| Based on the objective requirement of the modern market economy, the accounting goal has changed from commission responsibility perspective to decision-making utility perspective. The changed accounting goal emphasizes the relevance of accounting information quality, which has deeply influenced the financial and accounting theoretical framework. Assets, the most symbolic section of the financial and accounting theoretical framework, have been adjusted from many aspects, such as the concept and the recognition and measurement of the standard, and have been satisfied by the requirement of relevance of accounting information quality. Under this background, the theory of Asset impairment accounting (AIA) was developed and improved better and better.It is commonly known that assets are expected economic benefits in the future, while the function of AIA is to unbiasedly reflect the asset value reduction, reveal the current value of assets and embody the future profitability of assets when the cost on asset accounting book is higher than the economic benefits brought by the assets. To achieve this goal, we need to identify the portion of amount greater than the real value as asset impairment loss at first. Then to consider some crucial points as shown:If the AIA would reflect the economic substance? Could enterprises manipulate assets impairment’s provision and turn back to achieve the purpose of earnings management? What is the impaction of the new accounting standards implemented in 2007 on asset impairment accounting? Answering those questions above correctly and completely may help to scientifically discuss the economic consequences of AIA from the aspects of perspective of enterprise, objectively evaluate the effect on the implementation of new accounting standards and provide evidence for relevant institutions to perfect the asset impairment accounting policy.This article did theoretical and empirical study on the choice of AIA policy:by reviewing the trend of research in this the field of AIA, we established the research goal, method and more details of this paper; by collating relevant theory of asset impairment, we expounded the essence of the asset impairment accounting and summed up the influence factors of asset impairment accounting policy and its action mechanism; by learning from relevant academic empirical research method, we established the regression model and carried it on statistical analysis. The articles selected 589 companies listed before 2001 and still not back by the end of 2012 in Shanghai and Shenzhen a-share as samples, and performed nine times regression analysis by different scenarios of asset impairment and period of time the asset impairment. We explored the influence of economic factors, earnings management motivation factors (turnaround, big bath, profit smooth and management change) and conservatism factor on the proportion of net asset impairment provision, and the influence of rule change on the choice of the asset impairment accounting policy.The research results indicate that earnings management motivation generally affects listed companies’choice of the asset impairment accounting policy, but the influence of earnings management motivation for different types of assets and for choices of asset impairment accounting policy is different under different system background. The results of sample regression show that before the rule been changed, turnaround and management change motivation has a significant impact on short-term assets impairment accounting; after the changing of concept, for the listed company, the motivation of using short-term assets impairment accounting for turnround is strengthened, management change motivation still exists, and the motivation to prevent losses or reduce losses scale and motivation to smooth profit is strong. There is also big difference between the choice of long-term assets impairment accounting policy before and after the changing of measurement standards:before the standards been changed, turnround and big bath motivation has influenced on the long-term assets impairment accounting; after the changing, motivation to turnround, prevent losses or reduce losses scale significantly affected the provision of long-term assets impairment and its turn back. The research results show that the changed standards do not change the phenomenon of enterprises to use asset impairment accounting to manage earnings in the overall. In addition, in this paper, we found that accounting conservatism factors do not affect the choice of asset impairment accounting policy, and the influence only confined to the choice of long-term assets impairment accounting policy before the changing of standards More clearly, the changing of standards has no positive promotion effect on the implementation of accounting conservatism principle.According to the problems found results in the regression analysis, we make a conclusion that the rules prohibiting turning back the provisions of the long-term assets impairment provision should not continue to perform; In addition, we should control the impact of earnings management motivation on the asset impairment accounting by standardizing the disclosure of asset impairment information and increasing external supervision. Hopefully this research could offer reference for regulating the behavior of asset impairment accounting. |
