El declive del estado de resultados tradicional ante la irrupción actual del excedente limpio. Perspectiva histórica y conceptual

Abstract

WITH THE ADOPTION OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME IN THE 1990'S BY THE MOST IMPORTANT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARDS, MOST NOTABLY THE IASB AND THE FASB, WE ARE WITNESSING A SHIFT TOWARDS A CLEAN SURPLUS ACCOUNTING. THE COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF INCOME MEASURES INCOME IN TERMS OR BOTH THE CHANGES IN THE MARKET VALUE OF A FIRM'S ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS WELL AS THE PROFIT/ LOSS RESULTING FROM A FIRM'S TRANSACTIONS. BY CONTRAST, SO-CALLED "DIRTY SURPLUS" ACCOUNTING MEASURES INCOME ONLY ON THE BASIS OF A FIRM'S TRANSACTIONS; THUS, IT IS MUCH LESS CONNECTED WITH MARKET REALITY. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS PAPER IS TO PROVIDE A HISTORICAL AND CONCEPTUAL EXAMINATION OF THE "CLEAN SURPLUS VERSUS DIRTY SURPLUS" CONTROVERSY AS IT HAS TRANSPIRED WITHIN ANGLO-SAXON INFLUENCED COUNTRIES. ADDITIONALLY, WE VERIFY THAT COMPREHENSIVE INCOME HAS BECOME MORE RELEVANT WITH THE REVISION OF IASB'S IAS 1 IN 2007. THIS STATEMENT ALLOWS FIRMS TO INCORPORATE THE TRADITIONAL PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT INTO A STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS CHANGE IS TO PROVIDE INVESTORS, THE PRIMARY USERS OF REFERENCE IN ANGLO-SAXON ACCOUNTING MODELS, WITH MORE USEFUL AND RELEVANT INFORMATION. THIS OBJECTIVE IS IMPORTANT SINCE WE ARE TRENDING TOWARD THE ANGLO-SAXON MODEL.