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Accounting and the welfare state: The missing link

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  • Oehr, Tim-Frederik
  • Zimmermann, Jochen

Abstract

In recent years, nation states have internationalized and privatized accounting regulation by extensive use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). However, major differences between national accounting regulatory systems persist. In this paper we argue that a country's societal motives and values, best captured by the type of welfare state the country employs, shape the extent to which accounting regulations converge. Moreover, the welfare state approach explains the development and dynamics of accounting systems more completely than the conventional explanatory variables – legal and financial systems.

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  • Oehr, Tim-Frederik & Zimmermann, Jochen, 2012. "Accounting and the welfare state: The missing link," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 134-152.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:23:y:2012:i:2:p:134-152
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2011.11.010
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