Little has been published on accounting standards in Japan and how they have developed. The purpose of this study is to construct a historical narrative of the interplay between accounting standards in Japan and theories of regulation. The authors demonstrate that delegation of the authority for accounting standard setting to the private sector in Japan is incomplete, and thus, the role of the public sector remains important. In the discussion about IFRS implementation in Japan, the movement in the United States, industry opinions, and ideological conflict between fair value versus historical cost play important roles. These elements combined led to the ambiguous coexistence of four sets of accounting standards in Japan. First, by using an explaining-outcome process-tracing method, the authors examine how these sets of standards occurred and explore the significance of each. Second, they deliver an explanation of this unique coexistence through the lens of theories of regulation. In doing so, they provide an overview of the history of the recent development of accounting regulation in Japan and offer an up-to-date response to current affairs or policy debates in Japan that have been rapidly changing. Providing a rare insight into accounting regulation in Japan, an IFRS non-application country, this concise text will be of great interest to researchers and advanced students in international accounting and accounting regulation.

"Financial Reporting in Japan examines Japanese practices and regulations in detail and places them in their 'environmental' and business context. It is generally agreed that Japan is one of the key countries so far as the harmonization of international accounting standards is concerned." "Part I covers the evolution of Japanese accounting and reporting practices examining Japanese enterprises, government, accounting regulation, and the accounting profession itself." "Part II deals in detail with principles and practice including disclosure principles, asset valuation, and a unique survey of Japanese corporate annual reports covering both listed and unlisted companies." "The final section contains substantive appendices providing examples of corporate financial reporting; a summary and comparison of Japanese, US and UK practice; recommendations issued by the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants; and a chronology of accounting in Japan." "The book will be an indispensable analysis and reference for professionals and analysts or researchers concerned with the Japanese finance and business sectors, international accounting, and international trade and is published in association with the ICAEW."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Much attenton has been given to Japanese business, but this has mainly focused on management practices, production systems and manufacturing, and the business system. Very little has been written about Japanese accounting. In this new work, Kyojiro Someya, a former president of the Japanese Accounting Association and now Director of the Japan Accounting Research Institute, presents an overview of developments under three main headings: Japanese Accounting History, Problems in Financial Accounting Theory, and Cash Flow Accounting.

A description of the unique aspects of Japanese business accounting, both in theory and practice. It covers methods, data, theory and comparisons, including the influence of Marxian theory and a direct comparison of Japanese and US market factors

Despite the globalization of accounting standards occurring through convergence to International Financial Reporting Standards, local accounting systems are deeply intertwined with each country’s unique institutions such as its corporate system, disclosure practices and enforcement mechanisms. First, this book empirically analyzes the effects of globalization and localization of accounting rules on corporate behavior such as earnings management, signaling, investment behavior and dividend payout policy. Second, the book unravels the economic consequences of disclosure based on the concept of self-disciplining enforcement such as management forecasts, environmental disclosures and risk disclosures by Japanese firms. This volume is a step forward in understanding the link between accounting and corporate behavior based on a new institutional accounting approach.

This book sheds light on the interpenetration process between practice and theory of "Japanese management accounting" by using historical methods. Japanese management accounting can be characterized by the fact that it not only emphasizes the management of entities, such as JIT, and kaizen activities both in the company but also suppliers.