Abstract

In the UK, the role of the state in accounting regulation has been ambivalent for some decades. On the one hand, confidence has been openly expressed in the system of private sector accounting regulation while accounting standards have been granted legitimacy through recognition in company law. The role that government in the UK plays in the development of accounting standards by the private sector, is defined by the arenas in which the state is involved with published accounting reports. This paper identifies three roles that the state assumes in respect of such reports. The state may be a preparer of similar information, it may be a user of information and it may see regulation as falling within its function of governing.