The Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) was established under the Financial Reporting Act 1997.

Its role is to issue accounting standards that companies in Malaysia must follow when preparing their financial statements.

A simple way to understand MASB is:

MASB is Malaysia’s accounting rule-maker.

This is similar to:

• JPJ, which sets road and transport rules;

• Bank Negara Malaysia, which regulates banking matters;

• LHDN, which administers tax matters; and

• MASB, which sets the accounting standards that companies must follow.

Why Are Common Accounting Standards Necessary?

Imagine two companies using different methods to record their profits:

• Company A uses its own method; and

• Company B uses another method.

Without common accounting requirements, investors would find it difficult to compare the companies fairly.

MASB helps address this problem by developing a common set of accounting standards for financial reporting in Malaysia.

An Everyday Comparison

Imagine that every school uses a different marking system:

• One school uses marks out of 100;

• Another uses marks out of 500; and

• Another uses letters only.

Parents would find it difficult to compare the students’ results.

Similarly, common accounting standards help companies and financial statement users “speak the same language” when preparing and interpreting financial information.

CCS | Beyond Numbers

什么是 MASB？为什么会成立？

**马来西亚会计准则委员会（Malaysian Accounting Standards Board，MASB）是根据《1997 年财务报告法令》**成立的。

MASB 的职责，是颁布马来西亚企业在编制财务报表时必须遵循的会计准则。

可以简单地把 MASB 理解为：

马来西亚的会计规则制定者。

这类似于：

• **陆路交通局（JPJ）**制定交通规则；

• **马来西亚国家银行（Bank Negara Malaysia）**监管银行事务；

• **马来西亚内陆税收局（LHDN）**负责税务事务；以及

• MASB制定企业必须遵循的会计准则。

为什么需要统一的会计准则？

想象一下，两家公司采用不同的方法记录利润：

• A 公司使用自己的方法；以及

• B 公司采用另一种方法。

如果没有共同的会计要求，投资者就很难公平地比较这两家公司。

MASB 通过制定一套共同的会计准则，协助解决财务报告之间缺乏一致性的问题。

日常生活中的比喻

假设每所学校都采用不同的评分制度：

• 一所学校采用 100 分制；

• 另一所学校采用 500 分制；以及

• 还有一所学校只使用字母评分。

家长就会很难比较学生的成绩。

同样地，统一的会计准则能够帮助企业及财务报表使用者，在编制和理解财务资料时“使用同一种语言”。

CCS | Beyond Numbers