Cultural impact on the harmonisation of Russian Accounting Standards with the International Financial Reporting Standards: a practitioner’s perspective. Introduction Harmonisation of accounting standards

Harmonisation of accounting standards has been an important process in response to globalisation of capital markets. “The globalisation of capital markets and the developments in telecommunications and the internet bring new significance to the need for comparable and transparent financial reporting and require new thinking by companies, investors, creditors and auditors about what financial information companies should publish and how best to communicate it” (Nobes, 2001, p.3). Global accounting standards will enable investors to make better informed financial decisions, which in turn, could lead to a reduction in risks for investors and, an ultimate reduction in the cost of capital. In addition, global standards would lead to a reduction in multiple reporting obligations for the international companies, thus leading to an improved access to capital markets, reducing costs and eliminating complexities (Nobes, 2001).