Purpose -This paper seeks to consider the impact and potential impact of social accounting at the macro level. It aims to explore the potential for "silent" or "shadow" social accounting to hold Anglo-American capitalism to account for its social outcomes relative to other "varieties of capitalism".Design/methodology/approach -The role of accounting in spreading Anglo-American capitalist values is outlined. This is followed by a discussion of macro social indicators and their potential to problematise social outcomes. In particular the paper reports on, and updates, an investigation of comparative child mortality figures in wealthy countries that appeared in the medical literature. This evidence is used both as an exemplar and as a substantive issue in its own right.Findings -The specific empirical evidence reported, based on a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of child mortality and its relationship to income inequality, exemplifies the consistently poor and relatively worsening performance of the AngloAmerican capitalist model. A rationale, and evidence, is also presented for the potential of such social reporting to act as an accountability mechanism.Originality/value -The paper introduces to the accounting literature specific evidence of poor social outcomes associated with Anglo-American capitalism. It considers the wider potential role of social indicators, as a component of silent and shadow reporting at a macro-level, in problematising dominant forms of economic and social organisation.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the opinions of national stakeholders on the costs and benefits of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) implementation and to determine whether countries with disparate social, economical and political backgrounds have different experiences when complying with IFRS.Design/methodology/approachSemi‐structured interviews were conducted with preparers, users and auditors of annual reports and accounting regulators in the UK (including Ireland) and Italy.FindingsThere were some differences in the experiences of IFRS implementation between stakeholders from different countries. However, there was widespread agreement that costs exceeded the benefits of reporting under the new standards. Further it is recognised that international standard‐setters have a large set of stakeholder views to manage and it is therefore important that standard‐setters are aware of the costs and benefits of their accounting requirements.Originality/valueThis analysis is useful for companies that have not already adopted IFRS. It explains the differences and similarities of the costs and benefits of IFRS implementation from an Anglo‐Saxon and an EU continental perspective.

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The results strengthen the existing evidence linking child mortality with income inequality in wealthy nations, and add to the evidence that sociopolitical factors are important in this regard.

This article examines the weak-form of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) for the Saudi Stock Market. Specifically, it considers whether patterns are present in share returns such that investors can out-perform the market by trading on the basis of historic information. Two different trading strategies are tested on weekly data for 45 companies spanning the period 1990 to 2000. The results suggest that while there is some evidence of predictability in share returns, support for EMH is stronger than in previous studies. This improved efficiency of the Saudi Stock Market may be attributed to technological and regulatory developments introduced by the Saudi government. JEL Classification: G14