ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on actions taken by the British Parliament to regulate the form and content of corporate financial statements (CFS). The committee had the task of evaluating a wide range of conflicting ideas presented by various pressure groups, with the practice of directly interviewing correspondents helping to achieve a consensus concerning the appropriate course of action. The Committee's main accounting interest focused on the reporting procedures of holding companies, which had become an increasingly common corporate structure, the level of disclosure in company accounts, and the contentious issue of secret reserves. The chapter considers the impact of Fourth Company Law Directive on the form and content of CFS. It provides the essence of the many debates that took place, the conclusions reached and the action taken by parliament to regulate the form and content of company accounts during that time period.
