On the formalization of accounting standards

Whatever the fundamental cause of business changes, the general response of the American standard-setting community has been to increase the length, breadth, and complexity of standards. I extract the core objectives of these standards and provide a framework for generating standards that meet regulatory requirements while minimizing the burden of compliance for large and small firms alike. Chapter 2 discusses the potential application of a formalized framework to three separate and diverse areas of accounting standards: recognition of income tax positions, valuation of treasury stock, and income statement presentation. This chapter describes the nature of a formalized standards development environment, one in which standards are formalized as they are developed by the FASB. This process has the potential to eliminate unintentional ambiguities before a given standard is promulgated to firms and the public. Chapter 3 motivates my study by defining and discussing the concerns of statement preparers regarding a currently proposed change to lease accounting standards. The text of these changes illustrate a more principles- and judgment-based approach to lease valuation, moving away from the well-known bright line regime currently in place in the US. These concerns are cause for significant consternation within and corresponding effort from affected firms in an attempt to keep pace with the changing standard. Pre-implementation concerns and behaviors are catalogued via discussions with professionals within large, publicly traded companies. To gauge post-implementation concerns, I perform a textual analysis of comment letters submitted to the standard setting bodies by constituent firms, noting significant concerns and regressing them along the overall negative tone in a given letter. vi Chapter 4 presents an ontology for the process of lease valuation. Drawing on prior ontology development schemes, the history of American lease accounting standards, and the concerns outlined in the prior chapter, I create a framework for analysis of accounting standards. I then apply that framework to the specific needs of lease accounting, setting the elements of a lease along continua of value, time, and certainty. I apply this construct to a sample lease, demonstrating the benefits of application of a simplified, flexible, formalized approach over the current one-size-fits-all scheme.