Financial reporting practices differ widely between countries and this has far-reaching implications for multinational business. With the growing integration of the international economy, the need for established systems of classification in financial reporting becomes all the more important. International Classification of Financial Reporting examines the causes and nature of the different practices. Chris Nobes asks whether classification is possible and useful. He offers a critical analysis of the attempts of other researchers to discern an order in the variety of accounting practices. This edition brings the analysis up-to-date, covering not only the changes of the last decade but also looking ahead at the developments for the future. The new classification system put forward in the first edition is reappraised in the light of these changes and the author proposes improvements to the scheme. This book should be of interest to academics, postgraduates and undergraduates in the field of international accounting, and to international accounting professionals.