Definitionen av ett Investment Entity - En studie av de underliggande kriterierna i ED/2011/4 Investment Entities utifrån princip- och regelbaserad redovisningsteori
Recently, the IASB and the FASB initiated a joint project to determine which companies that could be defined as investment entities and thus subject to an exception from IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements. The first draft, ED/2011/4 Investment Entities, was published in 2011 and included six criteria that a company must meet in order to be classified as an investment entity. Based on academic theory, the fact that the IASB and the FASB published a joint proposal is interesting for several reasons. Traditional accounting theory tends to distinguish between two different approaches in standard setting: principles- and rules-based. The IASB is considered to have a principles-based approach, while the FASB is considered to have a rules-based approach. This thesis examines the nature of the six criteria in ED/2011/4 Investment Entities with the intention to analyze whether the criteria can be considered as principles- or rules-based. The conducted analyze has primarily been based on accounting theory, but also includes a study of the Swedish investment companies listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm Large, Mid and Small Cap. The combination of academic theory and practical study was executed in order to reach a more satisfying conclusion whether the criteria can be considered as principle- or rules-based. This thesis concludes that the criteria cannot fully be characterized as either principles or rules-based. The fact that the definition is the result of a joint project between the IASB and the FASB therefore appears to have resulted in a combination of the approaches that are traditionally ascribed to the two standard setters.