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.