International harmonization of accounting standards: a holy grail that exceeds even the grasp of Indiana Jones.(response to article by Peter Jeffrey in this issue, p. 341)

Mr Jeffrey's article, International Harmonization of Accounting Standards and the Question of Off-Balance Sheet Treatment, provides an insightful discussion of different accounting approaches to the question of when a transaction, particularly a securitization, springs in off-balance sheet treatment of assets and liabilities. (1) Mr Jeffrey notes that this issue has prov extremely challenging to accounting standards setter and argues that while securities regulators and markets are vehement to harmonize accounting standards, the different approaches--represented through the U.S. ...