The new global climate of free enterprise has brought with it a proliferation of offshore financial centers that presumably have important roles to play in the emergent global economy. The air of secrecy that appears to pervade the activities of offshore financial centers may well slant or obscure any real understanding of the functions of such centers. The authors investigate the role of major international accounting firms and their services in the processes of business facilitation in the locations that host these centers. By focusing the investigation upon the role of the accounting firms in offshore financial centers, the authors gain a better grasp of the real or potential impacts of the firms in the global economy and in the jurisdictions that host them. Not only do the authors provide a detailed assessment of what the major accounting firms are actually doing in the centers, but they point out what attributes are needed by jurisdictions hoping to succeed as offshore financial centers. The centers included are Antigua, Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Singapore, and Vanuatu. The authors describe the legal and institutional environments facing business operations in general and the accounting firms in particular in offshore financial centers. By studying these operations, it should show what they are doing in terms of facilitating the international activities that flow through such centers. It should also add to the understanding of the potential that offshore activities have as vehicles for development in small emerging economies. This study should be of interest to a wide range of business disciplines, as well as governmental agencies in advanced and emerging nations, international agencies such as regional development banks, and accountants and the international financial community.

This book considers the ability of island jurisdictions with financial centres to meet the expectations of the international community in addressing the threats posed to themselves and others by their innocent (or otherwise) facilitation of the receipt of suspect wealth. In the global financial architecture, British Overseas Territories are of material significance. Through their inalienable right to self-determination, many developed offshore financial centres to achieve sustainable economic development. Focusing on Bermuda, Turks and Caicos, and Anguilla, the book concerns suspect wealth emanating from financial crimes including corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, as well as controversial conduct like tax avoidance. This work considers the viability of international standards on suspect wealth in the context of the territories, how willing or able they are to comply with them, and how their financial centres can better prevent receipt of suspect wealth. While universalism is desirable in the modern approach to tackling suspect wealth, a one-size-fits-all approach is inappropriate for these jurisdictions. On critically evaluating their legislative and regulatory regimes, the book advances that they demonstrate willingness to comply with international standards. However, their abilities and levels of compliance vary. In acknowledging the facilitatively harmful role the territories can play, this work draws upon evidence of implication in transnational financial crime cases. Notwithstanding this, the book questions whether the degree of criticism that these offshore jurisdictions have encountered is warranted in light of apparent willingness to engage in the enactment and administration of internationally accepted laws and cooperate with international institutions.

A revealing-and chilling-exposé on the hidden side of global wealth and power A revealing-and chilling-exposé on the hidden side of global wealth and power Offshore is an unprecedented exploration of perhaps the most mysterious aspect of global society today-and one of the most provocative books about money and business to appear in the decade since the age of globalization began. The world of offshore finance is one of dummy companies, shadow bank accounts, post office boxes, foreign registries, and the like, which allow giant corporations--such as Wal-Mart, British Petroleum, and Citigroup--to keep huge profits out of sight of investors, regulators, and the public. Whether in the Cayman Islands or the shadowy redoubts of the Islamic financial center of Labuan, Malaysia, "offshore" is where the game of profit and loss is played. A third of the world's wealth is held offshore. Eighty percent of international banking transactions take place there. Half the capital in the world's stock exchanges is "parked" offshore at some point. Trained as a reporter and a private investigator, William Brittain-Catlin brings both skills to this gripping book. He tells the story of how tax havens have become central to global finance today; in so doing, he takes us into the secret networks of Enron and Parmalat, behind international trade disputes, and into organized crime and terror networks, giving disquieting evidence that, through offshore practices, the key value of capitalism and civilization alike-freedom-is being put in grave danger.

The IMF Working Papers series is designed to make IMF staff research available to a wide audience. Almost 300 Working Papers are released each year, covering a wide range of theoretical and analytical topics, including balance of payments, monetary and fiscal issues, global liquidity, and national and international economic developments.

The authors bring the disciplines of accounting and economics to bear on an examination of the critical role played by the major accounting firms in the ongoing economic recovery of Pacific Rim nations from the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Accounting firms, through their service offerings, are having an impact not only on economic indicators, but also on longer-term growth prospects and development patterns in the newly industrialized nations of Southeast Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan), emerging nations (Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia) and selected Pacific island nations (including Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Vanuatu). For practitioners in the private and public sectors and their academic colleagues. Demonstrating the full extent of the influence of global accounting firms on Pacific economies, the authors provide an overview of domestic accounting institutions for each grouping of nations in order to lend valuable context to the discussion of the role of international services firms in each individual jurisdiction. For those whose work or academic accounting services in Southeast Asia, or the role in the region of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and various regional development banks and United Nations agencies.

This book is essential for students and practitioners in accounting, international business, finance, and economics. In a straightforward and readable style, it focuses on the changing accounting and auditing standards in national and global economies in the post-Enron/Arthur Andersen era. The authors clarify the reasons behind and consequences of the accounting profession's failure in auditing and self-regulation, as most firms placed consulting profits ahead of public audit duties. They show how Sarbanes-Oxley solutions, while not perfect, are major contributors to the profession's redemption, and have enabled it to rise to new heights of service and revenue. The book offers a detailed examination of accounting practitioners' past challenges and future prospects. It provides a realistic analysis of specific issues facing accounting and auditing firms today, including the growing problem of independence; the need for one set of international accounting standards and one set of auditing standards; adjustments facing the global financial system; and the impact of the Internet and communication systems on accounting firms.

Business Education in Emerging Market Economies discusses the impact of business education on emerging markets and explores curricular innovation, pedagogical approaches, and strategic alliances in the context of industrializing economies. Emerging markets contain 80% of the world's population and some 75% of its trade growth in the foreseeable future, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The potential economic growth of these emerging markets has prompted a need to understand their dynamics, business institutions and educational systems. Many American universities, for example, have responded to the demand of their students and business partners by educating them about the exciting opportunities and lurking threats in these industrializing economies. This book contains multiple chapters designed to educate American students about the curricular innovations and course development occurring in emerging markets.