Developing a global standard for interoperable accounting systems

The paper describes work in progress and preliminary results from the ESPRIT project COMPASS (ESPRIT 25717) whose primary purpose is "showing the way" to the development of interoperable accounting software. An important part of the project work is to contribute to the standardisation of the General Ledger Facility within the Object Management Group (OMG). In this effort the COMPASS project and associated partners have shown the benefits of adopting RM-ODP principles when defining domain standards. The paper also describes the ongoing work in the project to validate this approach by producing pilot implementations of the new standard using both new and existing accounting software systems.