Having said that, while recognizing the significant benefits to implementing
international accounting standards, it is nevertheless important to appreciate the
many challenges involved in the implementation of international accounting standards. In order to understand these challenges it is of great importance to
look at factors such as social/cultural values, political/legal systems, the business
culture, economic conditions, standard setting processes, capital markets and
forms of ownership, and the cooperative efforts by nations that often influence
the development of accounting regulations. Thus, as international accounting
standards are important today and most certainly will become more important for
the future as they continue to develop further, it would be best appreciated if the
differences in how standards developed in various countries, the history behind
the development of International Standards, the benefits of international
standards and the challenges of implementing international standards were
understood.