Hi Matt, 

Very well written article that several colleagues thought worthy of forwarding.

The Jan 16th announcement from the Canada Resource Revenue Transparency Working Group probably came after you had submitted your piece, but do you think that was a tipping point for a shift in focus from the EITI (+piecemeal legislation in a few countries) to a global transparency standard? 

Thanks, Alan, and sorry for the delay in replying. That did come after submission. You think? How come? 

This may be too general a comment to really reply to yours, and I don't have an entirely firm opinion at this point, but I'm minded to see it all in the wider context of govt concern over tax revenues and the wider effort to use transparency as a way to preserve them. To me, as I've looked into this so far (and will continue to), the key seems to be to recall that it flows from there. 

Thanks Matt. The question was prompted by discussion with fellow advocates for transparency, particularly in relation to the G20. It seems that the push for a global reporting standard is gathering steam but it's unclear what that means for the EITI and the crucial role it plays in ensuring government accountability, as well as that of companies.