Book excerpt: As the centre of world economic development has shifted towards Asia over the last two decades, many Asian countries have witnessed rapid growth in economic and business operations. In light of these recent changes, accounting has played a significant role in assisting economic transition and advancement in Asian countries. However, although the general trend over recent decades towards convergence in financial reporting standards and practices has dramatically improved the comparability of accounting information, considerable variances remain in practices between countries. This Handbook therefore provides an up-to-date review of contemporary accountancy across Asia, illustrating how standards have been reshaped to accommodate the needs of economic and social trends. As well as providing an overview of standards in the larger Asian economies of China, India and Japan, contributions to the Handbook also include studies of countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia and Mongolia. In particular, this Handbook analyses: financial accounting and reporting management accounting auditing and accounting professionalization governmental and public-sector accounting accounting education accounting development in Asian emerging economies The Routledge Handbook of Accounting in Asia offers students, academics, regulators and practitioners an essential reference guide to the current scholarship and practice in the field of accountancy in Asia. It will be a useful resource in particular for students of accountancy, business studies and Asian studies.