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1、上海财经大学浙江学院毕业设计(论文)外文翻译译文：后进先出法转变为先进先出法的困境及其对财务报表分析的重要性库尔特.吉斯威.会计与财务研究学院J. 美国：萨姆休斯顿州立大学，2010年14期：53-63.本文研究的是存货成本核算方法当中的可能消亡的后进先出法将如何影响公司目前正在使用的后进先出法以及这些公司的财务分析。主要财务比率可能会由于后进先出法的停止使用而受到相关的影响。好坏参半的变化对于那些关键比率包括实现的改善和恶化及不清楚的变化影响，都是要经过更多的复杂课题的讨论。背景介绍：财务报表是财务的命脉，无论是想评价一个潜在的债务或股权投资或评估潜在借款人的资信，能正确地分析财务报表是非常
2、重要的成功决策。在这个过程中的一个关键因素是确定和评估各种财务会计比率，使其更好地诠释经营业绩和财务状况的实体被评估。由于这是几乎全部依据会计处理所得到的会计数据，所以理解这个过程和报告标准是一个非常重要的指导过程 。许多公司内部的活动的一个重要方面是其库存积累和随后出售。虽然有许多规则和方针能适当的调整库存报告，但财务报表分析法是影响分配库存销售和期末报告未售出的成本的最大的影响因素。对于大多数实体，这一决定涉及到三个选项之一：平均成本法时，使用先进先出法，后进先出法。特别重要的是先进先出和后进先出法极端的两极，因为每次使用造成各种数字最大的差别就在于资产负债表和损益表报告，并且财务比率都是
3、以这些数据为依据的。先进先出法假设与库存相关的成本上，在目前一段时期已有最大的成本是那些来自销售库存相匹配的营业收入。通常，在物价上涨时期，其结果是一个较低的数额分配给在损益表销售货物的成本和更高的数额分配给未售出的存货估价。相反，后进先出法，代替的是当期收入相匹配的最新库存成本，从而导致与销售成本相关的更高的金额和较低的库存量。这两者之间的选择是基于比较后进先出法的优势和劣势。后进先出法一个更具说服力的论据是它更好的实现了一个经常支出与经常收入相匹配的关键会计假设。从另一方面来说，选择后进先出法的一个最普遍的原因是由此产生的税收利益和改善的现金流量状况。所谓的“后进先出整合规则”表明选择后进
4、先出法的公司必须为财政计算和税务用途而如此做。在后进先出法下，更多的经常支出被经常收入冲销，减少税前收入从而降低了纳税额。这种纳税金额的减少（或者更准确的说是递延纳税）为报告主体改善了当前的现金流量状况。有关税收利益在后进先出法条件下必须依次与另一较低收入的现实相平衡。例如报告较低的收入可能在满足各种各样的带来和评估企业普通股一样的负面影响。此外，剩余库存品的价值在资产负债表中报告时被低估了。为了减少有关这方面的大部分不确定性信息，使用后进先出法的企业求报告其存货相对于使用先进先出法（或平均成本法）被低估的程度，这种评估调整通常称为后进先出储备项目。然而,对这一关键性选择的库存成本法很快就会消
5、失。国际会计准则委员会长期努力主持并协调全球会计标准，使一套单一的国际财务报告准则（IFRS）可以在任何地方使用。美国证券交易委员会（SEC）最近提议美国公司将有机会在2010年从美国普遍接受的会计准则转换到新国际财务报告准则，并且被要求在2014年必须这样做。这种转变的一个重要原因是后进先出法的消除，因为国际财务报告并不允许。这对于正在使用后进先出法的公司将产生重大的影响。本文将探讨这一变化在报告标准中的这一变化如何影响正在使用后进先出法的公司的财务报表，更重要的是，对于这些财务报表的分析。库存成本计算方法和财务报表：库存成本计算方法的选择不同会以各种形式直接影响财务报表。在资产负债表中，后
6、进先出法的使用往往低估了公司的库存价值。因此，它也低估了当前的资产的数额以及该公司的总资产。这最终将影响任何涉及到的比例计算包括库存（比如每天的库存销售），流动资产（例如流动比率）或是总资产（如资产报酬率）。 在损益表上，后进先出法的使用通常夸大了产品的成本，因而低估了利润总额，营业利润和净利润。然而，任何关于利润数字的利率将受到影响。然而，有一个重要的例外。有时公司会销售充足的库存，这样不仅能使得当前的库存成本得到相对应的收益，还能使得旧的一些成本和后进先出法所产生的储备账户价值减少。这导致低估了销售成本和利润的夸大报告。在任何情况下，使用后进先出法为公司分析财务报表往往是困难的，尤其是和使
7、用先进先出法做比较。随着有可能正在被消除的后进先出法，这种分析的困难将会在将来越来越少。然而，后进先出法的消除可能将严重的影响正在使用这种方法的那些公司。当然这些潜在的影响也正在被研究。总结与结论：许多公司（虽然有下降的数额）可以通过库存成本计算的后进先出法去减少或推迟税款。然而，在国际财务报告准则下，随着后进先出法即将被作废，这些公司的资产负债表和损益表（和现金流量表）也将面临重大的变化，这些财务报表的分析也要面临一个不确定的未来。我们已经知道，很多关于商业使用的财务比率将会被后进先出法严重的影响到，资产负债表的数字将会更大，收入报表将有更高的收益。流动性比率（尤其是速动比率和每天的存货销售
8、）和杠杆比率（例如：债务和债务权益比率）也将会受到很大的提高。获利能力（例如：资产报酬率）将改善，尽管它们的恶化是依据改变的成本和库存的增长或收缩的相对影响而定。作为此类型的其它研究，很多自由必须采取有关假设。例如，我们假设公司在没有能力使用后进先出法下以同样的方式操作则会得到相同的结果。尽管如此，即将消亡的后进先出法作为存货的计价方法将会对公司使用的技术有重大的影响。这些公司的分析也将受到影响，特别是趋势方面的分析，当然分析师在对这些公司做任何长期评估之前都将会以相似的方法需要重申过去的财务报表。我们静观等待这个会计景观的重大转变。原文：The changing LIFO-FIFO dile
9、mma and its importance to the analysis of financial statementKurt R Jesswein. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal. America.Cullowhee: 2010. Vol. 14, Iss. 1; p. 53 (10 pages)This paper examines how the probable demise of the LIFO inventory costing method will affect companies currentl
10、y using LIFO as well as the financial analysis of those companies. Key financial ratios are examined along with how these ratios may be affected by the switch away from LIFO. A mixed bag of changes to key ratios, both improvements and deteriorations, are presented along with a discussion of more com
11、plex topics for whom the impact of these changes are less clear.INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND: Financial statements are the lifeblood of finance. Whether trying to evaluate a potential debt or equity investment or assess the creditworthiness of a potential borrower, the ability to properly analyze fin
12、ancial statements is crucial to the success of decision-making. One key element in this process is the determination and assessment of various financial and accounting ratios that allow one to better interpret the results of operations and the financial condition of the entity being evaluated. As th
13、is is almost wholly dependent on accounting numbers arising out of the accounting process ,it is imperative that one understands the process and the reporting standards in place to guide such a process. One important aspect of many-a-companys activities is the accumulation and subsequent sale of its
14、 inventory. Although there are many rules and guidelines in place the reporting of inventory, no other factor affects the analysis of financial statements greater than the method used to allocate costs between the units of inventory sold and those remaining unsold at the end of the reporting period.
15、For most entities, this decision comes down to one of three choices: the average cost method, the FIFO (first-in, first-out) method, and the LIFO (last-in, last out) method. Of particular interest are the polar extremes of FIFO and LIFO because the use of each causes the greatest differences in vari
16、ous figures reported on the balance sheet and income statement, and, ultimately, the financial ratios based on those figures.The FIFO method assumes that the costs associated with the inventory that has been on hand the longest are the ones that are matched against the revenues generated from sellin
17、g the inventory in the current period. Typically, in times of rising prices, the result is a lower amount assigned to the cost of goods sold on the income statement and a higher amount allocated to the valuation of the unsold inventory. Conversely, the LIFO method instead matches the most recent cos
18、ts of inventory against current revenues, resulting in a higher amount associated with the cost of goods sold and a lower amount going towards inventory on-hand.The choice between the two is typically based on a comparison of the advantages from using LIFO with the disadvantages. One of the more per
19、suasive arguments for using LIFO is that it better fulfills a key assumption in accounting of matching current expenses with current revenues. On the other hand the most pervasive reason for choosing LIFO is the resulting tax benefits and improved cash flow situation. The so-called LIFO conformity r
20、ule states that a firm choosing LIFO must do so for both financial accounting and tax purposes. Under the LIFO method, more costs are charged off against current revenues, resulting in a lowering of before-tax earnings as well as the amount of taxes paid. This reduction in taxes paid (perhaps it is
21、more accurate to say the deferral of taxes paid) improves the current cash flow situation for the reporting entity.The tax benefits associated with using the LIFO method must in turn be balanced against the other reality of reporting lower earnings. For example, reporting lower earnings may have neg
22、ative repercussions in meeting various debt covenants as well as in the valuation of the companys common stock. Furthermore, the remaining inventory is reported at an understated value on the balance sheet. To lessen much of the uncertainty regarding this information, companies that use the LIFO met
23、hod are required to report the extent to which their inventory is undervalued relative to using the FIFO (or average cost) methods; this valuation adjustment is typically referred to as the LIFO reserve account.However, the crucial choice of inventory costing method will soon likely vanish. There ha
24、s been a long-term effort under the auspices of the International Accounting Standards Board to harmonize global accounting standards so that a single set of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) could be used anywhere. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently proposed
25、that U.S. firms will have the opportunity to switch from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles to the new IFRS beginning in 2010 and would be required to do so by 2014. One important aspect of this change is the elimination of the use of the LIFO method because the IFRS simply does not allow
26、 it. This will likely have a dramatic impact on companies that currently use LIFO. This paper examines how this change in reporting standard would likely affect the financial statements of companies using LIFO and, more importantly, the analysis of those statements.INVENTORY COSTING METHODS AND FINA
27、NCIAL STATEMENTS:The choice of inventory costing method effects a companys financial statements in a variety of ways. On the balance sheet, the use of the LIFO method tends to understate the value of a companys inventory. Consequently, it also understates the amount of current assets, as well as tot
28、al assets, of the company. This ultimately will affect any ratio calculation involving inventory (e.g days sales in inventory), current assets (e.g., current ratio), or total assets (e.g., return on assets).On the income statement, the use of the LIFO method typically overstates the cost of goods so
29、ld and thus understates gross profits, operating profits, and net profits. In turn, any ratio involving profit figures will be affected. However, there is one important exception. Occasionally, companies will sell sufficient inventory so that not only do current-cost inventory items get matched agai
30、nst the revenues, but also earlier layers of older costs and the value of the resulting LIFO reserve account is reduced. This leads to the understating of the cost of goods sold and an overstating of reported profits. In any case, analyzing financial statements for companies using the LIFO method ha
31、s always been difficult, particularly if comparisons are made with companies using the FIFO method. With the probable elimination of LIFO, this analytical problem will be minimized in the future. However, the elimination of LIFO can profoundly affect the analysis of companies currently using the LIF
32、O method. Some of these potential effects are examined here.SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS:Many companies (albeit a declining amount) have enjoyed the ability to reduce or delay payments for taxes on profits through their use of the LIFO inventory costing method. However, with the impending disallowance of
33、 the use of the LIFO method under International Financial Reporting Standards, these companies face a situation where their balance sheets and income statements (and cash flow statements) face significant changes. The analysis and interpretation of these financial statements also face an uncertain f
34、uture.We have shown that many of the key financial ratios used in business can be severely affected by a switch from the LIFO method. Balance sheets will likely be larger and income statements will report higher earnings. Liquidity ratios (particularly the quick ratio and days sales in inventory) wi
35、ll largely suffer while leverage ratios (e.g., debt and debt-equity ratios) will likely improve. Profitability ratios (e.g., return on assets) will typically improve although they may also deteriorate depending on the relative impact of changing costs and the growth or shrinkage of inventories.As wi
36、th other studies of this type, many liberties had to be taken regarding assumptions. For example, we have assumed that the companies using the LIFO method would have operated in the same way with the same results as if they did not have the ability to use LIFO. Nonetheless, the impending demise of t
37、he LIFO method as an inventory valuation option will likely have a significant effect on companies that employ the technique. The analysis of these companies will also be affected, particularly in terms of trend analysis, as analysts will need to restate past financial statements in ways similar to those described here prior to make any long-term assessments of these companies. We await this major shift in the accounting landscape with baited breath.