When we talk about global accounting, put me in the “one-set-of-standards” column. I often argue that no logical reason exists to account for the same transaction in different ways in different countries. I also maintain that a single set of global accounting standards is in the best interests of the capital markets, and that International Financial Reporting Standards is still the best candidate to be that set of standards.
Until last year, I was pretty optimistic about the prospect of getting there. But recently, I have found optimism to be hard to come by. Support for global standards, at least ...