The Routledge Companion to Accounting, Reporting and Regulation (Routledge Companions in Business, Management and Marketing)

Financial accounting, reporting and regulation is a vast subject area of huge global importance, with interest rising significantly in the light of the ongoing global financial crisis. The authors begin with a broad overview of the subject of accounting, setting the stage for a discussion on the theoretical and practical issues and debates regarding financial reporting, which are expanded on in the second part of the book. This includes how to define the reporting entity, recognition and measurement of the elements of financial statements, fair values in financial reporting and the costs and benefits of disclosure. The third part assesses the interest, need and theories behind the accounting, reporting and regulation industry, while parts four and five look at the institutional, social and economic aspects; with issues such as accounting for environmental management and, accounting regulation and financial reporting in Islamic countries, both issues of ever increasing importance. This authoritative Companion presents a broad overview of the state of these disciplines today, and will provide a comprehensive reference source for students and academics involved in accounting, regulation and reporting. Cover 1 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Table of Contents 8 List of Contributors 12 Preface 18 Acknowledgements 20 List of Illustrations 22 PART 1 Accounting 24 1 What is accounting? 26 2 Methodology in financial accounting theory 57 3 Fundamental issues in financial accounting and reporting theory 77 4 European accounting theory: evolution and evaluation 95 5 English-language theories of financial reporting 116 PART 2 Reporting 134 6 Recognition and measurement 136 7 Fair value and financial reporting 151 8 Costs and benefits of disclosure 167 9 Auditing, regulation and the persistence of the expectations gap 186 PART 3 (International) accounting standard setting and regulation 208 10 The public interest in international financial accounting, reporting and regulation 210 11 Perspectives on the role of and need for accounting regulation 230 12 Economic theory of financial reporting regulation 251 13 Global convergence of accounting standards 269 14 The role of conceptual frameworks in accounting standard-setting 288 15 The application of IFRS across different institutional environments 304 PART 4 Institutional aspects of (international) financial reporting regulation 322 16 The International Accounting Standards Board 324 17 Influences on the standard-setting and regulatory process 341 18 Stock exchanges and international financial reporting 362 19 Auditors and international financial reporting 403 20 Multinational corporations and IFRS 422 21 The IFRS for SMEs 434 PART 5 Social and economic aspects of (international) financial reporting regulation 458 22 Socio-economic consequences of IFRSs 460 23 Turf wars or missionary zeal: IFRS, IFAC, the World Bank and the IMF 476 24 Accounting regulation in emerging markets and newly industrializing countries 494 25 Accounting regulation and IFRS in Islamic countries 515 26 Accounting tools for environmental management and communication 538 Index 554 Financial accounting, reporting and regulation is a vast subject area of huge importance globally with interest rising significantly in the light of the ongoing global financial crisis. In the first part, a broad overview of the subject of accounting is presented which sets the stage for some of the theoretical and practical issues and debates regarding financial reporting which follow in the second part. These issues include how to define the reporting entity, recognition and measurement of the elements of financial statements, fair values in financial reporting, and the costs and benefits of disclosure. The third part assesses the interests, needs and theories of accounting, reporting and regulation, while parts four and five look a the institutional, social and economic aspects, including issues growing in importance, such as accounting for environmental management and accounting, regulation and financial reporting in Islamic countries. --from back cover