International Accounting Harmonization Research Articles

Collective institutional entrepreneurship for the EPSAS programme: The missing link

IMPACT Three categories of institutional entrepreneurs are potentially capable of accomplishing multi-level accounting change processes, such as the issuing of European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS): the supranational, national and subnational. This article shows that, if the mediating role of national institutional entrepreneurs at the interface between supranational and subnational institutional entrepreneurs is limited, international accounting harmonization halts. The lessons in this article will be of particular value to accounting standard-setters and policy-makers in the field of public sector accounting.

The Perceived Value of Implementing IFRS for SMEs: An Exploratory Study from the Point of View of Managers in Jordan

The purpose of this exploratory study is to add to the literature on the perceived value of applying IFRS for SMEs standard from the perspective of managers in Jordan’s small and medium-sized enterprises (JSMEs). Based on previous literature and the Value-Based Model Theory, which incorporates the cost-benefit analysis principle, a questionnaire was developed, and 137 valid ones were used to test data regarding the perceived value of appropriateness, possibility, cost, and benefits of implementing IFRS for SMEs standard.The study’s major conclusion found a moderate level of positive consensus about implementation perception; the results also suggested that benefits marginally outweighed implementation costs.The study’s goal is to raise policymakers’ and regulatory experts’ attention to the potential benefits, costs, and obstacles of implementing the standard.this study contributes to international accounting harmonization efforts by demonstrating how Jordanian managers assess the costs, benefits, and opportunities of IFRS for SMEs in JSMEs implementation. This study recommended the following: Expedite the application, conduct thorough IFRS for SMEs awareness and training programs at different levels, and provide financial data for these SMEs in the public interest.Future studies should test new firm variables after the application of this standard and, the reasonable costs and benefits are known.

Determinants of IFRS for SMES Adoption Worldwide

The main purpose of this study is to analyze whether there is a relationship between macroeconomic factors and the adoption of IFRS for SMEs in order to help answer the question of why some countries adopt IFRS for SMEs while others do not. We used logistic regression analysis to investigate 150 countries, including 85 jurisdictions that have adopted IFRS for SMEs. The main results indicate that a country is more likely to adopt IFRS for SMEs if it has an unfavorable political climate and a non-Anglo-Saxon culture. Nonetheless, there is no evidence that the country’s economic growth, the existence of a capital market, the educational level, and the legal system are associated with the decision to adopt IFRS for SMEs.This study contributes to a better understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of IFRS for SMEs on a country level and could be used to predict a country’s decision to adopt this standard. It also adds to the literature on international accounting harmonization by examining country-level determinants that influence the adoption of IFRS for SMEs by all companies.

Accounting Standardization in the Municipality of Elvas: stages and challenges

The biggest change of paradigm in the accounting system of the Portuguese public sector, take place in 1997 with the public sector reform, which materialized through the Public Official Accounting Plan. However, despite the important role played by this accounting standard, it could not keep up with international standards or the evolution of accounting in the private sector. These facts along with the multiplicity of accounting systems in the public sector and the strong need for international accounting harmonization, led, in 2015, to the approval of the Public Sector Accounting Standardization System. Thus, the emergence of new challenges in public management was the lever for the most recent reform of public accounting in Portugal operationalized by the Public Sector Accounting Standardization System and the Budgetary Framework Law. This applies to all central, regional, and local government institutions. Among local government institutions, municipalities are the most representative. Their transition from the Official Accounting Plan for Local Authorities to Public Sector Accounting Standardization System was expected to be a long and complex process mainly due to obstacles such as the adaptation of computer systems and the high number of procedures needed. Thus, this study analyzes the conceptual basis and describes the transition stages from the Official Accounting Plan for Local Authorities to Public Sector Accounting Standardization System in a Portuguese municipality. This work follows a qualitative methodology. The case study identified three critical factors for the successful implementation of the Public Sector Accounting Standardization System: human resources with experience and adequate training, adequate information systems, and institutional support from official public entities. This paper contributes to a proper application of the system through theoretical and practical explanation of the processes, at the accounting and technologies levels. By highlighting crucial points in a process of change, this paper also contributes to the success of changing processes in the public sector.

Does IFRS adoption enhance foreign ownership? Empirical evidence from French listed companies

This paper examines the moderating role of corporate governance mechanisms on the relationship between mandatory international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and foreign investors’ ownership. This study is based on a sample of French firms listed on the SBF 120 stock index with an observation period from 2002 to 2012. The results show that IFRS adoption leads to an increase in foreign equity in the French firms. This is consistent with the idea that international accounting harmonization improves financial statements comparability and transactions transparency which attracts more foreign investors. We also show the role of governance mechanisms as means of IFRS enforcement. In fact, the increase in foreign investors’ ownership depends on effective enforcement. However, for the French case, only BIG four auditors are efficient in enforcing IFRS adoption while independent board members have close relationship with managers which results in a passive attitude. Our findings imply that information quality has an important role in decision making. But they also show that IFRS adoption should be joined by efficient enforcement tools to conduct presumed benefits.

International Accounting Harmonization of Cash Flow Reporting Practices: Evidence From the Largest Italian and Spanish Companies

This paper investigates the phenomenon of accounting harmonization among Italian and Spanish entities that adopt IAS/IFRS, focusing on the cash flow reporting practices (IAS 7). We provide empirical evidence at the European level by analysing the accounting harmonization of IAS 7 adoption. Specifically, by using the C index of Van der Tas, we analyse the Cash Flow Statements (CFSs) published in 2020 of the largest companies that operate in Italy and Spain, respectively listed in FTSE MIB40 and IBEX35. Overall, the empirical findings indicate great levels of harmonization in applying IAS 7 emerged by the analysis of CFSs in the annual reports of 2020. Italian and Spanish companies show similar results on IAS 7 harmonization. The level of harmonization could be improved in the future across different companies of various EU countries, necessitating further work by the IASB to reduce alternative methods allowed in IAS/IFRS standards. The aim of this work is to investigate how IAS 7 allows different options for reporting entities’ cash flows as well as to verify the level of harmonization of the largest Italian and Spanish groups. Finally, we address solutions to make CFSs more comparable among entities that belong in different EU countries.

The impact of conservatism and secrecy on the IFRS interpretation: the case of Tunisia and Egypt

Purpose The effect of culture, through the accounting values of conservatism and secrecy, on accounting judgments is an area of research extensively studied in developed countries. However, little research has focused on this issue in developing countries, specifically Arab countries. Thus, this study aims to fill this gap by investigating the impact of the combined effect of the culture/accounting dimensions on the interpretation of the probability expressions used in the international accounting standards/international financial reporting standards (IFRSs) in two North African/Arab countries: Tunisia and Egypt. Design/methodology/approach In the first place, this study determines Hofstede’s cultural index scores for Tunisia, ignored in his original model and updates those related to Egypt, which provides a more relevant understanding of the cultural effect. Then, the study relies on the Hofstede/Gray cultural accounting model to examine the extent to which the accounting values of conservatism and secrecy may affect the recognition of the increase and the decrease of income and the disclosure of this information in the financial statements by postgraduate accounting student in both countries. Findings The results provide evidence of the generalizability of Gray’s conservatism hypothesis in the North African/Arab countries (i.e. Tunisia and Egypt), at least in the context of income recognition. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that culture, through its influence on the accounting value of secrecy, affects the interpretation of probability expressions used in the IFRSs to establish disclosures. Research limitations/implications This study calls for more attention from the standard setters to provide further guidance related to the consistent and accurate numerical value that needs to be assigned to the probability expressions to reduce the ambiguity related to their interpretation. The international accounting standards board (IASB) should pay greater attention to the use of vague probability expressions in developing the IFRSs to promote the true comparability of financial reporting worldwide. Like with any research, this study implies certain limitations specifically related to the sample selection, a sample size, which may affect the generalizability of the results. Thus, future research may rely on a larger sample combining and cover other cultural areas. Practical implications The results of this study may give insights into the practical issues faced by the accounting practitioners and which are related to the interpretation and the application of the IFRS including probability expressions. This may trigger their attention toward this issue to reduce the occurrence of these expressions in the revised and newly released standards to guarantee homogeneous financial reporting practices across countries and enhance the IASB’s objective of international accounting harmonization. Originality/value This study might be the first one that investigates the issue of the IFRS interpretation in two North African and Arab countries: Tunisia and Egypt. It also provides an original investigation of the cultural effect on accounting judgments based on the actualized Hofstede’s cultural indexes, especially for Tunisia which is ignored in the original country classification.

Some Aspects of IAS Harmonization Process

The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) was established in 1973 to harmonize international accounting standards. The IASC's standards (IASs) are now accepted in some form by numerous stock exchanges, including those in London, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Switzerland. The US SEC already accepts use of three IASs and has indicated that it may accept all IASs in late 1998. Though accepted by a growing number of stock exchanges, this may not represent individual country's accounting standards. This article investigates the recent progress of international accounting harmonization by examining whether countries' official standards are in compliance with the IASs in the 1990s. Overall, harmonization via IASs appears to increase from 1991 to 1993. However, when the results of the "Comparability of Financial Statements" program became effective in 1995, at least initially, the level of harmonization decreased. This drop is not unexpected given that the 1995 changes eliminated previously approved and practiced accounting methods. This paper provides an introduction to the topic "The Process of International Harmonization of Accounting Standards". Keywords: Harmonization, International Accounting Standard Board (IASB), International Accounting Standards (IAS), Accounting Standards etc. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-17-04 Publication date: October 31 st 2020

International Accounting Harmonization Process of IASB in Financial Organization

The international harmonization of Accounting Standards is a process, which brings international Accounting Standards into some sort of agreement, in order to achieve a common set of Accounting principles. 7000 European companies have to use the International Accounting Standards (IAS) in the European Union (EU), beginning 2005. The IAS are developed from the IASB. Furthermore, the long existing rejection of IAS of the U.S. seems to change. Co-ordination of agendas of the American standard-setting board (Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) and the IASB have been announced. We conclude, that the IASB plays a major role in the field of international harmonization. Keywords: Harmonization, International Accounting Standard Board (IASB), International Accounting Standards (IAS), Accounting Standards, International Accounting. Keywords: Harmonization, International Accounting Standard Board (IASB), International Accounting Standards (IAS), Accounting Standards, International Accounting DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-17-05 Publication date: October 31 st 2020

Cross-country determinants of IFRS for SMEs adoption

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the influence of environmental and institutional factors on the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard for small and medium-sized entities (IFRS for SMEs). This study used the neo-institutional theory and the economic theory of networks to explain why countries choose to adopt IFRS for SMEs. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on logistic regression analysis to investigate 177 countries, including 77 jurisdictions that adopted IFRS for SMEs between 2009 and 2015. Findings The findings confirm that the adoption of IFRS for SMEs is significantly related to law enforcement quality, culture, trading networks and economic growth. At the institutional level, coercive and normative isomorphism was found to be positively associated with IFRS for SMEs adoption. The results show also that the quality of the audit has no significant effect on the adoption of IFRS for SMEs. However, the joint effect of the quality of audit and quality of law enforcement is significantly related to the adoption of IFRS for SMEs. Practical implications The study contributes to a better understanding of the factors influencing the implementation of IFRS for SMEs standard across the globe and could be used to predict a country’s decision to adopt this standard. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on international accounting harmonization by examining both environmental and institutional factors that influence the adoption of IFRS for unlisted private companies.

Glocalization: A Balanced Approach For A Smoother International Accounting Harmonization in the Developing Countries

The main objective of this paper is to propose glocalization as a new approach for promoting IFRS and facilitating the implementation of international accounting harmonization especially in the developing countries, given the growing controversy on the reflections, implications and consequences of accounting globalization especially in the developing countries. The endeavors towards international accounting standardization are influenced by the extreme polarization between the proponents and opponents of accounting globalization that pushes towards a compromise position represented by glocalization. Jordan, as an example of a developing country, provides a fertile environment of the use of glocalization as an appropriate solution for the stagnation in accounting thought and practice. We document evidence from the Jordanian professional regulations and practice that the adoption and implementation of IFRS have been significantly influenced by the local context in terms of its legal, economic, political, institutional, social and cultural aspects. Therefore, we introduce adopting the concept of glocalization to describe the process of internationalization of accounting standards, as this concept has been intelligently used by many researchers in various fields of the social and political sciences to affirm the need for “indigenization” to better promote the infamous process of globalization. This paper has implications for standard setters and regulators. Further, IASB is requested to permit flexibility when issuing standards to allow for a convenient glocalization to achieve the objectives of harmonization. This approach allows the regulators to examine the impacts of the international standards and how fit to the context during application. Glocalization through evolutionary adaptability is the only solution to alleviate the current pseudo implementation of IFRS by the majority of developing countries.

The Harmonization of Accounting

Abstract The development and configuration of the regulatory framework of the accounting systems in Romania and Hungary took place in different ways. Among the reasons for the diversities in these countries’ accounting systems, the following can be certainly mentioned: different purposes of taxation, legal structure, the accountancy’s connection with the corporate law and family law, diversification on corporate financing policy, and cultural heterogeneity. Both countries quickly caught up with the international accounting harmonization standards. The adaptation of the international accounting standards has many advantages and disadvantages; these have been discussed in several previous researches. This paper aims at comparing the Romanian and Hungarian states’ accounting regulations from the early 1990s, which were implemented in order to harmonize the states’ accountancy regulations with the international standards, and their impact on the economy, based on secondary analysis.

Contracting on GAAP Changes: Large Sample Evidence

ABSTRACTWe explore revealed preferences for the contractual treatment of changes to GAAP in a large sample of private credit agreements issued by publicly held U.S. firms. We document a significant time‐trend toward excluding GAAP changes from the determination of covenant compliance over the period from 1994 to 2012. This trend is positively associated with proxies for standard setters’ shift in focus toward relevance and international accounting harmonization. At the firm level, borrowers facing higher uncertainty are more likely to write contracts that include GAAP changes, but these firms also show a more pronounced time‐trend toward excluding GAAP changes. While this evidence is broadly consistent with an efficiency role for GAAP changes in debt contracting, it is also consistent with a shift in standard setters’ focus offering a partial explanation of why fewer contracts rely on GAAP changes in 2012 than in 1994.

Islamic accounting, neo-imperialism and identity staging: The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions

Abstract This study locates Islamic accounting within the wider context of globalisation and imperialism. It elaborates on the role played by AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions) in sustaining the imperialism-accounting nexus in key Islamic finance markets. Building on the “collaborative theory of imperialism”, we specifically highlight the role of internal collaborators associated with AAOIFI like Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs), regulatory bodies and Muslim elites, including ulama (Sharia scholars), in the process of aligning AAOIFI with the international accounting harmonisation (IAH) project. Relatedly, we expound on tensions faced by AAOIFI as it attempts to integrate into the IAH project but meanwhile retain its Islamic character and appeal to the Muslim populace. Here, we demonstrate how AAOIFI, like IFIs, engages in an “identity staging” exercise to appear Islamic, while retaining and protecting the interests of Muslim and western elites through the continued support of the accounting-imperialism nexus.

Assessing international accounting harmonization in Latin America

We draw on institutional theory and interviews with key informants to assess international accounting harmonization in the 13 countries of the Group of Latin American Accounting Standards Setters (GLASS). Some GLASS countries have effected full formal adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), but in others, IFRS are not permitted. In several GLASS countries, IFRS are supplemented by national standards for micro-entities and cooperatives. We conclude that it will be difficult to achieve material harmonization in GLASS countries due to a lack of trained accountants, unreliable enforcement systems, and competing institutional logics of taxation systems, banks and insurance companies.

Historical Cost Accounting and International Accounting Harmonization

The relationship between international accounting harmonization and fair value accounting is one biunivocal: fair value accounting has the effect of catalyst for international accounting harmonization generating relevant information required to the quality of fair value accounting figures.Management Accounting is focused on the historical cost. This is highlighted in the revaluation: the notes must be submitted separately for each item in the balance of nature revalued property and equipment, the following information: the value of assets at historical cost and revalued amount cumulative value adjustments; or value at the balance sheet date of the difference between the unrealized gains and historical cost accounting and the cumulative amount of the additional value adjustments. 
 Keywords: historical cost; harmonization; fair value; accounting;

Historical Cost Accounting and International Accounting Harmonization

Historical Cost Accounting and International Accounting Harmonization

IFRS Adoption and Financial Reporting Quality: A Review of Evidences in Different Jurisdictions

Conventional and commonly held wisdom with respect to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is that they lead to improved financial reporting quality and comparability and thereby favorable economic consequences. There are however contradicting evidences disproving this conventional wisdom or rejecting its gross generalization over the entire jurisdictions harmonizing on IFRS. Driven by this fact, quests for knowledge about the dynamics and contexts that lead to differential effects of IFRS get momentum. In an attempt to explore the insight into the effects of international accounting harmonization by way of IFRS adoption, this paper reviews selected literatures on the consequences of IFRS adoption. This review discusses some empirical evidences that have been reported in various countries that include Europe, USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Norway, Greece, Poland, Belgian, France, Italian, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Jordan, China, Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Kenya and Nigeria. Our review focuses on the aspects of value relevance, disclosure quality, cost of capital, earning management and financial statement impact due to the IFRS adoption. This review reveals that the economic consequences of IFRS adoption is significantly different though its impact reported to be positive in majority of cases. There are also notable number of studies that report indifferent and or negative effects of IFRS adoption. When IFRS studies report mixed evidence with respect to value relevance of book value of equity and earing, book value of equity supersedes the earning parameters. IFRS are found to supersede many other domestic financial reporting standards in terms of amount and the quality of disclosures in financial statement. This review also obtains that IFRS’s impact on the reduction of cost of capital depends on financial reporting incentives, law enforcement, types of legal systems and various other country-specific and capital market characteristics. Further, though there are some evidences to the contrary, the quality of earnings reported under IFRS has been established to be superior to other local standards.

International Accounting Normalization and Harmonization Processes across the World: History and Overview

AbstractBased on a literature review, the paper traces the history of the International Accounting normalization, and presents an overview of the harmonization process across different regions of the world.In a first part we present the circumstances that led to the genesis of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) in 1973, by returning to the evolution of its notoriety, and to the production of its first international accounting standards (IAS). After discussing the replacement of the IASC in 2001 by the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF) and the International Accounting standards Board (IASB), we give details on how the international standards were henceforth called International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), due to their new dominating financial aspect.In the second part of the paper, we discuss the existing differences between developed and developing countries regarding the international accounting harmonization process. After discussing the limits and the advantages of the international accounting harmonization, we raise the issue of financial security in relation to the process of international accounting harmonization.

An Analysis of Differences in Terms of Professional Interests Based on the Project to Replace IAS 39

<p>The professional interests of the various stakeholders groups are often seen as obstacles to full accounting harmonization. Studying different professional interests in the accounting domain is significant for organizations involved in the international accounting harmonization process, insofar as it enables them to identify the main obstacles to face in order to achieve full harmonization. Thus, this article is aimed at analyzing the differences in terms of professional interests by addressing the participation of various stakeholders groups in the process of issuing/modifying standards of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Based on content analysis, we examined the comment letters sent to the IASB in the context of the first part of the first phase of the project to replace the International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39, entitled "Financial Instruments - Recognition and Measurement", by the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 9, on its turn entitled "Financial Instruments". Respondents were identified according to the stakeholders group, and, later, the collected data underwent a nonparametric chi-square test. The results of this study indicate there are significant differences between the answers obtained from the various stakeholders groups involved in the process of issuing or reviewing a standard of the IASB, above all made clear between the group of financial preparers and the regulatory and/or standard-setting agencies and the professional associations related to accounting.</p>