörer på fastighetsmarknaden i Storbritannien och Nederländerna innan intervjuerna i Sverige. Undersökningen visar att: • 57 % av de börsnoterade fastighetsbolagen i Sverige har kommit i gång med förberedelserna att redovisa enligt IAS/IFRS senaste år 2005 men det är osannolikt att noterade fastighetsbolagen övergår till IAS/IFRS tidigare än år 2005. • Det finns ett antal väsentliga skillnader mellan några IAS och RR vilket komplicerar konverteringsarbetet. Emellertid finns det en missuppfattning att det behövs några lagändringar innan beslutet om IAS/IFRS kan vara tillämplig i Sverige. • Ändringar i redovisningsnormer kommer inte att påverka företagets kassaflöde och finansanalytikerna troligen kommer inte att bry sig så mycket om de nya "IAS vinsterna". • I motsats till policyn i de engelska och nederländska fastighetsbolagen kommer tillämpning av den verkligt värde modellen inte att påverka utdelningspolicy eller ersättningar i de studerade svenska fastighetsbolagen. Men det kommer att ha en stor betydelse i frågan om leasingavtal. • Den verkligt värde modellen i IAS 40 ansågs att ha många fördelar över den kostnadsmodellen. •De undersökta svenska börsnoterade fastighetsbolagen, i motsats till de i UK och Nederländerna, är inte redo att välja verkligt värde modellen i IAS 40 mest på grund av osäkerheten kring värderingsprocessen och metoderna. • Undersökningen visar också på att bedömning av det verkliga värdet kommer, för det mesta, att baseras på kassaflödesmetoden. • I motsats till fastighetsbolagschefer i Storbritannien och Nederländerna är de svenska fastighetsbolagscheferna mycket negativa till att ha enbart externa värderare. • Den gemensamma tillämpningen av IAS/IFRS i Europa kommer att underlätta jämförelsen av noterade bolags finansiella rapporter och leda till mer fokus på bolagsledning och dess effektivitet. Men än så länge tillämpas inte gemensamma värderingsnormer i alla länder, eller ens i samma land, och därför rekommenderas fortsatt försiktighet gällande rapporterna.

The globalization of world economy has inevitably affected also the movements in harmonization process of accounting standards around the world. International Financial Reporting Standards have become the ultimate accounting and reporting tool of most developed countries. The only remaining counterpart -- the US GAAP, is slowly subsiding to the enormous spread momentum that IFRS gained in recent years. In this setting I examine the application of International standards on accounting treatment of Property, Plant and Equipment, and also the Intangible Assets. Subsequently I compare this treatment to US GAAP and document all major differences still persistent at the end of year 2008. Considering that there are still many divergences between the two sets of standards, I try to document their impact on the reporting and presentation of financial statements of several blue chip companies. My analysis suggests that differences in reported numbers depending on standards chosen can distort comparability of financial statements and performance assessment, thus potentially biasing the decision making process of involved stakeholders.

In recent years, the Cape Town CBD has experienced urban renewal and regeneration. The Bo-Kaap and De Waterkant, two inner city neighbourhoods adjacent to one another, have reacted differently to this process. De Waterkant is completely gentrified, and the Bo-Kaap not. This research study aimed to demonstrate the contrasting potential and pace for gentrification and account for the differentiating gentrification outcomes of two neighbourhoods within the same city. Based on the literature reviewed and key informant interviews this study finds that gentrification does not develop as a single process. The pace and potential for gentrification is determined by the contextual particularities, investment opportunities and the nature and strength of the community. In the case of the Bo-Kaap and De Waterkant, the historical context directed the future potential for gentrification, while the respective communities currently determine the pace.

[Truncated abstract] The primary aim of this study was to examine, and compare, the value relevance and any bias associated with the reporting of intangible assets in Australia and the US over the ten-year period 1994 to 2003. The study adopts a disaggregated form of the Feltham and Ohlson (1995) valuation model and associated linear information models (LIMs) to allow goodwill and identifiable intangible assets to be separately examined using unbalanced panel regression analysis. The results for the Australian sample suggest that the adaptation of the Feltham and Ohlson (1995) valuation model used in this study is particularly useful in examining Australian equity securities. For example, the pooled sample analysis results in an adjusted R2 of 71%, which is consistent with similar US studies by Ahmed, Morton and Schaefer (2000) and Amir, Kirscenheiter and Willard (1997). Further, the results from the disaggregated Feltham and Ohlson (1995) valuation models suggest that the information presented with respect to intangible assets (both goodwill and identifiable intangible assets) under Australian GAAP is value relevant. However, the results from the valuation models also suggest that (for the average Australian company) the market believes goodwill is reported conservatively and identifiable intangible assets aggressively. ... As noted earlier, the increasing importance of intangible assets in the `new-economy’ suggests that (wherever possible having regard to the measurement difficulties) all intangible assets should be recognised in financial statements to maximise the value relevance of those statements. It should be noted, however, that there was some evidence to suggest that certain Australian companies (that is, those not consistently reporting positive abnormal operating earnings) might be reporting goodwill and/or identifiable intangible assets aggressively and this is an area that standard setters might need to carefully consider in future. I trust that the findings presented in this study will prove helpful to both researchers and those involved with formulating international accounting standards in this particularly difficult area of intangible assets. I also hope the results will help to allay any fears regulators (and others) might have that providing managers with accounting discretion will (necessarily) lead to biased reporting practices; based on the findings of this study for the majority of Australian and US companies, any such fears appear unwarranted.

This thesis proves that intangible assets are impossible to accurately value because of their inherently complex attributes. Intangibles have always existed in the market, but their presence has nearly quadrupled in the last few decades due to the Information Revolution. This technological breakthrough was characterized by the globalization of knowledge, communication, and trade. This dissemination of knowledge due to the infrastructural changes of both the telecommunication and transportation industries transformed the economy from a ‘product-driven’ market to a ‘knowledge-driven’ market. This surge in intangible assets is significant because it proves that “knowledge-driven” elements are now material to company value. As such, accurate measurement of intangible assets is essential to preserving the reliability of financial statements. Current accounting practices largely ignore the value created by intangible asset and this has serious consequences for investors, firms, and the economy as a whole. Insufficient accounting of intangible assets distorts company value, increases the cost of capital, and compromises the reliability of financial statements. While it is utterly impossible to create accounting standards that will, without fail, accurately measure all intangible assets as well as take into account their lifespans, volatility, increasing economies of scale, partial excludability, and lack of tradability, this thesis proposes a way to help mitigate the disparity between what financial statements recognize and what companies actually generate.

Fair value accounting for investment property has been mandatory in the EU since the adoption of IFRS 13 and has been both heavily criticized and praised. Previous research suggests that there are some inherent issues with fair value accounting for investment property, such as lacking reliability and persistence of reported unrealized earnings. There is also evidence of unrealized earnings influencing dividends and share price development related to fair value accounting in a procyclical manner. The purpose of this study is to enhance knowledge about whether fair value accounting in listed Nordic investment property companies causes procyclical effects on dividend payout and stock market behaviour. To fulfil this purpose, a quantitative analysis of financial reports and share prices of listed Nordic investment property companies was conducted. This study confirms that fair value accounting has a strong influence on dividends and share price development.