虛擬企業是指為把握市場機遇，將分布於協作企業中的所需資源集成而來的非法人動態組織。當今，經濟全球化、市場動態化、需求個性化、又競爭又合作的趨勢日益明顯。虛擬企業強調利用和集成不同企業中的互補資源形成競爭優勢，它為企業的發展壯大提供了又壹條途徑，被認為是企業未來的主要組織形式，其應用前景十分誘人。
虛擬企業具有如下顯著特點：（1）它是充分利用現有資源的非法人經濟組織。（2）它與市場機遇為壹壹對應關系。虛擬企業應市場機遇的出現而建立，隨市場機遇的消亡而解體。（3）物理範圍的分布性。虛擬企業中的成員可能位於不同的地區，甚至不同的國家。（4）成員資源的互補性。成員資源的互補性使虛擬企業成為優勢資源的統壹體，從而擁有市場競爭優勢。（5）市場機遇的快速應變性。虛擬企業能夠快速地擁有實現市場機遇所需的資源，縮短把想法變成現實的時間。（6）成員的獨立性。虛擬企業成員之間並不存在從屬關系，市場機遇是聯結它們的紐帶。虛擬企業成員可根據需要退出某虛擬企業，也可以同時是多個虛擬企業中的成員。
二、虛擬企業對傳統會計的挑戰與沖擊
（壹）虛擬企業對會計主體假設的挑戰
傳統的會計主體假設將會計系統限制在經營上或經濟上具有相對穩定性及相對獨立性的壹個單位之內，相應的會計主體是有形的實體。
虛擬企業突破了以往的空間概念，使會計主體不僅僅局限於現實生活中“實”的物理空間，還對應於網絡中“虛”的媒體空間。“虛”的媒體空間跨越了現實中的地域界限，並且，虛擬企業的空間範圍能夠根據迅速變化的市場需求靈活地重構和分合，從而使會計主體具有可變化性，可根據業務需要隨時膨脹或縮小，也可能立即解散。因此，虛擬企業與傳統的會計主體相比，具有較大的不確定性，極大地改變了會計主體的存在方式，是壹種新型的“相對會計主體”——由虛擬企業成員構成的臨時聯盟體。這種相對會計主體拓展了傳統有形會計主體假設，對各協作企業在虛擬企業中的權益等予以計量的方法都適合於這種特殊的會計主體。
（二）虛擬企業存在的臨時性（短暫性）對持續經營和會計分期假設的挑戰
持續經營假設認為，在正常情況下，會計主體的生產經營活動將按照既定的目標持續不斷地進行下去，在可預見的未來不會面臨破產清算，直到實現會計主體的計劃和完成受托責任為止；會計分期假設是對持續經營假設的補充：為了及時總結企業的經營狀況，人為地將企業生產經營活動劃分為較短的經營期間，據以結算賬目和編制財務報告。這兩個假設限定了會計核算的期間，是會計核算的重要前提。
虛擬企業對持續經營假設提出了直接挑戰。虛擬企業的經營活動常呈現出短暫性特點：協作企業通常可根據市場的需要立即加入或退出虛擬企業；通常在完成某項交易後，虛擬企業立即解散。因此，持續經營假設對虛擬公司不再適用。
由於持續經營這壹前提條件不復存在，會計分期這壹假設也就沒有必要，也無法用以計量和報告虛擬企業的經營狀況，其會計報告的披露方式也必須發生變化。傳統會計報告模式是壹種定期報告模式。網絡經濟中強烈的時效性使定期報告系統很難跟上變化的經濟環境，傳統的定期會計報告已不能滿足虛擬企業的要求。虛擬企業的靈活運作方式決定了其對會計報告的要求靈活多樣，而且常要求能同步反映財務狀況的變動情況，即以實時會計報告代替定期會計報告。
（三）虛擬企業經營的“動態性”對歷史成本原則的挑戰
歷史成本由於客觀可靠、可驗證而得到普遍采用。這壹原則受到虛擬企業的挑戰：第壹，虛擬企業的交易對象常是壹些活躍於市場上的商品或金融工具，其價格波動頻繁，故歷史成本信息不能公允地反映當前的財務狀況和經營成果，與會計信息使用者的當前決策相關性較弱；第二，虛擬企業從成立到解散可能只有較短甚至很短的時間，在這種情況下，盡管歷史成本計價的時點與清算時的時點相距不遠，但屬非持續經營，因而，歷史成本不能反映公司的現金流量信息。
（四）虛擬企業的交易迅速性對權責發生制的挑戰
在虛擬企業中，企業的銷售確認、款項收計、成本配比、財務成果核算常可通過電子信息在很短的時間內完成，壹般不存在前後會計期間分別予以確認和款項實際支付的問題。此時，權責發生制已失去其基礎，而采用收付實現制則比較合理。以現金的收入或付出作為收入實現和費用發生的基礎，以在交易期間內實現的營業所得和實際支出的款項作為交易期間的收入和費用，可以更好地反映虛擬企業的現金流量。
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The virtual enterprise refers to grasp the market opportunity for distributed in cooperative enterprises, the resources required to dynamic of unincorporated integrated organization. Nowadays, economic globalization, market dynamic and demand individuation, and the trend of competition and cooperation is more and more obvious. The virtual enterprise emphasizes and integration of different enterprises complementary resources become the competitive advantage, it for the development and growth of enterprises, provides another way is believed to be the main form of organization of enterprise future, its application foreground is very seductive.
The virtual enterprise has the following distinguishing feature: (1) it is fully utilize existing resources of unincorporated economy organization. (2) it and market opportunities for one-to-one relationship. The virtual enterprise should establish market opportunity, the appearance of the declining of with market opportunity disintegrated. (3) the distribution of physical limits. Members of the virtual enterprise might be located in the different regions, and even different countries. (4) members resources complementary to each other. Members of the complementary make the virtual enterprise resource advantage resources unity, become to have market competitive advantage. (5) the rapid market opportunity should be degeneration. The virtual enterprise able to quickly have realized market opportunities, the resources needed to shorten the time idea becomes reality. (6) members of independence. The virtual enterprise members did not exist affiliation relationship, between market opportunity is the bond they bond. The virtual enterprise members may according to need to withdraw a virtual enterprise, may simultaneously is more members of the virtual enterprise.
Second, the virtual enterprise to traditional accounting challenges and shock
(a) the virtual enterprise to the main body of accounting assumptions challenge
The main body of accounting assumptions traditional accounting system limit in operation or economically with relative stability and independence within a unit, the corresponding accounting entity is tangible entity.
The virtual enterprise broke the previous space concept, make an accounting entity is not confined to real life "solid" physical space, still corresponding to the network "virtual" media space. "Virtual" media space across the reality of regional boundaries and, virtual enterprise space according to the scope of rapidly changing market demand flexibly reconstruction and points close, thus making accounting subjects have changes sex, but according to business needs at any time dilation or narrow, may also be dissolved immediately. Therefore, the virtual enterprise and the traditional accounting entity, it is characterized by the greater uncertainty, greatly changed the mode of existence of accounting subject, a new type of "relative accounting subject" by virtual enterprise members - temporary alliance body composed of. This relative accounting subject extends the tradition of main body of accounting assumptions, visible in the cooperation enterprise shall be the rights and interests of virtual enterprise measuring methods are suitable for this special accounting subject.
(2) the virtual enterprise existing temporary (transitoriness) to the ongoing management and accounting assumptions phases challenge
The going-concern assumption that, under normal circumstances, the production and business operation activities accounting entity according to established goals continuously to proceed in the foreseeable future, not facing bankruptcy liquidation accounting entity, until the plan and realize complete accountability so far; Accounting assumptions phases of the going-concern assumption is the added: to summarize the enterprise management status, people will be an enterprise to manufacture management activity is divided into shorter operating period, which settlement accounts and prepare financial reports. The two hypotheses during the accounting practice was limited, is the important prerequisite of accounting.
The virtual enterprise to put forward the going-concern assumption directly challenge. The virtual enterprise business activities often presents transient characteristics: cooperation enterprise usually in the light of market demand immediately join or exit virtual enterprise; Usually in complete a transaction, virtual enterprise to disband. Therefore, the going-concern assumption of virtual company no longer apply.
Due to the continuous operation this premise conditions no longer exists, accounting periodicity this assumption that there would be no need to, also can't used to measure and report the operations of virtual enterprise accounting reports, the disclosure of the change means also must. Traditional accounting report mode is a regular report mode. Network economy strong timeliness make regular report system's hard to keep up with the changing economic environment, the traditional accounting reports regularly already cannot satisfy the requirement of virtual enterprise. The virtual enterprise flexible mode of operation of accounting decided its reporting requirements agile diversity, and often require synchronous reflect the changes in its financial position, namely to real-time accounting report instead of regular accounting report.
(3) virtual enterprise management "dynamic" the challenge of historical cost principle
The historical cost due to the objective and reliable, verifiable and universally adopted. This principle was the challenge of virtual enterprise: first, virtual enterprise transaction object is often some active in the goods on the market or financial tools, its price, so frequent fluctuations of historical cost information could not fair to reflect the current financial position and operating results, and accounting information user's current decisions correlation weaker; Second, virtual enterprise from foundation to dissolve may only have shorter or even a very short period of time, in this case, despite the historical cost valuation with the liquidation, the leading, but the point of a far away, so continued operation, the historical cost cannot reflect the company's cash flow of information.
(4) virtual enterprise deal for rapid sex accrual challenge
In the virtual enterprise, enterprise's sales confirmation, payment plan, cost charge ratio, financial results accounting can often through electronic information in a short time, generally does not exist finish before and during affirm and respectively accounting actually paid money. At this time, the accrual has lost its foundation, and use and expenditure is more reasonable. In cash income or pay as income realization and expenses happened during, based in trade within the business income and realize the actual spending money as the revenues and expenses during trading, can better reflect the virtual enterprise's cash flow.