What are the components of the Conceptual Framework for financial reporting?
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The Conceptual Framework is a body of interrelated objectives and fundamentals. The objectives identify the goals and purposes of financial reporting and the fundamentals are the underlying concepts that help achieve those objectives. Those concepts provide guidance in selecting transactions, events, and circumstances to be accounted for, how they should be recognized and measured, and how they should be summarized and reported. A Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts is nonauthoritative and does not establish or change generally accepted accounting standards. On December 22, 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued FASB Concepts Statement No. 8, Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting—Chapter 4, Elements of Financial Statements. Chapter 4 defines elements of financial statements to be applied in developing standards for both business and not-for-profit entities. These elements provide a foundation for information that is relevant to the objective of financial reporting—namely, to provide financial information about the reporting entity that is useful to existing and potential investors, lenders, and other creditors in making decisions about providing resources to the entity. Chapter 4 supersedes Concepts Statement No. 6, Elements of Financial Statements. Additional Information:
The Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (2010) provides important information on the concepts which underlie the preparation and presentation of financial statements. This framework is of great benefit to all financial statement users. It has several components that are outlined in figure 1 below. Outline of the IASB Conceptual FrameworkFigure 1 – IFRS Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Reports Main Objective of the Conceptual FrameworkThe Conceptual Framework (2010) has a core objective from which all its other aspects flow. This central objective is “to provide financial information which is useful to both current and potential providers of resources (investors, lenders, other creditors) in decision-making.“ The financial information to be provided will include: (i) information on a company’s financial position (its resources and financial obligations); (ii) information on a company’s financial performance (information which explains why the company’s financial position changed in the past); and (iii) information on the company’s cash and cash equivalents. Qualitative CharacteristicsThe Conceptual Framework (2010) identifies relevance and faithful representation as the two fundamental qualitative characteristics which make financial information useful. Financial information is relevant if it would potentially affect or make a difference in its consumer’s decision. Faithful representation relates to the fact that information that represents an economic phenomenon should ideally be complete, neutral, and free from error. The Conceptual Framework (2010) also identifies comparability, verifiability, timeliness, and understandability as the four enhancing qualitative characteristics of information:
Constraints on Financial ReportsThe cost of providing and using financial information is a constraint that must be balanced with the benefits that are to be derived from the information. Elements of Financial StatementsThe financial effects of transactions and other events are represented in financial statements by grouping them into broad classes or elements. The grouping is done according to their economic characteristics. The elements of financial statements that are directly related to financial positions are assets, liabilities, and equity. The elements directly related to financial performance, on the other hand, are income and expenses. Accrual accounting and ‘going concern’ are two key assumptions that underlie the preparation of financial statements. These assumptions determine how financial statement elements are recognized and measured. Accrual accounting means that financial statements reflect transactions in the period in which they occur and not necessarily when cash movement occurs. ‘Going concern’ means that a company is assumed to continue in business for the foreseeable future. Recognition refers to the inclusion of an item on the balance sheet or income statement. An item should be recognized if it is probable that future economic benefits that are associated with it will flow to or from the reporting entity, and it has a cost or value that can be reliably measured. In measuring financial statement elements, the following bases of measurement may be used:
What are the basic components of the conceptual framework?The basic components of a conceptual framework include the general purpose of financial reporting, the qualitative characteristics of accounting information, objectives of financial reporting, recognition and measurement in financial statements, and basic elements of financial statements.
What is meant by a conceptual framework for financial reporting?The Conceptual Framework for the Financial Reporting (let's title it just “Framework”) is a basic document that sets objectives and the concepts for general purpose financial reporting. Its predecessor, Framework for the preparation and presentation of the financial statements was issued back in 1989.
What are the main components of financial reporting?4 Financial Reporting Components You Need to Know. Table of Content. Income statement. ... . Income statement. The income statement is the most important component in your financial reporting. ... . Balance sheet. ... . Cash flows. ... . Changes in equity. ... . Conclusion.. What is conceptual framework for financial accounting and reporting?What Is the Conceptual Framework? The Conceptual Framework (or “Concepts Statements”) is a body of interrelated objectives and fundamentals. The objectives identify the goals and purposes of financial reporting and the fundamentals are the underlying concepts that help achieve those objectives.
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