On the Historical Development of Elements of Financial Statements

Elements of accounting consist of a set of basic concepts which are of great significance to financial accounting.The application of these concepts capable of bringing about the qualitative stipulation of accounting information can be found in almost every aspect of financial accounting.These concepts have developed in line with the development of accounting ideas and theories.Seen from the four classics in the history of accounting,elements of accounting as well as their mutual relations have undergone a transition from the asset-liability view to the revenue-expense view,and then back to the asset-liability view,which foretells the transition of accounting pattern from the transaction-based historical cost model to the market-based value-driven model.