2001/10/01 by Hervé Stolowy, Anne Jeny‐Cazavan
Business, Management and Accounting · #Accounting Theory and Financial Reporting #Auditing, Earnings Management, Governance #Corporate Finance and Governance
paper · doi:10.1108/09513570110403470
openalex publication_date 2001/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
IAS 1 (“Presentation of financial statements”) requires that application of all international standards is necessary in order to comply officially with International Accounting Standards. This appears to be a key statement for the move towards accounting harmonization. The feasibility of this kind of harmonization could be jeopardized if even one standard is “rejected” by companies. In this context, in the wake of the publication of IAS 38 “Intangible assets”, examines the ways that 21 national and two international accounting standards approach intangibles, both in terms of definition and treatment. Shows that there is no conceptual framework commonly accepted and that there is a considerable lack of consistency both inter‐country and intra‐country. This challenges the principle of the acceptability of all international accounting standards by companies that wish to or are required to apply IASs. The disharmony highlighted by the advent of IAS 38 could be a sign of the failure of international accounting harmonization.