Securities markets are a barometer for the economic progression of any country. The quest to harness the maximum benefits that such markets afford has led governments to enact specific legislation and develop appropriate policies. Despite enacting legislation in 1970, it was only in 1993 that the Zambian securities market was established. Simultaneously, the Securities Act 1993 was also enacted. However, it was replete with shortcomings, leading to its repeal and replacement by the Securities Act 2016 (amended by the Securities (Amendment) Act21 of 2022; hereinafter the Securities Act 2016 as amended). The Securities Act 2016 as amended has for the most part been hailed as a progressive piece of legislation that has incorporated global best practices aimed at enhancing the securities market. There is optimism that the Securities Act 2016 as amended has breathed new life into the securities industry which was seemingly ailing and on life support. It remains questionable, however, whether the Securities Act 2016 as amended enhances the performance of the securities market by effectively fostering fair and efficient trading and ensuring financial integrity, or if it simply reiterates the problems of its predecessor or worse still creates new challenges. In this article the author critically assesses the Securities Act 2016 as amended to ascertain the extent to which it conforms to the IOSCO Principles 2017 and the practices of other countries such as Kenya, whose Capital Markets Act Chapter 485 offers greater clarity.

Nowadays, after the agreement signed between the IASB and the IOSCO in 1995, together with the actual convergence plan between the IASB and the FASB in 2002, the harmonisation process is in a state of effervescence, advancing in order to establish just one set of accounting standards that could be used for both domestic and cross-border financial reporting. For decades, leading accounting theories have advocated the harmonization of accounting principles world-wide to end the confusion and lack of comparability. In recent years, there has been a clear trend towards International Accounting Standards (now known as International Financial Reporting Standards-IFRS) as the single body of internationally accepted accounting standards. In this context, the objective of this article is to analyze the efforts made in the accounting harmonization process in Latin America to achieve the convergence of accounting standards. This research focuses on the Economic, Accounting, and Administration MERCOSUR Integration Group - GIMCEA and on the American Free Trade Agreement Committee for Cooperation on Financial Reporting Matters - AFTA. The article studies the four major economies in this region: Argentina, Brazil (countries from GIMCEA), Chile and Mexico (countries from AFTA), because they have already achieved results. To progress toward the elimination of significant differences in accounting standards, we analyze and compare the standards of these four countries with global standards, IFRS and US-GAAP, to determine areas of significant discrepancies where progress might be made in harmonizing accounting standards.

Actualmente, tras el acuerdo firmado en 1995 entre el IASB y la IOSCO, junto con el plan de convergencia establecido entre el IASB y el FASB en 2002, el proceso de armonización contable se encuentra en un momento de enorme efervescencia. Durante las últimas décadas, numerosos organismos han participado activamente en el proceso de mejora de la comparabilidad de la información financiera de todas las empresas que actúan en un mismo mercado globalizado. Recientemente, la tendencia observada es hacia las Normas Internacionales de Contabilidad (que ahora han pasado a denominarse International Financial Reporting Standards) como único conjunto de normas de contabilidad aceptadas a escala internacional. En este contexto, el objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el proceso de armonización contable en América Latina, detallando los esfuerzos realizados para lograr la convergencia de las normas contables. Para ello, se cree conveniente centrar en las principales contribuciones llevadas a cabo por dos grupos que a fechas actuales han alcanzado resultados: el Grupo de Integración del MERCOSUR de Contabilidad, Economía y Administración - GIMCEA y el Comité para la Cooperación en Asuntos de Informes Financieros del Tratado de Libre Comercio de Norteamérica - AFTA, analizando el proceso en los países que han establecido mecanismos formales para lograr la convergencia: Argentina y Brasil (miembros del GIMCEA), Chile y México (miembros del AFTA). Una vez expuestos los modelos armonizadores de los diferentes países, se cree conveniente realizar un estudio comparativo de los tratamientos contables dispares existentes entre las normas internacionales del IASB, los principios contables americanos del FASB, y las normas contables Latinoamericanas (Argentinas, Brasileñas, Chilenas y Mexicanas), determinando las áreas en las que es preciso continuar avanzando para lograr la convergencia de normas contables.