O lucro à luz do conceito de preservação da riqueza

Abstract

Accounting information often uses a complex terminology that is not so friendly to most users. Accounting may use economic concepts in a more intense way in order to improve communication with its users. Starting from the English economist James Hicks' definition of income, this paper presents several concepts of income according to the concept of wealth preservation, with a view to turning accounting information more useful in the decision process. Income, which is measured in terms of Historical Cost, Current Cost, Net Realization Value, Present Value of Future Cash Flows and Market Value, has a specific formulation for each kind. Numerical examples are shown under the topic about income measured by the Present Value of Future Cash Flow method. The study of income with regard to wealth preservation, discussed here, is highly relevant because this concept fits into economic theory. The use of this concept by Accounting may provide valuable help in achieving the basic aim of financial statements, which is to provide useful data for making economic decisions.