Accounting for Infrastructure Regulation : An Introduction

The Enron crisis offered a dramatic reminder to regulators around the world that reliable accounting standards are essential for markets to work efficiently and fairly. Harvey Pitt, chairman of the regulatory agency responsible for the monitoring of accountants in the United States (the Securities and Exchange Commission) from 2001 to 2003, argued that the crisis revealed two problems with accounting that needed to be addressed by the regulators. The first problem is that the accountants may have gotten some of the accounting wrong. The second, and more important, problem is that they may have gotten a lot of the accounting right. This volume describes a set of rules with which utilities monopolies should be able to comply without threat to a fair return on their business, while at the same time ensuring the accountability of all players. Regulators in many member countries of the organization for economic co-operation and development and in the electricity sector in many developing countries use these rules. There is no reason why they should not be of value to regulators of all public service providers that enjoy strong residual monopoly rights. Ultimately, this book is about rules for maintaining the minimum level of accountability needed to achieve fair treatment of investors, operators, users, and taxpayers alike and to prevent preferential treatment of the stakeholder with the highest political leverage at any point in time.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Rodriguez Pardina, Martin, Schlirf Rapti, Richard, Groom, Eric
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC: World Bank 2008
Subjects:	ACCOUNTANT, ACCOUNTANTS, ACCOUNTING, ACCOUNTING APPROACH, ACCOUNTING EQUATION, ACCOUNTING POLICIES, ACCOUNTING PRACTICES, ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES, ACCOUNTING RULES, ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS, ACCOUNTING TREATMENT, ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, ACCRUAL ACCOUNTING, ASSET BASE, ASSET RATIO, AUDITING, AUDITORS, BALANCE SHEET, BALANCE SHEETS, BANK ACCOUNT, BANK ACCOUNTS, BANK LOANS, BANKRUPTCY, BEST PRACTICE, BEST PRACTICES, BONDS, BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS, BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS, BUSINESS FORECASTING, BUSINESS OPERATIONS, CALCULATION, CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, CAPITAL GAINS, CAPITAL STRUCTURE, CAPITALIZATION, CASH FLOW, CASH FLOWS, CASH INFLOWS, CASH PAYMENTS, CASH RESERVES, CHARTS OF ACCOUNTS, CHECKS, COLLECTION PROCESS, COMMON STOCK, CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP, CONTRIBUTION, CONTRIBUTIONS, COST [ACCOUNTING, COST ACCOUNTING, COST ALLOCATION, COST ANALYSIS, COST EFFICIENCY, COST SAVINGS, CREDITORS, CREDITWORTHINESS, CURRENCY, DEBT, DEBTS, DEPRECIATION, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DIRECT COSTS, DISCLOSURE IN ACCOUNTING, DISPUTE RESOLUTION, EARNINGS, ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, ECONOMIC COSTS, ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY, EQUIPMENT, EXCHANGE COMMISSION, EXPENSE ACCOUNTS, FAIR VALUE, FINANCES, FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING, FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, FINANCIAL COMMUNITY, FINANCIAL COSTS, FINANCIAL DATA, FINANCIAL INFORMATION, FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE, FINANCIAL POSITION, FINANCIAL REPORTING, FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS, FINANCIAL REPORTS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY, FIXED ASSET, FIXED ASSETS, FIXED COSTS, FOREIGN CURRENCY, FUTURE CASH FLOWS, GAAP, GOVERNMENT POLICY, GOVERNMENT SECURITIES, HUMAN RESOURCES, INCOME, INCOME TAX, INCOME TAXES, INDIRECT COSTS, INFORMATION ASYMMETRY, INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, INFORMATION SYSTEM, INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INITIAL CAPITAL, INSTRUMENT, INTANGIBLE, INTANGIBLE ASSETS, INTEREST EXPENSE, INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN, INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, INTERNATIONAL BANK, INVENTORY, INVESTING, LACK OF INFORMATION, LATIN AMERICAN, LEGAL DRAFTING, LEGAL FRAMEWORK, LEGAL OBLIGATION, LEGAL OBLIGATIONS, LENDERS, LIABILITY, LIQUIDATION, LIQUIDITY, LIQUIDITY RATIO, LOAN, LONG-TERM ASSETS, LONG-TERM DEBT, LONG-TERM GOAL, LONG-TERM LIABILITIES, LONG-TERM LOANS, MAINTENANCE COSTS, MARGINAL COSTS, MARKET FAILURE, MARKET SHARE, MARKET VALUE, MARKETING, MATURITY, MERGERS, MONEY MARKET, NET ASSETS, NET WORTH, POTENTIAL INVESTORS, PRICE INDEX, PRICE STABILITY, PRODUCTIVITY, PROFIT MARGINS, RATE OF RETURN, REGULATORY AUTHORITY, REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, REGULATORY PRACTICE, REGULATORY SYSTEM, RENTS, RETAIL PRICE, RETURNS, SALARIES, SALE, SALES, SALES EXPENSES, SAVINGS, SECURITIES, SENIOR, SETTLEMENT, SHAREHOLDERS, SHORT-TERM DEBT, SOCIAL SECURITY, SOURCE OF INFORMATION, STAKEHOLDER, STAKEHOLDERS, STOCK EXCHANGES, STOCKS, TANGIBLE ASSETS, TAX RATE, TAXABLE INCOME, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TERMINATION, TOTAL COST, TRADING, TRANSACTION, VALUABLE, VALUATION,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/01/9484572/accounting-infrastructure-regulation-introduction https://hdl.handle.net/10986/6426
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