Political lobbying on proposed accounting standards has been a long-standing
phenomenon in the United States (e.g. Sutton, 1984). However, other standardsetters
have faced such lobbying, and recently the IASB faced lobbying on the
subjects of accounting for share-based payment and financial instruments, and it
seems likely to intrude as well on the future standards dealing with accounting for
pensions, insurance, leases and performance reporting. The IASB Chairman, referring
to the likely reaction by preparers to the board’s initiatives on these topics, has
been quoted as warning that there could be ‘blood all over the streets’ (Tricks and
Hargreaves, 2004).