The global accounting experiment

In this essay, Nicolas Véron presents accounting standard-setting as a frontier experiment in international governance, where private initiative can succeed in solving a collective problem that nation-states could not tackle effectively. To make the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Europe and other jurisdictions sustainable, the legitimacy of the International Accounting Standards Board has to be bolstered through significant governance changes; and their implementation and enforcement need to become more consistent, which can only be achieved through reform of the institutional framework.