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" Power and international accounting regulation : "
Rahman, Sheikh Fazlur
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1100509
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TLets633248
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| Main Entry
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Rahman, Sheikh Fazlur
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| Title & Author
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Power and international accounting regulation :\ Rahman, Sheikh Fazlur
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| College
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University of Manchester
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| Date
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1988
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| student score
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1988
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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The process of international accounting regulation is somewhatdiffuse. Many organisations, e.g., the International AccountingStandards Committee (IASC), the Organisation for Economic Co-operationand Development (OECD), and the United Nations (UN) are involved -- eachwith its own different constituency, authority structure, and moreimportantly, its obj ectives. The third world nations' demands forgreater disclosure by Transnational Corporations (INCs) have been takenup by the UN -- a debate to which the OECD and the lASC have alsocontributed. Negotiations over an acceptable set of disclosurestandards have been carried on at the UN for more than twelve years.During this period the UN has repeatedly changed its position and haseventually failed to come up with a comprehensive set of finalrecommendations. It has, in effect, abandoned its pioneering stance asan accounting policy maker. This research attempts to investigate thisfailure of the UN by examining in some depth the accounting policymaking process of the UN - - which in many senses reflects the tusslebetween the third world nations and the developed market economies. Thepolitical nature of accounting policy making is recognised and politicalconcepts of '~' are used to understand and explain the process. Inparticular. the decision-oriented (i.e. One-Dimensional) pluralistmethodology of power is used to analyse the conflicts and policyoutcomes at the UN.tvEmpirical evidence shows that organised pressures from the TNCs,co-ordinated under the joint forum of the International Chamber ofCommerce (ICC) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) ,was strengthened by the support given by governments of developed marketeconomies active within various UN bodies and committees. The rule ofone-nation, one-vote and decision making by majority vote -- providedfor in the UN Charter - - was frequently overriden with a claim fordecision making by absolute unanimity. This claim, coupled with athreat of non-compliance if decisions were taken otherwise, compelledthe third world majority to accept the 'de facto veto' of a powerfulminority. The United Nation's position on accounting policy issues hasbeen significantly shifted through he use of such 'de facto veto' by thedeveloped market economies. The conclusion is reached that given thepresent state of international economic relations, the economic power ofthe TNCs and their home countries, and in spite of the formal power(i.e. voting majority) in the hands of the third world countries the'status guo' has largely been maintained. Also, in order to avoid thepresent embarrassing reality of frequently facing a host of developingnations at the UN the developed nations have seen other forums,particularly the OECD and the lASC, as being more amenable to their ownpurposes and eventually have been successful in converting the UN into amere discussion forum rather than an accounting regulatory body.
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University of Manchester
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