Accounting Regulatory Architecture in Asia

Author

Walter Yao and Linda True

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April 1, 2012

Accounting regulatory regimes play a critical role in ensuring the reliability of financial data and the credibility of a company, and ultimately in supporting the stability of an economy. For the United States, the collapse of the Enron Corporation and the eruption of other financial statement related scandals a decade ago stand as clear reminders of the importance of reliable audit reviews and adequate regulatory oversight. These scandals led to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley Act). This legislation created an independent accounting oversight board to supervise the U.S. accounting industry and instituted a number of new audit-related requirements. Prompted in part by these U.S. actions, many Asian economies have established similar regulatory bodies and standards for their domestic accounting industry.