The Value Added Statement: An Investigation of some Accounting Issues

Abstract

It may be said that Value Added has no single and precise definition that can be universally accepted. However, there is a general agreement with regard to the concept of value added, i.e., it measures the wealth created by a business or industry. Both the economist's model and the Corporate Report assume that individual measures of value added, made by each firm should be able to be summed to equal the aggregate value added generated within the economy during a specific period of time. As a matter of fact, both the economist's model and The Corporate Report have either ignored or dealt, in a very primitive and simple way, with the accounting issues arising in the preparation of the Value  Added Statement (VAS).  Therefore, the major theme of this article is to highlight some key accounting problems that must be overcome before the preparation of the VAS. By doing so, the VAS can be regarded as a useful accounting tool in both social and financial reporting, especially when calculating the Value Added at the national level. Otherwise, it will not be mare than a cosmetic rearrangement of the profit and loss account.