In this paper, we examine the association between trust and observed accounting quality across countries. We highlight the distinction between regulated (mandated) accounting standards and firms‟ observed voluntary (non-mandated) accounting and disclosure practices that evolve in response to the institutional environment. On one hand, high levels of trust (or lack of mistrust) in an economy may decrease the demand for regulation, which suggests a negative association between trust and mandated disclosures in an economy. Similarly, extensive voluntary financial reporting by firms may be unnecessary if there is a high level of baseline trust in an economy. On the other hand, other theories suggest the opposite association if: (i) greater trust in an economy promotes the development of institutions that complement financial reporting and disclosure, (ii) higher quality institutions can inhibit underlying corporate malfeasance and expropriation which lower managers hiding incentives and thus increases both observed accounting quality and trust, and (iii) higher quality financial accounting may causally increase investor trust thus lead to a positive association between accounting quality and trust.