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Accrual Accounting And Cash-Flow Accounting Principles

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The fundamental accounting principle that firms are compelled to follow when presenting their performances of a certain period is based on earnings, not realised cash flows. That is, recording a transaction as it happens regardless of the collection of cash which involved in it (Marshall,
McManus & Viele, 2014, p.18). The notions that the use of accrual accounting in measuring a firm’s performance would provide higher quality and accuracy than cash-flow accounting is addressed by Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in a statement in 1978. They affirmed the concept in Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 1: “Information about enterprise earnings and its components measured by accrual accounting generally provides a better indication …show more content…

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) suggested that firm performance is measured more accurately by using accrual accounting instead of cash-flow accounting. The main reason to adopt accrual accounting as a standard when reporting earnings is that it measures short-term firm performance better, as it efficiently mitigates timing and matching problem in cash-flow accounting. Another fact that supports accrual accounting is that earnings has proven to be a better indication of future share returns and share prices. However, the costs of adopting accrual accounting are firm make assumptions and estimations when recorded the information. There are intentional errors, such as managements manipulate the classifications of the data in their preferences. Also, the unintentional errors will arise especially in the firm which have long operating cycle and/or the firms that have huge fluctuations in working capital requirements. The disadvantages will thus reduce the beneficial role of accrual accounting. The importance of cash-flow accounting is that it helps the public inspect the firm’s short-term solvency. Also, cash flows accounting prevent the errors caused by firm management deliberately manipulate over recording accounting data. Therefore, the information that accrual accounting and cash-flow accounting provided are incremental to each other in explaining firm

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