Differences in Accounting Practices of French, US and Qatari Companies
Finding Differences in Accounting Practices of French, US and Qatari Companies
Read:
Comparative International Accounting (Nobes and Parker), Pearson, 13th edition of 2016, Chapters 2.9, 8 and 15.2 (Uploaded in Blackboard)
International Accounting (Doupnik and Perera), McGraw-Hill Education, 4/5th edition of 2016/2020, Chapter 2 (FURTHER EVIDENCE OF ACCOUNTING DIVERSITY)
On the internet, find the 2018 reports of the following companies
– Carrefour SA (French parent company, i.e. using French accounting not IFRS), pp. 256-269. (http://www.carrefour.com/content/annual-reports)
- Costco (US GAAP), 33-61 of Form 10-K. (https://investor.costco.com/financial-information/annual-reports)
– Baladna (Qatari company, using IFRS), pp.1-40. (https://baladna.com/investor_relations/ipo/)
REQUIRED:
- ‘US Accounting is the best in the world, but it might be an unnecessary luxury for a country such as France.’ Discuss (no more than 250 words)
- Refer to the income statements for Carrefour SA, Costco, and Baladna. Calculate gross profit margin (gross profit/sales), operating profit margin (operating profit/sales) and net profit margin (net earnings/sales) for each of these companies. If a particular ratio cannot be calculated, explain why not.
- Looking at the financial statements of Carrefour SA (French accounting) and Costco (US GAAP):
- Determine the financial statements included in an annual report
- List two format differences in the companies’ balance sheets
- Give one example of differences in the level of details (on the face of the financial statements)
- Give one example of disclosure differences (in the notes)
- Give one example of either recognition or measurement differences