Examining Perceptions of Harmonisation The Case of Singapore and Malaysia Available to Purchase

The stated goal of the IASC is to facilitate the harmonisation of financial reporting practices by encouraging nations to adopt its accounting standards. Whilst some views of harmonisation are based upon the assumption that identical accounting standards are needed to achieve harmony, it is not certain, however, that the mere harmonisation of accounting standards will necessarily lead to high levels of harmony between financial reporting practices. Further, the continuity of harmony, once achieved, is not guaranteed. Environmental determinism theories suggest that where environmental factors are similar, there will be a strong level of correlation between financial reporting practices. Singapore and Malaysia are two countries where considerable levels of harmonisation are expected to exist and, therefore, they provide useful ground to examine questions about the achievability of harmonisation. The absence of harmony between the financial reporting practices of two such nations would raise concerns as to the achievablity of harmonisation across broader regional and international environments. This paper addresses the extent of harmonisation achieved between the financial reporting practices of Singapore and Malaysia whilst issuing standards under the IASC framework.