The year 2011 will be a milestone in the history of global standard setting, when nearly 150 countries would adopt international standards for financial reporting to be issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). This extensively revised, fully updated, second edition includes a wide range of topics with a view to examining the increased challenges that will be faced by academicians, accounting and management professionals in the globally converging dynamic environment of accounting standards expected around 2011.The book is primarily intended as a text for postgraduate students of management (MBA) specializing in accounting and finance, postgraduate students of commerce (M.Com), financial studies, and international business (MIB). In addition, this text will be useful for professional courses offered by institutes such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI), the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants (ICWAI) and the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (ICFAI).