Globally, there are variations in business laws, criminal laws and so forth. Such international variations in laws will be a result of differences in history, cultures, religions and so on. While we are apparently prepared to accept international differences in various laws, groups such as the IASB expect there to be global uniformity in regulations relating to accounting disclosure.

It is argued by some researchers that even in the absence of regulation, organisations will have an incentive to provide credible information about their operations and performance to certain parties outside of the organisation. show five possible reasons for regulation that support this view.