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In 2000, the core set of international accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) was approved by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), following a deep restructuring of the IASC. Henceforth, these standards will be used in cross-border capital raising and listing purposes in all global markets. Meanwhile, the European Union has decided that the international accounting standards (IAS) will be made mandatory by 2005 at the latest. What changes do these decisions introduce in the accounting standard setting process? This paper argues that international accounting regulation is a case of post-modern law or regulation in three main respects : first, the international standard setting process implies renouncing the hierarchical legitimization principle that used to ground, for example, European accounting harmonization; second, it is a complex and flexible mechanism for the production and articulation of standards; finally, international accounting standards are developed by a multi-representative structure according to an open form of due process that mainly relies on technical competence. However, such a process needs to be supplemented by strong enforcement mechanisms.