The Politics of Accounting Standard-Setting: A Review of Empirical Research

Abstract

We provide an overview of the empirical literature on the politics of accounting standard setting, focusing on the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Although it is clear from casual observation that politics sometimes plays a first-order role in the determination of accounting standards, we argue that more can be done to improve our understanding of this important topic. Based on our review, we outline what we see to be a number of potentially fruitful directions for future research.

Keywords: Accounting standards, FASB, politics, lobbying, economic consequences

JEL Classification: M41