Date of Award

Spring 4-28-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Primary Advisor

Dr. Gordon Miller

Second Advisor

Natasha Ware

Abstract

The past few decades have birthed dialogue regarding the convergence of U.S. and international accounting standards. With over a hundred countries using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), it becomes natural to notice the purple elephant in the room in that a set of different principles serve as guide to accounting in the U.S. and for U.S. companies known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Some see it as simply a matter of time before a convergence of sorts takes place more completely between the two accounting rule frameworks. A look at GAAP and IFRS reveals some fundamental differences produced by the two ways of accounting. Proponents of convergence see these differences as a gap of sorts that should be narrowed to accelerate progress toward convergence. Opponents argue that substantial time and resources would be needed to necessitate convergence, and furthermore, that GAAP rules are superior and more appropriate than many international standards. This thesis aims to present logical and contextualized viewpoints on whether or not the convergence process should continue. It examines both GAAP and IFRS, and presents some differences, brief history, and theories that relate to both accounting frameworks and why or why not convergence should take place.

Comments

Updated May 10, 2018

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