Research & Programs - HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

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Chair of Accounting and Auditing
Research & Programs
Public accounting under review
Public accounting in Germany, i.e. the accounting
in municipalities, districts and states,
is currently facing major changes. Within
the next few years, most governmental
budgeting departments will have to swap
their accounting methods from the antiquat-
ed fiscal accounting to the double entry
bookkeeping which is obligatory for private
companies. In view of this, the Leipziger
Gesprächskreis Rechnungslegung und Prüfung
e.V. (LGK) held a lecture and discussion
session on February 18, 2009. The event
was organized in cooperation with BDO
Deutsche Warentreuhand AG. During the
meeting, Professor Dr. Henning Zülch, Chair
of Accounting and Auditing at HHL and
Chairman of LGK, introduced the theoretical
underpinnings of public accounting. Thereafter,
Eckart Hagenloch, Project Manager for
Annual congress of European
Accounting Association
The Chair of Accounting and Auditing attended the
32 nd European Accounting Association (EAA) Annual
Congress, which was held in Tampere, Finland,
May 12-15, 2009. The EAA brings together an
illustrious community of accounting scholars,
researchers and practitioners. The Annual
Congress of the EAA offers a unique opportunity
for presenting accounting research and for
learning what colleagues and specialists in the
field are doing. More than 1,100 people from
every continent attended this year’s congress,
and some 600 to 700 high quality papers were
presented. The Chair of Accounting and Auditing
contributed three papers – one produced in
cooperation with the Chair of Financial
Managemanent (Professor Dr. Bernhard
Schwetzler) and so was one of the outstanding
participants in the research community.
Thomas Nellessen
Leipzig’s new public financial management
authority, reported on his experiences in the
run up to the changeover. He particularly
mentioned the significant difficulties encountered
when discussing changing items with
the politicians involved. Finally, Dr. Doris
Hammer, partner at BDO Leipzig, presented
selected individual critical amendments in
public accounting. It became apparent that
the new public accounting method is
strongly affected by local requirements and a
wealth of unregulated details. “In the end,”
Professor Dr. Henning Zülch said, “the new
regulations will provide more transparency
concerning public authorities. The taxpayer
will know more about what happens with the
taxes he pays.”
Sebastian Hoffmann
Ernst & Young Foundation backs
research: doctoral seminar at
HHL for all chairs of accounting
in Eastern Germany
The aim of the Doctoral Seminar for the Region
East 2009 is to enable young accounting
researchers in Eastern Germany to exchange
ideas and build up a research network. The
seminar is planned for October 2009 at HHL and
is being organized by HHL’s Chair of Accounting
and Auditing, led by Professor Dr. Henning Zülch.
Researchers from tertiary institutions in Berlin,
Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia are being
invited to participate. The main focus will be on
international accounting, but topics in the fields
of national accounting, auditing and corporate
governance will also be discussed. The Ernst &
Young Foundation has generously provided EUR
10,000 towards the cost of running this doctoral
seminar.
HHL NEWS – SUMMER 2009
From left to right: Dr. Doris Hammer, Eckart Hagenloch
Current developments in
accounting standard setting
On May 7, 2009, the Leipziger Gesprächskreis
Rechnungslegung und Prüfung e.V. (LGK)
organized a lecture and discussion session in
cooperation with the Leipzig office of Deloitte &
Touche GmbH, headed by Andreas Otter. The
participants discussed recent developments in
the field of international and European accounting
standard setting. The background is that capitalmarket
oriented companies have been required
to report according to International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) since 2005. Therefore
the IFRS have to be incorporated into European
law and have to pass through European
legislative procedures. These procedures are
highly politically influenced and have recently
changed. Moreover, the current economic crisis
has shown new dimensions in standard setting
processes. In this context, Professor Dr. Andreas
Barckow, partner at Deloitte & Touche GmbH,
introduced the standard setting process which
resulted in the issuing of the IFRS. Following this
presentation, Thomas Oversberg, former member
of the European Financial Reporting Advisory
Group (EFRAG), presented his views on the
translation of IFRS into European law considering
the very different institutions that are involved.
“It is not surprising,” he said, “that the public
perceives the standard setting process as not
transparent and occasionally producing
questionable outcomes.”