From the introduction:

• In the wake of the international financial crisis of the 1990s, initiatives worldwide were set in place to strengthen the international financial architecture in crisis prevention, mitigation, and resolution. The agenda focuses on weaknesses in the international financial systems that potentially contribute to the propensity for and magnitude of global financial instability, hence requiring collective action at the international level. In this regard, the international community emphasized the role of minimum standards and codes in strengthening the international financial architecture.
• There is widespread recognition that global financial stability rests on robust national systems and, hence, requires enhanced measures at the country level. In a world of integrated capital markets, financial crises in individual countries can imperil international financial stability. This provides a basic “public goods” rationale for minimum standards, which benefit international and individual national systems.
• This overview of the Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) looks at the objectives and applied methodology of the ROSC Accounting and Auditing (ROSC A&A) program, and in particular at its role in the broader context of the international financial architecture exercise.