| The communique of the Third Plenary Session of the 18 th CPC Central Committee,The Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues of Comprehensively Deepening Reform,clearly put forward the requirements: "Exploring the preparation of Natural Resources Balance Sheet,and implementing the Audit of Natural Resources Assets about the admission of leading cadres." Among all kinds of natural resources,mineral resources are the material basis for human survival and development,which has important strategic and economic value.Therefore,the corresponding Balance Sheet of Mineral Resources should be prepared.Then,there are three key problems to be faced and solved in the accounting of mineral resources and the preparation of related statements: first,what are the necessity and specific objectives of the accounting of mineral resources and the preparation of mineral resources balance sheet and other statements? Second,how to calculate mineral resources assets and liabilities,prepare Mineral Resources Balance Sheet and other statements? Third,how to use and analyze the balance sheet of mineral resources?The second problem involves some difficult problems,such as how to accurately define the liabilities of mineral resources,whether it is necessary to select a monetary unit to measure the value of mineral resources,and how to evaluate and price mineral resources.This thesis attempts to solve the above problems from the Perspective of Intergenerational Property Rights and Obligations,using the theoretical model,balance logic and technical practice of accounting,and preparing the balance sheet of mineral resources at the macro national level.There is a standard corporate entity model in the basic accounting theory.The basic accounting equation is "Assets = Liabilities + Owners’ Equity.According to the analysis,assets are the property rights enjoyed by the entity of the company,while liabilities and owner’s equity are the beared property obligations of the entity of the company to the creditors and shareholders due to the principal-agent relationship.The company should bear equal property responsibilities for the property rights it enjoys.Therefore,the accounting equation can be simplified as "Property Rights = Property Obligations".If the Accounting Entity Theory and Principal-Agent Theory are extended to the national level,the People’s Republic of China is regarded as a "Super Joint-Stock Company",and the Chinese government is regarded as the management department of the company,then a Corporatized National Entity Model is constructed,and there is a public principal-agent relationship between all Chinese citizens and the government.However,if we break the inherent thinking of the static time point and think about the problem with the perspective of dynamic development,then the whole national citizens should include not only the contemporary living people at this moment,but also the future generations.In this way,the Constitution stipulates that the mineral resources belong to all the national citizens,and then the mineral ownership is distributed among different generations of people,which will form the intergenerational property rights of mineral resources.The ownership and management of mineral resources are controlled by the government,which means that the contemporary citizens and future generations transfer their intergenerational property rights of mineral resources to the government,forming a principal-agent relationship.The government should not only bear the direct fiduciary responsibility to the contemporary citizens,but also bear the intergenerational fiduciary responsibility to future generations.The United Nations Environment Project once warned the world: "We do not inherit the earth from our parents,but borrow the earth from our children and grandchildren." Although this sentence is intended to warn the world not to consume more resources on the earth belonging to future generations,it also shows from the side: In our subconscious mind,future generations should enjoy certain intergenerational property rights of mineral resources.Although the nation and government have discovered and managed many mineral resources,a large part of them belong to future generations.They are the owners and creditors of the intergenerational property rights of mineral resources,and the contemporary government is the debtor of the intergenerational property rights of mineral resources and bears the intergenerational fiduciary responsibility.In addition,since the descendants have not yet appeared,it is necessary to have specific national institutions to exercise intergenerational property rights on behalf of them to supervise the performance of intergenerational accountability of administrative organs.Obviously,the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee are the most appropriate national organs.This is similar to the creditors will send representatives to the board of directors and participate in business decisions to ensure the safety of funds and the performance of fiduciary obligations.Thus,based on the accounting entity of nation,mineral resources owned by the nation and managed by the government on behalf of the nation can become Mineral Resources Assets.The intergenerational fiduciary obligations of mineral resources beared by the government for future generations can be called Mineral Resources Liabilities,while the entrusted obligations of the government for contemporary citizens can be called Mineral Resources Equity.Then,according to the basic balance logic formula of “Mineral Resources Property Rights = Mineral Resources Property Obligations” or “Mineral Resources Assets =Mineral Resources Liability + Mineral Resources Equity”,the data of Mineral Resources Balance Sheet is integrated,and the related report items and accounts are set.After the statement is prepared,the data in the sheetments can be used to analyze the report of mineral resources scarcity,carrying capacity and sustainable development,and audit the overall information quality of the sheetments and the compliance of leading cadres’ performance of duties.The main contributions of this paper are as follows.Firstly,the accounting objects in the basic accounting theory are deeply analyzed,and the essence of accounting objects are the property rights belong to the entity and obligations beared by the same entity,then the basic identity is simplified as "Property Rights = Property Obligations".Secondly,the standard company model in accounting theory is extended to the national level,and the corporatized nation model is constructed.On this basis,the public principal-agent relationship is incorporated into the research of mineral resources accounting,thus the necessity and specific objectives of accounting mineral resources assets and liabilities as well as preparing related statements are listed,which lays a foundation for the simplified equation to account mineral resources.Thirdly,from the perspective of intergenerational property rights and obligations,it accurately defines the accounting elements of mineral resources assets,mineral resources liabilities,mineral resources equity,which opens up a new way to define non renewable resources liabilities.Finally,in the accounting practice level,it sets up a set of mineral resources statements and subject system,constructs a complete accounting process,and applies Benford’s law to the auditing practice about the overall data quality of mineral resources balance sheet. |
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