| The harmonization of accounting standards has become inevitable with the development of global economy. Systematic theories have been developed for the harmonization of accounting standards. International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), national accounting standards setters, and security regulators have made efforts to promote harmonization of accounting standards. An increasing number of multinational corporations prepare their financial statements based on International Accounting Standards (IAS), established by IASC. IAS has been accepted by capital markets in many countries now. However, IAS is not sufficient to guarantee the harmonization of financial reporting. The implementation of IAS is important to achieve the goal. Using B-share firms, I investigate the problems and controversies arising from the implementation of IAS. I also suggest approaches to harmonizing accounting standards in current environment. My paper is organized as follows.IntroductionThe introduction part discusses the motivations, objectives, and research design of the paper. It also includes the organization of the paper.Chapter 1 A review of B-share market and accounting harmonization in ChinaThis chapter reviews the development of B-share market in China and special regulations on financial information disclosure for B-share firms. It also describes the process of accounting harmonization in China.Chapter 2 Empirical investigation of the implementation of IAS by B-share firmsThis chapter investigates three empirical issues related to the implementation of IAS by Chinese B-share firms. Chinese B-share firms are required to provide financial statements in accordance with both IAS and Chinese GAAP. First, I investigate the gap between the financial data prepared under the two sets of accounting standards, analyze the reasons of the gap, andidentify the factors influencing the gap. Second, I compare the information content of accounting data in terms of the association of stock market returns and accounting earnings. Third, comparing firms issuing only A-share and firms issuing both A-share and B-share, I investigate whether IAS contributes to corporate governance and generalize my results to other institutional systems. Results show that the adoption of IAS can not be translated directly into accounting harmonization. The effectiveness of IAS is restricted by the weak enforcement environment and different information needs and then the implementation can not meet the expectations. Thus, IAS has limited effects on enforcement of other institutional systems. My results suggest that accounting harmonization should not ignore the enforcement of IAS.Chapter 3 Implementation of IAS in other countriesThis chapter summarizes the implementation of IAS in other countries. First, despite the differences between IAS and national accounting standards in most countries, IAS is widely used to facilitate foreign trade and economy development. Second, empirical evidence shows that IAS is not followed uniformly. Results on the effects of implementing IAS are mixed and its usefulness for capital markets is inconclusive. Reasons include weak enforcement environment and different information demands. Third, the conditional acceptance of IAS by European Union (EU) and reluctance of USA to accept IAS disclose the conflict between country sovereignty and economic interests. It is one of the obstacles faced by IASC in promoting IAS among developed countries.Chapter 4 Actions by IASCThis chapter analyzes the actions taken by IASC to tackle the problems in promoting harmonization of accounting standards. Since its establishment, IASC has expanded its functions. It is actively seeking the support of international organizations and developed countries. Its efforts have been appraised worldwide. I also evaluate the "standards competition" advocated by scholars in an effort to promote IAS in USA and its implications for accounting harmonization.Chapter 5 Approaches to achieving accounting harmonizationBased o...
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