Accountants are in the midst of a period of consultation which is of enormous importance to the task of building a common financial reporting language around the world.

One of the greatest successes of recent times has been the International Accounting Standards Board. Over the past eight years, the IASB has provided the impetus and the tools to create a set of accounting standards which are, increasingly, the world standard. From the initial all-consuming task of ensuring that all listed companies across the European Union implemented International Financial Reporting Standards, (IFRS), by 2005 the work of the IASB has acted as the springboard for more than 100 countries around the world to follow suit.