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Monopoly versus Competition in Setting Accounting Standards

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  • Karim Jamal
  • Shyam Sunder

Abstract

type="main"> Financial accounting standards are set by organizations granted a significant degree of monopoly power by various governments. While there has been considerable debate on the merits of national (e.g., US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)) versus international (International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)) monopolies, little attention has been paid to the merits of using competing standard-setting organizations (SSOs) for setting accounting standards. We compare the standard-setting processes of the FASB/IASB to the processes of four technology-oriented SSOs to assess the role of competition. We also provide a case study of monopoly and competitive standards in telephony. Both telephony and accounting yield some gains from coordination, and similar arguments are used (under the labels of comparability and consistency of accounting) in debates about granting a monopoly to their respective SSOs. Our results show that a group of volunteers competing with the government-sanctioned monopoly of International Telecommunications Union transformed the telephone industry. Thanks to this standards competition, we enjoy free video internet calling and massive cost savings. Implications for accounting standard setting are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Karim Jamal & Shyam Sunder, 2014. "Monopoly versus Competition in Setting Accounting Standards," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 50(4), pages 369-385, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:abacus:v:50:y:2014:i:4:p:369-385
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/abac.12034
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Gao, Pingyang & Jiang, Xu & Zhang, Gaoqing, 2019. "Firm value and market liquidity around the adoption of common accounting standards," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1).

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