The Drive for Global Rules To Help Out Investors Searching for International Accountability Humdrum though their work may be, accountants play a crucial role in assuring that the financial system functions in a way that inspires confidence. Among other things, accountants help investors keep track of how corporate managers are using their money. That responsibility becomes much more complex in an era of rapid internationalization, when more and more investment money circles the globe. Easier said than done. But some highly influential organizations are trying to meet the challenge.
Negotiators face many controversial issues.
But they have some leverage to reach a consensus. For example, firms in many countries with low-quality accounting are seeking access to the capital markets now closed to them, especially those of the United States, which has more transparent and rigorous accounting standards than most countries. Without an improvement of their own policies and practices by adherence to minimal global rules, such firms will continue to be barred from the attractive financial markets of the United States and Britain. There are lessons here for applying international labor standards to countries that flagrantly and persistently ignore them.