Masters Degrees (School of Accountancy)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (School of Accountancy) by browse.metadata.advisor "Olivier, P."
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- ItemDie rekeningkundige verantwoording van skripdividendskemas in Suid-Afrika(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001-12) Durand, Ilanie; Olivier, P.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences . School of Accounting .ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Scrip dividends have become increasingly popular in South Africa SInce the introduction of secondary tax on companies (STC) in the 1993 budget. There is more than one approach to the treatment of scrip dividend schemes for accounting purposes, i.e. the reinvestment approach and the capitalisation issue approach. Unfortunately guidance in the form of a statement or guideline from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants has not been forthcoming. Companies in the United States of America account for stock dividends (capitalisation issues) in a variety of ways and several studies have analysed the effect of these accounting treatments on retained earnings and the retained earnings hypothesis. Several empirical studies in the United States of America and the United Kingdom have documented marked differences in the ability of companies in these countries to make distributions to shareholders. For this reason the accounting treatment of stock dividends and scrip dividends in these countries was examined and compared to the methods used in South Africa. Earnings per share is often used by financial analysts to analyse and compare companies. The methods used in South Africa to account for scrip dividends result in different calculations of earnings per share and therefore the effect of the different methods was examined. This study concludes that the reinvestment approach is theoretically the most acceptable accounting treatment of scrip dividend schemes In South Africa. A representative sample of companies which declared scrip dividends in the period 1993 to 1999 was selected to determine how these schemes are implemented in the South African economy. These companies' financial statements were analysed to determine if the scrip dividend schemes were treated in terms of the accounting method proposed in this study and if the necessary information was disclosed in the financial statements. This study finds that different accounting approaches are used in South Africa, that earnings per share and secondary tax on companies are not calculated consistently for accounting purposes and that the information disclosed to the users of the financial statements differs from company to company. It is recommended that the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants issue accounting guidelines to the drafters of financial statements regarding scrip dividend schemes.