PricewaterhouseCoopers suggested on Friday that the new Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of US should "mutually recognise" other oversight bodies including the one proposed in India, which could be the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Pitching for switchover from USGAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) to an internationally accepted norm, PwC however noted the high transparency, disclosure and self-regulation in the Indian markets.
"The new Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the US has the authority to provide quality oversight to any foreign company. The question is how to apply that. I think that they (US body) need to apply good judgement around mutually recognising other oversight bodies including in India," PwC CEO Samuel A DiPiazza told reporters in New Delhi.
Speaking on the sidelines of a CII seminar on 'Building Public Trust', he, however, said the issue of oversight body in India was yet to be determined, as the board had not assumed any shape.
On the USGAAP, DiPiazza said considering the complexity in such a standard, "we believe that it needs to evolve to a globally applied principle-based system."
"USGAAP has not proven to be an answer because of its complexity," he said, adding that there had been a good dialogue around converging standards and progress was made on issues as stock options, business combinations and revenue recognition.
Asked about the applicability of an uniform accounting principle across the globe, DiPiazza said though differences were there on an industry-industry basis, "I believe that we can create a better framework."
In Asia-Pacific, he said the biggest problem was not that of governance but the economy itself and in India, there were discussions on shared responsibility and leadership.
PwC managing partner (global markets) Willem Brocker said, "One-size-fits-all" approach to formulating corporate governance guidelines was neither realistic nor advisable.
Citing various scandals like those involving Enron and WorldCom, PwC CEO said, "the negative consequences of incomplete and unreliable information can extend well beyond an individual company or even the stock market."
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