Reporting of discontinued operations
INTRODUCTION
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued guidelines for reporting on discontinued operations April 10,2014. The rule reduce the number of disposal companies must present as discontinued operations in their financial operations in their financial statements. But they also expand the disclosures requirements when discontinued operations are reported. (LLP, 2014)
Discontinued operations are company assets or components that have either been disposed of or are being held for sale
The standard that has been revised is intended to address the concerns of financial statements users by changing the reporting criteria for discontinued operations. The FASB believes that the new standard meets the requirement as it reduces the number of disposals that would be included in discontinued operations and also because of more disclosures requirement, will provide information that will be useful to financial statements (Financial Accounting Standards Board, April 2014)
'To be a discontinued operation, a component or group of components must represent a strategic shift that has (or will have) a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. Companies should be prepared to exercise judgment to determine which disposals meet the new definition.
Failure to eliminate significant continuing cash flows of or involvement with disposed component from an entity’s ongoing operations after a disposal no longer precludes presentation as discontinued operation '. (PWC, 2014)
Under the revised standard, “a disposal of a component of an entity or a group of components of an entity shall be reported in discontinued operations if t...
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... standard and help to reduce the preparer cost. And it has also enhanced the financial statements decision usefulness and make the organization prepare for expanded disclosure requirements.
References
References
Bit, T. (2016). PWC. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/us/en/energy-mining/publications/assets/pwc-bit-discontinued-operations-accounting-standards.pdf
Comprehensive guide, F. R. (2014, November). Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Robosap/Downloads/financialreportingdevelopments_bb1886_discontinuedoperations_12november2014.pdf
FASB IN FOCUS. (2014).
Financial Accounting Standards Board. (April 2014). Accounting Standards Update. Financial Accounting Series.
LLP, M. (2014). FASB revises reporting requirement.
PWC. (2014, June 3). Dataline. Retrieved from 'https://www.pwc.com/us/en/cfodirect/assets/pdf/dataline/dataline-2014-08-discontinued-operations.pdf
Financial Accounting Standards Board. (1985). Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 86. Norwalk. Retrieved April 7, 2014, from http://www.fasb.org/cs/BlobServer?blobkey=id&blobnocache=true&blobwhere=1175820922177&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername2=Content-Length&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue2=189998&blobheadervalue1=filename%3Dfas86.pdf&blobcol=url
Cost cutting, discontinuation of product or services ,technological changes, and consolidation due to mergers and acquisitions are commonly legal ac...
FAS 123 was revised during 2004. For public entities that are not small business issuers, the effective date of FAS 123(R) is June 15, 2005. FAS 123(R) 74 states that all public entities that used the fair-value-based method for either recognition or disclosure shall adopt this Statement using a modified prospective application. Under the modified...
But divesture of three out of four divisions leads to a very small portfolio which leads to chances of high risks as well. The process of restructuring and forming a better portfolio would provide the firm with a lot many opportunities including exploring newer and more compatible product lines and segments, thus increasing its opportunities to earn better revenues with efficient management.
o Free up capital by divesting from the business units that are unprofitable or are outside of the company’s core competency.
According to the conceptual framework, the potential users of financial statements are investors, creditors, suppliers, employees, customers, governments and agencies, and the general public (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2006). The primary users are investors, creditors, and those who advise them. It goes on to define the criteria that make up each potential user, as well as, the limitations of financial reporting. The FASB explicitly states that financial reporting is “but one source of information needed by those who make investment, credit, and similar resource allocation decisions. Users also need to consider pertinent information from other sources, and be aware of the characteristics and limitations of the information in them” (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2006). With this in mind, it is still particularly difficult to determine whom the financials should be catered towards and what level of prudence is necessary for quality judgment.
The Liquidation Strategy is the most unpleasant strategy adopted by the organization that includes selling off its assets and the final closure or winding up of the business operations (Business Jargon, 2016). Most of the firm is trying to avoid this retrenchment methods as much as possible because it involving serious implication to business position. The firm adopting the liquidation strategy may find it difficult to sell its assets because of the non availability of buyers and also may not get adequate compensation for most of its assets.
Formal corporate bankruptcy proceedings generally take on two distinct forms: Chapter 7 (liquidation) and Chapter 11 (reorganization). Under Chapter 7 liquidation, the firm is shut down by a court-appointed trustee, and the firm’s assets are liquidated and the proceeds distributed in accordance with the absolute priority rule. Chapter 7 is also referred to as a “cash auction” procedure. In Chapter 11, an organization remains in control of its business operations (known as a ‘going-concern’), but is subject to the oversight of the bankruptcy courts.
The current circumstances have made us re-think about the governance of our company. To resolve certain issues like spread of our businesses, incompetent management, improper structure and high attrition rate has been addressed here. The strategic options evaluated are Divesting from some of the businesses, Re structuring the management by giving generalised top management or using specialized management. The options are evaluated on the basis of cash position, future projection, Repute preservation and efficient functioning of management. On the basis of these, I recommend to divest from irrelevant and non-performing businesses. This will ensure company’s smooth running and sustained profitability.
A consolidated financial statement can be defined as the financial statements of a parent and its subsidiaries combined to form a single economic entity (AASB 10, 2011). The entity, which acquires the other entity, is known as the parent and the entity, which has been acquired, is known as the subsidiary. Consolidation financial reports arise when one entity purchases another entity, to then form a group.
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Accounting Standards Codification TM. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), 2010. Web. 16 May 2014.
The globalization of business has resulted in the need for compatible accounting standards that can be used internationally for financial reporting. As a result, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) were developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to unify the various financial reporting methods and create a single accounting standard which can be applied to any financial statement worldwide (Byatt). The global standardization of financial reporting will increase the readability and enhance comparability of globally traded companies’ financial statements, without the need of conversion or translation. There are a few main differences between the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S GAAP). The increasing recognition and acceptance of the International Financial Reporting Standards by accounting professionals in the United States, will affect the way in which the U.S will record financial statements in the future.
A finding of insolvency is imperative, as specific rights are empowered for the creditor to exercise against the insolvent individual or organization. For example, exceptional debts may be paid off by dissolving assets of the insolvent party. Prior to proceedings, it is common for the insolvent entity to meet with the creditor in order to attempt to arrange a substitutable payment method.
The success of a company is very dependent upon its financial accounting. In accounting there are numerous Regulatory bodies that govern the accounting world. These companies are extremely important to a company because they set the standards when it comes to the language and decision making of a company. These regulatory bodies can be structured as agencies, associations, commissions, and boards. Without companies like the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Internal Accounting Standards Board (IASB), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and other regulatory bodies a company could not make well informed decisions. In this paper the author will look at only four of them.
The first two do not require the acquired business unit to be connected with the existing units; the second two depend on connection. Although the concepts are not always mutually exclusive, the way in which they generate value for the corporation is different for each. The portfolio management balances current business activities with new industry acquisitions. Its success is undervalued acquisition meets attractiveness and COE test. The challenges are: increased capital market competition, need for industry specific knowledge, and growth of the company and diversity. The restructuring seeks underdeveloped or sick companies and industries. Its successes are: utilize and pass the three tests and ability to find undervalued companies with growth potential. Its challenges are: restructurer exposed to more risk, time limit for success, hold onto a restructured company, and growing depletion of restructuring pool with increased competition. The transfer of skills involves activities important to competitive advantage. With transferring skills, business activities are similar enough that sharing knowledge would be meaningful. However, skills must be useful to key business activities and must be beyond competitors’ capabilities. The ability to share activities has been a potent basis for corporate strategy because sharing often enhances