Joanne Jones

Matthew Gill: Accountants' Truth: Knowledge and Ethics in the Financial World.GillMatthew. Accountants' Truth: Knowledge and Ethics in the Financial World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 198 pp. £ 45.00.

Over the past few years, we have seen a proliferation of adjustments to the rules related to fi nancial reporting systems. One signifi cant change that many consider to be the key to improving the quality of fi nancial reporting is the adoption of the principles-based International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). To date, more than 100 countries have adopted IFRS. In 2011, the few remaining major countries—with the exception of the United States, which has delayed its implementation of IFRS—will go live. One of the major reasons for the American slowdown is the fear that a move toward principles-based standards will lead to greater abuse of the rules. Those who support the U.S. rule-based accounting standards argue that specifi c rules are needed, otherwise it becomes too easy to hide behind somewhat vague principles. In contrast, the IFRS proponents argue that rules-based standards encourage preparers to structure transactions that meet the specifi cs of the rule but not necessarily the principles behind the rule (Maines, 2007). A principles-based approach, with its focus on general principles and the business rationale of the transaction, is a much better guarantee of quality reporting.