题  目：美国政府会计和财务报告

主讲人：James L. Chan（陈立齐）美国伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校会计学教授

时  间：4月24日（周三）下午15:40

地 点：博远楼2号报告厅

Brief Biography

James L. Chan, Professor Emeritus of Accounting at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA, held visiting professorships at ten universities in China, Europe and the U.S. Author of over 100 articles and author/editor of a score of books and journal volumes, he is internationally known for his work in government accounting and is recipient of two life-time contribution/achievement awards. In active retirement, Professor Chan has continued to learn from and endeavor to contribute to allied disciplines, as well as “useless” subjects such as accounting in the ancient world. Born in southern China and having been in America for 50 years, Chan lives near Chicago with his wife of 44 years; they have two artist/writer daughters and two grandchildren.

Summary of Lecture

“Government Accounting and Financial Reporting in the United States:

Liability and Debt Are Different?

Virtually all governments have borrowed but are indebted in different ways.  As to how much a government has borrowed, it depends on whom you listen too. Public finance experts, most trained in economics, tend to focus on borrowings to finance capital investments and annual budget deficits. Government accountants are of two minds: The “budget accountant” emphasizes the borrowed cash as a source of financing. In contrast, the “financial accountant” stresses the same cash as giving rise to liability, and points out the subtle ways used by governments to borrow. Therefore a key question is: could/should both views be accommodated in the same government accounting system and in the same set of financial statements? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to understand the nature of government accounting. Using the United States as an illustration, the lecture will explain the criteria for evaluating these alternative (complementary?) viewpoints. You would gain some useful insights into the need for and difficulties in improving this critical part of China’s government accounting system and standards.