Issues in Accounting Standards Setting Processes in India

The paper critically examines the accounting standards setting process in India and compares the Indian process with the processes prevailing elsewhere in the world. The paper concludes that the Indian standards setting process is neither transparent nor robust. Even though the Accounting Standards Board in India ostensibly represents a wide interest group, the ultimate say in finalising the standards vests with the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, so that the standards end up representing only dominant interest group, namely, the accounting profession. The deliberations of the Accounting Standards Board in India are kept confidential, while else where in the world such deliberations are open to public observation.