McCombs TODAY

Mary Barth, professor of accounting at Stanford University, spoke recently at McCombs’ MPA Distinguished Speaker Lyceum. A former member of the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB), she explained how the board evolved, its structure and goals and progress in adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) around the world.

“We live in a global economy and need a single set of accounting standards for more efficient capital markets,” Barth said.

She told students they need to understand the fundamental accounting concepts because they provide the basis of the framework for financial reporting. She warned that in the future, accounting professionals will need to make judgments and understand “the why” behind a standard, rather than following thousands of specific rules as they do now.

Barth ended with a discussion of common misunderstandings about financial reporting, such as “historical cost is a misnomer” and that “neutrality does not mean there are no consequences.”

Listen to audio clips from Barth’s talk:

Overview of IASB Goals.mp3 (3m23s, 4MB)

IASB Framework.mp3 (2m:59s, 3MB)

Financial Reporting Misunderstandings (6m:06s, 3MB)

Full lecture.mp3 (52m:56s, 69 MB)