4.Penny Saver
Aaron Duley, the CEO of Nickel Corporation, was discussing with his CFO, Michael Cucciare, whether the company should adopt international accounting standards for financial reporting purposes. Nickel Corporation is based in a country that permits the use of either international accounting standards or domestic GAAP.
“Michael, reporting under our domestic GAAP is much more costly to the company than reporting under international accounting standards. I understand that fewer disclosures are required under international accounting standards. Moreover, international accounting standards provide more choices when it comes to applying accounting methods to our financial statements to produce the most favorable results. And , to be honest with you, the company is going to have to report its first operating loss in over 15 years if we continue to report under our current domestic GAAP. I certainly don’t want that to happen while I’m CEO. ”
“I hear you, Aaron, but converting to international accounting standards might look bad to investors. What if the public finds out that we were trying to hide the operating loss or switched to international accounting standards to manipulate the bottom line? That could prove even more costly in the long run, while saving the company pennies now.”
1.Referring to the conversation above, should Nickel Corporation prepare this year’s financial statements in accordance with its domestic GAAP, or use international accounting standards? Justify your recommendation and address any concerns.
2.Assume you are the CFO of Nickel Corporation. How would you reply to the CEO’s suggestion? Summarize your response including why you opted for or against the adoption of international accounting standards.
3.In your opinion, is there anything ethically wrong with the CEO’s rationale for the adoption of international accounting standards? Explain.
4.AS Nickel Corporation’s auditor, would you agree to the switch to international accounting standards?