International Accounting Standards and their Impact on the Banking Sector Performance

Abstract

The performance of the banking industry in the Kurdistan area of Iraq is the focus of this study, which explores the influence that International Accounting Standards (IAS) have had on the situation. The purpose of this study is to determine the degree to which IAS has been implemented in the banking industry, the factors that have an influence on the implementation of IAS, and the effect that IAS implementation has had on the financial performance of banks in the region. Data was collected from a sample of 142 banking professionals located throughout the region using a quantitative research technique. According to the findings of the study, the percentage of financial institutions that have adopted International Accounting Standards (IAS) is rather low, and the majority of financial institutions continue to rely on their own national accounting standards. It was discovered that the implementation of IAS has a large and beneficial effect on the performance of banks, with fully adopting banks demonstrating improved levels of profitability, liquidity, and asset quality. Education and training were shown to be the most important predictor variables in the banking sector in the region when attempting to explain the adoption of International Accounting Standards (IAS). The lack of resources and technical knowledge in the region was cited as the reason for the sluggish adoption of IAS in the region. According to the findings of the study, there is a need to improve education and training, raise awareness of international accounting standards (IAS), encourage regulatory support, provide technical assistance, and promote international collaboration in order to increase the likelihood that IAS will be adopted in the banking sector in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.