The Evolving Post-national Regulation of Financial Reporting

Abstract

Many believe that financial reporting is merely a technical issue, discussed in professional circles and being of only minor relevance for the society or economy as a whole. However, accounting and financial reporting are crucial for the functioning of businesses and markets. This makes financial accounting an important ingredient in creating overall welfare, and it is no surprise that nation states have often intervened in accounting regulation. Regulation has varied across countries. Continental Europe has traditionally relied more on extensive legal and hierarchical regulation than have AngloSaxon countries, which featured more collaborative interventions, that is, a type of regulation in which private actors — most prominently, private standard setters and other professional organizations — have been embedded in the regulatory frameworks.