Studies that examine the inner workings of an accounting standard-setting agency, and do that well, are rare. Usually, the standard setter is taken as a “black box” and researchers look at, for example, how lobbying pressure influences standard-setting outcomes. Bryan Howieson's (2017) paper is a very useful and well-executed study. It looks inside the “black box,” using a rich set of interview data from key standard setters. An important but neglected aspect of accounting standard setting is examined—the role of a national accounting standard setter (NASS), the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), after IFRS adoption.
Australia adopted IFRS in 2005, as did many other countries, notably those of the European Union. Unlike the EU where IFRS adoption applies only to listed public companies' consolidated financial statements, in Australia IFRS apply, with limited exceptions, to all companies listed or not, and to all financial statements, consolidated or not. Somewhat uniquely, IFRS...
