This study examines how the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) works to build legitimacy and secure stakeholder support. Responding to recent calls for greater attention to communication in standard setting – with emphasis on the role of individuals within organisations – it analyses the use of rhetorical devices (logos, pathos, ethos) in speeches by the IASB Chair in an effort to sustain moral, pragmatic, and cognitive legitimacy and align institutional goals with societal expectations. We observe that rhetorical appeals are strategically deployed. The speeches show a consistent rhetorical style across time and regions, with variation by audience. When content is classified by legitimacy domains (input, throughput, output), rhetorical intensity peaks in the throughput phase, where transparency and procedural integrity are emphasised. The paper offers empirical evidence on how the IASB uses rhetorical strategies to be perceived as a legitimate global accounting standard setter.
Cappellieri et al. (Fri,) studied this question.