The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Ghana is expected to improve the quality of financial reporting among companies in Ghana. This paper assesses the extent to which financial reports of companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) meet financial reporting quality (FRQ) dimensions of IFRS. It was a descriptive study that employed two experienced professional chartered accountants who practice as independent auditors to use FRQ criteria to assess financial reports of 20 purposively selected companies listed on GSE for 2012 and 2013. Given the high inter-rater reliability (r = .96, 95% C.I., p < .0001), the findings indicate that, overall, FRQ of the listed companies meet FRQ standards by 56.48%. Generally, the financial reports were 60.95% faithfully represented, 51.01% relevant, 50.10% understandable, 40.09% comparable and 19.75% timely audited (or 80.25% untimely). Fundamental FRQ characteristics were more prevalent than enhancing FRQ. Poorly rated FRQ areas were in the use of historical cost as measurement basis, no use of graphs and tables to clarify information, no inclusion of comprehensive glossary, ratios and index, no information on adjustment in past accounting figures for future decisions, and no comparison of current and previous accounting periods and with those of other firms. The study concludes that FRQ of the listed companies is moderate but needs considerable improvement. Implications to theory, practitioners, policy makers and industry regulators are discussed. This study fills the dearth of empirical research in FRQ in IFRS-compliance companies in Sub-Saharan Africa in general and Ghana in particular.
This paper presents a general review of opportunities and challenges of Islamic banking and finance (IBF) introduction in Ghana. It relies on existing literature, especially from Islamic banking and finance, and positional views of the authors. The paper identifies key factors in Ghana's economy that present prospects for the introduction and adoption of IBF in Ghana by policy makers and consumers. These include opportunity for employment, democratic political system of governance, flexible industry regulatory framework, existing agrarian sectors, high demand for banking products, high interest rate, Muslim population, and quest for sound business practices. It also discusses the potential challenges that are likely to face full-fledge IBF products and institution in Ghana in terms of IBF governance, consumer behaviour and performance of IBF institution. Finally, the paper proposes strategies for overcoming the potential challenges for the effective introduction of IBF in Ghana. Managerially, this paper puts together a rich blend of objective appraisal of IBF from many perspectives and serves as an important source of information on IBF in Ghana for stakeholders, especially the Bank of Ghana, policy makers, and IBF practitioners. Theoretically, this paper provides valuable source of literature for academics and practitioners interested in IBF research and business in Ghana Banking Industry.
This paper provides an empirical evidence regarding the perceived benefits and challenges of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) adoption in Ghana. It draws on rich body of knowledge in IFRS from both developed and developing countries to develop a conceptual framework for the perceived benefits and challenges that come with IFRS adoption. It used data from a cross-section of 762 members of the Institute of Charted Accountants, Ghana. This study found that a number of perceived benefits and challenges with the adoption of IFRS in Ghana, notable among the benefits was the ease of comparability of financial data across borders, and the top-most challenge was the continuous amendments to IFRS. There were few differences in evaluation between old and young accountants among the respondents. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. This study contributes to the limited empirical research regarding the perceived benefits and challenges of IFRS adoption in Sub-Saharan African in general and Ghana in particular.
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