Chapter 1
Introduction

Discussion Questions

1. In the domestic case, accounting is an information service that provides financial information about a domestic entity to domestic users of that information. International accounting is distinctive in that the entity being reported on is either a multinational company with operations and transactions that transcend national boundaries or involves an entity with reporting obligations to readers who are located outside the reporting entity’s country of domicile.

2. Advantage: Some might argue that measurement, disclosure, and external auditing are three distinct (although related) processes, involving different members of the company. For example, corporate attorneys often are involved in disclosure issues, but seldom intervene in measurement issues. The Board of Directors works with the external auditors but not necessarily with the comptroller s office. Thus, discussion of accounting requirements and voluntary accounting choices in different jurisdictions is simplified by focusing on the three components of accounting.

Disadvantage: measurement, disclosure and auditing are interdependent, and should not be viewed in isolation of one another. A company choosing to disclose as little as possible, for example, may use accounting measurement approaches that reduce the information content of financial statements, and select an external auditor who will be relatively lenient in enforcing accounting requirements. One alternative classification might include accounting (measurement and disclosure), and auditing. A second classification might include financial reporting (annual and interim reporting, regulatory filings) and ad hoc disclosure (press releases, analyst meetings, etc). Any classification is arbitrary, and potentially useful depending on its purpose.

3. Factors contributing to the internationalization