Diffusion of national accounting norms in global accounting standard setting

More than100countries have already required or permitted the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The dynamics of the IFRS now have a significant influence on regulators and accounting standard setters in many countries. Thus, those who set national accounting standards need to consider domestic accounting regulations while participating effectively in the establishment of IFRS so as to present a degree of national concern to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). This study introduces a theoretical perspective of international norms and investigates the detailed background of the IASB’s standard setting through IFRS 9. Unexpectedly, Japanese opinion was accepted during the standard setting and was included in the final standard. This paper focuses on the short period following publication of the exposure draft, and identifies two factors that appear crucial to the IASB’s final decision: the actions of Japanese norm entrepreneurs with organizational support as well as analogical reasonable persuasion. These factors will be of interest to parties in each country who attempt to establish global accounting standards consistent with its traditional accounting norms.