A Broad Analysis of United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board Approved Accounting Standards
17 Pages Posted: 19 Sep 2003
Abstract
In response to rapid development in the economy, the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) was established in 1997. The board is responsible for developing accounting standards and continually improving the quality of external reporting in Malaysia. In the development process, constant reference is made to the work of national standard setters of other countries and the International Accounting Standards Committee. This paper highlights major similarities and differences between United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Malaysia approved accounting standards, and offer some suggestions as to how Malaysia might effectively continue with the further development and restatement of its accounting standards. This study finds no significant difference in the basic accounting principles, assumptions and reporting format between U.S. GAAP and MASB standards. However, some differences in rules regarding specific accounting elements have been identified. Hence, further research is needed in order to understand differences and similarities between accounting standards of the two countries in greater detail.
Keywords: GAAP, Malaysian Accounting Standards
JEL Classification: M41, M44, M48
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation