外文翻譯--資產減值會計與估價來自日本的證據

1、<p><b>　　中文7720字</b></p><p>　　本科畢業論文（設計）</p><p>　　外 文 翻 譯</p><p>　　外文題目 Asset Impairment Accounting and Appraises </p><p>　　:Evidence from Japan

2、 </p><p>　　外文出處 Appraisal Journal </p><p>　　外文作者 Yamanoto Takashi </p><p><b>　　原文：</b></p><p&g

3、t;　　Asset Impairment Accounting and Appraisers: Evidence from Japan</p><p>　　ABSTRACT: The asset impairment accounting system has been introduced throughout the world since the mid-1990s. Even in Japan it ha

4、s been extensively introduced since 2006. This article clarifies the characteristics of companies that used asset impairment accounting and the actual conditions of appraisers’ involvement. The analysis shows that compan

5、ies with high land-impairment ratios are conspicuously likely to select an appraiser’s valuation. Appraisers’ participation in asset impairment accoun</p><p>　　Japan experienced a sudden rise and then declin

6、e in real estate prices from the late 1980s to the 1990s. As a result, companies that acquired large amounts of real estate when the prices were rising ended up suffering tremendous latent losses. Asset impairment accoun

7、ting, which recently has been introduced in Japan, has exposed these losses. Today, asset impairment accounting contributes to presentation of the stark contrast between companies that have effectively utilized their cor

8、porate real e</p><p><b>　　History</b></p><p>　　The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 121, Accounting for the

9、 Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and for Long-Lived Assets to Be Disposed of, in the United States in 1995.1 The International Accounting Standards Committee released International Accounting Standards (IAS) No 36, Impai

10、rment of Assets in 1998.2 Thus, asset impairment accounting has been a global issue since the mid-1990s.</p><p>　　SFAS No. 121 was revised and replaced by SFAS No. 144, Accounting for the impairment or the D

11、isposal of Long-Lived Assets in 2001. Also see SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements.</p><p>　　In 2001, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) replaced the International Accounting Standards Com

12、mittee as the entity establishing international accounting standards.</p><p>　　Asset impairment accounting was born in the United States because the reliability of financial reports had deteriorated due to d

13、irectors who haphazardly and discretionarily devalued fixed assets.3 This discretionary devaluation of fixed assets affected the reliability of earnings, seriously influencing investors’ decisions.4 Consequently, asset i

14、mpairment accounting was introduced to promote procedural accounting rules and to curb directors’ accounting indiscretions.</p><p>　　Linda J. Zucca and David R. Campbell, “A Closer Look at Discretionary Writ

15、edowns of Impaired Assets,” Accounting Horizons 6, no. 3 (September 1992):30-41</p><p>　　Edward J. Riedl, “An Examination of Long-Lived Asset Impairments,” The Accounting Review 79, no. 3 (2004):823-852</

16、p><p>　　Asset Impairment Accounting in Japan</p><p>　　Asset impairment accounting standards have been introduced in Japan in recent years, and voluntarily applied by some companies beginning in 200

17、4. The standards have been extensively used in Japan since 2006.</p><p>　　When performing asset impairment accounting in Japan, a professional appraisal5 is usually obtained, because Japanese accounting stan

18、dards require an appraisal in principle for everything except unimportant real estate.6 Although an appraisal is not obtained for all real estate, the appraiser’s role is very important.</p><p>　　There are a

19、bout 5000 certified real estate appraisers in Japan. To be an appraiser requires passing the national examination and having extensive professional expertise and practical experience.</p><p>　　The accounting

20、 standards do not define unimportant real estate. For unimportant real estate the property tax assessment value can be used instead of an appraisal. This property tax assessment value is 70% of the market value; see The

21、Asset impairment Accounting Standards (Japan), Clauses 28 and 90. Municipal governments set assessment values every 3 years. This assessment information is freely available to taxpayers.</p><p>　　As mentione

22、d, the main roles of appraisers in asset impairment accounting are (1) to control the discretionary behavior of company directors and (2) to provide reliable earnings information for those concerned with the relevant com

23、panies. If company directors are able to manipulate the market value of real estate, they may decide the amount of impairment in a manner that would bias earnings information. Investors who decide to invest based on this

24、 information may suffer unexpected financial dama</p><p>　　The goal of real estate valuation by appraisers is to prevent such earnings-coordinating behaviors by companies and to provide investors with financ

25、ial information as close to the companies’ real financial situations as possible.</p><p>　　Concepts in Asset Impairment Accounting</p><p>　　The amount of asset impairment is equal to the differe

26、nce between book value and recoverable value of an asset in Japan (Figure 1). The size of an impairment charge could have a significant impact on a business and its management. Therefore, the recoverable value of an asse

27、t must be clearly and objectively estimated in order for businesses to successfully implement an accounting system based on the impairment concept. The recoverable value should be determined by gathering relevant transac

28、tion d</p><p>　　Asset impairment is treated differently in other countries. The accounting standards dealing with impairment are generally divided into two groups: the United States’ FASB Standards and the I

29、nternational Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Standards.</p><p>　　In the United States, SFAS No. 144 states that impairment is a condition that exists when an asset’s book value exceeds its fair value. This

30、 standard also states that the amount of impairment loss can be recognized only when an asset’s book value cannot be recovered and exceeds its fair value. The standard states that the amounts of impairment loss can be me

31、asured as the difference between the book value and the fair value.</p><p>　　On the other hand, IAS No. 36, defines impairment as a situation in which an asset’s book value exceeds a recoverable amount, whic

32、h is the higher of net selling price or use value. Therefore, the IASB’s standards capitalize the difference between an asset’s book value and recoverable amount as the amount of impairment.</p><p>　　Japan’s

33、 standards are closer to the IASB standards than to the FASB standards, and involve appraisers in the evaluation of the above-mentioned net selling prices. In addition, not all assets are subject to the assessment of imp

34、airment. In Japan, assets capitalized as impaired are specified depending on the amount of future cash flows that comes from those assets. The final amount of impairment is capitalized as an expense on a profit-loss stat

35、ement, greatly impacting profit and, eventually, the </p><p>　　As discussed so far, asset impairment accounting varies slightly from country to country in terms of procedures. These differences have caused m

36、isunderstandings among companies that pursue global economic activities. To prevent these misunderstandings, overall accounting standards, including those regarding asset impairment, are now converging on a global scale

37、and are expected to be unified in the near future.</p><p>　　Literature Review</p><p>　　Since asset impairment accounting standards have been introduced, few empirical studies have focused on the

38、 relation between asset impairment accounting and appraisers. This section will review the empirical studies of asset revaluation, which has been voluntarily applied as a business custom for many years in the United King

39、dom and Australia.</p><p>　　Generally, the methods for revaluing tangible fixed asset under accounting standards, such as those in the United Kingdom and Australia, are classified according to who conducts t

40、he revaluation. Where a business administrator carries out the revaluation it is called a “director’s valuation.” An “appraiser’s valuation” is a revaluation by an appraiser who has special qualifications to carry out th

41、e revaluation as a third party.</p><p>　　The sale price of real estate is normally formed on the basis of a transaction’s specific circumstances. Moreover, the sale price is also influenced by the real estat

42、e’s individual attributes. It may be extremely difficult for an ordinary person to determine the market value. Thus, in order to evaluate property more accurately and easily, a valuation by an appraiser is accepted as a

43、proper valuation method. However, a director’s valuation or an appraiser’s valuation can be chosen at the director</p><p>　　Taking into consideration the different types of valuations, the literature was rev

44、iewed to analyze whether appraisers’ valuations are reliable, and what motives prompt directors to select an appraiser’s valuation.</p><p>　　Studies focusing on the reliability of appraisers’ valuations incl

45、ude research by Dietrich, Harris, and Muller,7 of companies in the United Kingdom, and search by Barth and Clinch of companies in Australia.8 Studies in Australia by Brown, Izan, and Loh,9 and by Cotter and Richardson10

46、focus on company directors’ motives in selecting appraisers’ valuations. The following summarizes these studies.</p><p>　　J. Richard Dietrich, Mary S. Harris, and Karl A. Muller, Ⅲ, “The Reliability of Inves

47、tment Property Fair Value Estimates,” Journal of Accounting and Economics 30, no.2 (October 2000): 125-158.</p><p>　　Mary E. Barth and Gregory Clinch, “Revalued Financial, Tangible and Intangible Assets: Ass

48、ociations with Share Prices and Non Market-Based Estimates,” Journal of Accounting Research 36 (1998): 199-233.</p><p>　　Philip H. Brown, H. Y. Izan, and Alfred L. Loh, “Fixed Asset Revaluations and Manageri

49、al Incentives,” ABACUS 28, no.1 (1992): 36-57.</p><p>　　Julie Cotter and Scott A. Richardson, “Reliability of Asset Revaluations: The Impact of Appraiser Independence,” Review of Accounting Studies 7, no.4 (

50、December 2002): 435-457.</p><p>　　Reliability of Appraisers’ Valuations</p><p>　　Research focusing on revaluation reliability was done by Dietrich, Harris, and Muller. Their study analyzes reval

51、uation data from 1988 to 1996, and tries to clarify the reliability of appraisers’ valuations. They examine the difference between properties’ book values and sale prices. Where the difference is only slight, they assume

52、 that the book value is more reliable than where the difference is large. Based on this analytical procedure, they find that the appraisers’ valuations are a more reli</p><p>　　In the Dietrich, Harris, and M

53、uller study, the reliability of an appraisers’ valuation was accepted, and it is certain that the six major audit corporations’ audits also contributed to some extent to reliable property valuations.</p><p>

54、　　Barth and Clinch analyze the impact of revaluation on the stock prices of 245 companies that revaluated assets from 1991 to 1995. Their analysis shows that revaluation of lands and buildings significantly influences st

55、ock price in a statistical hypothesis test. Qualified professional real estate appraisers were involved in many cases, and Barth and Clinch verify the difference between appraisals of assets by appraisers and by the comp

56、any directors. They hypothesize that appraisals made by apprai</p><p>　　Selection of Appraisers’ Valuations</p><p>　　The Brown, Izan, and Loh study examines whether companies that choose apprais

57、ers’ valuations and companies that choose directors’ valuations differ in their financial characteristics. They conduct research based on revaluation data from 1974 to 1977 for 139 companies. The results of their analysi

58、s show that the debt ratio of the companies that choose appraisers’ valuations is significantly high. Therefore, it can be assumed that the appraiser’s valuation is utilized in order to validly collatera</p><p

59、>　　Cotter and Richardson also analyze the difference between directors’ and the appraisers’ valuations. Their analysis includes data for 483 companies from between 1981 and 1999 and uses a Probit model11 whose explain

60、 variable is whether or not an appraiser was used, and the explanatory variables are the asset value, debt ratio, governance, etc. Their results are different from those of Brown, Izan, and Loh and show that debt ratio i

61、s not a significant variable, but corporate governance is a signif</p><p>　　11. This is a regression model with a binary variable of 0-1 as an explained valuable, just like the Logit model. This can be inter

62、preted as a binomial selection model, which is, a model that chooses between two choices. But the Probit model and the Logit model are not always the same. The Probit model is based on a cumulative normal distribution,

63、is less flexible, an cannot readily be extended to more than one predictor variable.</p><p>　　As shown, there is research (e.g., Dietrich, Harris, and Muller) indicating that appraisers’ valuations are more

64、reliable than directors’ valuations. The research also appears to indicate that corporate governance is an important factor in empirical analysis (Cotter and Richardson). Based on the preceding studies, the next section

65、of this article will empirically analyze companies in Japan that use asset impairment accounting.</p><p>　　Analysis of Companies That Use Asset Impairment Accounting</p><p>　　This section descri

66、bes the characteristics of companies in Japan that have used asset impairment accounting in recent years, an the actual conditions of appraisers’ participation. The analysis has a dual purpose. First, it attempts to iden

67、tify how companies began to adopt asset impairment accounting, by comparing and analyzing companies that use asset impairment accounting and those that do not. Second, it attempts to identify what contributions appraiser

68、s make to asset impairment accounting.</p><p>　　The sample companies in this research include 568 businesses continuously listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange from 1984 to 2003. Based on t

69、he financial data in the companies’ financial reports, about 63%, or 357 companies, apply asset impairment accounting, including some with early application, i.e., 2004 and 2005.</p><p>　　Characteristics of

70、Companies Using Asset Impairment Accounting</p><p>　　Company Assets</p><p>　　First financial information about companies that use asset impairment accounting is collected. As Table 1 shows, the

71、large companies in Japan began using asset impairment accounting at an early stage. Moreover, it is conspicuous that the ratio of amount of impairment to total assets applied in 2004 is much higher than in other periods.

72、 It is clear, therefore, that the large companies with latent losses chose to apply asset impairment accounting at an early stage on their own initiative.12</p><p>　　12. A common factor among the 24 companie

73、s applying asset impairment accounting in 2004 is that they are relatively large well-known companies characterizing business in Japan. They had strong motivation to appeal to investors by showing that they had already g

74、otten rid of much latent loss in corporate real estate by applying assets impairment accounting earlier.</p><p>　　Land Value</p><p>　　Next, the sample companies’ process of accumulating land is

75、analyzed. The average land book value was found for 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2003. According to these results, the change in average book value of land owned by companies applying asset impairment accounting in 2004 d

76、iffers remarkably from other groups. Their degree of value increase is overwhelming compared to other groups since 1989. Figure 2 shows the correlation between use of asset impairment accounting and change in average boo

77、</p><p>　　Figure 3 shows an index of commercial and industrial land price in Japan. It appears that those companies that obtained large amounts of land during the real estate bubble13 suffered a high degree

78、of latent loss. During the real estate bubble, many Japanese companies did not sufficiently consider the economic feasibility of their businesses. The companies’ losses can also be blamed on commercial banks. Many banks

79、intentionally overestimated the value of real estate for mortgage financing at that</p><p>　　13. Japan’s land prices surged during the latter half of the 1980s. A serious financial problem occurred when land

80、 prices rapidly declined in the early 1990s and many companies owned land at a latent loss.</p><p>　　It is also true, however, that some companies thoroughly analyzed the economic feasibility of their operat

81、ions before they obtained real estate. The rate of the occurrence of impairment is lower for these companies than for other companies. Therefore, the reason that some companies in Japan used asset impairment accounting,

82、and others did not, is related to their management policies regarding corporate real estate during the time when land prices were rapidly increasing. These arguments apply no</p><p><b>　　Variables</

83、b></p><p>　　Asset impairment accounting has been applied extensively since 2006 in Japan. Logit regression analysis14 is used in this research to analyze the difference between companies that used asset i

84、mpairment accounting in 2006 (N=264) and those that did not (N=195).15 As an explained variable, 1 is assigned to the applying companies, and 0 is assigned to the nonapplying companies. Consolidated financial data from 2

85、005 is used for this analysis.</p><p>　　14. Samples of which ownership data can be clearly identified were adopted.</p><p>　　15. A Logit model is one of the stochastic models. The stochastic ali

86、gnment model is presented by the alignment of a combination of variables χ (r pieces) as Z = β0+β1χ1+β2χ2+…+βrχr. However, the problem of a stochastic alignment model is that it does not guarantee that the presumed proba

87、bility goes into the section of 0 and 1. To store this presumed probability between 0 and 1. Logit conversion is carried out and the aboce-mentioned alignment combination is presented as p(χ) = exp(z)/(1+exp(z))</p>

88、;<p>　　Explanatory variables are adopted for ownership,16 Tobin’s q, debt ratio, return on assets (ROA), and total assets. The ownership variables include ratio of executive shareholding (executive ratio), ratio o

89、f foreign shareholding (foreign ratio), ratio of bank shareholding (bank ratio), and ratio of general business company shareholding (company ratio). Tobin’s q represents the market value of stocks plus the amount of debt

90、 divided by the total assets. The debt ratio equals company conversion is </p><p>　　16. The explanatory ownership variables were adopted based on the previously mentioned study by Cotter and Richardson that

91、focuses on corporate governance.</p><p>　　The descriptive statistics of the variables are shown in Table 2. A correlation matrix is presented in Table 3.</p><p>　　Analysis and Results</p>

92、<p>　　The regression coefficients for debt ratio and ROA are significantly negative with a 1% level. Similarly, the coefficient of total assets is significantly positive with a 1% level. Moreover, the coefficient o

93、f the ratio of foreign shareholding is significantly negative with a 1% level. These results show that companies with more property have a higher probability of using asset impairment accounting. When debt ratio, ROA, an

94、d foreign ratio are higher, the probability of using asset impairment ac</p><p>　　17. Companies’ property efficiency is defined as profit divided by tangible fixed assets.</p><p>　　Regarding deb

95、t ratio, when debt increases, bankruptcy risk also increases, promoting management efficiency and applying pressure on managers.18 The ROA presents an indication of a company’s profitability. It can be assumed that less

96、profitable companies have a high risk of using asset impairment accounting. These results are interpreted as being in accordance with the rationale for asset impairment accounting standards. This is because accounting st

97、andards limit assets that can be considered imp</p><p>　　18. Philippe Aghion and Patrick Bolton, “An Incomplete Contracts Approach to Financial Contracting,” Review of Economic Studies 59, no. 3 (July 1992):