Steps on the road to common global standards

More than 100 countries on all five continents require or permit the use of international financial reporting standards or are converging with them.

This work is overdue and of critical importance. It has, however, become bogged down in divisions on such issues as: the objectives of financial statements; whether the perspective should be forward- looking or historic; whether items should be measured at fair value or some form of cost; whether markets are efficient or not.

Click here to read more on Ian Mackintosh article who is chairman of the UK's Accounting Standards Board

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