Application Possibilities and Consequences of Biological Assets and Agricultural Produce Reporting in Accordance with IFRS Principles in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The Czech national law regulating accounting is not harmonized with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Because of this, all financial statements compiled according to Czech regulations are not comparable with IFRS statements. International users of accounting information, e.g. potential investors, therefore have problems to find valid information. This article analyzes the evaluation, accounting recording, and reporting of biological assets and agricultural produce in both accounting systems. It illustrates the principal differences, and explains their impact on financial statements information. Based on a case study, the paper recommends how to implement IFRS principles to the accounting system in Czech agriculture enterprises. The authors recommend using income statements with expenses by function, which is not commonly used by Czech entities. The research findings indicate possible changes in the Czech accounting and tax laws, which may lead to a “more true and fair view” of provided accounting information. The proposals should cause that accounting information provided by financial statements compiled according to Czech law would be identical with accounting information in compliance with IFRS principals. A questionnaire survey revealed scepticism of economists agricultural companies to use fair value as the measurement basis for biological assets and agricultural produce.