The true standing of Japanese firms in relation to their foreign rivals is slowly becoming clear.

After years of resistance, Japanese companies and their auditors are beginning to adopt accounting standards used by most of the industrialized world -- starting with consolidated balance sheets in fiscal 1999 and mark-to-market value accounting for securities and sellable real estate in fiscal 2000.

"It's not an issue about whose standards are better," said Yuzo Takagi, executive director of the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants. "If everyone is pointing at you and saying 'unfair' . . . that's a sign you're not doing good business."