Publications
Publications
- April 2013
- Accounting, Economics and Law
The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization
By: Karthik Ramanna
Abstract
The globalization of accounting standards as seen through the proliferation of IFRS worldwide is one of the most important developments in corporate governance over the last decade. I offer an analysis of some international political dynamics of countries' IFRS harmonization decisions. The analysis is based on field studies in three jurisdictions: Canada, China, and India. Across these jurisdictions, I first describe unique elements of domestic political economies that are shaping IFRS policies. Then, I inductively isolate two principal dimensions that can be used to characterize the jurisdictions' IFRS responses: proximity to existing political powers at the IASB and own potential political power at the IASB. Based on how countries are classified along these dimensions, I offer predictions, ceteris paribus, on countries' IFRS harmonization strategies. The analysis and framework in this paper can help broaden the understanding of accounting's globalization.
Keywords
Accounting Standards; IASB; IFRS; Politics; International Accounting; Globalization; Standards; Corporate Governance; Canada; China; India
Citation
Ramanna, Karthik. "The International Politics of IFRS Harmonization." Accounting, Economics and Law 3, no. 2 (April 2013): 1–46. (Published in a dedicated issue of the journal together with four discussions, including two by the chairpersons of the national accounting standards bodies of France and Japan.)