From IAS 25 to IFRS 9–25 years of evolution in financial instruments regulation

Zmiany regulacji rachunkowości w zakresie instrumentów finansowych

Author(s): Przemysław Czajor / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 62/2011

Accounting for financial instruments seems to be one of the most complex areas in accounting regulations. Financial instruments have been regulated by IAS/IFRS for more than 25 years. The changes in regulations have accelerated lately. IASB is trying to develop a standard which would deal with all issues in the area of financial instruments in a comprehensive way, and on the other hand – be less complex than the present regulations. This article is about the evolution of financial instruments/ accounting regula-tions. It provides a review of main changes that have been introduced up to day. It also presents the latest changes, proposed either in drafts of IFRS 9 or in officially published parts of this new standard. The final part of the article gives a concise recapitulation of the changes, which shows the direction in which accounting regulation of financial instruments is moving. There also is an attempt to evaluate the possible influence of the changes on the extent to which financial instruments will be used by companies.

Invisible assets – nature and importance to a company

Aktywa niewidzialne przedsiębiorstwa – istota i znaczenie

Author(s): Melania Bąk / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 62/2011

Invisible assets constitute part of a company's invisible property which is not included in the accounting system. In spite of the fact that they are not regulated by law, enterprises are aware of their great role in creating the market value of a company, gaining competitive advantage and achieving financial success. National and international legal regulations cover only some intangible resources (called intangible assets) , which are presented in financial accounts. From the accounting perspective, invisible assets should be presented using the balance method. Therefore, it is important to interpret invisible assets together with their intellectual capital perceived as earned wealth (owing to these assets), which is to be helpful in obtaining economic benefits in the future (eg. brand and brand capital). Invisible assets comprise a very diversified group of knowledge-based re-sources (e.g. reputation, loyalty of employees), which are specific to each enter-prise. They are not fully identifiable, but nevertheless constitute a source of com-petitive advantage and can be used in a variety of ways at the same time. Invisible assets and intellectual capital represent a challenge for contemporary accounting as regards their identification, definition and classification, and development of valuation methods and presentation forms. It is important to de-vote more attention to issues relating to invisible assets and intellectual capital as the position of economic theorists and practitioners on this matter is not clear (e.g. conceptual chaos). Invisible assets actively participate in all phases of enterprise life (from estab-lishment to closure) and support processes occurring in an enterprise (e.g. sales). Particular components of invisible assets are mutually dependent, interrelated and complementary (eg. brand depends on customer relations). Additionally, mutual relations exist between invisible assets and other assets dealt with by the account-ing system (eg. reputation and image affect the quality of products).

Towards integrated reporting

W kierunku zintegrowanej sprawozdawczości

Author(s): Ewa Eljasiak / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 62/2011

The future of corporate reporting belongs to integrated reporting that will con-verge financial reporting with reporting of non-financial issues in one clear, concise, consistent and comparable integrated report. The article discusses the current problems connected with voluntarily published corporate social responsibility reports or sustainability reports aimed at informing stakeholders about a company's performance and effects of operations in the environmental, social and corporate governance spheres. Against this background a long-term timetable of activities that will help to implement integrated reporting is presented. Additionally, the article indicates key issues and challenges that should be carefully considered while creating a globally accepted framework for integrated reporting and auditing.

Adjectival Accounting

Rachunkowość przymiotnikowa

Author(s): Sławomir Sojak / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 62/2011

A brief overview of the literature, textbooks, encyclopedias and dictionaries in the field of accounting may leave the reader perplexed. The reason for this is the multitude of adjectives preceding the word „accounting”. The author identified over seventy of them, and this is by no means a complete list. The purpose of this article is to establish whether such a large number of adjec-tives is necessary. Does this mean that there are so many types of „accounting”? If so, how do they differ? Are these names justified in every single case? Are these new names or rather merely synonyms? What are the reasons for employing these adjectives and not others? Who employs them and for what purpose? When did these adjectives start to appear and what to do with this ‘adjectival excess’? The analysis carried out by the author demonstrates that: - Taking into account the methodological bases of accounting research, it may be observed that there is just one type of accounting, and thus it is „non-adjectival”. - The employment of adjectives is the result of the complexity of business and in many cases serves the function of facilitating communication, thus constituting a specific language of business. - There is no consensus among various authors with regard to terminology, which is the reason why there are so many synonyms, such as: ecological accounting (green, environmental accounting), management accounting (managerial, deci-sion-making, prospective, ex ante accounting). - Some of the names are justified because of the nature of the field in which they are employed, e.g. commercial, agricultural, banking accounting, etc. - Some of them depend on management strategies in which they are employed, which is the case with lean accounting in the context of lean management. - Some of the names circulate in the public sphere irrespective of academic re-search, e.g. creative accounting, toxic accounting or outsourcing accounting. However, the employment of many of these adjectives seems unjustified and is due to marketing reasons, which is the case with such adjectives as e.g. colour, advanced, strategic, traditional, contemporary or modern.

Cultural determinants of national accounting systems in the light of S. Gray’s accounting subculture dimensions concept

Kulturowe uwarunkowania krajowych systemów rachunkowości w świetle koncepcji wymiarów subkultury rachunkowości S. Graya

Author(s): Jacek Adamek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 62/2011

The objective of this article is to present the theory of cultural dimensions of ac-counting developed by S. Gray and its application in practice on the basis of litera-ture dealing with this matter. The study is based on the assumption that cultural factors are very important in the process of studying individualised accounting practices, especially in view of currently observed unification and standardization of all aspects and dimensions of human existence.

Financial aspects of fixed assets optimum life-span

Finansowe aspekty okresu ekonomicznej użyteczności środków trwałych

Author(s): Marek Schroeder,Danuta Krzywda / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 62/2011

This paper deals with the effects of price changes (general price changes, specific price changes) and technological obsolescence upon the depreciation of fixed assets. The first problem to be considered is that of determining fixed assets life-span because it may change considerably.

Identification of transaction costs in accounting

Identyfikacja kosztów transakcyjnych przez rachunkowość

Author(s): Gertruda Krystyna Świderska,Monika Raulinajtys-Grzybek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 62/2011

The purpose of this article is to explain how transaction costs are defined and treated in accounting. Economic literature shows that transaction costs are hard to define and, consequently, to measure. However, transaction costs are increasingly attracting the attention of economists. The importance of transaction costs is grow-ing and therefore it is necessary to address this question in the accounting context. The article shows how transaction costs are treated in financial accounting and what is the approach adopted in management accounting. In financial accounting those transaction costs which are recorded by a company's accounting system can increase the acquisition price of assets or increase period costs. Modern tools of management accounting such as Activity-Based Costing or Balanced Scorecard make it possible to expand the scope of information on transaction costs. This article contributes to the discussion about identification of transaction costs in the accounting system.

Reflecting the Zionist trends in the life of the Jewish communities from southern Bessarabia and the Lower Danube

Reflecting the Zionist trends in the life of the Jewish communities from southern Bessarabia and the Lower Danube

Author(s): Arthur Viorel Tulus / Language(s): English / Issue: 17/2012

Keywords: Zionism; ideologies; Bessarabia; Lower Danube

Being a political movement, modern Zionism could not pretend a monolithic unity from its followers. Besides some unanimously accepted principles – the return of the Jews to Palestine and to Judaism, the incompatibility between Zionism with the Diaspora assimilationism and the international socialism (communism or bolshevism) – anything else was allowed. Consequently, extremely various Zionist trends were born, from those situated at the left side of the political range to those situated at the extreme right; from the laic trends to the cultural and religious ones. During the interwar period, all these trends organized themselves as political parties and decisively influenced the life of the Jewish communities both in Palestine and the Diaspora (including the Great Romania). Our study aims at placing under scrutiny precisely this influence of the Zionist political trends upon the area around the mouths of the Danube and identifying the potential differences between the counties in the Old Kingdom and those in southern Bessarabia.

Maria Costea, Relaţiile politico-diplomatice româno-bulgare (1938-1940)/ Romanian-Bulgarian Politico-Diplomatic Relations (1938-1940)

Maria Costea, Relaţiile politico-diplomatice româno-bulgare (1938-1940)/ Romanian-Bulgarian Politico-Diplomatic Relations (1938-1940)

Author(s): Ion Calafeteanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 17/2012

Keywords: Romania; Bulgaria; relations; interwar

The authoress developed an excellent scientific work on the Romanian-Bulgarian relations in a time of high tension in the international relations (1938-1940), which made its mark also on the Romanian-Bulgarian bilateral relations. In an inspired way, the plan of the work is also designed to highlight the impact of the international factors on the bilateral relations: the Agreement of Thessaloniki, the Czechoslovak Crisis and the Munich Agreement, the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, the onset of the Second World War, the Soviet ultimatum to Romania in June 1940 and the Vienna Dictate etc.

Protection of national minorities rights at the beginning of the communist regime (1945-1948). The Romanian case

Protection of national minorities rights at the beginning of the communist regime (1945-1948). The Romanian case

Author(s): Magdalena Ionescu / Language(s): English / Issue: 17/2012

Keywords: Nationalities Statute; citizenship; Constitution; national minorities; laws

The legislation that came into force after 1945 has been approached by many researchers, who analyzed the various reforms of the communist regime (the educational, the agrarian or the economical reforms enjoyed the attention of many researchers). Laws concerning nationalities were also not omitted by historians. Nevertheless, researchers who approach the Nationalities Statute, for example, do nothing but to present its provisions without showing what was the position of the communist leaders several years after promulgation. Therefore, this has become one of the goals of this paper. The article is also intended to show and analyze the citizenship regulatory laws and the 1948 Constitution from the point of view of „cohabiting nationalities”. It is attempting to show why Romanian Communists made some concessions to minorities and how these laws were seen by the leading communist.

East-West Cultural Exchanges and the Cold War. Conference in Jyväskylä, Finland, June 2012

East-West Cultural Exchanges and the Cold War. Conference in Jyväskylä, Finland, June 2012

Author(s): Cezar Stanciu / Language(s): English / Issue: 17/2012

Keywords: East-West Cultural Exchanges; Cold War; Conference in Jyväskylä

Although the Cold War had been the subject of intense debates and researches in the past decades, there are still research areas which did not receive sufficient attention. Beyond the level of high politics, the Cold War affected the lives of millions, caused social changes, with dramatic consequences sometimes, and generated new currents and forms of manifestation in the field of culture. Such evolutions have only been subjected to in-depth analysis in the last years, emerging as a new and fascinating field of research worldwide. In June 2012, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, organized an international conference, aiming to explore other less known aspects of the Cold War, respectively culture. The organizers envisaged a multi-disciplinary conference, bringing together research connected with cultural exchanges in the Cold War era, both from the East and from the West, encouraging theoretical discussion at the same time, about potential definitions of the cultural Cold War and the validity of the concept itself. Participants from more than 20 countries and academic institutions answered to this call, turning the event in Jyväskylä into one of the most successful conferences organized in Nordic Europe this year.

Russian-East European Relations: from Tsarism to Gazprom. Conference in Cork, Ireland, May 2012

Russian-East European Relations: from Tsarism to Gazprom. Conference in Cork, Ireland, May 2012

Author(s): Cezar Stanciu / Language(s): English / Issue: 17/2012

Keywords: Russia; Eastern Europe; relations; conference

Relations between Russia and its East European neighbors had always been a complex issue, in which media and policy-makers usually express a wide variety of opinions ranging from appeals for friendship and cooperation to warnings of domination and security threats. Recently, these relations have been subjected to a constructive academic debate in the Irish city of Cork, during an international conference organized by the Irish Association for Russian, Central and East European Studies and University College of Cork. The conference brought together both young researchers and senior scholars from numerous countries, especially from Central and East European institutions, and debates focused on Russia’s policies in this regions of Europe, especially in the 20th century and after. A solid input of historical background from different case studies provided for an in-depth analysis on the issues debated.

National Controversies beneath Stalinist Uniformity. The Issue of Transylvania in the Romanian-Hungarian Communist Debates

National Controversies beneath Stalinist Uniformity. The Issue of Transylvania in the Romanian-Hungarian Communist Debates

Author(s): Cezar Stanciu / Language(s): English / Issue: 17/2012

Keywords: Transylvania; nationalism; Romania; Hungary

The following document will describe relevant aspects regarding the relations among “peoples’ democracies” during the Stalinist period (1948-1953). Although their degree of autonomy was severely reduced due to Soviet pressures, certain enmities did persist, in spite of the so-called “uniformity”. The traditional Romanian-Hungarian conflict over Transylvania resurfaced after 1947. The Communist regimes in power continued the rivalry over this territory, bringing new arguments which were in accordance with the political environment. The Hungarians used internationalist arguments in order to justify their interest in the situation of the Hungarian minority in Romania. On the other hand, the Romanian communists used the anti-cosmopolitan rhetoric of the time in order to reject any interference from Budapest.

‘Socialist in form, national in content’? The ‘national-international relation’ in the ideological economy of romantic Leninism

‘Socialist in form, national in content’? The ‘national-international relation’ in the ideological economy of romantic Leninism

Author(s): Emanuel COPILAȘ / Language(s): English / Issue: 17/2012

Keywords: revolutionary workers democracy; socialist ethics; education; revolutionary socialist patriotism; democratic centralism; personality cult; socialist economy

The present paper tries to bring forward an ideological reinterpretation of the Romanian communist ideology from the „golden age”. „Romantic Leninism” implies an apparently incompatible ideological hybridity between Leninism, Romanticism and even Fascism, endemic with reference to the other communist regimes from Eastern Europe and even the whole world. Without neglecting its international manifestations, the accent lies here on several concepts considered to be the theoretical backbone of what I have named romantic Leninism. Following the analysis of the ideological structure of romantic Leninism, this part of the paper deals with Nicolae Ceaușescu’s personality cult and the particular type of socialist economy implemented during his leadership, both underlined by the heroic-romantic ideal of „building socialism”. On the whole, I intend to prove that romantic Leninism represented, under different appearances, a unified assault over the „bourgeois” conscience of Romanian society, in the attempt of replacing it with another type of conscience, that of the well-known „new man”, robotized and following exclusively the party’s goals, which he accepts as his own.

Romanian propaganda in Portugal during Victor Cădere’s term of office (1942-1944)

Romanian propaganda in Portugal during Victor Cădere’s term of office (1942-1944)

Author(s): Ioana Ecaterina Cazacu / Language(s): English / Issue: 17/2012

Keywords: Second World War; Romania; Portugal; diplomacy; propaganda; cultural relations; neutrality

Although a small country, Portugal came to occupy during World War II a central place on the great powers’ agenda. This was a result of both the country’s strictly neutral position during the war and of its geostrategic position. If during the interwar period Romanian diplomacy showed little interest in Portugal, this changed dramatically with the outbreak of the war. Romania’s involvement in the Iberian country overlapped the great powers’ interest. Portugal was regarded as a fertile ground for conducting espionage operations, spreading propaganda, handling negotiations and signing economic agreements. The Romanian government showed also an interest in obtaining information on the government and public opinion’s orientation, and the impact of the Anglo-American and German actions on Portuguese neutrality. Victor Cădere assumed the office of minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary of Romania in Portugal at the beginning of January 1942, replacing Dimitrie Jurascu. His appointment does not seem hazardous, grounded as it was on the important role the diplomat was called to play as an intermediary between the Romanian, and the British and the American governments and as a supervisor of the cultural and economic approach between Romania and Portugal, on the other hand. Benefitting from the assistance of outstanding cultural personalities such as Mircea Eliade, and of other dedicated members of the legation, the envoy succeeded in promoting the Romanian culture in Portugal and in emphasizing its role within Central and Eastern Europe.

Table of contents

Table of contents

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Issue: 17/2012

Keywords: contents; Valahian Journal of Historical Studies

This contains the Table of contents of Valahian Journal of Historical Studies

Organic farming as a job and a calling

Rolnictwo ekologiczne jako zawód i powołanie

Author(s): Piotr Bielski / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2009

Keywords: organic farming; ecology; typology of organic farmers; on becoming studies; social worlds; grounded theory; calling; mission; entrance of Poland to European Union

This is the first sociological study of development of organic farming in Poland, based on interprative paradigm and methodology of grounded theory. The basis of the study form 27 narrative and unstructured interviews with organic farmers from many regions of Poland, direct observation and content analysis of publications on organic farming. The central question is about the essence of organic farming. Is it a proffesion like any other or a social movement? What are the distinctive factors that can help in differantiating an organic farmer from the „conventional” one? What factors form the social world of organic farming, what kind of arenas of disputes emerge?

Can Ohlson’s Residual Income Model be Linked to Real Options Theory? Empirical Evidence from the Greek Capital Market

Can Ohlson’s Residual Income Model be Linked to Real Options Theory? Empirical Evidence from the Greek Capital Market

Author(s): John Mylonakis,Konstantinos Vergos / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2009

Keywords: Residual Income model; Real Options theory; Business decisions; Growth Option characteristics; Greek Capital market.

In some cases, option theory is believed to be superior to the naïve discounted cash flow approach to valuation because it captures the value of real options arising from managerial and strategic flexibility. The scope of this paper is to investigate the extend to which company valuation of listed companies is associated with the existence of real options, by linking Ohlson Residual Income model to real option theory. The study evaluates the real options of companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange during the time period of January 1992 to December 1998. This time period is considered as the most considerable one in the history of the Greek Capital market. Also, plans and decisions about company-wide capital expenditure and about specific projects are included into the sample. The research indicates that the growth options are a significant explanatory variable in the context of the residual income valuation model. The results provide, also, some support of the predictive ability of the residual income model and are generally in line with findings from UK and USA researchers. Moreover, the findings are promising, because they reveal that market valuation practices and the real option theory converge in the case of the growth options.

Can Selective Hedging Add Value to Airlines? The Case of Crude Oil Futures

Can Selective Hedging Add Value to Airlines? The Case of Crude Oil Futures

Author(s): Ray R. Sturm / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2009

Keywords: Risk; Futures; Airlines; Hedging

Recent studies have presented evidence suggesting that firms’ hedging decisions are influenced by market-timing considerations – a strategy known as selective hedging. Moreover, observed airlines’ hedging behavior is consistent with this notion. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to estimate whether selective hedging strategies can realistically be expected to add value to carriers. I find that jet fuel spot and crude oil futures prices exhibit seasonal tendencies, but not reliable behavior following new highs in prices. I estimate that the potential value to the airline industry from selectively hedging these tendencies may be in excess of $578.3 million.

Hedging Transaction Exposure to Foreign Exchange Risk by Using Risk Sharing Arrangements and Currency Collars

Hedging Transaction Exposure to Foreign Exchange Risk by Using Risk Sharing Arrangements and Currency Collars

Author(s): Imad A. Moosa / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2009

Keywords: Foreign Exchange Risk; Currency Collars; Risk Sharing Arrangements

A hybrid operational hedging technique is proposed to shift some of the foreign exchange risk from the importer to the exporter when the currency of the exporter is the currency of invoicing. This technique requires the conversion of the cash flows at a range of exchange rates calculated as some weighted average of the rates used under the risk-shifting techniques of risk sharing arrangements and currency collars. The problem of choosing the value of the parameter that determines how much of the risk is to be shifted to the exporter can be resolved by fine tuning the weights in such a way as to eliminate the sensitivity of the cash flows to the value of this parameter. The theoretical results are demonstrated with the use of monthly data on the exchange rate between the British pound and the U.S. dollar over the period January 1993-October 2006.