Accounting Regulation in ASEAN: A Choice between the Global and Regional Paradigms of Harmonization

Abstract

This paper analyzes accounting regulation in ASEAN countries in the context of the global and regional paradigms of accounting harmonization. It uses a comparative framework to highlight the similarities and differences in the regulatory environment of five ASEAN countries. The regional paradigm is discussed in the context of the ASEAN Federation of Accountants’ efforts towards regional harmonization while the global paradigm looks at members countries’ adoption of IASC standards. The paper examines forces driving global harmonization in ASEAN and discusses the economic and political conditions for regional harmonization which, unlike in the EU, do not yet exist in ASEAN. It concludes that this has led to the dominance of the global paradigm of harmonization in ASEAN countries.