Barbara E. Weißenberger

Changing from German GAAP to IFRS or US GAAP: A Survey of German Companies

ABSTRACT Since 1993 an increasing number of listed German companies have been publishing their consolidated financial statements in accordance with either IFRS or US GAAP. In 1998 this was approved as a substitute for the consolidated German GAAP financial statements of listed companies (§292a HGB). Our study surveys the motives that led these companies to opt for international reporting systems (IFRS or US GAAP) rather than German GAAP and considers whether these objectives have been achieved. Rather surprisingly, we find that even though companies state that their overall expectations have been met to a satisfactory degree, a detailed analysis shows that several of the ex-ante objectives have not been achieved from an ex-post point of view. Additionally, we use logistic regression analysis to show that companies choosing IFRS rather than US GAAP and vice versa differ distinctly in the objectives they pursue with their choice of international GAAP.

Die Informationsbeziehung zwischen Management und Rechnungswesen

Der Faktorkombinationsprozes in der Unternehmung1 findet nach Gutenberg nicht nur unter Einbeziehung der Elementarfaktoren Werkstoffe, Betriebsmittel und objektbezogene menschliche Arbeit statt, sondern es ist auch dispositive menschliche Aktivitat erforderlich, um „die drei Elementarfaktoren zu einer produktiven Kombination zu vereinigen“2.

Controllers as business partners in managerial decision-making: Attitude, subjective norm, and internal improvements

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether controllers are willing to and/or general managers are expecting them to act as business partners and, hence, to analyze the related consequences from a manager’s point of view. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a dyadic data set gathered from 112 German head controllers and corresponding general managers in the period of March to May 2009. Drawing on the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), the authors examine controllers’ attitude, subjective norm and behavior regarding their participation in managerial decision-making. Further, the authors analyze general managers’ assessment of related outcomes, such as internal efficiency and process improvements and use covariance-based structural equation modeling to test for the theoretical relationships. Findings Results show that controllers’ behavior is strongly influenced by management’s expectations. Moreover, the results support the notion that business partnering is associated with organizational improvements regarding internal processes, decisions and efficiency, thereby increasing the contribution of the controllers’ department to the competiveness of an organization. Research limitations/implications Our study focuses on a limited set of variables and does not incorporate different hierarchy levels, which could be avenues for further research. Still, our findings highlight the importance of management’s expectations as triggers for business-oriented behavior of controllers. Originality/value Theory and empirical evidence in the research area of controllers’ business orientation are still underdeveloped and, therefore, knowledge about the micro-processes and determinants on an individual level for becoming a business partner, as well as on the related outcomes of such a behavior is still limited. The results contribute to literature by highlighting the importance of general managers’ expectations as triggers for business orientation of controllers and its related benefits for the organization.

Controlling als Teilgebiet der Betriebswirtschaftslehre — konzeptionelle Einordnung und Konsequenzen für Forschung und Lehre

Controlling als Bezeichnung fur einen — im Folgenden noch naher zu umreisenden — Aufgabenbereich im Unternehmen bzw. die Position des Controllers (Controllership) lies sich zunachst als Phanomen innerhalb der unternehmerischen Praxis beobachten.1 Ausgangspunkt dieser Entwicklung waren die USA, in denen spatestens seit der ersten Halfte des 20. Jahrhunderts Controllerstellen fur die Bearbeitung bestimmter Aufgaben innerhalb des financial management eingerichtet wurden. Typische Controlleraufgaben umfassten nach dem Katalog des Controller’s Institute of America (heute: Financial Executives Institute, FEI) vor allem die Durchfuhrung der Planung, die Berichterstattung und Interpretation, die Bewertung und Beratung bei betriebswirtschaftlichen Fragestellungen sowie Revisions- und Kontrolltatigkeiten.2

Risk Tracking & Reporting

Durch das KonTraG sind grose deutsche Unternehmen verpflichtet, ein Risiko-Management-bzw. Uberwachungssystem zu implementieren. Der Beitrag stellt Moglichkeiten dar, sich nicht nur auf die Uberwachung von Risiken zu beschranken, sondern ein umfassendes Chancen-und Risikomanagement in die Planungs- Berichterstattungs-und Kontrollprozesse zu integrieren.

Zur Bedeutung von Vertrauensstrategien für den Aufbau und Erhalt von Kundenbindung im Konsumgüterbereich

SummaryFrom an economic point of view, customer retention depends on the the overall expected Utility achieved by all intended purchases of a given product or Service brand in comparison to the brand’s best competitor. The overall expected Utility can be interpreted as an economic rent. Agency costs lower this rent and thus reduce the potential for successfully establishing customer retention. This calls for credence strategies as a new type of strategies besides the traditional types of overall cost leadership and differentiation. In the case of hidden action, credence strategies consist of monitoring instruments that lend more credibility to the seller’s claim of providing an agreed-upon level of effort as input into the production process. The paper also analyzes interactions between the traditional types of strategy and credence strategies that may be important especially in the case of credence goods.

The adoption of IFRS 8 – no headway made? Evidence from segment reporting practices in Germany

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to assess the changes in segment reporting practices of German listed firms under the new segment reporting standard IFRS 8. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors compare hand-collected segment disclosures of German firms in the first IFRS 8 year with those reported in the last IAS 14R year. Findings - – The authors do not find substantial changes in the segment disclosures of German firms under IFRS 8. While the number of reportable segments slightly increased, the amount of information disclosed for each reportable segment decreased. The same applies to geographic areas reported as secondary segments under IAS 14R compared to entity-wide disclosures under IFRS 8. Furthermore, even though more country-specific information was provided, many firms still disclosed only broad geographic areas. Research limitations/implications - – Future research should extend the analysis to consider more than one year of data following IFRS 8’s adoption and to examine the impact of the standard on smaller firms. Moreover, investigating economic benefits for investors and other financial statement users following IFRS 8’s adoption could be an avenue for future research. Practical implications - – The findings indicate that the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) expectations regarding changes in segment reporting practices under IFRS 8 have only partially been met. The results also reveal some cases of segment reporting practice where compliance is at least questionable. Both findings are of interest to standard-setters and regulators. Originality/value - – The paper provides new insights into the effects of IFRS 8’s adoption in Germany and thus contributes to the post-implementation review of IFRS 8 carried out by the IASB in 2012/2013. The study sheds light on the consequences of applying the “management approach” to segment reporting, thereby contributing to the theoretical discussion on the adequacy of the different concepts for disclosing segment information.

Controller und IFRS

Die International Group of Controlling (IGC) ist eine internationale Interessengemeinschaft von Institutionen und Unternehmen, die Controlling in der praktischen Anwendung und Weiterentwicklung fordern wollen. Ziel der IGC ist es, internationale Standards fur zukunftsorientiertes Controlling und erfolgreiche Controllerarbeit zu setzen.1

MAS Integration and Controllership Effectiveness: Evidence of a Preparer-User Perception Gap

Recent evidence suggests that managers establish a positive link between management accounting system (MAS) integration and controllership effectiveness, which is fully mediated by the perceived consistency of financial language. Our paper extends this research by analyzing whether controllers have similar perceptions on MAS design. Testing a series of multi-group structural equation models, we find evidence for a preparer-user perception gap with respect to the mediating impact of a consistent financial language. Our results contribute to the still-ongoing controversial debate on MAS integration by indicating that the effectiveness of MAS design cannot be evaluated solely from an instrumental perspective independent from users’ perceptions.

Integration der Rechnungslegung und Rollenwandel von Controllern: Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung

Stichwörter Business Partner Controller integrierte Rechnungslegung IT-Systeme Rollenwandel Obwohl der Rollenwandel des Controllers zum betriebswirtschaftlichen Berater des Managements in Theorie und Praxis gefordert wird und auch empirisch zu beobachten ist, wurde der Zusammenhang einer integrierten Rechnungslegung mit der veränderten Controllerrolle bisher vernachlässigt. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser Forschungslücke analysieren die Autoren im Rahmen einer empirischen Untersuchung die Wirkung einer erhöhten Integrationsintensität der Rechnungslegung auf die Ausübung unterschiedlicher Controllerrollen. Des Weiteren werden spezifische Bereiche im Kontext unterschiedlicher Aktionsfelder der Controllerarbeit identifiziert, die einen Rollenwandel maßgeblich begünstigen und deshalb in besonderer Weise gefördert werden sollten.