century. Now, in large part the result of widespread availability of large, machine-readable databases, researchers are extending their domain outside the US. As the new research deals with a new set of institutions, we feel it is important to understand those institutions. We review the field of comparative legal systems, looking for fundamental differences between the families of legal systems that might lead to different financial reporting practices. Many studies in comparative international accounting invoke differences in the law to explain differences in the reporting. Mostly those simply