Suitable for students and practitioners in accounting, international business, finance, and economics, this work focuses on the changing accounting and auditing standards in national and global economies in the post-Enron/Arthur Andersen era. It also offers an examination of accounting practitioners' past challenges and future prospects.

This book is essential for students and practitioners in accounting, international business, finance, and economics. In a straightforward and readable style, it focuses on the changing accounting and auditing standards in national and global economies in the post-Enron/Arthur Andersen era. The authors clarify the reasons behind and consequences of the accounting profession's failure in auditing and self-regulation, as most firms placed consulting profits ahead of public audit duties. They show how Sarbanes-Oxley solutions, while not perfect, are major contributors to the profession's redemption, and have enabled it to rise to new heights of service and revenue. The book offers a detailed examination of accounting practitioners' past challenges and future prospects. It provides a realistic analysis of specific issues facing accounting and auditing firms today, including the growing problem of independence; the need for one set of international accounting standards and one set of auditing standards; adjustments facing the global financial system; and the impact of the Internet and communication systems on accounting firms.

Introduction
Part I. The General Frame of Reference
1. Accounting and Auditing Standards as Operating Parameters in the Global Economy
2. Overview of Accounting Standards in the Global Economy
3. The Role of Auditing Standards
4. Changing Realities in the Post Enron/Arthur Andersen Era
Part II. Some Specific Issues Facing Accounting and Auditing Practice
5. The Harmonization of Auditing Standards and the Firms
6. Independence as a Growing Problem for Accounting Firms
7. The Firms and Locational Adjustments in the Global Financial System
8. The Impact of the Internet and Improving Communication Systems
Part III. The Firms in the New Global Environment
9. Firm Effectiveness in the Face of Emerging Accounting and Auditing
10. The Firms and the Practical Issues of Adjustment in the Global Economy
Bibliography
About the Authors
Index.