Over‐Complexity in Accounting Standards and the Emerging Duopoly of US GAAP AND IFRS

Abstract

US accounting regulation has been criticised for maintaining an over‐complex “rules‐based” approach, cited as the partial cause of significant failures in corporate governance. US regulators state that they are now on a pathway to a more “principles‐based” approach, but the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) claims superiority in this approach already. The recent efforts of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and IASB are examined to see if either claim is clearly supportable. As these authorities appear to be in the process of creating a world accounting standard‐setting duopoly, unresolved problems involving over‐complexity are likely to be transported to other countries, including Australia.