A review of literature on IFRS in Africa

Abstract

Purpose This paper is an appraisal of existing literature on IFRS in Africa. In a bid to determine what exists and what is missing in the literature, the authors have reviewed three streams of studies, namely, adoption, compliance/harmonisation and consequences of IFRS in Africa, with the aim to suggest what remains to be investigated on IFRS in Africa. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a systematic review approach including synthesis of a variety of archival materials. Articles on Africa were summarised under three main headings: adoption, compliance/harmonisation and consequences of IFRS. Findings This review finds limited research on IFRS in Africa. It reveals that although past cross-continent studies claimed to cover Africa, they are limited to only a few countries and mainly predominated by South Africa. The authors identified only one study that investigated the impact of economic and cultural factors on IFRS adoption in Africa and few cross-continent studies but considering only very few African countries. Regarding compliance, four studies concluded that compliance with IFRS is dependent on a firm’s characteristics. The authors also identified that some of the generalised findings from prior research on consequences of IFRS are of limited significance in the African context. Originality/value This study suggests the determinants of adoption, compliance and consequences of IFRS in Africa are different if studied separately. It identifies some gaps in the literature that require further research, specifically, IFRS on taxation, fair valuation practices and the institutional capacities of countries to implement the standards.

IFRS Adoption Research in Indonesia: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Research networks have never been discussed in previous studies, either by Wahyuni et al (2020), Tsalavoutas et al (2020), or Tawiah and Boolaky (2019). Therefore, this study differed from the previous research.…”

“…In Indonesia, the research was conducted by Wahyuni et al (2020). Similar research was also carried out by Tawiah and Boolaky (2019) and Balsari and Varan (2014) abroad. Previous studies have shown the contrast results, so it is debatable whether the presence of IFRS can complement, improve, and perfect the quality of accounting standards.…”

“…The research on the IFRS adoption has been widely carried out by previous researchers (such as Balsari & Varan, 2014;George et al, 2016;Samaha & Khlif, 2016;Tawiah & Boolaky, 2019;Wahyuni et al, 2020;Tsalavoutas et al, 2020). The main references in this research are the study by Wahyuni et al (2020), Balsari andVaran (2014), andTsalavoutas et al (2020).…”

“…Several previous studies have also been conducted abroad (such as George et al, 2016;Samaha & Khlif, 2016;Tawiah & Boolaky, 2019). George et al (2016) analyzed the literature on IFRS convergence in Europe.…”

Mapping Global Research on International Financial Reporting Standards: A Scientometric Review

“…Of course, IFRS reviews are not new, as there are reviews on IFRS adoption (De George et al, 2016;Khlif & Achek, 2016), on single standards (Merz, 2017), IFRS adoption in the singled out region (Jang et al, 2016;Tawiah & Boolaky, 2019) as well as the impact of IAS/IFRS on quality of financial reporting (Wadesango et al, 2016). Having said that however it should be noted that all these papers use a completely different methodology, which contrasted those papers and our study.…”