In countries that use similar accounting standards, such as Great Britain and Australia, brands are sometimes put on the balance sheet, their worth determined independently.

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Granted, lending standards in Australia did not loosen as much as some other markets.

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Tony Fragnito, chief executive of XBRL International, which sets the XBRL standards, said securities regulators in other countries such as Japan, China and Australia were taking a similar approach to the SEC.

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