The Federación Argentina de Consejos Profesionales
de Ciencias Económicas (FACPCE) can by itself solve the problem of the erosion
of Argentinean companies´ shareholders´ equity by the stable measuring unit
assumption (mistakenly generally still seen as caused by
inflation).
Capital Maintenance in Units of
Constant Purchasing Power was authorized 23 years ago during low inflation, high
inflation and deflation in the International Accounting Standards Board´s
original Framework (1989), Par. 104 (a) [now Conceptual Framework (2010), Par.
4.59 (a)] as follows:
‘Financial capital maintenance can be
measured in either nominal monetary units or units of constant purchasing
power.’
This means that all Argentinean companies can right
now freely choose to implement it immediately instead of traditional Historical
Cost Accounting (financial capital maintenance in nominal monetary units) in the
whole Argentinean economy since it is compliant with current International
Financial Reporting Standards during low and high inflation and deflation.
Implementation is compliant with current IFRS. Unfortunately it is not required:
it is optional.
Fortunately, it is possible for the FACPCE to
authorize an Argentinean national accounting standard requiring Capital
Maintenance in Units of Constant Purchasing Power (which is compliant with
current IFRS) at annual inflation greater than 10 per cent and cumulative
inflation greater than 26 per cent over three years based on the amended version
of the
FACPCE´s original proposal in this regard to the IASB in
2010.
The FACPCE thus has the authority to
single-handedly solve the problem of the erosion of Argentinean companies´
capital and retained profits by the stable measuring unit assumption (still
mistakenly seen as caused by inflation) immediately while the FACPCE is, at the
same time, encouraging the IASB to solve the problem worldwide by authorizing
its proposal as amended.
Such an Argentinean accounting standard would be
early implementation normally encouraged by the IASB in the case of a soon to be
authorized IFRS if the FACPCE´s proposal is currently accepted as an IASB
project. If the FACPCE´s proposal is not accepted right now by the IASB, then such an Argentinean national accounting standard would be a precursor to an IASB project in the not immediate future.
Capital Maintenance in Units of Constant Purchasing
Power is optional during low and high inflation under current IFRS. Not a single
Argentinean company has adopted it over the last 23 years since authorization in
1989. Neither would they adopt it of their own free will now. Only requirement
by the FACPCE would succeed in solving the problem immediately in Argentina –
independent from any standard setting activity by the IASB. No company worldwide
has adopted it since 1989 except Auto Sueco (Angola) where I implemented it in
the form of accounting-dollarization during hyperinflation in 1996.
Capital Maintenance in Units of
Constant Purchasing Power would automatically maintain the constant purchasing
power of shareholders´ equity constant for an indefinite period of time in all
Argentinean companies that at least break even in real value during low and high
inflation and deflation – ceteris paribus
– whether they own any revaluable fixed assets or not.
In my opinion the FACPCE should immediately issue
such an Argentinean national accounting standard, the implementation of which is
fully compliant with current IFRS.
Nicolaas Smith
Constant Item Purchasing Power Accounting
Copyright (c) 2005-2012 Nicolaas J Smith. All rights reserved. No reproduction without permission.
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