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This paper aims to assess the benefits gained and the challenges experienced by companies listed on the UAE stock market following the introduction of IFRS. Since the announcement by the European Union to adopt IFRS by listed companies, many countries have followed suit, hoping to gain competitive edge in attracting the Foreign Direct Investment to boost their economic growth. This study focuses on examining the advantages and challenges faced by companies listed on the UAE stock market listed companies as a result of adopting IFRS. The framework used in this analysis will be based on the identification and assessment of key drivers influencing companies listed on the UAE stock market. To what extent are these factors internal or external to the financial sector, but which have a direct bearing on the overall economic environment? The views and perceptions of the Chief Financial Officers' (CFOs) for Dubai and Abu Dhabi listed companies, financial analysts of the financial statements in the two listed companies and auditors will be analysed. Methodology:Questionnaires were used as the main method of data collection. Questionnaire were distributed in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets, The data obtained through the questionnaires have been imported into software for analysis, namely, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings:The results clearly show that the benefits of adopting IFRSs in UAE inevitably far outweigh the difficulties and costs. The findings also reveal that adoption of IFRSs in UAE stock markets has improved the overall standard of the quality of financial reporting, which help in attracting investors to invest in the UAE stock markets. However, many respondents were still apprehensive that effective and professional financial reporting decisions will be affected by the level of education of accounting users, the methods provided by some IFRSs, and the inadequate enforcement mechanisms.

This study aims to develop a generic framework for the adoption of Internet corporate reporting (ICR), in developing countries, and to test the applicability of this framework by undertaking an empirical study in a developing country, namely Jordan. The key literature focuses mainly on economic-based theories in explaining different ICR practices as a voluntary disclosure channel. The theoretical foundation underpinning the study integrates several of these disclosure frameworks with innovation diffusion theories. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 150 CEOs and CFOs of companies, with usable websites, listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. Based on managers’ evaluation, four factors were further identified as significant contributors to ICR adoption, namely cost-benefit balance, management commitment, internal technology readiness, and users’ attention. Given the lack of an overarching theoretical framework for studying ICR, this study presents an assessment framework for ICR adoption, which enables managers to evaluate the current status of a company in respect of three aspects of readiness to engage in ICR, these being: organisation, technology, and environment.

The study examines the impacts of using two dimensions of the technology acceptance model (TAM), perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, on the adoption of big data analytics in auditing, and the subsequent impact on audit quality. Five hypotheses were developed. A questionnaire survey was undertaken with external affiliated audit companies and offices in Jordan. Eventually, 130 usable questionnaires were collected, representing a 72.22% response rate. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed for diagnosing the measurement model, and to test the hypotheses of the study. The study finds that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a direct effect on audit quality, without mediating the actual use of data analytics. However, the use of big data analytics is shown to moderate the relationship between perceived usefulness and audit quality, but not between the perceived ease of use and audit quality. The study is one of the first to examine auditors’ acceptance of big data analytics in their work and the impact of this acceptance and actual use on audit quality. It contributes to the existing literature in auditing through its application of SEM to examine the impact of big data analytics usage on audit quality by using the TAM.

This paper attempts to examine the adverse circumstances of auditing, assess the current status and gauge the perceptions of the auditor independence in Libya. It aims to investigate the extent to which audit firms and the Libyan Accountants and Auditors Association (LAAA) play an important role in developing the profession of auditing and enhances auditor independence. The study also indicates a view that, to improve and develop the accounting and auditing profession in general, and to enhance the level of the perception of auditor independence in particular, the LAAA as a professional body should have more power and authority in the Libyan audit market.Data were collected by two methods, a questionnaire survey (quantitative) and a number of semi-structured interviews (qualitative) to give both triangulation and amplification. The questionnaire was analysed using both conventional comparative statistics and multivariate methods. The sample of respondents comprised three groupings: accounts managers, financial managers and internal auditors working in Libyan public companies; managing partners, partners, audit supervisors and auditors working in audit firms in Libya; and controllers working for the Libyan Association of Auditors and Accountants (LAAA).The results of the study indicate two groups supported the proposition that the LAAA should adopt international auditing and accounting standards to improve the perception of auditor independence. More important, public companies and audit firms preferred that there should be a law or rule to require public companies to disclose in the financial statements the amount of audit and non-audit services fees paid.