Global Accounting Convergence and the Potential Adoption of IFRS by the U.S. (Part II): Political Factors and Future Scenarios for U.S. Accounting Standards

SYNOPSIS: This is the second article of a two-part series analyzing the economic and policy factors related to the potential adoption of IFRS by the United States. In Part I (see Hail et al. 2010), we develop the conceptual framework for our analysis and discuss economic factors driving the costs and benefits associated with IFRS adoption. In this part, we provide an analysis of the political factors related to the possible U.S. adoption of IFRS, present several scenarios for the evolution of U.S. accounting standards, and outline opportunities for future research on global accounting standards and regulation. We start with a general discussion of the standard-setting process in accounting and how a U.S. switch to IFRS might affect worldwide competition among accounting standards and standard setters. We discuss potential political ramifications of such a decision on the standard-setting process in the United States, as well as on the governance structure of the International Accounting Standards Board. Drawing on our economic framework and the insights from our analysis, we conclude by outlining several possible ways of how U.S. accounting standards could evolve. These scenarios include maintaining U.S. GAAP, letting firms decide whether and when to adopt IFRS, mandating full compliance with IFRS within a prespecified schedule, or creating a competing U.S. GAAP-based set of accounting standards that could serve as a global alternative to IFRS.

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Lobbying FASB On Accounting For Investments

Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR) ◽

10.19030/jabr.v19i2.2163 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sally M. Schultz ◽

Joan Hollister

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Private Sector ◽

Standard Setting ◽

The United States ◽

Font Size ◽

Setting Process ◽

Comment Letters ◽

Equity Securities

The development of SFAS No. 115, Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities, serves as a case study illustrating the forces that underlie the standard setting process in the United States.  This study describes the events leading to the development of the exposure draft (ED) that preceded SFAS No. 115 and analyzes the contents of the comment letters received by FASB in response to the ED; it illustrates how compromises have helped FASB maintain its role as a private sector standard setter.

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Fragments of the American Dream: Immigration, Race, and Medical Care in the Segregated South, 1929

Public Voices ◽

10.22140/pv.111 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

John R Phillips

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

American Dream ◽

Black Population ◽

The United States ◽

Single Woman ◽

Future Research ◽

Legal Doctrine ◽

Quarter Century ◽

History Of ◽

Sunflower County

The cover photograph for this issue of Public Voices was taken sometime in the summer of 1929 (probably June) somewhere in Sunflower County, Mississippi. Very probably the photo was taken in Indianola but, perhaps, it was Ruleville. It is one of three such photos, one of which does have the annotation on the reverse “Ruleville Midwives Club 1929.” The young woman wearing a tie in this and in one of the other photos was Ann Reid Brown, R.N., then a single woman having only arrived in the United States from Scotland a few years before, in 1923. Full disclosure: This commentary on the photo combines professional research interests in public administration and public policy with personal interests—family interests—for that young nurse later married and became the author’s mother. From the scholarly perspective, such photographs have been seen as “instrumental in establishing midwives’ credentials and cultural identity at a key transitional moment in the history of the midwife and of public health” (Keith, Brennan, & Reynolds 2012). There is also deep irony if we see these photographs as being a fragment of the American dream, of a recent immigrant’s hope for and success at achieving that dream; but that fragment of the vision is understood quite differently when we see that she began a hopeful career working with a Black population forcibly segregated by law under the incongruously named “separate but equal” legal doctrine. That doctrine, derived from the United States Supreme Court’s 1896 decision, Plessy v. Ferguson, would remain the foundation for legally enforced segregation throughout the South for another quarter century. The options open to the young, white, immigrant nurse were almost entirely closed off for the population with which she then worked. The remaining parts of this overview are meant to provide the following: (1) some biographical information on the nurse; (2) a description, in so far as we know it, of why she was in Mississippi; and (3) some indication of areas for future research on this and related topics.

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A Comprehensive Review of the Evolution of Accounting Standards for State and Local Government Pensions and Other Postemployment Benefits in The United States

Accounting Historians Journal ◽

10.2308/aahj-52413 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (1) ◽

pp. 57-77

Author(s):

Dale L. Flesher ◽

Craig Foltin ◽

Gary John Previts ◽

Mary S. Stone

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Local Government ◽

Accounting Standards ◽

The United States ◽

Pension Funds ◽

Defined Benefit ◽

Defined Contribution ◽

Defined Contribution Plans ◽

State And Local Government ◽

State And Local

ABSTRACT Both the business media and the popular press have emphasized the underfunding problems associated with pension funds that are set aside for state and local government workers, a group that also includes teachers and professors at state-affiliated colleges and universities. The realization that pension funds are typically underfunded stems from the fact that the accounting standards associated with state and local government employee pension funds have led to greater transparency since 2011. This paper examines, explains, and interprets the historical development over the last 70 years of accounting standards for state and local government pension funds in the United States. Changing accounting standards, along with economic and social change, have led to consequences such as employers transforming their pension programs to avoid substantial costs and significant liabilities, for example by changing from defined benefit to defined contribution plans.

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Questions

10.1093/oso/9780190865214.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James L. Gibson ◽

Michael J. Nelson

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

African Americans ◽

Supreme Court ◽

Legal System ◽

Public Support ◽

The United States ◽

Future Research ◽

White Americans ◽

Two Factors ◽

The U.S

We have investigated the differences in support for the U.S. Supreme Court among black, Hispanic, and white Americans, catalogued the variation in African Americans’ group attachments and experiences with legal authorities, and examined how those latter two factors shape individuals’ support for the U.S. Supreme Court, that Court’s decisions, and for their local legal system. We take this opportunity to weave our findings together, taking stock of what we have learned from our analyses and what seem like fruitful paths for future research. In the process, we revisit Positivity Theory. We present a modified version of the theory that we hope will guide future inquiry on public support for courts, both in the United States and abroad.

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Introduction

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190248178.013.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Travis D. Stimeling

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Country Music ◽

Future Research ◽

Music Culture ◽

Rich Variety ◽

Ethnographic Studies ◽

Folklore Studies ◽

History Of ◽

The Rich

This chapter offers a historiographic survey of country music scholarship from the publication of Bill C. Malone’s “A History of Commercial Country Music in the United States, 1920–1964” (1965) to the leading publications of the today. Very little of substance has been written on country music recorded since the 1970s, especially when compared to the wealth of available literature on early country recording artists. Ethnographic studies of country music and country music culture are rare, and including ethnographic methods in country music studies offers new insights into the rich variety of ways in which people make, consume, and engage with country music as a genre. The chapter traces the influence of folklore studies, sociology, cultural studies, and musicology on the development of country music studies and proposes some directions for future research in the field.

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Secular Living as a Context for Moral Development

The Oxford Handbook of Moral Development ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190676049.013.35 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 612-628

Author(s):

Phil Zuckerman ◽

Kyle Thompson

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Moral Development ◽

Empirical Data ◽

The United States ◽

Future Research ◽

Philosophical Discussion

Despite widespread suspicion to the contrary, secular living can and does serve as an adequate, or even excellent, context for moral development. In this chapter, the authors present the contours of contemporary anti-atheist prejudice, with an emphasis on the United States. Next, they explore the empirical data showing that individual atheists and highly secularized societies, such as Sweden and Denmark, are often quite moral, which serves to counter and debunk anti-atheist prejudice. Then, the authors move to a philosophical discussion centering around secular morality itself, outlining general merits of atheistic morality specifically while simultaneously pointing out various problematic assumptions of theistic morality. Finally, the authors conclude and make recommendations for future research.

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Racial and Political Dynamics of an Approaching “Majority-Minority” United States

The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science ◽

10.1177/0002716218766269 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 677 (1) ◽

pp. 204-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Maureen A. Craig ◽

Julian M. Rucker ◽

Jennifer A. Richeson

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Future Research ◽

White Americans ◽

Psychological Mechanisms ◽

Political Outcomes ◽

Essential Questions ◽

Social Scientific ◽

Demographic Shifts ◽

Projected Changes

Do demographic shifts in the racial composition of the United States promote positive changes in the nation’s racial dynamics? Change in response to the nation’s growing diversity is likely, but its direction and scope are less clear. This review integrates emerging social-scientific research that examines how Americans are responding to the projected changes in the racial/ethnic demographics of the United States. Specifically, we review recent empirical research that examines how exposure to information that the United States is becoming a “majority-minority” nation affects racial attitudes and several political outcomes (e.g., ideology, policy preferences), and the psychological mechanisms that give rise to those attitudes. We focus primarily on the reactions of members of the current dominant racial group (i.e., white Americans). We then consider important implications of these findings and propose essential questions for future research.

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Nonprofits and the Promotion of Civic Engagement: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the "Civic Footprint" of Nonprofits within Local Communities

Canadian journal of nonprofit and social economy research ◽

10.22230/cjnser.2014v5n1a158 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Micheal L. Shier ◽

Lindsey McDougle ◽

Femida Handy

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Civic Engagement ◽

Nonprofit Organizations ◽

Rural Community ◽

Community Education ◽

The United States ◽

Local Communities ◽

Future Research ◽

Community Members ◽

Education And Awareness

ABSTRACT The literature suggests that nonprofit organizations provide civic benefits by promoting engagement within local communities. However, there exists minimal empirical evidence describing the ways in which nonprofits actually undertake this role. In order to address this omission, we conducted interviews with personnel of nonprofit organizations in one rural community in the United States. Our preliminary findings indicate that nonprofit organizations promote civic engagement through programs and activities that: 1) engage volunteers and donors; 2) bring community members together; 3) collaborate with organizations within and beyond the community; and 4) promote community education and awareness. Together, these findings help to develop a working model to understand the civic footprint of nonprofit organizations with methodological implications for future research that would seek to measure the extent to which nonprofits promote civic engagement. Il est normal de supposer que les associations à but non lucratif favorisent l’engagement du citoyen dans les communautés locales. Cependant, il existe peu de données empiriques sur la manière dont ces associations assument véritablement ce rôle. Pour combler ce manque, nous avons mené des entretiens semi-directifs approfondis auprès du personnel d’associations à but non lucratif dans une petite communauté rurale aux États-Unis. Nos résultats préliminaires indiquent que ces associations motivent les citoyens à s’impliquer quand elles offrent des programmes et des activités qui : 1) intéressent les bénévoles et les donateurs; 2) rassemblent directement ou indirectement les membres de la communauté; 3) collaborent avec d’autres associations tant au sein de la communauté qu’au-delà de celle-ci; et 4) encouragent l’éducation et la conscientisation communautaires. Ces constats aident à établir un modèle pour mieux comprendre la présence civique des associations à but non lucratif dans les communautés et indiquent une piste à suivre pour des recherches futures qui examineraient l’influence de ces associations sur le niveau de participation civique.

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Survivor or Laborer

Affilia ◽

10.1177/0886109918778075 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 453-476 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Theresa Anasti

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Human Service ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Human Service Organizations ◽

Risky Behaviors ◽

The United States ◽

Service Organizations ◽

Future Research ◽

Sex Trade ◽

Sex Worker

Regardless of primary population served, human service organizations are likely to come into contact with individuals who have been currently or formerly involved in the sex trade. In the United States, social workers have had a fraught history with this population, either treating them like delinquents or like victims in need of rescue. Sex worker activists in the United States continue to decry the negative treatment provided by individuals in the helping professions, even as harm reduction, the practice of reducing the harm of risky behaviors, has entered the service provision lexicon as an antidote to abstinence-only services. This article uses qualitative interviews with managers of human service organizations in the city of Chicago to determine how they think about their work with sex workers and how they perceive the proposed solutions to “fixing” the sex trade: abolitionism and decriminalization. Findings show that despite the dominant discourse of abolitionism in the United States, most of managers in this project believe full decriminalization of sex work will best assist their sex worker clients. Future research needs to understand how this finding holds in different settings and how this affects current efforts to advocate for decriminalization.

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Perceived Discrimination and Health: Integrative Findings

The Oxford Handbook of Integrative Health Science ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190676384.013.32 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 442-456 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Adolfo G. Cuevas ◽

David R. Williams

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

National Health ◽

Perceived Discrimination ◽

Social Groups ◽

The United States ◽

Health Study ◽

Future Research ◽

Priority Areas

The Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study was the first national health study to include a comprehensive battery to measure both major acute and chronic experiences of discrimination. Studies using MIDUS data have made significant contributions to the growing area of research on discrimination and health. This chapter provides an overview of research on discrimination and health, giving special attention to how findings from the MIDUS study have contributed to this literature. It provides a description of the discrimination instruments in MIDUS and summarizes key MIDUS findings that have examined discrimination in relation to health outcomes. This chapter outlines priority areas for future research. With growing recognition of the need to better understand the conditions under which specific aspects of discrimination are pathogenic for particular social groups, this chapter highlights the importance of using MIDUS to reach these goals.

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