Institutional Factors Influencing China's Accounting Reforms and Standards.
通过分析中国经济改革中会计环境的变化，评估中国采用国际会计准则的适宜性，指出缺乏独立审计环境下直接采用IAS可能不可靠，建议准则应服务于国内大型企业。
Abstract By analyzing the changes in the accounting environment of China during the recent economic reforms, this paper places the development of accounting reforms in China into perspective and assesses the desirability of China's adopting accounting principles in close conformity with International Accounting Standards (IAS). The recent economic reforms, particularly the enterprise reform, in China have changed the corporate landscape and have profoundly altered the accounting environment. The Chinese accounting profession and government have responded with the enactment of a number of accounting regulations. These regulations have essentially transformed China's accounting from the traditionally rigid and uniform system into a predominantly Anglo-Saxon approach to financial reporting. Accounting reform in China will be followed by the enactment of 30 detailed accounting standards which will bring China's accounting practice into further conformity with IAS. However, the paper argues that accounting rules in China should not be formulated to cater to the need of a small number of firms which are already listed (or will be listed) on overseas stock exchanges. Rather, China GAAP should be designed to serve China's large industrial and commercial enterprises that are characterized by extensive managerial autonomy and an effective separation of ownership and control. These enterprises in China operate in an accounting environment which differs considerably from that which is typically presumed by IAS. China's accounting environment, both now and in the foreseeable future, is characterized by a lack of independent/professional auditing. Without an independent audit profession, information provided under IAS will be unreliable; therefore, adopting IAS may not be warranted in the specific context of China. The analysis sheds light on the role of IAS in developing and transitional economies with rudimentary auditing and judiciary infrastructure, suggesting the limit of accounting harmonization.