Accounting is sometimes referred to as the "language of business." Financial statements and accounting pronouncements are used by stakeholders in organizations·shareholders, employees, creditors, investors, suppliers, customers·to evaluate a company's performance and potential. When companies were based in the same country as their stakeholders, following the accounting regulations of that country provided few problems. Standards were necessary·particularly for publicly traded companies·to ensure that comparisons could be made among different companies while the same "definitions" were in place for the "language" of business regardless of who prepared financial statements. As business has become increasingly global, however, the differences in standards among various countries has become more obvious and, in some cases, troublesome. The United States has general accepted accounting principles that apply to its publicly-traded companies; because of the size and complexity of the American market, these standards have also been implemented in other countries, as well. In Europe, however, different national standards have remained in place until 2005, when a single standard was imposed on European companies. This research considers the importance of financial statements in general, the international standards imposed by the European Union, whether Quaccess should adopt these international standards, and whether governments should be involved in the imposition of accounting standards.
American companies regularly produce two financial statements which are of particular interest, the balance sheet and income statement. In addition, ancillary financial statements, such as the statement of cash flow, may be prepared. These statements are used both by internal and external audiences in order to evaluate the company's current position and determine its potential for future success. Because American accounting principles demand t...