Cultural Challenges for Countries Implementing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) without Contributing to their Creation

Abstract

One aim of globalisation is eliminating a country's uniqueness so that different parts of the world can become alike. To this effect, countries are aligning their national financial reporting standards to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to narrow their related differences, thereby creating a demand for the IFRS. Financial reporting based on a single set of financial reporting standards was expected to enhance comparability; however, this is not the case in practice. Accountants' judgements, which are allowed under the International Accounting Standard Board's principles-based standards, can be a limitation for the comparability advantage. Further, critics of the IFRS are concerned that countries adopting IFRS may lose control of their financial reporting and disclosures to foreign regulators. Finally, countries that do not contribute to IFRS creation may become recipients of other countries' inputs, such as languages, cultural values, and regulatory systems.