OK, we'll kick this blog off with an odd one.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Finance, Chinese accounting standards will be brought into line with those of the EU from January 1st 2008.
Obviously, as China opens up as a market to the rest of the world, this is no bad thing, but the question I have to ask is: how is anyone going to audit this? Are teams of SAS trained chartered accountants going to travel to Beijing to check up on whether the Chinese are secretly not doing it right?
It's a good notion, but I'm going to be interested to see how this idea works (or doesn't, as I suspect) in practice.
Yes, agreed transparency is something that is lacking in Asia and accounts reporting can sometimes be a challenge rather than an exercise. I share your skepticism and feel that more training of Chinese accountants to international standards needs to be in place. Secondly, terminologies in Putonghua can be different from English so the translators have to get it correct too or meanings can be misconstrued. It is one thing being of the same standards it is another for the regulatory body to verify and audit that standards are understood and complied with continuously.