Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
TRUE/FALSE
1. Events are economic occurrences that require accounting entries.
2. The concept of uniformity appears to overlap with consistency.
3. Transactions are economic or financial events that are recorded in the firm’s accounts.
4. An event, as defined in SFAC No. 6, is “a happening of consequence to an entity.”
5. Because events that are internal to the firm are not considered “transactions,” they do not require
entries in the firm’s accounts.
6. Relevant circumstances are an important aspect of the uniformity issue.
7. Future contingencies that are allocations do not have real information content for financial
statement users.
8. Minimizing reported income would not be a motive guiding the selection of accounting methods.
9. Environmental conditions are elements beyond managerial control.
10. Rigid uniformity has been formulated as an alternative to finite uniformity.
11. In accounting, we presume that if rigid uniformity can be attained, it is superior to finite
uniformity.
Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
12. Improving comparability may lessen relevance or reliability.
13. Rigid uniformity considers relevant circumstances.
14. Flexibility is an approach to the uniformity problem.
15. Flexibility applies to situations in which there are relevant circumstances and more than one
possible accounting method exists.
16. Flexibility is not often used in generally accepted accounting principles.
17. Whenever possible, flexibility should be used in formulating accounting policy.
18. Finite uniformity should always be used in accounting for complex events.
19. Since the 1970s, the SEC appears to have shifted its emphasis toward informative disclosure
rather than protective disclosure.
20. Lev advocated restricting disclosures to “good news” items only.
21. An organized disclosure policy that includes “bad news” is beneficial to all parties because
uncertainty about the firm is reduced.
22. The SEC requires disclose of both retrospective and prospective information in the
Management’s Discussion and Analysis section of the annual report.
23. Signalling theory appears to be inconsistent with the advocacy of greater disclosure.
Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
24. Management disclosures in the face of a major earnings surprise may take the form of conference
calls with analyst or public announcements via news services.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following is not listed by Fields, Lys, and Vincent as a possible reason underlying
management choice?
a. Minimizing agency cost
b. Comparability
c. Signaling
d. Influencing outside parties
2. Which of the following is not a true statement?
a. Comparability refers to accounting for similar transactions similarly and different
circumstances differently.
b. Comparability refers to comparing alternatives in order to make a decision.
c. Comparability is an inherent quality of accounting numbers in the same sense that relevance
and reliability are.
d. Uniformity influences comparability.
3. Which of the following is a true statement?
a. Transactions are events that may be either external or internal to an enterprise.
b. Events that are internal to the firm do not require entries in the firm’s accounts.
c. Transactions are economic or financial events that may or may not be recorded in the firm’s
accounts.
d. “Simple events” do not have any significant economic variables that lead to essentially
different recording.
4. The term “present magnitudes” refers to:
a. conditions known at the time of an event.
b. conditions known only at a later date.
c. events that will significantly affect the financial statements.
d. none of the above.
5. Which of the following terms represents the two general types of relevant circumstances?
a. Present circumstances and future contingencies
b. Present conditions and future contingencies
c. Present magnitudes and future conditions
d. Present magnitudes and future contingencies
Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
6. Circumstantial variables are environmental conditions that possess which of the following
qualities?
a. Excessive measurement costs
b. A high degree of verifiability relative to other accounting methods
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
7. Prescribing one method for generally similar transactions even though relevant circumstances
may be present is referred to as:
a. finite uniformity.
b. rigid uniformity.
c. inflexible uniformity.
d. measurable uniformity.
8. Which of the following is a true statement?
a. Finite uniformity should be more representationally faithful than rigid uniformity.
b. Finite uniformity should be more verifiable than rigid uniformity.
c. Rigid uniformity is more relevant than finite uniformity.
d. Rigid uniformity can be obtained only at a greater cost that finite uniformity.
9. Where rigid uniformity is in effect, the underlying reasons may be attributable to all but which
one of the following factors?
a. A desire for conservatism
b. An inability of the standard-setting organization to determine meaningful relevant
circumstances
c. An attempt to increase representational faithfulness of the measurement
d. Recognition of the fact that an allocation is involved
10. Flexibility applies to which of the following situations?
a. Situations in which there are relevant circumstances and more than one possible accounting
method exists.
b. Situations in which there are relevant circumstances but only one possible accounting method
exists.
c. Situations in which there are no observable relevant circumstances and more than one
possible accounting method exists.
d. All of the above.
11. Which of the following is not true of accounting allocations?
a. Examples include depreciation and cost of good sold.
b. They are arbitrary.
c. No method can be proved superior to another method.
d. They are not useful in providing financial information.
Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
12. The requirement by SFAS No. 2 that research and development costs be immediately expensed is
an example of:
a. elastic uniformity.
b. finite uniformity.
c. flexible uniformity.
d. rigid uniformity.
13. The determination of whether a lease is a capital or operating lease is an example of:
a. elastic uniformity.
b. finite uniformity.
c. flexible uniformity.
d. rigid uniformity.
14. The treatment of loss contingencies required in SFAS No. 5 is an example of:
a. elastic uniformity.
b. conservatism.
c. flexible uniformity.
d. rigid uniformity.
15. Accounting for inventory and cost of goods sold and for depreciation is an example of:
a. elastic uniformity.
b. finite uniformity.
c. flexibility.
d. rigid uniformity.
16. Under which of the following circumstances should rigid uniformity be used?
a. If the event is a not a simple event.
b. If the event is a complex event in which finite uniformity cannot be instituted in a cost-
effective manner.
c. Both a and b.
d. None of the above; rigid uniformity should never by used.
17. Under which of the following circumstances should finite uniformity be used?
a. If the event is a simple event.
b. If the event is a complex event in which relevant circumstances cannot be measured and
implemented in a cost-effective manner.
c. If the event is a complex event in which relevant circumstances can be measured and
implemented in a cost-effective manner.
d. Both a and b.
Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
18. Which of the following is a true statement?
a. Disclosure is concerned with information in the financial statements as well as information in
the footnotes, management’s discussion and analysis, financial and operating forecasts, and other
supplementary communications.
b. Disclosure is concerned with information in the financial statements only.
c. Disclosure is concerned with information in the footnotes only.
d. Disclosure is concerned with information in the financial statements and all supplementary
communications except financial and operating forecasts.
19. SFAC No. 5 defines disclosure as:
a. presentation of information in the financial statements.
b. presentation of information by means other than recognition in the financial statements.
c. recognition of information in the financial statements or footnotes.
d. presentation of information in any source available.
20. Protective disclosure and informative disclosure are two types of disclosures as interpreted by
the:
a. FTC.
b. FASB.
c. AICPA.
d. SEC.
21. The system of disclosure largely in effect today is called:
a. selective disclosure.
b. conventional disclosure.
c. differential disclosure.
d. standard disclosure.
22. The 10-K report filed annually with the SEC is basically aimed toward which of the following
groups?
a. Shareholders
b. Professional financial analysts
c. Management
d. All of the above
Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
23. Which of the following describes information overload?
a. The inability of preparers to process and adequately report all the information that should be
provided in financial reports.
b. The inability of auditors to process and adequately attest to all the information that should be
provided in financial reports.
c. The inability of users to process and intelligently use all the information provided in financial
reports.
d. The inability of preparers, auditors, and users to process and adequately utilize all the
information provided in financial reports.
24. Which of the following represents the principal theoretical issue underlying quarterly data?
a. Whether an interim period should be viewed as a separate period standing on its own.
b. Whether an interim period report should include balance sheet and cash flow statements.
c. Whether quarterly earnings should be disaggregated by segments in terms of revenues, profit
or loss, and segment assets.
d. Whether interim reports should include income statement data and basic and fully diluted
earnings per share numbers.
25. Viewing each interim period as a separate period standing on its own is called:
a. the integral view.
b. the disjointed view.
c. the discrete view.
d. the linked view.
26. Which of the following represents the approach to interim reporting favored by APB Opinion No.
28?
a. The integral view
b. Disjointed view
c. The discrete view
d. The linked view
27. From a theoretical standpoint, which of the following represents the approach to interim reporting
with the most validity?
a. The integral view
b. The disjointed view
c. The discrete view
d. The linked view
Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
28. Which of the following is a provision of SFAS No. 131?
a. Segment liabilities must be reported, but reported segment assets is optional.
b. Reconciliation of segment profit or loss to consolidated profit of loss must be done before
income taxes.
c. A segment is constituted by having 20% or more of combined revenue of all operating
segments.
d. Segment reporting is based on the way management organizes the segments for making
operating decisions and assessing performance.
ESSAY
1. How does the concept of uniformity relate to comparability in the accounting literature?
2. What is meant by relevant circumstances? Describe the two types of relevant circumstances.
3. Discuss the role of management in relevant circumstances.
Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
4. Distinguish between finite uniformity, rigid uniformity, and flexibility. Also, explain when each
is appropriately used.
6. What is meant by differential disclosure? Identify the three differential disclosure proposals
discussed in the text.
Chapter 9—UNIFORMITY AND DISCLOSURE: SOME POLICY-MAKING DIRECTIONS
7. What is Regulation FD, and how does it relate to the disclosure of information?
8. How has the FASB (and the SEC) addressed the contention that small firms incur
significantly higher costs than large ones in carrying out complex accounting standards or
disclosure requirements?