Royal Holloway, University of London

School of Management
MN3245 Accounting for Corporate Accountability
Study Guide
Autumn Term, 2011/12 Academic Year
Course outline
Date Thursday

Lecture

Workshop Topic

29 Sep 11

Objectives of financial reporting;

conceptual frameworks

06 Oct 11

Motives for voluntary reporting

13 Oct 11
20 Oct 11
27 Oct 11
03 Nov 11
10 Nov 11

Reporting social and environmental

impact
Regulatory frameworks for financial
reporting
The reporting entity defining the
group for consolidated statements
Accounting for pension obligations
Accounting for employee share
options

17 Nov 11

Off balance sheet finance

24 Nov 11
03 Dec 11

Revenue recognition
Recap and revision lecture

Conceptual frameworks
transaction-based or value-based?
Accountability and users
Voluntary reporting theories and
practice
Economic and social consequences
of accounting regulation
Impact of recent accounting failures
Accounting for pension obligations
Accounting for employee share
options
Lease accounting
Revenue recognition

Course co-ordinator:
Professor Christopher Napier
Room FBE133, Tel: 01784 276121, E-mail: christopher.napier@rhul.ac.uk
Office hours (Autumn term 2009/10) Monday, 11:00-12:00, Thursday, 10:30-11:30)
If you want to meet the course co-ordinator at any other time, please send an e-mail to
arrange a mutually convenient time outside these office hours.

MN3245 Accounting for Corporate Accountability

Study Guide 2011/12

Aims of course
This course aims to:

develop students knowledge and understanding of key contemporary issues involved in

discharging corporate duties of accountability to third party stakeholders

develop students knowledge and understanding of subjectivities inherent in externally

published accounting information

develop students appreciation of the economic consequences of corporate reporting

practices

Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of corporate duties of accountability to
external stakeholders.
2. Discuss and analyse the nature of subjective judgements involved in several complex
areas of financial, social and environmental accounting and reporting.
3. Employ UK and international Generally Accepted Accounting Practice in analysis of the
financial accounting treatment of a range of complex types of financial transactions.
4. Explain the broad nature of economic consequences which can potentially flow from
different accounting and reporting practices

Teaching and learning methods

The course will be taught through 10 one-hour lectures and 9 one-hour workshops. Lectures
will provide a broad outline structure for each topic covered. Workshops will be used to
discuss issues in additional readings and/or work through numerical exercises related to the
lecture material of prior weeks.

Textbooks
The set text for this course is:

Alexander, D., Britton, A. and Jorissen, A. (2011) International Financial Reporting and
Analysis, Andover: Cengage Learning (5th edition). ISBN:978-1-4080-3228-2.

In addition, the following supplementary text may be helpful in providing alternative

perspectives on some of the material covered in this course:

Deegan, C. and Unerman, J. (2011) Financial Accounting Theory: Second European

Edition, Maidenhead: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 978-0-07-712673-5

Elliott, B. and Elliott, J. (2012) Financial Accounting and Reporting, Harlow: FT Prentice
Hall (15th edition). ISBN: 978-0-273-76079-5

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The relevant chapters from these textbooks for each weeks topic are indicated in the
following weekly course outline. In addition, several journal articles are identified these
should all be downloadable from the course Moodle page.

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Assessment
The assessment for this course comprises an in-course assignment and an end-of-course
examination. The in-course assignment carries a weighting of 30% and the 2 hour closed
book examination carries a weighting of 70% towards the overall course mark. The word
limit for the assignment is 2,000 words, including direct quotations, but not including your list
of references/bibliography.

Assignment question
Leading accounting standard setters, such as the International Accounting Standards Board
and the Financial Accounting Standards Board in the USA, are increasingly moving towards
the use of fair value measurements in place of historical cost measurements. However, this
trend has been criticised on various grounds. Two of the main objections are that fair values
are inherently subjective and therefore unsuitable for financial reporting, and that the use of
fair values in financial statements is likely to encourage short-term behaviour by managers,
which could work against the interests of investors and other stakeholders.
Required: Discuss the two objections to the use of fair value measurement referred to
above, and critically examine how far they are valid.
A good answer will go a long way beyond mere description of the issues involved, including
analysis and criticism. Some reading suggestions will be provided through Moodle, and
good answers are likely to use other relevant sources.
The deadline for submission of your essay is Tuesday 8 November 2011 at 12:00 noon.
Your essay must be submitted in accordance with the standard School of Management
submission procedures. Please submit your essay as a Word file through the Turnitin
plagiarism software (http://www.submit.ac.uk) this will give you an automatic receipt, the
date and time of which will be considered definitive as the time of submission. Also submit a
printed version of your essay to the undergraduate office. Further details of the submission
process will be given before the submission date.
Any essays submitted after the deadline will be subject to the standard Royal Holloway late
submission penalties (10 percentage points deducted from the mark awarded for essays
submitted up to 24 hours after the deadline, a mark of zero for any essays submitted more
than 24 hours after the deadline). Extensions to the deadline will only be granted in very
exceptional circumstances. Failure or inaccessibility of computer equipment will not be
accepted as an adequate reason for granting an extension, so if you decide to leave printing
of your essay until the morning of 8 November then you have made the choice to take a risk
of having marks deducted if you experience problems accessing printers etc.
When writing an academic piece of work it is perfectly acceptable to quote or paraphrase
items you have read, provided you enclose direct quotes in quotation marks and state
the original source of the item. This requirement also applies if you copy, cut and paste, or
paraphrase material found on the internet. Failure to attribute quotations in this manner
will result in your assignment being penalised for plagiarism. All written academic work
must have a bibliography attached, listing all items referred to in researching and writing the
piece of work.
The aim is to return the assessed coursework by Monday 21 November 2011.

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LECTURE PROGRAMME
Lecture 1 Thursday 29 September 2011
Objectives of financial reporting; and conceptual frameworks
Objectives of lecture:
To recap and develop students knowledge and understanding of:
The concept of accountability
The role of corporate reporting
Conceptual frameworks for financial accounting

Key reading
Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, chapters 1 & 8

Supplementary reading
Deegan & Unerman, chapter 6.
Elliott & Elliott, chapter 9
Bence, D. & Fry, N. (2004), Which way forward, Accountancy, November 2004, p. 88
Marlow, D. (2009), Comment that matters, Accountancy, October 2009, pp. 68-69
Fraser, I. (2009), More than words, Accountancy, November 2009, pp. 38-39
McKernan, J. F. (2007), Objectivity in accounting, Accounting, Organizations and Society,
Vol. 32, No. 1-2, pp. 155-180.

Lecture 2 Thursday 6 October 2011

Motives for voluntary reporting
Objectives of lecture:
To develop students knowledge and understanding of:
The distinction between mandatory and voluntary elements of corporate reports
Legitimacy theory
Stakeholder theory
Institutional theory

Key reading
Deegan & Unerman, chapter 8

Supplementary reading
Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, chapter 10
Deegan, C. (2002), The legitimising effect of social and environmental disclosures - a
theoretical foundation. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp.
282-311.
O'Dwyer, B. (2005), Stakeholder democracy: Challenges and contributions from social
accounting. Business Ethics: A European Review, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 24-41.
Unerman, J. & Bennett, M. (2004), Increased stakeholder dialogue and the internet: towards
greater corporate accountability or reinforcing capitalist hegemony? Accounting,
Organizations and Society, Vol. 29, No. 7, pp. 685-707.
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Lecture 3 Thursday 13 October 2011

Reporting social and environmental impact
Objectives of lecture:
To develop students knowledge and understanding of:
The role of sustainability reporting
Stages of sustainability reporting

Key reading
Deegan & Unerman, chapter 9

Supplementary reading
Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, chapter 10 (pages 193 to 210)
Elliott & Elliott, chapter 32.
Adams, C. A. (2004), The ethical, social and environmental reporting-performance portrayal
gap Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 17, No. 5, pp. 731-757.
Dillard, J. F., Brown, D., & Marshall, R. S. (2005), An environmentally enlightened
accounting Accounting Forum, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 77-101.
Gray, R. (2002), The social accounting project and Accounting, Organizations and Society:
privileging engagement, imaginings, new accountings and pragmatism over critique
Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 27, No. 7, pp. 687-708.
Gray, R. (2010), Is accounting for sustainability actually accounting for sustainability. . .and
how would we know? An exploration of narratives of organisations and the planet,
Accounting, Organizations and Society Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 47-62.

Lecture 4 Thursday 20 October 2011

Regulatory frameworks for financial reporting
Objectives of lecture:
To develop students knowledge and understanding of:
The regulatory framework for accounting in the UK and European Union
Economic consequences of accounting regulation

Key reading
Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, chapter 3

Supplementary reading
Deegan & Unerman, chapters 3 and 4.
Elliott & Elliott, chapters 9
Broadbent, J. & Laughlin, R., (2002), "Accounting choices: Technical and political trade-offs
and the UK's private finance initiative", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol 15,
No 5, pp. 622-654.
Sleigh-Johnson, N. (2010) Where now for UK GAAP?, Accountancy, May 2010, pp. 64-65.
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Lecture 5 Thursday 27 October 2011

The reporting entity defining the group for consolidation purposes
Objectives of lecture:
To develop students knowledge and understanding of:
The main issues arising in consolidated accounts
Creative accounting with use of special purpose entities

Key reading
Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, chapters 25, 26 and 28 (pages 708-709 you will not be
expected to be able to prepare consolidated accounts, but it is useful to understand the
basic approaches to consolidation and relevant regulations)

Supplementary reading
Elliott & Elliott, chapter 22
Hines, R. D. (1988), Financial accounting: in communicating reality, we construct reality.
Accounting, Organizations & Society, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 251-261.
Unerman, J. & O'Dwyer, B. (2004), Enron, WorldCom, Andersen et al: a challenge to
modernity, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Vol. 15, No. 6-7, pp. 971-993.
Sanderson, I. (2010), What REPO 105 really means, Accountancy, April 2010, pp. 28-29.

Lecture 6 Thursday 3 November 2011

Accounting for pension obligations
Objectives of lecture:
To develop students knowledge and understanding of:
Distinction between defined contribution and defined benefit pensions
Conceptual difficulties in accounting for defined benefit pension obligations
Accounting for pension obligations under IAS 19
Key differences between IAS 19 and the UKs FRS 17

Key reading
Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, chapter 21 (pages 499 to 526)

Supplementary reading
Elliott & Elliott, chapter 15 (sections 15.1-15.17)
Napier, C. J. (2009), The logic of pension accounting, Accounting and Business Research,
Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 231-249.
Peters, B. (2010), Far from final, Accountancy, June 2010, pp. 68-69.

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Lecture 7 Thursday 10 November 2011

Accounting for employee share options
Objectives of lecture:
To develop students knowledge and understanding of:
The role of employee share options
Conceptual difficulties in accounting for employee share options
Accounting requirements for employee share options (IFRS 2)

Key reading
Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, chapter 21 (pages 486 to 499)

Supplementary reading
Elliott & Elliott, chapter 15 (sections 13:18-13:22)
Crook, K. (2004) Learning to share, Accountancy, April 2004, pp 84-85
Franklin, W. & Giles, L. (2004) Life expectancy, Accountancy, September 2004, pp. 88-89
Franklin, W. (2004) End of a relaxed regime, Accountancy, November 2004, pp. 84-85
Osborne, J. (2005), Grappling with the practicalities, Accountancy, June 2005, pp. 68-69
Osborne, J. (2007), Good in principle, Accountancy, November 2007, pp. 74-75.
Ravenscroft, S. & Williams, P. F. (2009), Making imaginary worlds real: the case of
expensing employee stock options, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 34, No. 67, pp. 770-786.

Lecture 8 Thursday 17 November 2011

Off balance sheet finance
Objectives of lecture:
To develop students knowledge and understanding of:
Reasons for using off balance sheet finance
Accounting for leases (IAS 17)

Key reading
Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, chapter 15.

Supplementary reading
Elliott & Elliott, chapter 18
Collings, S. (2010), In a tangle, Accountancy, August 2010, pp. 70-71.

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Lecture 9 Thursday 24 November 2011

Revenue recognition
Objectives of lecture:
To develop students knowledge and understanding of:
Problems of determining when revenues and gains should be included in the income
statement
Financial reporting standards on revenue recognition (IAS18, FRS5 Application Note G,
new IASB proposals)

Key reading
Alexander, Britton & Jorissen, chapter 18.

Supplementary reading
Elliott & Elliott, chapter 8.
ODonovan, B. (2010), Money, money, money, Accountancy, August 2010, pp. 68-69.

Lecture 10 Thursday 1 December 2011

Recap and revision lecture
Objectives of lecture:
To:
Recap the course
Revise areas as requested by students

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WORKSHOP PROGRAMME
Workshop 1 Thursday 6 October 2011
Conceptual frameworks
It has been claimed that financial reporting has increasingly moved away from recording
transactions and reporting on stewardship, that is, how well a company and its management
use the resources invested by shareholders, and possibly by other stakeholders. This has
been replaced by reporting values, with an emphasis on providing information to help
investors make their investment decisions. Those who hold this view point to the focus on
the balance sheet (financial position) rather than the income statement (financial
performance) in conceptual framework documents. Do you agree with this? Does it matter?

Workshop 2 Thursday 13 October 2011

Accountability and Users
Think of different examples of accountability these need not involve companies, and
accountability need not be financial. What are the common factors in accountability
relationships? To whom do you think companies should be accountable?

Workshop 3 Thursday 20 October 2011

Voluntary reporting theories and practice
It has been claimed that the predominant reason for companies disclosing voluntary
information in accounting reports is to protect, and increase, the relative power and wealth of
managers and providers of financial capital. Critically evaluate this claim, supporting your
discussion with both theoretical arguments and practical examples.

Workshop 4 Thursday 27 October 2011

Economic and social consequences of accounting regulation
Accounting standards merely regulate the reporting of economic transactions, they have no
impact upon the underlying economic performance or social impact of an entity. Do you
agree or disagree with this claim? Give both theoretically based reasons and practical
examples.

Workshop 5 Thursday 3 November 2011

Impact of accounting failures
Drawing upon alleged accounting failures such as Enron, WorldCom, and the 2008 credit
crunch, critically evaluate claims that financial accounts objectively reflect an underlying
economic reality.
Explore the impact that accounting failures at Enron and WorldCom, and the 2008 credit
crunch, may have had on the level of trust placed in corporate financial statements.
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Workshop 6 Thursday 10 November 2011

Accounting for pension obligations
Brno plc operates a defined benefit pension scheme. On 1 January 2005, the present value
of its pension fund obligations amounted to 100 million, and the market value of its pension
fund assets also amounted to 100 million. The companys policy is to recover any actuarial
surpluses of pension fund assets over pension fund obligations by reducing future
contributions from the company to the pension fund. The following information relates to
Brno plcs defined benefit pension scheme for the financial years ended 31 December 2005
and 31 December 2006:
2005

2006

6.0%

5.0%

10.0%

8.0%

15m

17m

Benefits paid from the pension scheme

12m

18m

Contributions paid into the pension scheme

10m

14m

105m

120m

110m

112m

Discount rate at beginning of year

Expected rate of return on pension scheme assets
(forecast at beginning of year)
Current service cost

Present value of pension scheme obligations at end

of year
Market value of pension scheme assets at end of
year

You should assume that all cash flows related to the pension scheme occur at the end of
each year. Ignore taxation.
Required:
(a)

In accordance with the accounting requirements of IAS 19 (using the equity

recognition approach option for the treatment of any actuarial gains or losses),
calculate the following amounts to be included in the financial accounts of Brno plc for
each of its financial years ended 31 December 2005 and 31 December 2006, and
identify the accounting statement in which each item would appear:
(i)
The net pension asset or liability
(ii)
The pension operating cost (or credit)
(iii)
The net pension financing cost (or credit)
(iv)
The actuarial gain or loss

(b)

Accounting standards such as IAS 19 have been blamed for the decline of defined
benefit pension schemes in the UK. How far is this allocation of blame fair?

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Workshop 7 Thursday 17 November 2011

Accounting for employee share options
On 1 January 2005 Wolt plc issued options over 500 of its 1 ordinary shares to each of its
2,000 employees. These share options can only be exercised by an employee if that
employee remains employed by Wolt plc for the whole of the three year period ending on
31 December 2007. The directors of Wolt plc estimated on 1 January 2005 that 30% of their
2,000 employees would have left the company by 31 December 2007.
The option exercise price is 6.50 per share, and the market price of Wolts 1 ordinary
shares was 4.35 on 1 January 2005. It has been calculated that the fair value of each of
these employee share options on 1 January 2005 was 1.25 per share option.
150 of the employees who had been granted share options left the company during 2005,
and on 31 December 2005 the directors of Wolt plc revised their vesting estimate to 25%.
A further 250 of the employees who had been granted share options left the company during
2006, and on 31 December 2006 the directors revised their vesting estimate to 28%.
A further 120 of the employees who had been granted share options left the company during
2007, and on 31 December 2007 all remaining employees exercised their options. The
market price per 1 ordinary share in Wolt plc was 9.25 on 31 December 2007.
Required:
(a)

Calculate the expense (charge) to be included in Wolt plcs income statement in

respect of these share options each year from the year ended 31 December 2005 to
the year ended 31 December 2007, in accordance with the provisions of International
Financial Reporting Standard number 2 (IFRS 2).

(b)

Show how the above share options would be treated in the balance sheet of Wolt plc
as at 31 December 2005 and 31 December 2006 in accordance with the provisions of
IFRS2.

(c)

Critically evaluate how the accounting treatment of share options required by IFRS 2
conforms to the International Accounting Standards Boards conceptual framework.

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Workshop 8 Thursday 24 November 2011

Lease Accounting
Latir plc was incorporated and commenced business on 1 April 2003. On that date it entered
into the following leases:
1. A five year lease for machinery at a rental of 450,000 per annum payable in advance.
The present value of the lease payments at 1 April 2003 was estimated as 1.9 million,
equal to the market value of the machinery leased. Latir plc is responsible for insuring
and maintaining the machinery during the period of the lease.
2. A three year lease for computer equipment, with an annual rental of 50,000 payable in
arrears. The present value of the lease payments at the beginning of the lease was
estimated as 120,000, which was the same as the market value of the computer
equipment on that date. Latir plc is responsible for insuring and maintaining the computer
equipment until the end of the lease.
3. A 15 year lease for the new building occupied by the company. The annual rent payable
for the building is 300,000, payable quarterly in advance. The present value of the lease
payments had been estimated as 2.6 million on 1 April 2003, when the market value of
the land and building was 4 million. Latir is responsible for maintaining and repairing the
building during the lease, but insurance is the responsibility of the landlord.
Latir plc has not entered into any other leases, and has not purchased any fixed assets. Its
accounting policy is to depreciate leased assets, where appropriate, on a straight line basis
over the term of the lease and to apportion interest charges on finance leases using the
sum-of-the digits method.
Required:
(a)

Show how the above leases will be reflected in the financial statements of Latir plc for
the year ended 31 March 2005 (its second year of operation) in accordance with the
requirements of International Accounting Standard 17 (IAS 17), including relevant
notes to the accounts. Clearly explain why you have adopted the accounting treatment
you have chosen for each of the leases. (Note: you are NOT required to show the
comparative figures for the financial year ended 31 March 2004 which would normally
also appear in the 31 March 2005 accounts)

(b)

Without carrying out any further calculations, explain why and how the accounting
treatment of leases you have adopted in your answer to part (a) of this question would
change if the distinction between operating and finance leases were removed, so all
leases were accounted for on the same basis.

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Workshop 9 Thursday 1 December 2011

Revenue Recognition
Clementi Airways operates a long-haul air passenger service from London to Sydney via
Bahrain and Singapore four times weekly. Because the flying time is considerably longer
than more direct flights, Clementi has difficulty in selling all seats in the business class
section of its planes. In order to increase demand, Clementi has advertised a special offer.
Passengers booking a return flight from London to Sydney departing and returning between
1 September and 15 November 2011 would be charged a return fare of 2,000 (which is
considerably less than the fare charged by other airlines), and would be given a voucher
exchangeable for an additional free return flight between London and Sydney departing and
returning between 15 January and 15 April 2012. About 1,000 customers took advantage of
the offer.
Clementi must now decide how to account for the revenue relating to these fares in its
financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2011, and various members of the
accounting staff have been asked for suggestions.
(1)

Ali suggests that the easiest way of accounting is to treat half of the fare (1,000) as
revenue in 2011 and the remaining half as revenue in 2012.

(2)

Bassam notes that the second flight is described as free and therefore all of the
2,000 should be recognised in 2011.

(3)

Khaldoun points out that the incremental costs of carrying a business class
passenger from London to Sydney and back again (in-flight service, additional fuel,
ground handling, ticketing and administration) are 200, and this should be allowed
for. So Clementi should recognise 1,800 in 2011 and carry forward 200 for 2012.

(4)

Davoud argues that the transaction is not complete until the second flight has been
taken, and therefore Clementi should recognise no revenue until 2012. He would be
prepared for the incremental cost of the first flight to be carried forward rather than
expensed in 2011, and offset against the revenue when this is recognised in 2012.

(5)

Eliezer comments that about half of the passengers holding vouchers will not in fact
use them. He suggests that Clementi should recognise 1,500 per ticket in 2011 and
500 per ticket in 2012 to allow for this.

(6)

Fatimah reminds her colleagues that an alternative marketing approach that had not
been adopted was to sell return flights between London and Sydney taken between
1 September and 15 December 2011 for 1,700, with no voucher being offered. She
recommends that Clementi should recognise revenue of 1,700 in 2011 and the
remaining 300 in 2012.

Required:
(a)

International Accounting Standard 18 Revenue defines revenue as the gross inflow of

economic benefits during the period arising in the course of the ordinary activities of an
entity when those inflows result in increases in equity, other than increases relating to
contributions from equity participants. What problems arise in deciding whether
revenue can be recognised from the sale of goods and supply of services, and how
does IAS18 provide guidance on how to deal with these problems?

(b)

Evaluate the six suggestions for recognising Clementi Airways revenue by reference
to IAS18 and consider whether IAS18 leads to a reasonable accounting treatment in
this case. Would the IASBs current (2010) proposals for revenue recognition lead to
any change in your answer?
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