Friday, July 27, 2007

Conceptual Framework: Elements of Financial Statements

Chapter 3 of ASBJ's Discussion Paper addresses issues related to elements of financial statements.
It identifies the following elements:Assets; liabilities; net assets; shareholders' equity; revenue; expense; comprehensive income; and net income.
You may be curious why Discussion Paper identifies similar two elements of net assets and shareholders' equity. Net assets are defined as the excess of assets over liabilities, while shareholders' equity is defined as shareholders' interest in claims to assets. Difference between net assets and shareholders' equity includes changes in fair value of certain financial instruments, translation adjustments, minority interest, and stock options.
Comprehensive income and net income are identified as separate elements of financial statements. Comprehensive income is defined changes in net assets during the period from non-owner transactions. Net income is the excess of reveune over expense, as recognized based on the concept of "release from risk," which is silimar concept of realization or matching.

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