University Accounting Report: Conceptual Framework Analysis

This report delves into the conceptual framework for financial reporting, examining its historical development in the USA, UK, Australia, and globally under the IASB. It discusses the Australian accounting profession's concerns and critically evaluates academics' perspectives on the framework's quality, including its benefits and limitations. The report further analyzes how the conceptual framework has been applied by Vocus Group Limited and compares sustainability reporting guidelines with the International Integrated Reporting Framework. It assesses the rigor of conventional accounting in relation to sustainability and integrated reports, exploring applicable theories. The report includes a table analyzing the components of an integrated report and their disclosure by a selected South African company, alongside a comparison of Vocus Group's reporting practices with the index and integrated reporting practices in Vodacom. The report utilizes secondary sources, including journal articles, textbooks, websites, and annual reports, to provide a comprehensive overview of corporate external reporting practices within the accounting field.

Running Head: Contemporary Accounting Theory 1
Contemporary Accounting Theory
Name
Institution
Date

Contemporary Accounting Theory 2
Executive Summary
Conceptual framework has been a pivotal analytical approach which has helped a number of
nations and accounting bodies to establish reliable and consistent accounting standards.
Countries like United States, UK, Australia and other accounting boards like IASB have utilized
conceptual framework to form accurate, reliable and consistent accounting standards. These
accounting standards serve both domestic and global purposes for various organizations across
the globe. It is through the accounting standards formed from conceptual framework that the
organizations are able to maintain their financial information so as to formulate reliable and
accurate financial reports. In spite of its advantages, conceptual framework has also created
concerns among accounting professionals and academicians because the tool is associated with
some limitations. Furthermore, a number of companies are engaging in sustainability reporting
and integrated reporting practices as a way of sustaining their survival and competitiveness in the
dynamic business environment. It is through these reports that organizations such as Vodacom
and Vocus group have been able to identify their risks, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths
in their operations. Sustainability and integrated reports are making it possible for users like
investors and auditors to make comparisons between two or more companies across the world.

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Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Part A: Conceptual framework........................................................................................................3
a) Review of the history and development of the Conceptual Framework for Financial
Reporting......................................................................................................................................3
c) Discussion of academics’ concerns about the quality (potential benefits and limitations) of
the Conceptual Framework..........................................................................................................6
d) Explanation of how the conceptual framework has been applied by Vocus Group Limited
(VOC)...........................................................................................................................................7
Part B: Integrated/sustainability reporting.......................................................................................8
a) Comparison of Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and International Integrated Reporting
Framework...................................................................................................................................8
b) Rigor of the conventional accounting, based upon the Conceptual Framework for contents
of sustainability as well as integrated reports..............................................................................9
c) Applicability of the theories to explain contents of sustainability as well as integrated
reports.........................................................................................................................................10
d) A table of various components of an integrated report and discussion of whether and how
the selected South African company has disclosed information against each of those
components................................................................................................................................10
d) Comparison of Vocus Group’s reporting practices with the index and the integrated
reporting practices in VOD........................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
A conceptual framework is simply an analytical technique that comprises of various contexts and
variations. It is essentially utilized to formulate conceptual differences and organization of
thoughts in way that facilitates application and recalling of a real situation. Conceptual
frameworks can be applied in social sciences, art, marketing and financial reporting among
others (Riggan, 2012). For this report, the focus will be on the utilization of conceptual
framework in financial reporting. As such, conceptual framework for financial reporting refers to
a vital document that defines concepts and objectives that are generally used to facilitate
financial report practices. The above framework takes into consideration a number of elements
such as qualitative traits, financial statements, Recognition, reporting entity among others that
are used in financial reporting (Patricia and Nandhini, 2013). The report will involve conducting
research and making reports on various aspects of corporate external reporting practices in the
accounting atmosphere. Most significantly, data collection for this report will involve secondary
sources like journal articles, textbooks, websites as well as annual reports by the companies
under consideration. In addition, any collected data will be analyzed qualitatively so as to deliver
meaningful interpretations about use of conceptual framework in financial reporting. The report
will be presented in form of two parts that part A and part B that will comprehensively discuss
the various financial reporting processes that make use of conceptual framework.
Part A: Conceptual framework
a) Review of the history and development of the Conceptual Framework for Financial
Reporting
A conceptual framework can as well be described as a tool that consists of objectives and ideas
that facilitate formulation of consistent sets of standards and rules. As such, conceptual

Contemporary Accounting Theory 5
framework lays a foundation for formulating accounting standards, resolving disputes in
accounting and as well gives basic doctrines that cannot be repeated in standards of accounting
(Phillips, 2011). Historically, none of the groups either private or public before 1929 had a
responsibility of formulating standards of accounting in United States. After the crash of the
stock market in 1929, Securities and Exchange Act was implemented in 1934 which empowered
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of United States to supervise public entities. As
such, SEC created Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) as a body that was responsible
for determine the standards of accounting for all pubic companies within United States. FASB
succeeded accounting doctrines board and committee on procedures involved in accounting
which had been established by American Institute of Certified Public Accounts (AICPA). The
project to develop conceptual framework by FASB started in 1973 through establishment of
strong theoretical foundation for development of standards of accounting in U.S
(Courses.lumenlearning.com, 2019). Conceptual framework for financial reporting in U.S was
developed basing on a number of concept statements from FASB between 1978 and 2010. These
included; use of information on cash flow and current value whilst executing measurements in
accounting, qualitative traits of accounting information and objective of making financial reports
by non business entities among others (Jorissen, 2010). Therefore, United States was able to
develop Generally Acceptable Accounting Principles as standards that incorporated the
developed conceptual framework.
In regards to U.K, the nation developed its own conceptual framework for financial
accounting in 1999 which was termed as the Statement of Principles. Statement of principles was
authorized by the Accounting Standards Board in U.K. Due to the fact that U.S had realized
fruitful gains like globalization after developing its conceptual framework; U.K aimed at

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reducing any prospects of lagging behind in methods of accounting by developing its own
(Carrahera and Auken, 2013). As such, the Statement of Principles is significantly consistent
with conceptual framework statements that were issued in United States and other nations New
Zealand. Statement of principles is applied to financial statements that are constituted in initial
announcement and interim reports of the listed firms in United Kingdom (Burns and Scapens,
2010). Also, Statement of Principles was developed basing on elements of financial statements.
Financial statements are basically tools that depict the impacts of transactions plus other factors
on the financial position and performance of the reporting company. Some of these elements that
were used to develop the Statement of Principles include; assets, ownership interest, liabilities,
gains and losses (Becker, 2010). Therefore, the Statement of Principles was developed as a
conceptual framework for accounting standards in United States.
In regards to Australia, the conceptual framework was first viewed as a tool that
contained a number of concepts of statements of accounting. These statements defined the
purpose, subject and nature of overall relevance of financial reporting in public and private
companies. As such, Australia developed the conceptual framework for financial reporting
through the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) in 2004. It was implemented in
2005 for regulating and improving the financial reporting and accounting practices of public
companies in Australia. The framework was aimed at helping auditor or users of financial
statements in forming opinion and interpreting the financial information on financial statements
in regards to consistence with the AASB. Conceptual framework was developed from
recognition of a number of elements that are contained in financial statements. Recognition is a
process of including an item that fulfills the criteria for identification in the income statement or
balance sheet (Aasb.gov.au, 2015).

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Additionally, conceptual framework for financial reporting globally was initiated and
published in 1989. The framework was approved by the board of Inter-Agency Standing
Committee (IASC). The conceptual framework was first adopted by the International Accounting
Standards Board (IASB) in 2005 which later in 2010 approved it. The purpose of the framework
was to help IASB to develop and revise International Financial Reporting Standards that are
centered on concepts that are consistent. The conceptual framework for financial reporting
globally was developed from formulation of definitions, criteria for recognition as well as
measurement (Iasplus.com, 2019). It is however, considered to be a lay out for guiding the
formulation of accounting standards that are applicable to various public companies across the
globe.
b) Explanation of Australian accounting profession’s concerns regarding the Conceptual
Framework
Australian accounting profession is concerned with the high degree of political interferences that
has been exercised during application of conceptual framework for financial reporting. Due to
the fact that conceptual framework involves formulation of objectives and ideas, a number of
professions are engaging in debates about how these elements can be generated and implemented
(Kieso and Warfield, 2011). In most cases, decision making is the stage that is greatly interfered
with politics among the board members whereby some ideas may be ignored due to selfish
interests by the members of IASB. The above is evidenced when conceptual framework is being
used to resolve measurement issues that the board members may be having a lot of
disagreements. Measurement issues may involve how elements like assets, expenses, losses and
liabilities that are used in the financial statements are generally measured during formulation of
accounting standards (Aasb.gov.au, 2015). In the due course, members of IFRS may fail to

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agree on the measurement of the assets on the above criteria due to dynamic economic
conditions within Australia and across the world. As such, members may have different views on
the historical and present costs of the assets as well as their settlement and future value due to
political interests. Under such a situation, members may have different views about how each of
the aforementioned measurement criteria may be utilized to ensure that consistency is exhibited
in the conceptual frameworks. Moreover, the above practice increases on the prospects of
excluding relevant ideas or objectives that would significantly contribute to the financial
accounting standards that are formulated by the IASB or IFRS (Armstrong, 2013).
c) Discussion of academics’ concerns about the quality (potential benefits and limitations)
of the Conceptual Framework
Academics' concerns about the quality of conceptual framework are basically due to the fact that
that this tool is also associated with both benefits and some limitations when they are applied in
the financial reporting practices. It is from its potential benefits and limitations that an
academician can determine whether conceptual frameworks are effective or ineffective when
they are applied in financial reporting (Kieso and Warfield, 2011). The potential benefits
associated with the conceptual framework are as follows; Conceptual Frameworks act as a
platform for facilitating discussions about challenges in accounting whilst guiding makers of
accounting standards. It is through conceptual frameworks that individuals are able to identify
and discuss about various problems in accounting such as falseness in documentation of
transactions and inaccuracies in financial statements among others. In the due course,
circumstances that give rise to the above problems can be discussed basing on the conceptual
framework whereby remedies can be determined to restore reliability of financial information.
Also, conceptual framework act as guidelines to formulators of accounting standards as far as
determining measurement and recognition of elements of financial statements are concerned. It is

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through conceptual frameworks that assets, liabilities, incomes and expenses can be measured
and recognized by the formulators of accounting standards (Omanessay.com, 2018). Therefore,
conceptual frameworks help to ensure that only accurate and reliable accounting standards are
created to enhance the financial reporting practices of entities.
However, it is generally challenging to establish conceptual frameworks given that
countries are not at the same level of development. Developed countries are in position to
formulate their own conceptual frameworks like USA whilst least developed countries find it
extremely costs and time consuming to develop their own conceptual framework. In the due
process, the developed countries are able to be more dedicated to the use of their created
conceptual frameworks to shape their accounting doctrines. On the other hand, the least
developed countries are not in position to afford and develop their own conceptual framework
which causes deviations in effectiveness of using accounting standards (Omanessay.com, 2018).
d) Explanation of how the conceptual framework has been applied by Vocus Group
Limited (VOC)
i)
Statement of Profit or Loss and other comprehensive income and Statement of Financial Position
are the two statements that have been prepared as per the Conceptual Framework. The major
components in the Statement of Profit or Loss and other comprehensive income include
revenues, expenses and other comprehensive incomes. In addition, both current and noncurrent
assets and liabilities are the major components for the Statement of Financial Position of Vocus
Group Limited (Vocusgroup.com.au, 2018).
ii)

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In regards to the recognition principles, Income was recognized in the statement of profit or loss
statement whereby the values of assets are on a rising trends whilst liabilities are simultaneously
decreasing. Also, assets have been recognized in the Vocus Group Limited's statement of
financial position basing on the fact that their values have been reliably measured. Also,
liabilities have been recognized in the statement of financial position whereby the outflow of
resources like deferred revenues that contain economic benefits that are to be reliably settled. On
the other hand, the measurement bases for the assets, incomes and liabilities have all been based
on their historical costs depicted in the statement of financial position (Vocusgroup.com.au,
2018).
iii)
Faithful representation and relevance are the two qualitative characteristics of information
exhibit in Vocus Group Limited's various financial reports. Faithful representation has been
always exhibited in form of complete indication of all relevant information which enhances the
understanding of the users on the phenomenon that is being indicated. Evidentially, its financial
reports have been offering relevant explanations and description on various elements like notes
to the financial statements to widen understanding to the users. Relevance has been exhibited in
form of information depicted on its financial reports has the capability of making differences in
decision making processes of the users (Vocusgroup.com.au, 2018). Confirmatory and Predictive
values depicted in Vocus Group Limited's financial reports makes it possible greatly influences
the decision makings of the users like auditors and investors.

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Part B: Integrated/sustainability reporting
a) Comparison of Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and International Integrated
Reporting Framework
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a not for profit entity that is basically focused on promoting
usage of sustainability reporting by organizations so as to achieve their own sustainability and
contribute to sustainable economy across the globe. International Integrated Reporting Council
(IIRC) was established to formulate an acceptable framework across the globe for all processes
that encourages organization to communicate about how they create value over time (ACCA,
2013). GRI and IIRC are quite related in regards to the sustainability reporting guidelines and
International Integrated Reporting Framework respectively as discussed below;
Similarities
Both sustainability reporting guidelines and IIR framework have strategic focus in that they
focus their undertaking on the strategies of the organization in ensuring sustainability and
creation of value both in the short and long run. The above element indicates that both
sustainability reporting guidelines and IIR framework are more focused about the future events
of an organization and its contribution to the global economy. Additionally, sustainability
reporting guidelines and IIR framework are centered on the relationships of an organization with
its stakeholders in identifying and determining future undertakings or events. More so, it is the
stakeholders who have much interest in ensuring that an organization is able to realize its
objectives in the long run (Integratedreporting.org, 2013). As a result, focusing on the
relationships with the stakeholders indicates that both sustainability reporting guidelines and IIR
framework prioritize contributions of the stakeholders in helping organizations to achieve their
future goals.

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Differences
Sustainability reporting guidelines are rule based approaches that stipulate the various step by
step instructions that should be undertaken by organizations so as to achieve specified
sustainability goals. Under this tool, the organizations are required to follow all the specified
instructions so as to achieve long term sustainability goals. On the other hand, IIR framework is
a principle based technique due to the fact that it aims at striking a balance between prescription
and flexibility that takes into consideration variations among different entities whilst enabling
comparisons between the organizations to achieve relevant needs of information
(Integratedreporting.org, 2013). Additionally, Sustainability reporting guidelines have key
performance indicators like governance and profile reports of an organization. On the contrary,
IIR framework does not contain any performance indicators whereby the organization team
needs to make judgments concerning material that may be needed to create value over time
(John, 2011).
b) Rigor of the conventional accounting, based upon the Conceptual Framework for
contents of sustainability as well as integrated reports
Conventional accounting is a vital tool used for making reports on the performance of injections
by the investors into an organization. It also helps an organization to have internal controls that
optimize its performance to increase on its profits and reduce on its costs. The tool is associated
with high level of adaptability as one of its major benefits to an organization upon using the
conceptual framework for financial reporting. Conventional accounting increases flexibility of an
organization in adjusting to the prevailing needs of integrated and sustainability reporting. This is
due to the fact that the tool is focused on the internal processes and controls of an organization to
achieve its future goals which is typically identical to use of conceptual framework financial
reporting (Magee and Cahill, 2013). Also, conventional accounting enhances the ability to view