IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/advacc/v31y2015i1p136-149.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of cultural factors on the implementation of global accounting standards (IFRS) in a developing country

Author

Listed:
  • Nurunnabi, Mohammad

Abstract

This longitudinal study investigates the impact of cultural factors on the implementation of global accounting standards (IFRS) in Bangladesh (a country with very different cultural values and governance systems in comparison to other developing countries, for example, the absence of mature democracy from its birth). Building on institutional theory, two rounds of in-depth interviews (2010 & 2011) are conducted; 1647 enforcement documents (1998–2010) and 332 court cases (1999–2010) are evaluated. The study contributes to the literature on socio-cultural factors regarding IFRS implementation in developing countries. The study confirms the pressures of coercive, mimetic and normative institutional isomorphism for the pursuit of legitimacy via social expectations. Contrary to prior research, a lack of enforcement and a high level of corruption are found during the periods of democratic government. The study has raised a serious question to the international policymakers (e.g., the IMF and World Bank) for the suitability of global accounting standards in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Nurunnabi, Mohammad, 2015. "The impact of cultural factors on the implementation of global accounting standards (IFRS) in a developing country," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 136-149.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:advacc:v:31:y:2015:i:1:p:136-149
    DOI: 10.1016/j.adiac.2015.03.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882611015000164
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.adiac.2015.03.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Gongmeng & Firth, Michael & Gao, Daniel N. & Rui, Oliver M., 2005. "Is China's securities regulatory agency a toothless tiger? Evidence from enforcement actions," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 451-488.
    2. Files, Rebecca, 2012. "SEC enforcement: Does forthright disclosure and cooperation really matter?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 353-374.
    3. Covaleski, Mark A. & Dirsmith, Mark W. & Michelman, Jeffrey E., 1993. "An institutional theory perspective on the DRG framework, case-mix accounting systems and health-care organizations," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 65-80, January.
    4. Ding, Yuan & Jeanjean, Thomas & Stolowy, Herve, 2005. "Reply to discussion of "Why do national GAAP differ from IAS? The role of culture"," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 359-362.
    5. Hadani, Michael, 2012. "Institutional ownership monitoring and corporate political activity: Governance implications," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(7), pages 944-950.
    6. Sam Han & Tony Kang & Yong Keun Yoo, 2012. "Governance Role of Auditors and Legal Environment: Evidence from Corporate Disclosure Transparency," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 29-50, May.
    7. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    8. Yazdifar, Hassan & Zaman, Mahbub & Tsamenyi, Mathew & Askarany, Davood, 2008. "Management accounting change in a subsidiary organisation," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 404-430.
    9. Parmod Chand & Lorne Cummings & Chris Patel, 2012. "The Effect of Accounting Education and National Culture on Accounting Judgments: A Comparative Study of Anglo-Celtic and Chinese Culture," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 153-182, May.
    10. Helen Irvine, 2008. "The global institutionalization of financial reporting: The case of the United Arab Emirates," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 125-142, June.
    11. Ding, Yuan & Jeanjean, Thomas & Stolowy, Herve, 2005. "Why do national GAAP differ from IAS? The role of culture," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 325-350.
    12. Rock, Michael T. & Bonnett, Heidi, 2004. "The Comparative Politics of Corruption: Accounting for the East Asian Paradox in Empirical Studies of Corruption, Growth and Investment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 999-1017, June.
    13. Samuel, Sajay & Manassian, Armond, 2011. "The rise and coming fall of international accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 608-627.
    14. Pieroni, L. & d'Agostino, G., 2013. "Corruption and the effects of economic freedom," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 54-72.
    15. Lin, Z. Jun & Johnson, Stev, 2004. "An exploratory study on accounting for quality management in China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(6), pages 620-632, June.
    16. Irvine, Helen, 2008. "The global institutionalization of financial reporting: The case of the United Arab Emirates," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 125-142.
    17. Xun Wu, 2009. "Determinants of Bribery in Asian Firms: Evidence from the World Business Environment Survey," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 75-88, June.
    18. Akhtaruddin, M., 2005. "Corporate mandatory disclosure practices in Bangladesh," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 399-422.
    19. Belkaoui, Ahmed, 1983. "Economic, political, and civil indicators and reporting and disclosure adequacy: Empirical investigation," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 207-219.
    20. Lowe, E. A. & Puxty, A. G. & Laughlin, R. C., 1983. "Simple theories for complex processes: Accounting policy and the market for myopia," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 19-42.
    21. International Monetary Fund, 2010. "Bangladesh: Financial System Stability Assessment," IMF Staff Country Reports 2010/038, International Monetary Fund.
    22. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    23. Ignacio Ferrero & W. Michael Hoffman & Robert E. McNulty, 2012. "Must Milton Friedman Embrace Stakeholder Theory?," Faculty Working Papers 10/12, School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Navarra.
    24. Neu, Dean & Ocampo Gomez, Elizabeth & Graham, Cameron & Heincke, Monica, 2006. ""Informing" technologies and the World Bank," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 635-662, October.
    25. Bloom, Robert & Fuglister, Jayne & Myring, Mark, 1998. "The state of accounting in Armenia: A case," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 633-654.
    26. Burchell, Stuart & Clubb, Colin & Hopwood, Anthony & Hughes, John & Nahapiet, Janine, 1980. "The roles of accounting in organizations and society," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 5-27, January.
    27. Cooke, Terence E. & Wallace, R. S. Olusegun, 1990. "Financial disclosure regulation and its environment: A review and further analysis," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 79-110.
    28. Alberto Ades & Rafael Di Tella, 1997. "The New Economics of Corruption: a Survey and Some New Results," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 45(3), pages 496-515, August.
    29. R.M. Haniffa & T. E. Cooke, 2002. "Culture, Corporate Governance and Disclosure in Malaysian Corporations," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 38(3), pages 317-349, October.
    30. Zeghal, Daniel & Mhedhbi, Karim, 2006. "An analysis of the factors affecting the adoption of international accounting standards by developing countries," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 373-386, 012.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stoica Dragos Andrei & Dobre Florin & Nechita Elena, 2020. "IFRS implementation in Romania. Insights from a professional’s perspective," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 14(1), pages 256-262, July.
    2. Nurunnabi, Mohammad & Donker, Han & Jermakowicz, Eva K., 2022. "The impact of mandatory adoption of IFRS in Saudi Arabia," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    3. Mohammad Nurunnabi, 2017. "IFRS and Saudi accounting standards: a critical investigation," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 14(3), pages 191-206, August.
    4. Reajmin Sultana, 2021. "Family ownership, information problem and firm performance," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 10(6), pages 73-82, September.
    5. Soumaya HERGLI, 2016. "The Impact Of Ifrs Norms On Internal Governance Mechanisms With Regard To Socio-Economic Context," Management and Marketing Journal, University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 0(2), pages 243-263, November.
    6. repec:mth:ijafr8:v:8:y:2018:i:2:p:278-292 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Wijayana, Singgih & Gray, Sidney J., 2018. "Capital market consequences of cultural influences on earnings: The case of cross-listed firms in the U.S. stock market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 134-147.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alon, Anna & Dwyer, Peggy D., 2014. "Early Adoption of IFRS as a Strategic Response to Transnational and Local Influences," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 348-370.
    2. Mazzi, Francesco & Slack, Richard & Tsalavoutas, Ioannis, 2018. "The effect of corruption and culture on mandatory disclosure compliance levels: Goodwill reporting in Europe," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 52-73.
    3. Helen Hong Yang & Colin Clark & Changyu Wu & Alan Farley, 2018. "Insights from Accounting Practitioners on China's Convergence with IFRS," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(1), pages 14-27, March.
    4. Masahiro Enomoto, 2018. "Cross-Country Research on Earnings Quality: A Literature Review and Future Opportunities," Discussion Paper Series DP2018-06, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, revised Oct 2020.
    5. Cai, Lei & Rahman, Asheq & Courtenay, Stephen, 2014. "The Effect of IFRS Adoption Conditional Upon the Level of Pre-adoption Divergence," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 147-178.
    6. Tsalavoutas, Ioannis & André, Paul & Evans, Lisa, 2012. "The transition to IFRS and the value relevance of financial statements in Greece," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 262-277.
    7. Macías, Marta & Muiño, Flora, 2011. "Examining dual accounting systems in Europe," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 51-78, March.
    8. Nurunnabi, Mohammad, 2014. "‘Does accounting regulation matter?’: An experience of international financial reporting standards implementation in an emerging country," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 230-238.
    9. Nurunnabi, Mohammad, 2014. "The role of the Securities and Exchange Commission in a developing economy: Implications for IFRS," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 413-424.
    10. Guerreiro, Marta Silva & Rodrigues, Lúcia Lima & Craig, Russell, 2012. "Voluntary adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards by large unlisted companies in Portugal – Institutional logics and strategic responses," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 482-499.
    11. Henry, Elaine & Thewissen, James & Torsin, Wouter, 2021. "International Earnings Announcements: Tone, Forward-looking Statements, and Informativeness," LIDAM Discussion Papers LFIN 2021016, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain Finance (LFIN).
    12. Bonito, Ana & Pais, Cláudio, 2018. "The macroeconomic determinants of the adoption of IFRS for SMEs," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 116-127.
    13. Singgih Wijayana & Sidney J. Gray, 2019. "Institutional Factors and Earnings Management in the Asia-Pacific: Is IFRS Adoption Making a Difference?," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 307-334, April.
    14. Muniandy, Balachandran & Ali, Muhammad Jahangir, 2012. "Development of financial reporting environment in Malaysia," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 115-125.
    15. Hu, Juncheng, 2021. "Do facilitation payments affect earnings management? Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    16. Tyrrall, David & Woodward, David & Rakhimbekova, Almagoul, 2007. "The relevance of International Financial Reporting Standards to a developing country: Evidence from Kazakhstan," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 82-110.
    17. Ding, Yuan & Hope, Ole-Kristian & Jeanjean, Thomas & Stolowy, Herve, 2007. "Differences between domestic accounting standards and IAS: Measurement, determinants and implications," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-38.
    18. Mazboudi, Mohamad & Hasan, Iftekhar, 2018. "Secrecy, information shocks, and corporate investment: Evidence from European Union countries," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 166-176.
    19. Ormazabal, Gaizka, 2018. "The Role of Stakeholders in Corporate Governance: A View from Accounting Research," CEPR Discussion Papers 12775, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Araniyar C. Isukul & John J. Chizea, 2017. "Corporate Governance Disclosure in Developing Countries: A Comparative Analysis in Nigerian and South African Banks," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(3), pages 21582440177, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:advacc:v:31:y:2015:i:1:p:136-149. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/advances-in-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.