The term 'West Pacific Rim' used in this report refers primarily to the countries which border the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, namely Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan, and most of the countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN-4), namely Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

From Japan, in the north of the region, to the southern border of China is referred to as Northeast Asia, and the countries south of Hong Kong are classified as Southeast Asia.

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The center of international economic dynamism that used to be in the Mediterranean in the distant past was overtaken by the Atlantic in the past two hundred years, but seems to have moved to the Asia-Pacific region since the mid-1960s.

The West Pacific Rim is often described as a 'miracle economy' flourishing in the 'Pacific Century'. With one exception, the economics of the area have deservedly earned a reputation as fast growing and dynamic.

This region is rather diverse and complex. The table shown below provides an indication of the diversity of the West Pacific economies by focusing on per capita GNP, and a 'market share' measure of GDP (expressed both in terms of regional and world GDP).

As a group, the West Pacific economies have grown well above the world average, thus confirming the popular perception of the dynamism of the region. From 1971 to1992, the newly industrializing economies (NIEs), ASEAN-4 and China taken as a collective entity grew at 7.7 per cent, while the growth rate for the world economy over the same period was 2.9 per cent. As noted, the World Bank (1993) has compiled a list of the twenty fastest growing economics in the world using per capita GDP growth rate over the 1965-85 period. All of the West Pacific economics, with the conspicuous exception of the Philippines, belong to this exclusive list of the 'top twenty'.

The rapid growth of the West Pacific economies has been supported by very high savings and investment ratios, as shown in the followings:

Gross domestic saving rates (per cent of GDP), 1981-95

**1983-1990

Gross domestic investment rates (per cent of GDP), 1981-95

**1983-1990

Overall, the West Pacific region reduced its dependence on the U.S. market in the later part of the 1980s. In addition, the share of intra-regional trade rose significantly after 1985.

Labor market performance in West Pacific region has been epitomized by rapid employment expansion and growth of real wages.

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The development of a national accountancy profession depends on the type of financial system in the country. The size of accountancy profession also depends on the extent to which it is composed of accountants working in commerce and industry as well as professional accountancy firms. Among those countries, except for China, the oldest and largest pubic accountancy body is found in the Philippines. The size and founding date of public accountancy bodies for those countries are summarized as follows:

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Diversity is also found in the styles of the corporate financial reporting for the countries in the region. The relative importance of different sources of influence on financial reporting of each country is summarized as follows:

Key: / very important; + of some importance; x of little important.

It is noted that the company law or commercial code is an important source of rules on financial reporting in all countries. The tax law is relative less important except in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In Japan and Thailand, stock exchange requirements are important. In the Philippines, the financial reporting is well supported by a regulatory framework. In all countries, an accounting standard-setting body is important.

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There is great diversity found in the accounting standard setting for the countries of the West Pacific Rim.

The influence of accounting standards of other countries and those of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) on the national accounting standards for selected countries are summarized as follows:

It is said that Japanese and Korean accounting is similar to that in Germany and France, while the accounting in most of the other countries in the region is similar to that in the United Kingdom and the United States. The U.S. accounting also has great influence on the region after World War II, particularly in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

The table shown below summarizes the accounting standard-setting bodies of the West Pacific Rim countries.

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