When we look at a map we always try to find our home. Why can’t we do that in accounts

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My sons reminded me of a joke last night. I think the original was by Michael McIntyre.

The joke is about using maps on a mobile phone - and that the first place we always want to find is our home. The same is true of street view, or whatever Google call their service where you can view a road on a map. Home matters to us so much that we want to check it out - even when we're at home.

But look at a set of multinational corporation accounts and you can't do that: home will be noticeable by its absence because country-by-country reporting does not exist within the pages of such a document - and most especially so if home is a developing country in which the MNC trades.

Those accounts do, as a result, fail to meet a basic human need, which is information on what is happening immediately around us. And even now when the case for country-by-country reporting is being won those responsible for the preparation of accounts are fighting back against the provision of that information.

What are they trying to hide?


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