Standardization and harmonization of accounting practices is a fundamental element of a global business environment. Achieving this is a complex process that involves technical and political negotiation. The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) was the organization that pioneered this process on a world-wide basis.
The IASC prepared the way for the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and its International Financial Reporting Standards, which since 2005 have held the dominant influence over the financial reporting of thousands of listed companies in the European...

Stephen Zeff has been a prolific researcher on the history of accounting and auditing in the twentieth century. He has written numerous papers on the history of standard setting and regulation, of accounting and auditing practice, of the accounting profession, of accounting thought, and of the intellectual contributions of major authors (such as Hatfield, Canning, Paton and MacNeal). This volume brings together the greatest hits of Zeff's academic career, including several articles that were published in out-of-the way places, for easier use by students and researchers of the field. In an...

From 2001 to 2011, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and its International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), acquired a central position in the practice and regulation of financial reporting around the world. As a unique instance of a private-sector body setting standards with legal force in many jurisdictions, the IASB's rise to prominence has been accompanied by vivid political debates about its governance and accountability. Similarly, the IASB's often innovative attempts to change the face of financial reporting have made it the centre of numerous controversies....