Cover Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- 1 Issues in Financial Reporting -- The scope of the problems facing financial reporting -- Structure of the book -- Conclusion -- Discussion questions -- 2 An Exploration of the Nature of Accounting 'Theory' -- An examination of the phrase 'accounting theory' -- Approaches to theory development -- Theory development and resistance -- Measurement in accounting -- Conclusion -- Discussion questions -- 3 Developments in Accounting and Corporate Reporting -- The origins of stewardship -- Early stewardship in a management accounting context -- Corporate governance -- Early developments in accounting -- The recognition of income and expenditure -- Conclusion -- Discussion questions -- 4 Financial Reporting: Frameworks Without Foundations? -- Accounting regulation -- Conceptual framework developments -- The UK struggle with the 'objective' of the financial statements -- Inconsistencies with statutory requirements -- Potential factors driving conceptual framework developments -- Arguments against the development of a conceptual framework -- Real-time reporting in a knowledge economy -- Conclusion -- Discussion questions -- 5 Developments in Auditing and Assurance -- Early audits -- The detection of fraud as an audit objective -- The conceptual basis of auditing -- Developments in audit approaches: from audit efficiency to audit effectiveness? -- Assurance services -- Continuous audit - the fifth-generation audit? -- Conclusion -- Discussion questions -- 6 The Management-Auditor Relationship: Auditing Motivations -- Independence and objectivity -- Auditing motivations -- Earnings management -- The 'neutrality' concept -- Management-auditor negotiations -- Audit committees -- Auditors and fraud -- Conclusion -- Discussion questions.

7 Communication Through the Audit Report: What Is the Auditor Trying To Say? -- Exploring the auditor's message -- The auditor's opinion -- The development of 'a true and fair view' -- The views of UK practitioners -- Free-form audit reports -- 'Evergreen audit reports' for real-time reporting? -- Conclusion -- Discussion questions -- 8 An Exploration of the Financial Reporting Expectations Gap -- The audit expectations gap -- The wider expectations gap -- The nature of accounting -- The user decision-oriented perspective -- The irrelevance of historical costs? -- Predicting future cash flows -- Freedom from bias? -- Do the financial statements represent good stewardship? -- The calculation of 'wealth' -- Harnessing the forces of technology: real-time real problem? -- Conclusion -- Discussion questions -- 9 A Reconfiguration of the External Reporting Conceptual Framework Conundrum -- The specification of the problem -- How can 'corporate performance' be indicated? -- The operating and financial review (OFR) -- Corporate meetings -- Widening the range of performance indicators -- Reporting risk -- Auditors and additional assurance services -- Conclusion -- Discussion questions -- 10 The Elusive Holy Grail -- Is 'history' history? -- An agenda for developments in corporate reporting -- Discussion questions -- Name index -- Subject index.