Book excerpt: Considerable effort has been made over the last ten years by such institutions as the EU, OECD, UNO and the IASC towards the harmonisation of accounting standards. It is recognised though that uniformity and true compatibility of financial instruments cannot be achieved while accounting operates in individual national economic and legal environments. A knowledge of national accounting standards and practice continues to be indispensable for the analysis of financial statements. Transnational Accounting is a unique comparative study of accounting standards of fourteen major economic powers, plus the regimes of the IASC and EU. Each chapter is standardised for easy comparison and written by a recognised expert in his or her country. The Editor, The Late Dieter Ordelheide, was Professor of Business Economics at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main. This groundbreaking work enables the reader to develop a thorough practical understanding of national accounting practices and be fully at home with financial statements in an international context. Each volume includes a detailed reference matrix listing approximately 100 key accounting subjects and their treatment across all regulatory and accounting regimes.