Exploring social, political and economic dimensions of accounting in the global context: the International Accounting Standards Board and accounting disaggregation

We elaborate an immanent critique of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), critically exploring its claim to serve the public interest by reference to its character and position, its official principles and its work vis-à-vis campaigns to disaggregate accounting focused on extractive industries and operating segments. We raise issues about the institution and its rhetoric and indicate that it does not straightforwardly apply its principles. Unable to abstract from its socio-political context, its accounting prescriptions intertwine with concerns to inform democracy and a related politics of accounting disaggregation. We attempt a rescuing critique, indicating IASB's potential to better serve the public interest