The measurement methods of assets in Chinese listed companies

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to measure the alternative accounting policies regarding asset in Chinese Initial Public Offering (IPO) companies. Therefore, the divergences of the measurement methods of asset disclosure in annual reports are investigated for listed companies with domestic and foreign shareholders. These methods are divided into six subcategories: foreign currency translation, receivables, inventories, investments, fixed assets and intangible assets. The inclusion of each item in the index is based on the reviews of previous studies on measurement and corporate disclosure, the studies of prior corporate disclosure practices in Chinese listed companies and relevant rules and legislations. The findings of this study indicates that China, with a tradition of a unified accounting system, still employs uniform accounting method as the major approach to financial reporting within the centralised planning process. The concept of ‘prudent’ has been accepted by standard setters and policy makers since last decade that evidenced from accounting measurement and earnings reporting practices to resolve the disputes, for foreign and domestic investors have complained that the reliability and comparability of accounting information in China was doubtful. The accounting reform modelled on western reporting systems has some significant influence on the accounting framework and disclosure practices in China.