How to choose the measurement attribute of accounting?

Accounting measurement is an accounting recording process of determining the amount of economic events to be recorded by selecting reasonable measurement attributes with specific measurement units under a certain measurement scale. Accounting measurement includes measurement scale, measurement unit, measurement object and measurement attribute. Among them, the measurement attribute refers to the characteristics or external performance of the measurement object. Different measurement attributes will make the same accounting elements show different amounts, so that the financial achievements and operating conditions reflected by accounting information are based on different measurement, that is, on different accounting objectives. However, economic development needs all kinds of accounting information, which makes accounting objectives diversified. Therefore, how to choose measurement attributes and form a measurement model that can achieve accounting objectives is an important issue that needs to be studied and practiced in the process of accounting reform.

(1) Up to now, people have put forward five recognized measurement attributes, namely historical cost, current cost, current market price, net realizable value and present value of future cash inflow. These five measurement attributes are not proposed at the same time. The purpose of traditional accounting is to provide investors and creditors with accounting information that is helpful to understand the operating results and financial situation of enterprises. Therefore, only historical cost is the measurement attribute that has been used as the basis of valuation since the double-entry bookkeeping method was adopted in15th century. The other four measurement attributes were put forward in this century to adapt to the diversification and complexity of the economy. As far as the specific reasons are concerned, I think there are mainly the following points:

1. The realistic challenge and historical cost of price changes. In the period of inflation, the continuous rise of prices has seriously shaken the historical cost measurement basis of accounting, which is manifested as follows: the authenticity and reliability of accounting statements are greatly reduced, and the business or investment decisions made according to accounting statements will lead to serious mistakes; Can not maintain the material capital and business ability of enterprises. Therefore, in order to ensure the realization of accounting objectives, price change accounting came into being, and it proposed three measurement models to be adopted: ① an accounting method that takes historical cost as the measurement attribute, combines LIFO method and accelerated depreciation method, and can eliminate the influence of inflation; ② The general price level accounting takes historical cost as the measurement attribute, and the figures in the accounting statements are adjusted according to the general price index; ③ The current cost accounting takes the current cost as the measurement attribute.

2. The expansion of accounting functions enriches the content of accounting measurement attributes. Modern economy requires the modernization of enterprise management, which requires accountants to provide accounting information that is helpful for enterprise decision-making. Therefore, accounting measurement needs to use the present value of current cost or future cash inflow for the present and future economic activities of enterprises.

3. Nationalization and internationalization of accounting require internationalization of accounting measurement. The expansion of international trade and investment activities objectively requires the comparison and coordination of accounting systems in various countries. Especially in multinational groups, subsidiaries can only prepare consolidated financial reports of headquarters on the basis of comparable financial reports. Comparing and coordinating accounting systems inevitably involves the requirements of internationalization of accounting measurement attributes.

(2) The above five measurement attributes have their own characteristics and limitations, which are produced to meet different needs. In the measurement process of realizing diversified accounting objectives, they have their own advantages and disadvantages.

1. Historical cost. Is the original transaction price of resources, so it is reliable; Its practical experience and measurement theory are very rich. However, when the price changes obviously, its comparability and correlation decrease, the proportion of income and expenses lacks logical unity, operating performance and holding income cannot be distinguished, and non-monetary assets and liabilities are underestimated, making it difficult to truly reveal the financial situation of enterprises.

2. Current cost. Refers to the cost of resetting or repurchasing the held capital in the current period, also known as replacement cost. This measurement attribute can avoid the false income of price changes, reflect the real financial situation and objectively evaluate the business performance of enterprises. However, the replacement cost is difficult to determine and cannot be completely consistent with the original assets, thus affecting the reliability of information; Secondly, it still can't eliminate the influence of the change of money purchasing power, nor can it solve the problem of capital preservation in the form of holding capital, and it is difficult to compensate the future production capacity.

3. Current market price. Refers to the realized value or cash equivalent of assets under normal liquidation conditions, also known as the selling price. As an asset, it has a strong correlation with decision-making, which can evaluate the financial flexibility of enterprises and eliminate the subjective randomness of cost allocation. But it can't reflect the expected value of the assets used by the enterprise, so not all assets and liabilities have realized the value, and it violates the assumption of going concern, that is, assuming that the enterprise resources are in liquidation at any time.

4. Net realizable value. It refers to the future cash inflow or cash outflow that will be paid under the normal operation of assets, also known as the expected selling price. This measurement attribute can reflect the expected liquidity and embody the principle of conservatism, but it is not applicable to all assets.

5. Present value of future cash inflow. An attribute that measures assets according to the discounted value of expected future cash inflows. This measurement attribute considers the time value of money and has the strongest correlation with decision-making, but the present value of its future cash inflow is uncertain and the reliability of decision-making is the worst.

Therefore, it will be difficult to choose the best five measurement attributes because they have their own advantages and disadvantages. The current market price, net realizable value and present value of future cash inflow are far from the actual economic life. At present, they are only used as a measurement attribute rather than a measurement basis, and can only be used on a single asset or liability under special circumstances and conditions. Judging from the advantages and disadvantages of historical cost and current cost, the focus of debate is mainly to provide factual information or purposeful relevant information, which is related to two different financial accounting objectives: management responsibility school and decision-making useful school. Accounting goal is the running direction of accounting information system, and different goals need different measurement attributes as the measurement basis. In fact, a single measurement attribute and a single accounting goal cannot meet the needs of all accounting information users. They demand that accounting must adapt to the modern economy and rebuild a reasonable and feasible measurement model.

(C) In fact, in a modern economy or a highly market-oriented economy, it is difficult to make a one-to-one choice based on the linear relationship between accounting objectives and accounting measurement. In the face of complex economic behavior, the econometric model composed of a single econometric attribute cannot meet the diversified information needs put forward by all parties. In my opinion, the construction of measurement model should be based on the demand for accounting information and accounting objectives in real economic life. The accounting information provided by the measurement mode formed by single measurement attribute accounting cannot meet the needs of multiple users. The accounting information system should form a multi-level and three-dimensional system, and the information output after sorting, classifying, processing and summarizing foreign economic information can be multi-level and diversified.

So, how should we comprehensively use different measurement attributes to meet this demand? In a highly developed market economy environment, with the complexity and diversification of the economy and the diversification of accounting objectives, accounting is bound to be integrated. When we choose measurement attributes, we can only achieve diversified accounting goals by allowing multiple measurement attributes to coexist and cooperate with each other. Therefore, I suggest adopting such a measurement model: financial accounting measurement is based on historical cost (that is, using historical cost financial statements); The financial analysis and measurement of management accounting can choose the coexistence of historical cost and other measurement attributes.

This measurement model is adopted because it has both theoretical basis and practical significance. The emergence and development of accounting is based on the evaluation and cancellation of entrusted economic responsibility, and the realization of this goal mainly depends on the provision of financial statements measured by historical cost. (2) In the early days of the establishment of modern enterprise system, the management's demand for accounting information is still mainly factual information; In addition, the quality of managers is far from the level of understanding and analyzing more time-limited information, forecast information and other purposeful information. ③ In the early stage of accounting reform, the quality of accounting personnel was uneven, and the great change of measurement mode easily led to the lack of comparability of information revealed in accounting statements; Moreover, accounting reform, as an organic part of economic system reform, can hardly achieve good results without supporting reforms in finance, finance and taxation. Therefore, the accounting reform must be carried out steadily and harmoniously, and the change of accounting measurement mode should be transitional and linked with other reforms. (4) Inadequate and untimely provision of external economic information (such as general price index, industry average level, industry advanced level and other macroeconomic data) affects the measurement, horizontal analysis and comparison of current costs, making the single-attribute measurement model with strong correlation with decision-making infeasible in practical application. Moreover, I believe that the realization of this measurement mode depends on the following requirements:

1. Historical cost mode is the main mode of information system operation, that is, any information input of an enterprise should be measured by historical cost, and the processing and arrangement of information can be measured by different attributes according to the current needs of users; Historical cost measurement information is listed in the account books and basic financial statements of each period, and other measurement information is disclosed in financial reports or schedules such as project decision analysis and feasibility scheme respectively to meet the special needs of individual information users. For example, during the period of sharp price changes, the current cost financial statements adjusted according to the historical cost measurement books and basic statements are listed in the manager's operating performance report, and compared with the historical cost report data, which is more helpful for all parties to understand the effectiveness of the management's investment portfolio decision during the price changes.

2. Coexistence and selection of other attributes are to meet the requirements of information users, depending on factors such as macroeconomic environment, market environment, industry characteristics, business nature and strategic objectives. For example, for listed companies, the information demand of investors (including potential investors) is the most concerned goal of accounting information system. It should meet the requirements of current investors for historical cost measurement and some current cost measurement information, and provide relevant information on current market price and net realizable value measurement to external potential investors in the form of investment feasibility analysis report. For non-listed companies, the wishes of managers are more concerned by accounting information systems, so the disclosure of information must first meet the requirements of decision makers for management. For another example, in the inflation environment, accounting information measured by current cost is more real, and in the long-term strategic planning of enterprises, information measured by the present value of future cash inflows is more relevant and useful. In a word, coexistence optimization does not mean that every measurement attribute should be used in every reporting period, but that the measurement attribute needed by the information concerned in this period should be selected on the premise that all attributes can be used.

3. Accountant Qi Xin works together to maintain the operation of the information system and achieve the goal of diversification. Financial accountants are responsible for providing three kinds of financial statements for historical cost measurement, and management accountants strive to meet the information needs of other individuals on this basis. Enterprises that have the conditions to realize computerized accounting can provide two sets of financial statements, historical cost and current cost measurement, to better serve information users.

Of course, these are just some realistic choices put forward in the early stage of accounting reform. We believe that with the development of economy and the deepening of reform, accounting measurement will gradually move towards modernization, the measurement model will be more systematic and perfect, and diversified accounting objectives will be better realized.