Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Scott reveals vast amounts of financial accounting information drawn from recent research that has until now been hidden in academic journals.He provides a clear, easy-to-use framework for students to (1) place this information in a financial accounting context, (2) explain and analyze the information intuitively and (3) to reveal the informationÕs relevance in understanding the practice of accounting.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• 1 Introduction
• The Objective of this Book
• The Complexity of Information in Financial Accounting and Reporting
• The Role of Accounting Research
• The Importance of Information Asymmetry
• The Fundamental Problem of Financial Accounting Theory
• Regulation as a Reaction to the Fundamental Problem
• An Historical Perspective
• The Organization of This Book
• Relevance of Financial Accounting Theory to Accounting Practice
• 2 Accounting Under Ideal Conditions
• Overview
• The Present Value Model Under Certainty
• The Present Value Model Under Uncertainty
• Reserve Recognition Accounting
• Historical Cost Accounting Revisited
• The Non-Existence of True Net Income
• Conclusion
• 3 The Decision Usefulness Approach to Financial Reporting
• Overview
• The Decision Usefulness Approach
• Single-Person Decision Theory
• The Rational, Risk-Averse Investor
• The Principle of Portfolio Diversification
• The Optimal Investment Decision
• Portfolio Risk
• The Reaction of Professional Accounting Bodies to the Decision Usefulness Approach
• Conclusions on Decision Usefulness
• 4 Efficient Securities Markets
• Overview
• Efficient Securities Markets
• A Capital Asset Pricing Model
• Is Beta Dead? Efficient Securities Market Anomalies
• The Informativeness of Price
• Information Asymmetry
• The Social Significance of Properly Working Securities Markets
• Examples of Full Disclosure
• Summary and Conclusions
• 5 The Information Perspective on Decision Usefulness
• Overview
• Outline of the Research Problem
• The Ball and Brown Study
• Earnings Response Coefficients
• Extraordinary Items
• A Caveat about the Best Accounting Policy
• The Information Content of RRA
• Summary and Conclusions
• 6 The Measurement Perspective on Decision Usefulness
• Overview
• Reasons for Increased Attention to Measurement
• Longstanding Measurement Examples
• More Recent Fair-Value-Oriented Standards
• Financial Instruments
• Reporting on Risk
• Summary and Conclusions
• 7 Economic Consequences
• Overview
• The Rise of Economic Consequences
• Foreign Exchange Translation: Practice and Theory
• The ERCs of Multinational Firms
• Accounting for Government Assistance
• Stock Market Reaction to Successful-Efforts Accounting in the Oil and Gas Industry
• The Relationship Between Efficient Market Theory and Economic Consequences
• 8 The Positive Theory of Accounting
• Outline of Positive Acounting Theory
• The Three Hypotheses of Positive Accounting Theory
• Empirical PAT Research
• Distinguishing the Opportunistic and Efficient Contracting Versions of PAT
• Conclusions
• 9 An Analysis of Conflict
• Overview
• Understanding Game Theory
• A Non-cooperative Game Model of Manager-Investor Conflict
• Some Models of Cooperative Game Theory
• Implications of Agency Theory for Accounting
• Reconciliation of Efficient Securities Market Theory with Economic Consequences
• Conclusions
• 10 Executive Compensation
• Overview
• Are Incentive Contracts Necessary? A Managerial Compensation Plan
• The Theory of Executive Compensation
• The Role of Risk in Executive Compensation
• The Politics of Executive Compensation
• Summary
• 11 Earnings Management
• Overview
• Evidence of Earnings Management for Bonus Purposes
• Other Motivations for Earnings Management
• Patterns of Earnings Management
• Is Earnings Management Good or Bad? Stock Market Reaction to Earnings Management
• Summary and Conclusions
• 12 Standard Setting: Economic Issues
• Overview
• Regulation of Economic Activity
• Private Incentives for Information Production
• Sources of Market Failure
• How Much Information is Enough? Decentralized Regulation
• Summary
• 13 Standard Setting: Political Issues
• Overview
• Two Theories of Regulation
• Standard Setting in Canada and the United States
• The International Accounting Standards Committee
• Relationship to Theories of Regulation Conflict and Compromise
• Criteria for Standard Setting
• Conclusions