Rate of return reporting by Victorian Government public trading authorities: 1985 to 1992

Abstract

During the period 1985 to 1992, the major Victorian State Government (Australia) public trading authorities were required to prepare Rate of Return Reporting (RoRR) accounts as supplementary statements to their annual historical cost financial statements. RoRR represents a version of current (replacement) cost accounting. This paper provides a background to the Victorian RoRR requirements and an examination of the financial statements, over a five year period, of three of the six authorities required to comply with the RoRR requirements. The paper investigates the differences between the historical cost and RoRR profit and loss statements and balance sheets, analysing the major reasons for the differences and the impacts of RoRR on the reported performance and financial position of the trading authorities.