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A Trusteeship Theory of Accounting for Natural Capital Assets
Author(s) -
Barton Alland D.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
abacus
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.632
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-6281
pISSN - 0001-3072
DOI - 10.1111/1467-6281.00041
Subject(s) - accounting , accrual , financial statement , working capital , balance sheet , fixed asset , business , assets under management , mark to market accounting , financial accounting , government (linguistics) , capital asset , accounting information system , context (archaeology) , capital market , finance , book value , economics , audit , production (economics) , paleontology , linguistics , earnings , philosophy , biology , macroeconomics
One of the problems encountered in implementing accrual accounting in the government sector is that of accounting for natural capital assets provided freely to government and which are used as public goods. Professional accounting standards require that these assets be valued and included in the government’s statement of assets and liabilities. The problem is not encountered in business accrual accounting because business neither acquires assets freely nor provides services to the public on a non‐commercial basis. Various issues surrounding accrual accounting for natural capital assets used as public goods are examined in this article. The nature and characteristics of such assets, and the distinctions between private goods and public goods markets, are first explained to set the context for examination of the issues. Then the issues as to whether natural capital assets should be treated as assets for accounting purposes and included in the government’s statement of financial position are analysed according to FASB standards; it is concluded that they are not assets. Rather, it is proposed that these assets used for the provision of non‐commercial services to the public should be treated in a separate category as public goods assets which are held in trust by the government on behalf of the nation, for the benefit of current and future generations and for the preservation of the natural ecology of the nation. Commercial valuations are not relevant for these assets and they need not be valued in financial terms for their good management.