Global Accounting Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the U.S. (Part II): Political Factors and Future Scenarios for U.S. Accounting Standards

Accounting Horizons, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 567-588, 2010

Posted: 18 Dec 2010

See all articles by Luzi Hail

Luzi Hail

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Christian Leuz

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Leibniz Institute SAFE; CESifo Research Network; Center for Financial Studies (CFS)

Peter D. Wysocki

Boston University Questrom School of Business

Date Written: December 16, 2010

Abstract

This is the second article of a two-part series analyzing the economic and policy factors related to the potential adoption of IFRS by the United States. In Part I (see Hail et al. 2010), we develop the conceptual framework for our analysis and discuss economic factors driving the costs and benefits associated with IFRS adoption. In this part, we provide an analysis of the political factors related to the possible U.S. adoption of IFRS, present several scenarios for the evolution of U.S. accounting standards, and outline opportunities for future research on global accounting standards and regulation. We start with a general discussion of the standard-setting process in accounting and how a U.S. switch to IFRS might affect worldwide competition among accounting standards and standard setters. We discuss potential political ramifications of such a decision on the standard-setting process in the United States, as well as on the governance structure of the International Accounting Standards Board. Drawing on our economic framework and the insights from our analysis, we conclude by outlining several possible ways of how U.S. accounting standards could evolve. These scenarios include maintaining U.S. GAAP, letting firms decide whether and when to adopt IFRS, mandating full compliance with IFRS within a prespecified schedule, or creating a competing U.S. GAAP-based set of accounting standards that could serve as a global alternative to IFRS.

Keywords: Accounting Regulation, Standard Setting, U.S. Equity Markets, Mandatory Disclosure, Political Economy, Harmonization

JEL Classification: F50, G15, G38, K22, M41, M48, O51

Suggested Citation

Hail, Luzi and Leuz, Christian and Wysocki, Peter D., Global Accounting Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the U.S. (Part II): Political Factors and Future Scenarios for U.S. Accounting Standards (December 16, 2010). Accounting Horizons, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 567-588, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1726669

Luzi Hail (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School ( email )

3641 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6365
United States
215-898-8205 (Phone)
215-573-2054 (Fax)

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

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Christian Leuz

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
773-834-1996 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/christian.leuz/

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.nber.org

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Brussels
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://www.ecgi.org

Leibniz Institute SAFE ( email )

(http://www.safe-frankfurt.de)
Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 3
Frankfurt am Main, 60323
Germany

CESifo Research Network

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

Center for Financial Studies (CFS) ( email )

Grüneburgplatz 1
Frankfurt am Main, 60323
Germany

Peter D. Wysocki

Boston University Questrom School of Business ( email )

595 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
United States

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