Analysing Financial Information - Essay Example

External reporting of accounts through various financial statements is regulated and must comply with various legal requirements as well. Accounts must be regulated in order to provide a true and fair view of the affairs of any business concern. Compliance being the most important issue, every financial accounts prepared by any domestic company in UK must comply with the Company Act. Regulation of accounts and accounting procedures helps the stakeholders of the company like the investors, consumers, etc.

to gather information about various financial aspects of the company which can help them in various decision making process. Not only this, regulated accounts can help in detecting various anti-competitive behaviour like unfair cross-subsidisation etc. Moreover it helps in comparative competition. Also the financial health of a company can be monitored using regulated accounts. (Chief executive of Ofgem et. al, 2001, p.3) Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, a compilation of accounting practices that help in guiding the company accounts in UK, entails how to prepare company accounts in UK.

Accounting Standards Board (ASB) is the primary source of Accounting Standards out of many and it can be said to be the standard-setter in this case. ASB is also in charge for setting the Financial Reporting Standards (FRS). ASB is once again a part of Financial Reporting Council (FRC) which has replaced the Accounting Standards Committee (ASC) in 1990. Urgent Issues Task Force (UITF) assists the ASB in dealing with matters which requires clarifications or changes in practice of accounting due to non-compliance with existing legislation or standards.

Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) is the other part of FRC which has the responsibility of enquiring about the company accounts where there is a sign or indication of violating the Companies Act requirements. (Bebbington & Song, n.d, p.74) The principle legislation that governs the reporting of company accounts in UK has been stated clearly in the Companies Act 2006. Companies Act 2006 also incorporates the requirements of the law in Europe. Initially Companies Act set out the reporting requirement for companies in UK which were limited by extent.

In 2005 however, certain changes were incorporated in the European law. It stated that all listed companies in Europe would report as per the guidelines of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) while the non listed ones were given the option of reporting either under IFRS or as per the norms of GAAP. Domestic companies of UK whose shares and other securities are listed on the London Stock Exchange, are required to comply with the regulations issued by UK Listing Authorities (UKLA) along with UK GAAP.

Additional requirements for domestic companies are included in the Listing Rules, such as additional disclosures about directors and corporate governance. International Accounting Standards (IAS) can now become law in the European Union (EU) with the process set up by the regulation. The regulation only