Accounting certification in the former Soviet republics lacks credibility. Accountants are not familiar with International Financial Reporting Standards or International Standards on Auditing. Certifications can be bought. Audit opinions can be sold. Financial statements that are auditing by...

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union each of the former Soviet republics has started the process of moving away from central planning and toward a market economy. Part of that process involves private sector institution building. One private sector institution that has generally experienced a...

Theory can have profound effects on practice, some intended and desirable, others unintended and undesirable. That's the story of the influence the field of law and economics has had on the domain of law and accounting. That influence comes primarily from agency theory and modern finance theory,...

This paper examines mandatory occupational licensure in several professions from barbers, cosmetologists, radiologic technicians, CPAs, mid-level healthcare providers, and physicians. Mandatory licensure is cited as a mechanism for serving the public interest by assuring professionals possess...

Transition economies encounter numerous problems as they go through the process of converting their centrally planned economic systems into market economies. One hurdle they face is how to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). One of the keys to attracting FDI is having financial statements...

Licensure laws are ostensibly passed to protect the public from incompetence and fraud. The problem is that they don't. However, they do have unintended negative consequences that actually harm the public by reducing the quantity of service, raising the cost of services and perhaps reducing the...

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated a regional accounting certification program in the Russian language several years ago. It started in Central Asia and spread to Ukraine and a few other former Soviet republics several years later. Headquarters for the...

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated a regional accounting certification program in the Russian language several years ago. It started in Central Asia and spread to Russia and a few other former Soviet republics several years later. Headquarters for the...