First, the selection of measurement attributes in the initial measurement of fixed assets
(1) The initial measurement of fixed assets with historical cost measurement as the main measurement means to determine the acquisition cost of fixed assets. In 2006, the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises No.4-Fixed Assets (hereinafter referred to as the "new standards") clearly stipulated that fixed assets should be initially measured according to the cost. Therefore, the basic measurement attribute of initial measurement of fixed assets is historical cost.
In accounting practice, due to various ways of obtaining fixed assets, the specific standards and contents of cost measurement will be different under different ways of obtaining. For example, the cost of outsourcing fixed assets includes purchase price, related taxes, transportation fees, loading and unloading fees, installation fees and professional service fees that can be attributed to the assets before the fixed assets reach the predetermined usable state. For self-built fixed assets, the cost consists of the necessary expenses incurred before the construction of the assets reaches the predetermined usable state, including the cost of engineering materials, labor costs, related taxes and fees paid, borrowing costs that should be capitalized and indirect costs that should be shared.
(2) Supplementing other measurement attributes. After the promulgation of the new standard, the initial measurement of fixed assets is based on the historical cost measurement attribute, and it also involves the application of other measurement attributes. Details are as follows:
Application of present value measurement. The first is to buy fixed assets with financing nature. When purchasing fixed assets, if the purchase price of fixed assets exceeds the normal credit conditions, it is essentially financing. At this time, the cost of fixed assets cannot be determined by the purchase price, but is based on the present value of the purchase price. The present value of the purchase price of fixed assets shall be determined by choosing an appropriate discount rate according to the actual purchase price. The second is the fixed assets that have the obligation to abandon. For specific fixed assets in special industries, the abandonment cost should also be considered when determining their initial entry cost. Abandonment cost usually refers to the expenditure determined by the enterprise's obligation of environmental protection and ecological restoration according to national laws, administrative regulations and international conventions, such as the environmental obligation of abandonment and restoration of nuclear power plant facilities. Compared with its present value, the amount of abandonment expenses is usually quite different, so it is necessary to consider the time value of money and determine the amount that should be included in the cost of fixed assets according to the present value.
Application of fair value measurement. In practical work, enterprises can use a sum of money to buy a number of assets that are not separately priced. If these assets meet the definition of fixed assets and the recognition conditions of fixed assets, each asset should be recognized as fixed assets separately, and the total cost should be allocated according to the proportion of the fair value of each fixed asset to determine the cost of each fixed asset separately. That is, when allocating the total cost of fixed assets, the fair value of each fixed asset should be used as the allocation standard. At this time, the measurement attribute of the fair value of fixed assets is used.
The second is the choice of measurement attributes in the subsequent measurement and termination measurement of fixed assets.
(1) Subsequent measurement depreciation of fixed assets is based on initial measurement. Depreciation of fixed assets is essentially a process of systematically allocating the depreciation amount of fixed assets, that is, the determination of depreciation amount in each period is the result of specific allocation based on the depreciation amount of fixed assets. Among them, the determination of depreciation involves the cost of fixed assets and the estimated net salvage value of fixed assets. The cost of fixed assets is determined at the initial measurement of fixed assets, and the estimated net salvage value of fixed assets is determined according to the amount obtained from the disposal of the assets after deducting the disposal expenses. Compared with the cost of fixed assets, the estimated net salvage value is generally very small, so the depreciation measurement of fixed assets mainly depends on the initial measurement of fixed assets.
The dual measurement attributes of fair value and present value of impairment loss at the end of the period. According to "Accounting Standards for Enterprises No.8-Impairment of Assets" in 2006, enterprises should judge whether there are signs of possible impairment of assets on the balance sheet date. If there are signs of impairment of assets, the recoverable amount shall be estimated. When the recoverable amount is lower than the book value, it means that the asset has suffered impairment loss, and the corresponding asset impairment reserve should be accrued.
In the measurement of asset impairment loss, the determination of recoverable amount is the key issue. According to the provisions of the asset impairment standards, the recoverable amount should be determined according to the higher of the net amount of the fair value of the asset minus the disposal expenses and the present value of the expected future cash flow of the asset, that is, the determination of the recoverable amount involves the measurement attributes of the fair value and present value in the final measurement of fixed assets.
Historical cost measurement of subsequent expenditure. Subsequent expenditure on fixed assets refers to expenditure on renovation and repair, etc. Occurred during the use of fixed assets. The follow-up expenditure of fixed assets can be divided into capitalized follow-up expenditure and expensed follow-up expenditure according to different treatment methods. No matter what kind of follow-up expenditure, it is generally measured according to the actual amount, that is, at historical cost.
(II) Termination of measurement of fixed assets When the measurement of fixed assets is terminated, the book value of fixed assets needs to be written off, which involves the write-off of the original value of fixed assets, provision for depreciation and provision for impairment. , and the original value, depreciation and the amount of impairment to be written off have been determined in the above links. Therefore, for the termination measurement of fixed assets, it is not necessary to determine its measurement attributes separately, but depends on the amount already determined in the previous link.
Three, fixed assets accounting measurement attributes related issues
(A) the historical cost as the main measurement attribute, other auxiliary, is an inevitable requirement to adapt to reality. In all measurement links of fixed assets, initial measurement and final measurement are two key links. Among several existing measurement attributes, historical cost is the measurement attribute that has been used for the longest time in financial accounting. It has the advantages of objectivity, verifiability and simple measurement. Generally speaking, it is the first choice for initial measurement of assets. For example, when measuring fixed assets initially, the measurement attributes (such as historical cost) are generally selected from the perspective of input.
According to historical cost measurement, it often leads to a serious deviation between the market value and book value of enterprises. That is, when the accounting environment changes, such as price changes, the information reflected by historical cost measurement may appear "signal distortion", which makes it difficult to truly describe the financial situation of enterprises. Therefore, at the end of the accounting period when accounting information needs to be submitted, other measurement attributes such as book value and recoverable amount of fixed assets are adopted to make up for the defects of historical cost. For example, for the measurement of fixed assets at the end of the accounting period, the measurement attributes are generally selected from the perspective of output or expected income.
Judging from the application status of historical cost as the main factor, supplemented by other measurement attributes, the accounting field with historical cost defects is constantly making "gradual" improvement. Although historical cost is still the most basic and important measurement attribute of fixed assets measurement, the situation that historical cost dominates the world has gradually changed. For specific projects, it is more likely to adopt other measurement attributes in specific measurement stages and links. Judging from the characteristics of various measurement attributes, in the current accounting environment, any accounting measurement attribute does not have absolute and exclusive advantages in the measurement of assets, and it is still necessary to comprehensively use various accounting measurement attributes for a long time. Each accounting measurement attribute has its own advantages and disadvantages, which requires us to foster strengths and avoid weaknesses when using options, and highlight the characteristics of each accounting measurement attribute.
(II) Studying the measurement attributes of assets by combining accounting information and accounting objectives First of all, the choice of asset accounting measurement attributes is not only a simple accounting theory issue, but also needs to consider the relevance and reliability of accounting information provided by different measurement attributes. On the other hand, because the enterprise is a collection of contracts (Jensen and Meckling, 1976), the accounting information of the enterprise has corresponding economic consequences, and the game of different stakeholders around interests will eventually evolve into a game of determining accounting rules, and asset measurement is the center and focus of attention, that is, the process of asset measurement is also a process of coordination and compromise with reality. Secondly, the development of asset measurement attribute theory also depends on the change of accounting objectives. The early accounting goal is generally located in the fiduciary responsibility, and the concept of cost, especially historical cost, plays a relatively full role in evaluating the fiduciary responsibility. The view of decision usefulness is the innovation of the Financial Accounting Standards Committee in its conceptual framework of financial accounting, and has become the mainstream view of studying the objectives of financial accounting reports. Under this goal, fair value, present value and other measurement attributes have entered the optional range of accounting measurement attributes.