What are the unique country-specific accounting practices?
Specific accounting applications differ widely around the world. This is particularly true of broad applications such as costing. Some of these differences are due to government regulations, such as in Greece where the chart of accounts is specified by regulation. This also happens to some degree in the United States as seen in the vestiges of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) prescribed accounts in the utility industry. Other accounting practices reflect the norms for management information needs. Germany is known for having far more detailed cost accounting than the United States. In Japan, cost management is embedded in monitoring operational performance measures; any financial data needed is captured in ongoing cost tables. Current accounting practices are also adapted for each country’s unique business environment. Practices for dealing with hyper-inflationary economics, currency fluctuations and union labor agreements can impact both information needs and informat
