29 Nolu uluslararası muhasebe standardı açısından yüksek enflasyonist ekonomilerde mali raporlama ve bir vak`a çalışması

Abstract

ÖZET Günümüzde birçok ülkeyi, yerel ve uluslararası şirketleri etkileyen yüksek enflasyonun yarattığı sonuçların mali raporlara yansıtılmalarına yönelik olarak gerçekleştirilen çalışmaların en sonuncularından birisi Temmuz 1989'da Uluslararası Muhasebeciler Federasyonu'nun (IFAC- International Federation of Accountants) bir alt kuruluşu olan Uluslararası Muhasebe Standartları Komitesi'nin ( IASC- International Accounting Standards Committee) yayımladığı 29 no'lu standarddır. Bütün bu koşullar ve Türkiye'nin uzunca bir zamandan beri yüksek enflasyonist bir ülke olması doktora tezi konusu olarak 29 no'lu Uluslararası Muhasebe Standardı'nın (UMS) ele alınması sonucunu doğurmuştur. Çalışma 7 bölümden oluşmaktadır, bu bölümlerin içerikleri kısaca aşağıda belirtilmişlerdir: İnci Bölüm- Giriş: Bu bölümde kısaca çalışmanın amacı, planı ve uygulanan yöntemler belirtilmektedir. 2nd Bölüm- Kavramlar ve Enflasyon Muhasebesi Sistemleri: Bu bölümde enflasyonun mali tablolara etkilerinin yansıtılmasına yönelik olarak geliştirilen muhasebe sistemleri ve kullanılan kavramlar örnekler yardımıyla açıklanmışlar ve tanımlanmışlardır. 3ncü Bölüm- Enflasyon Muhasebesinin Gelişimi ve Çeşitli Ülkelerdeki Uygulamaların Karşılaştırmalı Analizi: Bu bölümde enflasyonun etkilerinin mali tablolara yansıtılması ile ilgili çeşitli ülkelerdeki uygulamalar tarihi bir perspektif içerisinde karşılaştırmalı olarak sunulmuşlardır. 4ncü Bölüm- Enflasyon Muhasebesi Sistemlerinin Teorik Olarak İncelenmesi: Bu bölümde gerek uygulamada gerek teorik alanda geliştirilen belli başlı enflasyon muhasebesi sistemleri genel kabul görmüş muhasebe ilkelerine uygunlukları açısından ve bilimsel olarak değerlendirilmişlerdir. 5nci Bolüm- 29 No'lu Uluslararası Muhasebe Standardı İle Enflasyonist Ekonomiler İçin Öngörülen Mali Raporlama Esasları: Bu bölümde 29 no'lu UMS İle getirilen ilke, yöntem ve zorunluluklar diğer bölümlerdeki açıklamalarla ilişkilendirilerek incelenmişlerdir. 6ncı bölüm- 29 No'lu Uluslararası Muhasebe Standardı'nın Bir Türk Bankasına uygulanması: Bu bölümde 29 No'lu UMS, gerçekte varolmayan ancak ülkenin ve ekonominin genel özelliklerine göre tasarlanan bir Türk Bankasına uygulanmıştır. Dolayısıyla sadece yüksek enflasyonun etkilerinin mali raporlara yansıtılması ile ilgili ilke ve zorunlulukları kapsayan 29 no'lu UMS daha somut olarak sunulabilmiştir. 7nci Bölüm- Sonuçlar ve öneriler: Bu bölümde çalışma bir bütün olarak değerlendirilmiş, yüksek enflasyonist ekonomilerde gerçekleştirilecek mali raporlama esasları ve ilgili yasal düzenlemeler konularında önerilerde bulunulmuştur. XI

SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION Presently, hyperinflation has strong impacts on the companies operating in some countries in Latin America, Middle East and Eastern Europe. Even though, it has been less of an issue for Western corporations operating at home, it is a continuing problem in planning, managing and measuring their businesses in other countries which have hyperinflationary economies. United States, Western Europe and other multinational companies continue to invest in hyperinflationary countries, sometimes profitably, but in many cases without the tools necessary to earn real money commensurate with the risks involved. There are several key characteristics of successful operations in a hyperinflationary environment that company management needs to understand and address. For example: - Operating decisions have larger financial implications. Receivables, inventories and monetary assets have significant impacts on results because of the higher cost of money and inflationary losses. - These inflationary losses are not reflected in financial statements prepared on historical cost basis, but have a direct impact on cash flows. - Economic conditions are subject to significant fluctuations to which the companies must react quickly. As the increased complexity of the economic environment gave rise the need for better reports to the management of the company, the effects of inflation are considered more for the inclusion in the financial statements at varying degrees and methods depending on the legal or internal requirements. These efforts even begun after the first World War, when many Western European countries suffered from high inflation. Under hyperinflationary economies, It has been clearly understood that financial statements without adequate adjustments for inflation do not reflect appropriately the financial position and performance of the companies. Furthermore, unadjusted financial statements can be meaningless or even misleading under these circumstances. Several countries have implemented different set of rules for the adjustments to inflation resulting in lack of uniformity. Furthermore, many accounting professionals have XIIdeveloped different theories and opinions regarding to the accounting procedures reflecting the effects of inflation. These different rules and theories not only developed sophisticated and effective procedures but increased the complexity in the minds of the users of the financial statements. Finally, International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) of International Federation of Accountants (IF AC) issued a new International Accounting Standard (IAS 29) headed by `Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies` setting up the framework for meaningful and uniform financial reporting in hyperiflationary economies, in July 1989. IAS has become effective for financial statements covering periods beginning on or after January 1, 1990. As to be implemented on world-wide basis for the companies reporting in accordance with the standards issued by IASC and relating to the primary financial statements, not to their supplements or explanatory notes, IAS 29 has a special place among other such standards. Furthermore, this standard may be regarded as a unique answer to many sets of rules and theories implementing different procedures reflecting the effects of inflation. IAS 29 provided a list of principles and requirement. It does not, however, delineate the procedures for measuring the adjusted income nor does it provide numerical illustrations. As its increased implementation through the time, IAS 29 will be more clearly understandable. Presently, in many hiperinflationary countries including Turkey, IAS 29 has not yet been widely implemented and, therefore its applications by different companies result in lack of uniformity. Both because of its special place among such standards reflecting the effects of inflation and the lack of sufficient illustrations explaining for its implementation, the financial reporting procedures promulgated by IAS 29 has been chosen as the subject of this doctoral thesis. The fact that Turkey has been a hyperinflationary economy for the past 18 years also played as an importing factor to chose this subject as the topic of the thesis. The application of IAS 29 is illustrated `Section 6` at a Turkish bank which is not existed but envisaged in consistence with the economic environment and business traditions in Turkey. 2. CONTENTS OF THE THESIS Throughout this study, the financial reporting requirements under IAS 29 are examined with historical and theoretical perspectives which includes comparison of different sets of rules applied in many countries and highlighting the trends in the developments of relevant theories to reflect the effects of inflation. XIIIThis paper is consists of seven chapters as explained in the following paragraphs. 2.1. First chapter: Introduction This chapter gives a brief on the objective of this thesis and highlights its plan. 2.2. Second chapter: Concepts and accounting systems reflecting the effects of inflation This chapter explains and gives descriptions for the basic concepts and accounting systems developed in theory and by different applications for inflation by date. The cases which might lead to improper uses and applications of these concepts and systems are highlighted to avoid any misunderstanding. Also, the basic three accounting systems which include `current cost accounting`, `price level accounting` and `price level adjusted current cost accounting`, are explained with an illustration in this chapter. 2.3. Third chapter: The development of accounting for the effects of inflation and a comparative analysis of applications in different countries This chapter analyses the development of accounting systems for the effects of inflation on the basis of comparison between different applications at some countries with a historical perspective. The applications for the effects of inflation at different countries are examined in two major categories one of which is related to the Anglo- American countries and the other to Continental European countries. Anglo- American countries includes both hyperinflationary and inflationary economies. Among low inflationary economies, United States of America, United Kingdom and Holland have been playing major roles in the development of accounting theory and practices through their professional organisations and legal regulations. These countries have experienced short periods of hyperinflation at home; however, inflation become continuing problem for the companies based at these economies in planning, managing and measuring their businesses in other countries which have hyperinflationary economies. Consequently, as parallel to their major role in this profession, these countries initiated and developed the systems and concepts relating to the accounting for the effects of inflation. Because of these facts referred to above, the development in the theory and accounting treatments for the effects of inflation in United States of America, United Kingdom and Netherlands are analysed in this chapter. XIVAnglo-American countries also includes Mexico and some South American countries suffering from hyperinflation over a long period of time. Among those countries, Brazil has a leading position in terms of inflation rates and legal regulations coping with the effects of inflation. Among these legal regulations, tax laws ruled that the net monetary position gains or losses (so called as `monetary correction adjustments`) are taxable or tax deductible items. Other South American countries and Mexico show similarities with Brazil in this respect. These facts resulted in reservation a separate section for the accounting practices for inflation in Brazil. High inflation was observed in some Continental European countries after first and second World Wars, but did not stayed there for long. Possibly because of these fact, these countries have not treated the inflation as a major factor affecting the financial statements as a whole; instead inflation is considered only with regard to its effects in some specific balance sheet items, such as inventory and fixed assets through the regulations and accounting standards promulgated or issued in these countries. Among these countries, Spain, Italy, Germany and France have been examined with respect to the accounting treatment and legal regulations for the effects of inflation in this chapter. Finally, the accounting treatment and the corresponding legal regulations in Turkey, showing similarities with those of Continental European Countries, are summarised in this chapter. 2.4. Forth chapter: The theoretical analysis of accounting systems for the effects of inflation. This chapter criticises three basic accounting systems reflecting the effects of inflation with respect to the generally accepted accounting principles. These systems are `current cost`, `price level accounting` and `price level adjusted current cost accounting`. Since the subject of this thesis is not to analyse and study the generally accepted accounting principles developed by the basic practices and theory so far, these principles are taken into consideration as they are. Consequently the accounting systems referred to as above are evaluated as to their compliance with these standards. Throughout the comments and analysed in this chapter, it was concluded that `price level accounting system` is the best system among the others with respect to its compliance with generally accounting principles. XV2.5. Fifth chapter: The financial reporting in hyper inflationary economies as promulgated hy IAS 29 This chapter explains in detail the content of IAS 29; where applicable cross references are made to the other chapters. The structure of the financial reporting system promulgated by this standard shows that IAS 29 basically requires `price level accounting` basis and; protects and preserves the generally accepted accounting principles in all material respects in accounting for the effects of inflation. 2.6. Sixth chapter: Application of IAS 29 at a Turkish bank As refer to above, IAS 29 provided a list of principles and requirement. It does not, however, delineate the procedures for measuring the adjusted income nor does it provide numerical illustrations. Accordingly, all the explanations in the other chapters would not be quite understandable if they were not illustrated by a case study in this chapter. The subject of the case study was a Turkish bank which is not existed but envisaged in consistence with the economic environment and business traditions in Turkey. The comparative financial statements of this bank as at and for the years ended December 31, 1993 and 1992 prepared on the historical cost basis are restated as required by IAS 29. Throughout the analysis of the steps followed and the procedures performed with respect to the restatement of these financial statements, many technical issues which were not specifically mentioned in IAS 29 come to our attention. These issues are treated in accordance within the framework of this standard and the theoretical rules mentioned elsewhere in this thesis. As including the first complete case study documented in writing and relating to the application of IAS 29, this chapter is one of the key parts of this thesis. 2.7. Seventh chapter: Conclusions and Recommendations This chapter includes the lists of basic conclusions reached by the explanations and analyses carried throughout the thesis and make recommendations related to the financial reporting issues in hyperinflationary economies. XVI