International accounting is defined as accounting for international transactions，comparison of accounting principles in different countries，and harmonization of diverse accounting standards worldwide.This definition encompasses the operational needs of the accountant in financial，managerial，tax，auditing，and other areas of accounting.Additional，it takes into account broader conceptual issues involving contracts between accounting standards of different countries as well as harmonization of diverse accounting practices throughout the world.

However，these standards are to be altered or change over time，or new principles must be formulated to fit changed economic circumstances in business practices.Accounting principles，however，differ in various ways among countries.Energized by the continuing growth of international business，efforts are under way to create more uniformity in worldwide accounting principles.Accounting standards in individual countries have evolved in response to the unique user need and cultural attributes of each country.Thus，in spite of the development of a global marketplace，accounting standards in one country may differ significantly from those in another country.

One of the major challenges relates to a country's interest in protecting its local markets，where the participants'interests are frequently quite different from entities involved in a global financial network.Countries through the worlds vary，for instance，in the complexity of their capital markets，the need for disclosure of financial information，and the role of government oversight in the standard-setting process.Unfortunately，these nationalism issues are not the only obstacles confronting the IASB.The simple truth is that IASB is a private body;its pronouncements cannot be enforced.What is hoped for instead is that each country's accounting professional body will make and keep a“best effort”pledge to move toward the acceptance of international standards.

Currently，the IASB is seeking methods of providing comparability between financial statements prepared according to the differing accounting standards of its member nations.This effort，often referred to as harmonization，involves both the eliminating of interior accounting methods that continue to exist today in many areas of the worlds and the limitation of alternative acceptable methods within the IASB's own standards.The development of a single set of international accounting standards to be applies by all countries is a long way off and may never be achieved in total.This makes it important to understand the standards of one's own country so that appropriate consideration can be given to financial statements prepared according to another country's standard.