Managing the Global Economy and Accounting in the Caribbean

Abstract

To date, the most important institution in the movement to harmonize international accounting and reporting practices, both in terms of the range of issues addressed and the number of states and firms affected, is the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) (Nobes 1991). The IASC was established in 1973 by the professional accounting bodies of nine countries - Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Ireland (jointly), and the United States.

The paper is divided into four sections. Section one describes and critiques the structure of the IASC. Section two describes and critiques the process used by the lASC to develop accounting standards. Section three assesses the strategies used by CARICOM states to adopt IASC standards as national accounting policy. The final section of the paper offers suggestions for reforming the accounting policy-making process used by CARICOM states and the international accounting standard-setting machinery to better serve the various stakeholders.