题目

" Harmonization" is a process of increasing the compatibility of accounting practices by setting limits on how much they vary．Harmonized standards are free of logical conflicts，and should improve the comparability of financial information from different countries． Efforts to harmonize accounting standards began even before the creation of the International Accounting Standards Committee(IASC)in 1973．International accounting harmonization now is one of the most important issues facing securities regulators，stock exchanges，and those who prepare or use financial statements． Harmonization and standardization are sometimes used interchangeably．But there is still a difference between them．Standardization normally means the imposition of a rigid and narrow set of rules，and may even apply a single standard or rule to a11 situations． Besides，standardization does not accommodate national differences and，therefore，is more difficult to implement internationally．Whereas harmonization is much more flexible and open．It does not take a one-size-fits-all approach，but accommodates national differences and has made a great of progress internationally in recent years．However，within accounting!these two words have almost become technical terms，and one cannot depend on the normal difference in their meanings．" Harmonization" is a word that tends to be associated with the transnational legislation originating from the European Union while" standardization" is a word that is often associated with the International Accounting Standard Committee． The reasons that make national accounting standards desirable also apply internationally．Generally speaking，the reasons for harmonization are as follows： (1)It is important and necessary for investors and financial analysts to understand the financial statements of foreign companies whose shares they might wish to buy．They hope to make it quite sure that statements from different countries are reliable and comparable，or at least to be clear about the nature and magnitude of the differences．Besides，they also need confidence in the soundness of the auditing． (2)The advantages of harmonization are very important for MNEs．because the great effort of financial accountants to prepare and consolidate financial statements would be much simplified if statements from all over the globe were prepared according to the same standards．Besides，it would be much easier to prepare comparable internal information for the appraisal of the performance of subsidiaries in different countries．What’s more，many aspects of investment appraisal，performance evaluation，and other decision-making uses of management accounting information would benefit from harmonization．Above all，the cOSt of capital should be reduced by reducing the risk for investors if accounting can be made more comparable and reliable． (3)International accountancy firms can benefit from harmonization．They are in favour of harmonization because it is good for their lots of clients． (4)Governments in developing countries might find it easier to comprehend and control the operations of MNEs if financial reporting were harmonized． The most fundamental of obstacles to harmonization is the size of the present differences between the accounting practices of different countries．In previous Section 8.5some main differences concerned with international accounting are discussed．Besides，there are several significant differences within the equity class，let alone between that class and the other．These differences go to the root of the reasons for the preparation of accounting information．Further，the differences between shareholder/fair view presentation and creditor/tax/conservative presentation is an obstacle that is very hard to be overcome without major changes in attitudes and laws． There is another obstacle：in some countries there are no strong professional accountancy bodies．This means any body such as IASC，which seeks to operate through the private sector。will not be effective in all countries．Besides，a worldwide enforcement agency is also lacking there．Another problem is nationalism．Some countries are not willing to accept compromises that involve changing their accounting practices towards those of other countries．Still another difficulty is the effect of " economic consequences" on accounting standards．To the extent that economic consequences of standards vary by country and to the extent that they are taken into account by those who set standards，this could be a force for deharmonization． The International Accounting Standards Board(IASB)，formerly the International Accounting Standards Committee(IASC)，is an independent private sector standards-setting body founded in 1973 by professional accounting organizations in nine countries and restructured in 2001．Before the restructuring，the IASC issued 41 International Accounting Standards(IAS)and a Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements． The International Accounting Standards Board has been working for the last 30 years to develop a comprehensive set of high-quality accounting standards that can be used to bring uniformity in financial reporting around the world．These standards are already officially accepted in many countries，and are used by an increasing number of major global corporations．The European Commission has proposed that by 2005，all EU companies listed on a regulated market should be required to prepare consolidated accounts in accordance with IAS．Furthermore，other international organizations such as the Basle Committee，the G7，the World Bank，the World Trade Organization，and the International Monetary Fund have expressed support for international accounting harmonization．and for the work of the IASB．We can infer frOm the article that A．the EU member nations will ioin the IASB before 2005．B．not all nations are ready to adopt the IAS．C．harmonization iS as important as standardization．D．the financial reporting of developing countries was harmonized．

" Harmonization" is a process of increasing the compatibility of accounting practices by setting limits on how much they vary．Harmonized standards are free of logical conflicts，and should improve the comparability of financial information from different countries． Efforts to harmonize accounting standards began even before the creation of the International Accounting Standards Committee(IASC)in 1973．International accounting harmonization now is one of the most important issues facing securities regulators，stock exchanges，and those who prepare or use financial statements． Harmonization and standardization are sometimes used interchangeably．But there is still a difference between them．Standardization normally means the imposition of a rigid and narrow set of rules，and may even apply a single standard or rule to a11 situations． Besides，standardization does not accommodate national differences and，therefore，is more difficult to implement internationally．Whereas harmonization is much more flexible and open．It does not take a one-size-fits-all approach，but accommodates national differences and has made a great of progress internationally in recent years．However，within accounting!these two words have almost become technical terms，and one cannot depend on the normal difference in their meanings．" Harmonization" is a word that tends to be associated with the transnational legislation originating from the European Union while" standardization" is a word that is often associated with the International Accounting Standard Committee． The reasons that make national accounting standards desirable also apply internationally．Generally speaking，the reasons for harmonization are as follows： (1)It is important and necessary for investors and financial analysts to understand the financial statements of foreign companies whose shares they might wish to buy．They hope to make it quite sure that statements from different countries are reliable and comparable，or at least to be clear about the nature and magnitude of the differences．Besides，they also need confidence in the soundness of the auditing． (2)The advantages of harmonization are very important for MNEs．because the great effort of financial accountants to prepare and consolidate financial statements would be much simplified if statements from all over the globe were prepared according to the same standards．Besides，it would be much easier to prepare comparable internal information for the appraisal of the performance of subsidiaries in different countries．What’s more，many aspects of investment appraisal，performance evaluation，and other decision-making uses of management accounting information would benefit from harmonization．Above all，the cOSt of capital should be reduced by reducing the risk for investors if accounting can be made more comparable and reliable． (3)International accountancy firms can benefit from harmonization．They are in favour of harmonization because it is good for their lots of clients． (4)Governments in developing countries might find it easier to comprehend and control the operations of MNEs if financial reporting were harmonized． The most fundamental of obstacles to harmonization is the size of the present differences between the accounting practices of different countries．In previous Section 8.5some main differences concerned with international accounting are discussed．Besides，there are several significant differences within the equity class，let alone between that class and the other．These differences go to the root of the reasons for the preparation of accounting information．Further，the differences between shareholder/fair view presentation and creditor/tax/conservative presentation is an obstacle that is very hard to be overcome without major changes in attitudes and laws． There is another obstacle：in some countries there are no strong professional accountancy bodies．This means any body such as IASC，which seeks to operate through the private sector。will not be effective in all countries．Besides，a worldwide enforcement agency is also lacking there．Another problem is nationalism．Some countries are not willing to accept compromises that involve changing their accounting practices towards those of other countries．Still another difficulty is the effect of " economic consequences" on accounting standards．To the extent that economic consequences of standards vary by country and to the extent that they are taken into account by those who set standards，this could be a force for deharmonization． The International Accounting Standards Board(IASB)，formerly the International Accounting Standards Committee(IASC)，is an independent private sector standards-setting body founded in 1973 by professional accounting organizations in nine countries and restructured in 2001．Before the restructuring，the IASC issued 41 International Accounting Standards(IAS)and a Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements． The International Accounting Standards Board has been working for the last 30 years to develop a comprehensive set of high-quality accounting standards that can be used to bring uniformity in financial reporting around the world．These standards are already officially accepted in many countries，and are used by an increasing number of major global corporations．The European Commission has proposed that by 2005，all EU companies listed on a regulated market should be required to prepare consolidated accounts in accordance with IAS．Furthermore，other international organizations such as the Basle Committee，the G7，the World Bank，the World Trade Organization，and the International Monetary Fund have expressed support for international accounting harmonization．and for the work of the IASB．We can infer frOm the article that A．the EU member nations will ioin the IASB before 2005．B．not all nations are ready to adopt the IAS．C．harmonization iS as important as standardization．D．the financial reporting of developing countries was harmonized．

题目解答

答案

B

解析

考查要点：本题主要考查学生对文章主旨的理解，特别是对“harmonization”（协调化）与“standardization”（标准化）概念的辨析，以及国际会计准则（IAS）推广面临的挑战。

解题核心思路：

  1. 明确选项与文章关联：需从文章中提取关键信息，判断哪些国家或地区可能或不可能采用IAS。
  2. 锁定障碍性描述：文章多次提到协调化的障碍，如民族主义、经济后果、专业机构缺失等，暗示并非所有国家都愿意或能够采用IAS。

破题关键点：

  • 概念对比：协调化（flexible）与标准化（rigid）的差异，协调化更易国际推广。
  • 障碍性语句：如“Some countries are not willing to accept compromises”“lack of strong professional bodies”等，直接支持选项B。

选项分析：

  1. 选项A（EU member nations will join the IASB before 2005）：

    • 文章提到“EU companies listed on a regulated market should prepare accounts in accordance with IAS by 2005”，但未提及成员国“加入”IASB，属于过度推断。

  2. 选项B（not all nations are ready to adopt the IAS）：

    • 民族主义：“Some countries are not willing to accept compromises that involve changing their accounting practices towards those of other countries”（直接支持B）。
    • 专业机构缺失：“in some countries there are no strong professional accountancy bodies”（IASB依赖私有部门推动，效果受限）。
    • 经济后果差异：“economic consequences of standards vary by country”（各国利益不同，阻碍统一）。

  3. 选项C（harmonization is as important as standardization）：

    • 文章明确区分两者，强调协调化更灵活且国际适用性更强，未将两者等同。

  4. 选项D（financial reporting of developing countries was harmonized）：

    • 文章仅提到“Governments in developing countries might find it easier to comprehend...if financial reporting were harmonized”，属假设性表述，未说明已实现协调。