Has the road to global accounting convergence come to an end

Abstract

This paper provides a critical review of the convergence of global accounting standards by the FASB and IASB with a focus on the influence that standard setters and regulators have had on its progress. The two boards have sustained a long history of cooperative development and committed, in 2002, to give their best efforts to make their existing financial reporting standards fully compatible. In recent years, the movement has lost momentum with many projects discontinued and no new items added to the agenda. The goal of a single set of accounting standards seems less realistic as regulators and standard setters come to fully comprehend the challenges and extent of required training, varying national characteristics, and shared decision making which prevent full agreement. Recent changes in leadership have shifted the focus away from international standards further indicating that the road to global accounting convergence may, indeed, have come to an end.