Accounting Diversity: Closing the Gaps

Abstract

The case for corporate governance reform is often made on the basis of narrowing gaps. These gaps are between current practice in a country and what is regarded as international best practice. That is the approach taken by stock exchanges in propagating codes which they hope will apply moral pressure on companies and result in "better" behaviour. There is not always a consensus on what represents best practice. There is discussion on whether the FASB or the IASB approach to accounting standards is preferable. The fining by the SEC of companies and their auditors for breaches of financial reporting rules, which is common in the US, is not found elsewhere to nearly the same extent. The litigious nature of the American system is often cited as something that other countries would not wish to emulate. Some of the differences represent differences in culture and values across different countries. Such cultural differences are not easy to reconcile, and can often generate prejudice.