Accounting Standards?
Over time, quite a number of accounting guidelines and rules have been developed by bodies like FASB and IASB. Do these standards serve any meaningful purpose? In this text, I concern myself with accounting standards and their relevance. In so doing, I will amongst other things discuss why we need accounting standards.

Wahlen, Jones, and Pagach (2012, p.1-20) point out that "the FASB and the IASB operate so that they can develop new accounting standards in a thorough, thoughtful, and efficient manner, with due process, and in open public forums." To begin with, it is important to note that accounting standards play a critical role when it comes to the enhancement of the comparability of financial statements. National, regional, and international boundaries no longer exist when it comes to trade and commerce. Indeed, the world has effectively become a global village. For this reason, there exists a need to….

accounting standards in use throughout the world in the next 5 years?
The need for a universal set of accounting standards was recognized years ago, the origins of which can traced back to early twentieth century where practitioners in the U.S. And elsewhere failed to implement uniform accounting principles. The call for uniformity went stronger when the U.S. stock market crashed in 1929. It was firmly believed by then that there should be uniform accounting standards which would limit the use of professional judgments made by the management and hence will enhance the comparability of the financial statements (Previts and Merino, 1998, pp. 161 et seq.). Subsequently, when the world's leading financial countries faced cases like Enron and others, the need for consistent and comparable financial reporting became paramount. The need become more evident with dramatic increase of cross-border transactions, multinational corporations, foreign direct investments comparable as well as increase….

This is important, because it shows how there is the potential for both harmonization and division. Yet, once you look at what is taking place around the world, it is obvious that a common set of ideas are being readily accepted in different countries around the world.
A good example of this can be seen by looking no further than China, where they announced that the country would follow IFRS standards. As they are going to be phasing in the different provisions one step at a time. This is significant, because it shows how globalization is causing a single form of accounting standards to be embraced. At the same time, the U.S. And EU have begun working together to integrate the different accounting standards in line with IFRS principals. This is important, because it shows how there is an emphasis to slowly integrate these ideas into one basic standard that….

" (Camfferman & Zeff, 2) Indeed, the purpose which seems to stand above many others as specific Standards are examined is the improvement of financial reports as informative documents inbuilt with the capacity to educate users as to the financial disposition and outlook of reporting entities.
The declared purpose of the IFRS is to improve the comparability, clarity, relevance and reliability of accounting processes and the resultant financial reporting across a global scale. (IASC Foundation, Framework) This purpose is directly correlated to the apparent direction in which the global economy has thrust itself across the last few decades, with the deconstruction of trade barriers and the forging of encompassing exchange agreements producing a circumstance where proponents view a categorical necessity in standardizing accounting practices. Therefore, in a discussion on the global applications of the IFRS, which is conducted by a consideration of the adoption challenges, procedures and experiences of some key….

Value of Accounting Standards
Accounting rules are designed to serve the capital markets and make these markets work efficiently. Accounting rules are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because decisions about the allocation of resources rely heavily on credible, concise, transparent and understandable financial information. Without standard measures of the worth of a company, lenders and investors would have no way in which to evaluate the worth of the business, so these rules are essential to the capital markets. With the rise of multinational businesses, it is essential that these rules be uniform throughout the world. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are the accounting rules used to prepare financial statements for publicly traded companies and many private companies in the United States. In the United States, as well as other countries practicing English common law system, the government does not set accounting standards, in the belief that the….

International egulation, Accounting Standards and Australia
Background and Need for egulation

International regulation is a necessity in the finance arena as the world bears a high rate of interconnection, particularly via banking and accounting. In 2008, Europe was given international accolades for its attempts to strengthen the world financial system and protect nations all over the world from a serious crisis. "Europe led the way last year in facing down the global financial crisis, restructuring our banking system and strengthening the global financial system. The European Union was also at the forefront in calling for a new forum for economic cooperation of G-20 leaders. And from the outset of the crisis, it was Europe that promoted the fiscal stimulus -- and sought to coordinate it globally -- that has been a major factor in preventing recession becoming a world-wide depression" (Brown & Sarkozy, 2009).

The reality is that in order for health….

Apart from this FASB has decided that capitalization of IP&D will only apply to business combinations. When assets are purchased, and they are not viewed as businesses under GAAP in U.S., would continue to have IP&D as expenses. One of the results could be to have businesses which are now following GAAP to find out new methods so that they could avoid capitalizing IP&D. The importance of this issue can be seen in the following statement by David Mosso, the FASB chairperson "ule 203 status adds that weight by strengthening the link between Federal financial accountants and the rest of the profession."
Conclusion:

To conclude, it could be said that getting information regarding accounting changes is not so difficult today. There are many issues on accounting and auditing that can be resolved through the search of sites that exist for the purpose of providing accounting and auditing related information.

End Notes

Brackney, Kennard….

Ethics in Business: Accounting Standards
Accounting Standards

Ethics in Business

Accounting Standards

The objective of this work is to address the relationship among the FASB, SEC, and PCAOB and to provide explanations of basic accounting theories, assumptions and principles; and finally to evaluate the role of ethics in accounting.

Victor, G. & Levitin, M. (2004) Current SEC and PCAOB Developments -- September 2004. The national conference of the AICPA in relation to recent SEC developments convened in Washington D.C. And boasted more than 2,000 attendees from "accounting firms, private industry, and government" while representatives from the SEC, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), FASB International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and AICPA shared their knowledge on various issues. Key was ethical standards among items on the agenda of the professional attending the meeting." (Victor and Levitin, 2004)

AICPA

AICPA SEC Practice Section (SECPS) effectively changed its name and is now known as the Center for Public Company Audit….

history of the International Accounting tandards Board (IAB) begins with the inception of Board of the International Accounting tandards Committee (IAC) in 1973. The Committee operated until 2001. The reason for the inception of the Committee was an agreement between the accountancy bodies in a variety of countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Ireland and the United tates.
The function of the Committee was to set standards for the international professional activities of the accountancy bodies under the agreement. The International Federation of Accountants function to organize these activities. In 1981 the IAC received full autonomy to set the international accounting standards. Their function was further to publish discussion documents on accounting issues with international concern. In the year 2000, the IAC Board approved a new constitution as part of a restructuring program. In the same year, the European Commission's plans to….

An international standard would correct this disparity between the two sets of regulations.
The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) was established to standardize accounting rules to ensure there was consistency in accounting across the country. Now Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures (GAAP) mean that an investor or stakeholder can review an organization's financial data and know that the rules applied are the same as comparative organizations. The acceptance of the IASB as the primary rule making body for the global business community would achieve the same effect.

Currently, national accounting rules impact accounting numbers. Differences in socioeconomic functions of accounting lead to differences in the processes of accounting regulation as well. Enforcement and interpretation of accounting regulations too is different by nation. Allowing an international body, such as the IASB, to be the primary rule maker would also ensure that enforcement and interpretation was consistent for all organizations, no matter where….

IASB
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) currently has three types of active projects on their agenda. These include an agenda consultation project, financial crisis related projects, and memorandum of understanding projects. The following is a summary of these current active projects, their timetables established for the achievement of milestones, as well as the conceptual frameworks involved in the projects.

The first type of project currently active on the agenda of the IASB is an agenda consultation project in which the IASB initiated a formal public agenda consultation for the first time in July 2011. This consultation was focused on the future work plan of the IASB, and was aimed at obtaining input from the public regarding the work plan and its direction and balance. The agenda consultation was conducted with broad public participation, including awareness through conferences in Europe, North America, and South America, in which small group meetings have been….

IAS 17 Leases
Explain the key features of the current accounting standard. You should use at least one illustrative example for lessee accounting from a published set of financial statements to illustrate the effect of the standard

IAS 17 accounting standard establishes and elucidates the pertinent accounting procedures and also disclosures that are supposed to be employed in accounting by lessors and also lessees. The lessor is the owner of the underlying asset while the lessee is the party that opts to make use of the asset at that point in time. One of the key features of the accounting standard is the classification between an operating lease and a finance lease. A financial lease is a contract or agreement whereby all of the risks and the rewards that are characteristic to the ownership of the asset are transferred to the lessee. On the other hand, an operating lease is a lease….

Accounting
Several terms and definitions are valuable to understand financial statements. In the United States, financial statements of public corporations are produced in accordance with the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These principles govern how the information for financial statements is compiled and presented. The purpose of these principles is so that all stakeholders can easily understand the statements and make comparisons across both time and across different companies, because the statements are produced and presented in a consistent manner. The International Financial eporting Standards (IFS) are the international equivalent of GAAP. While several countries utilize a national version of GAAP (U.S., Canada, UK, etc.), more than 100 countries use IFS, making this set of standards the most widely-adopted in the world. There is a move to converge national GAAP standards with IFS, including a multi-year project to converge U.S. GAAP with IFS. For now, however, IFS represents a different set….

Accounting forms the overall backbone of the financial world. Financial markets are predicated on consumer and user confidence. Without confidence, consumers attempting to make financial decisions will be doing so using inaccurate and incomplete information. The lack of transparency regarding the truthfulness of reported numbers creates uncertainty within the capital markets. This uncertainty regarding the accuracy of information ultimately undermines the overall financial system, causing harm to society in the process. Investors will require higher rates of return, individuals will become unlikely to invest, and innovation could become stifled, harming the quality of life for society overall. Accounting standards, particularly those from the IFRS, are required to help maintain confidence in the reliability of reported financial performance. These standards, such as IFRS , are often amended to reflect the economic realities of business transactions. These changes, although well intended, may often have unintended consequence. This is particularly true for IFRS….

Purpose/Perceived Value

The findings of this report will be valuable to two different audiences. The first consists of accounting regulatory bodies. These bodies are working towards convergence and are presently struggling with the resistance from the business community. Understanding the nature of that resistance is key to finding ways of overcoming it. For the large publicly traded corporations themselves, this report will help them understand why they and their peers are resistant, and this will shed light on whether or not that resistance is justified. Convergence is coming whether the corporate world is ready for it or not, but the key for corporations is to understand what convergence is, why it is important, and which elements of their resistance are not worth the effort. For both parties, it is important to work together to make the convergence process as smooth as possible, and that is going to take a greater degree….

Accounting Theory: A Reflective Essay

Introduction

Accounting theory serves as the foundation for the principles and practices that guide financial reporting. It aims to establish a common framework for understanding and interpreting accounting information. As a student of accounting, I have delved into various accounting theories, each offering unique insights and perspectives. This reflective essay explores my reflections on accounting theory, its significance, and its implications for the accounting profession.

The Role of Accounting Theory

Accounting theory provides a conceptual framework that underpins accounting practices. It establishes the principles and standards that govern the recording, classification, and reporting of financial information. By providing a....