OECD corporate governance standards address accounting
07 May 2004
The governments of the 30 OECD countries have approved a revised version of the OECD's Principles of Corporate Governance, adding new recommendations that respond to issues that have undermined the confidence of investors in company management in recent years.
Information should be prepared and disclosed in accordance with high quality standards of accounting and financial and non-financial disclosure. The application of high quality standards is expected to significantly improve the ability of investors to monitor the company by providing increased reliability and comparability of reporting, and improved insight into company performance. The quality of information substantially depends on the standards under which it is compiled and disclosed. The Principles support the development of high quality internationally recognised standards, which can serve to improve transparency and the comparability of financial statements and other financial reporting between countries. Such standards should be developed through open, independent, and public processes involving the private sector and other interested parties such as professional associations and independent experts. High quality domestic standards can be achieved by making them consistent with one of the internationally recognised accounting standards. In many countries, listed companies are required to use these standards. |