International Finance and Accounting Handbook

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PREFACE

This handbook is intended as a reference for financial managers, credit and security
analysts, bankers, lawyers, accountants, auditors, and educators, whose decisions en-
compass the international dimensions of financial analysis, reporting, and control. It
expands and updates the topical coverage of its award-winning predecessor, The
Handbook of International Accounting, and, in its second edition, the International
Accounting and Finance Handbook.
Its new title, International Finance and Accounting Handbook, emphasizes the
fact that many of the decision models for accounting, auditing, and financial report-
ing come from finance. As financial decisions are premised to a large extent on ac-
counting data, providers of financial information cannot add value unless they are
cognizant of the operating processes, products, and decision needs of the user.
The key ingredient of any successful handbook is the expertise of its contributors.
On this score, the element that binds the authors of this collaborative effort is their
commitment to excellence. It has been, and continues to be, a pleasure and a privi-
lege to be associated with this elite group of authors who combine both technical
know-how with practical experience. Indeed, a distinctive feature of this work is the
balance between academic and practicing contributors, with many chapters being a
collaboration between town and gown.
This volume is divided into the following parts:

• Part I: Globalization of Financial Markets. A comprehensive examination of
  current trends in the international markets for financial capital, services, and
  regulation.


• Part II: Financial Analysis. Examines the decision models of users in the
  areas of foreign investments, treasury management, risk management, corporate
  valuation, bankruptcy prediction, and portfolio analysis.


• Part III: World Scene of Accounting and Reporting Practices. Details the di-
  versity that characterizes accounting measurements, corporate financial disclo-
  sure, and auditing standards.


• Part IV: International Accounting Harmonization. Describes the institutional
  responses to international accounting diversity at the regional and international
  levels.


• Part V: Reporting Issues. Covers standards and practices applying to multina-
  tional consolidations, financial derivatives, changing prices, asset securitization,
  segmental and foreign operations, social and environmental disclosures, corpo-
  rate governance, financial control, performance measurement, and information
  systems.


• Part VI: International Transfer Pricing and Taxation. Comprehensive treat-
  ment of objectives, policies, worldwide regulations, and practice treatments.