Synopsis Today’s global financial systems are concerned with more than just the establishment of a robust financial system. Global financial markets are witnessing the development of various sector-specific international groups of supervisory and regulatory agencies, such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Joint Forum on Financial Conglomerates, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, and the International Organization of Securities Commissions.Regulating these financial markets is extremely challenging and the regulator has to be concerned with the changes that are taking place in both the domestic and the international financial systems. This book is a modest attempt to answer such questions. It looks at various issues before the SEC and the US equity markets such as those related to market regulation, market integration and others. It discusses the issues involved in the regulatory challenges in banks, micro finance, financial services industry, equity markets and regulation of financial conglomerates. It also examines the circumstances that led to the creation of the FSA-regulatory, legislative and political-the critical role of financial reporting standards that are globally comparable and discusses XBRL as an important innovation that enhances the quality of business reporting.