Segment Reporting


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Implications of Proposed Segment Reporting Standards for Financial Analysts? Investment Judgments


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This paper reports results from an experiment which provide evidence on how certain provisions of current and revised segment reporting standards affect financial analysts? judgments. Specifically, we examine the effect of two alternative approaches to segment definition: segments defined by grouping similar products (similarity approach) and segments defined by a company?s internal reporting classification (management approach). The first approach is used currently under SFAS No. 14 as the basis for determining externally-reported segments, while the second approach will be used after December 15, 1997, the effective date of the FASB?s new segment reporting standard, SFAS No. 131, Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information. Results show that analysts perceived segment reporting to be more reliable when similar products were combined in a segment (SFAS No. 14) than when dissimilar products were combined, and when external segments were the same as those used internally (SFAS No. 131) than when external and internal segments differed. Analysts? confidence in their earnings forecasts and stock valuation judgments was affected by the interaction of the similarity and management approaches. As long as external segments were the same as internal segments, analysts? confidence was not affected by whether products combined in a segment were similar or dissimilar. In contrast, if external and internal segments differed, analysts had greater confidence in their judgments when similar products were combined in a segment than when dissimilar products were combined. These results support the FASB?s position that the management approach will positively affect analysts? perceptions of the reliability of segment data. In addition, our results suggest that, in certain cases, the management approach will enhance analysts? confidence in reported segment data.




The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers


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An innovative new valuation framework with truly useful economic indicators The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers shows how the ubiquitous financial reports have become useless in capital market decisions and lays out an actionable alternative. Based on a comprehensive, large-sample empirical analysis, this book reports financial documents' continuous deterioration in relevance to investors' decisions. An enlightening discussion details the reasons why accounting is losing relevance in today's market, backed by numerous examples with real-world impact. Beyond simply identifying the problem, this report offers a solution—the Value Creation Report—and demonstrates its utility in key industries. New indicators focus on strategy and execution to identify and evaluate a company's true value-creating resources for a more up-to-date approach to critical investment decision-making. While entire industries have come to rely on financial reports for vital information, these documents are flawed and insufficient when it comes to the way investors and lenders work in the current economic climate. This book demonstrates an alternative, giving you a new framework for more informed decision making. Discover a new, comprehensive system of economic indicators Focus on strategic, value-creating resources in company valuation Learn how traditional financial documents are quickly losing their utility Find a path forward with actionable, up-to-date information Major corporate decisions, such as restructuring and M&A, are predicated on financial indicators of profitability and asset/liabilities values. These documents move mountains, so what happens if they're based on faulty indicators that fail to show the true value of the company? The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers shows you the reality and offers a new blueprint for more accurate valuation.




Improving Business Reporting--a Customer Focus


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Management Accounting Case Book


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Enlighten your students and improve your understanding of management accounting with this carefully curated collection of case studies Management Accounting Case Book: Cases from the IMA Educational Case Journal offers a detailed account of real-world business cases accessible to a variety of business-savvy audiences. It provides comprehensive coverage of several areas relevant to students and professionals in business and finance, including: Strategic cost management (including product and service costing, cost allocation, and strategy implementation) Planning and decision making (including cost estimation, CVP analysis, budgeting, decision making, capital investments, target costing, and TOC) Operations, process management, and innovation (including flexible budgeting, standard costs, variance analysis, non-financial performance indicators, quality control, lean, and innovation governance) Used by dozens of different universities, the Management Accounting Case Book contains cases reviewed and rigorously vetted by the Institute of Management Accountants. The book is perfect for anyone hoping to increase their understanding of management theory or facilitate lively discussion about the topics contained within.







Performance-Based Reporting


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The successfully proven alternative system for relevant businessreporting through performance management Performance-Based Reporting shows businesses howtraditional accounting fails to provide meaningful measures forperformance and presents radically innovative and thoroughly testedmethods for performance-oriented management, assessment, andreporting. Twenty-five years in the making, this helpful book alsopresents The Baseline Approach to management, assessment, andreporting-composed of eighty-percent accounting-free methods. Performance-Based Reporting presents the culmination ofintense experiments involving more than 1,500 businesses and over4,000 executives. It definitively proves the need for new tools forrealistic business planning and management in an unpredictableworld. These tools already exist, and this helpful guide walksreaders through the process of implementing them to help firmsimprove their ability to predict the direction they should take inthe future.




Federal Register


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