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Crisis and the Consolidation of International Accounting Standards: Enron, The IASB, and America

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  • Eaton Sarah B.

    (University of Toronto)

Abstract

This paper examines the interplay between leading international and American accounting authorities over the span of a critical four-year period, 2001-2005. Historically, US regulators and private-sector accounting institutions have taken a cautious approach to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), citing the superior rigor and overall quality of their own Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). During the past four years, however, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have each become markedly receptive to the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB) efforts to harmonize accounting standards worldwide based on IFRSs. Why? This paper offers an explanation that highlights the role of the high-profile American corporate scandals (2001-2002) in precipitating a shift in US accounting authorities' views of the optimal form of accounting rules, an issue that has stood in the way of trans-Atlantic accounting standard convergence. Prior to the accounting scandals, the highly-detailed rules that are characteristic of US GAAP were widely seen to be the most effective form of accounting rule. Since 2002, a normative shift has taken place such that the SEC now endorses objectives-oriented rules that are conceptually aligned with the principles-based standards promulgated by the IASB. The analysis is framed by insights from contemporary International Relations theory which emphasize the influence of scope conditions on patterns of governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Eaton Sarah B., 2005. "Crisis and the Consolidation of International Accounting Standards: Enron, The IASB, and America," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(3), pages 1-20, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:buspol:v:7:y:2005:i:3:n:4
    DOI: 10.2202/1469-3569.1137
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    Cited by:

    1. Erincz, Alicia, 2017. "Accounting Practices During The Economic Crisis," Management Strategies Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 35(1), pages 136-142.
    2. Botzem, Sebastian & Hofmann, Jeanette, 2008. "Transnational institution building as public-private interaction: the case of standard setting on the Internet and in corporate financial reporting," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 36535, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. 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.
    4. Rolf Uwe Fülbier & Joerg‐Markus Hitz & Thorsten Sellhorn, 2009. "Relevance of Academic Research and Researchers' Role in the IASB's Financial Reporting Standard Setting," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 45(4), pages 455-492, December.
    5. Thiemann Matthias, 2014. "The impact of meta-standardization upon standards convergence: the case of the international accounting standard for off-balance-sheet financing," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 16(1), pages 79-112, April.
    6. Aldys Tan & Bikram Chatterjee & Victoria Wise & Mahmud Hossain, 2016. "An Investigation into the Potential Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in the United States: Implications and Implementation," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 26(1), pages 45-65, March.

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