International Accounting Normalization and Harmonization Processes across the World: History and Overview

Abstract

Based on a literature review, the paper traces the history of the International Accounting normalization, and presents an overview of the harmonization process across different regions of the world. In a first part we present the circumstances that led to the genesis of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) in 1973, by returning to the evolution of its notoriety, and to the production of its first international accounting standards (IAS). After discussing the replacement of the IASC in 2001 by the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF) and the International Accounting standards Board (IASB), we give details on how the international standards were henceforth called International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), due to their new dominating financial aspect. In the second part of the paper, we discuss the existing differences between developed and developing countries regarding the international accounting harmonization process. After discussing the limits and the advantages of the international accounting harmonization, we raise the issue of financial security in relation to the process of international accounting harmonization.