The attention to the problem of unification of accounting is intensified on the modern stage of international integration in the sphere of economics. Now two main approaches to decide this problem are known: they are harmonization and standardization.
Harmonization of auditing foresees some cohesion and responsibility, adherence of the principles of accounting, making the reports by the group of countries or their unions, like EU or CIS countries. Harmonization foresees association and mutual responsibility of the Law systems of countries as to regulation of accounting, the existence in each country its own model of accounting organization and system of standards. Standardization of auditing foresees establishment of unified norms and demands as to accounting, usage of unified set of standards that regulate accounting event and its reflection in reports. Standardization gives an opportunity to globalize accounting policy, principles and system of accounting on the international level, which is done by International Accounting Standarts Committee, IASC. Under the approach of accounting standardization is understood the matter that there should be unified set of standards for any accounting situation in any country, that is why the need in developing of national standards is eliminated. Processes of accounting standardization on regional and international levels are carried parallel to one another. Accordingly there is the aspect of the problem of accounting standardization, which is the correspondence of regional accounting standards, which are GAAP of USA and demands of IAS/IFR. The high level of correspondence of IAS/IFRS to American standards should be marked, because English- American model made a great influence on the international accounting system. The system of international standards, opposed to GAAP of USA, takes into account accounting practice of many developed countries not only USA and Great Britain. The tendency to more specified regulations of accounting reports of business activity and less flexibility of a separate company is noticeable in American standards.
Problem aspects of IAS/IFRS and American standards usage found its reflection in works of prominent scientists, in particular: professor Butinets F. [35], associate. professor Holova S. [64], associate. professor Parchomenko V., professor Petruk O., professor Sokolov Y., professor Pushkar M., professor Sopka V. The research of characteristic features of international and American standards, discovery of main differences, which can influence the quality of financial information and its helpfulness for taking of managerial decisions, gains popularity. Contradictions as to what should be in the basis of the standards of financial reports – principles or rules were always an up-to-date topic of the discussion for standard developers. Different points of view are defined by practice, rules of legislative and regulation bodies and opinions of every country. However, together with the process of settling of IAS/IFRS as an international basis of financial report preparation and the rise of meaning of convergence between IAS/IFRS and GAAP these disputes gained prior meaning in the process of standards development.
Differences between two approaches are concluded in the following: standards, in the basis of which are some principles, are built on the hierarchy of principles and allow the possibility of using of concrete quantitative criteria only in rare cases (or totally eliminate such opportunity), and when defining information necessary for true representing of financial reports rely on usage of professional opinion; standards, in the basis of which lie the rules, are characterized by the possibility of using definite quantitative criteria and rules directed to eliminate misuse, and when using the opinion narrower sphere of its usage is allowed. Weather IAS/IFRS becomes a system really based of the principals depends, mainly, on opinion and approaches of all the parties of the process of preparation of financial reports, auditors, users of financial reports and regulation bodies. Despite GAAP of USA are based on the principals, the appearance of rules can be explained by necessity of the people who do the preparation of financial reports and auditors in more detailed explanations and the necessity of regulation bodies to get the sequence. The main danger for IAS/IFRS is concluded in the matter that while IAS/IFRS is used by bigger quantity of countries the necessity in developing and introduction of more detailed rules can become bigger.
In English-American scientific literature it is defined that standards are based on some prejudice. That is, it is not possible to completely believe to financial directors and it is necessary to control their decisions. In such a situation the necessary condition of the standards, in the basis of which principles are, is that the regulators are ready to the situation that information of financial reports will be formed using professional opinion. This also means that Committee of IAS/IFRS should reconsider the basis on which interpretation of situation is showed in notes. It is also necessary to pay more attention to the information which should be provided in the notes of financial reports and the one which could explain the opinion of company management together with possible consequences of the decisions taken.
In practice it is important that from commercial companies of our country which involve capital from Western investors and creditors that the latest in its turn can demand to provide financial reports in the GAAP of USA format. Besides the rapprochement of Ukrainian national accounting standards to international ones became one of the courses of national economic policy, that creates the conditions for closer integration of our country into world business activity, of bigger outgo of national businessmen to world markets of goods, services, capital. This is what explains the rise of attention to GAAP of USA as to the wide spread accounting standards, which is showed in world stock market rise in the demand for specialists that have skills in making reports according to GAAP of USA.
In total, American standards are more detailed comparing to IFRS/IAS, Russian generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Ukrainian generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), correspondingly they are more exact from the point of view of usage. GAAP of USA are rather big in volume regulation system that includes actually accounting standards themselves, different explanations, bulletins that are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).
Literature:
- Butinets Accounting in Ukraine. Mythology. Part 2 – Zhytomyr: ZDTU, 2003. – 524 p.
- Golov International accounting report standards: improvement and usage./S. Golov/Accounting and Audit. – 2007. – № 11. – P. 43-53.