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This paper aims to examine the influence of firm characteristics on harmonisation of companies listed on the Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia Stock Exchanges.

This study uses a checklist based mainly on the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The findings of the study are 6that the level of compliance with IFRS was higher in 2010 than in 2005. Multiple regression analysis indicates that the level of compliance with IFRS increases with company size, institutional ownership, industry and language of disclosure.

The findings of this study suggest that both institutional- and firm-level forces influence the harmonisation process.

This study contributes to the literature on accounting harmonisation in the context of North Africa.

Against the background of growing concerns that development interventions can sometimes be a zero sum game, the purpose of this paper is to examine the unintended consequences of microfinance for women empowerment in Ghana.

The study employs a participatory mixed-method approach including household questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews to investigate the dynamics of microfinance effects on women in communities of different vulnerability status in Ghana.

The results of hierarchical regression, triadic closure and thematic analyses demonstrate that the economic benefits of microfinance for women is also directly associated with conflicts amongst spouses, girl child labour, polygyny and the neglect of perceived female domestic responsibilities due to women’s devotion to their enterprises.

In the light of limited empirical evidence on potentially negative impacts of women empowerment interventions in Africa, this paper fills a critical gap in knowledge that will enable NGOs, policy makers and other stakeholders to design and implement more effective interventions that mitigate undesirable consequences.

By drawing upon institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of four critical resources (credit, electricity, contract enforcement and political governance) in explaining the quality of entrepreneurship and the depth of the supporting entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa.

A quantitative approach based on ordinary least squares regression analysis was used. Three data sources were employed. First, the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) of 35 African countries was used to measure the quality of entrepreneurship and the depth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa which represents the dependent variable. Second, the World Bank’s data on access to credit, electricity and contract enforcement in Africa were also employed as explanatory variables. Third, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance was used as an explanatory variable. Finally, country-specific data on four control variables (GDP, foreign direct investment, population and education) were gathered and analysed.

To support entrepreneurship development, Africa needs broad financial inclusion and state institutions that are more effective at enforcing contracts. Access to credit was non-significant and therefore did not contribute to the dependent variable (entrepreneurship quality and depth of entrepreneurial support in Africa). Access to electricity and political governance were statistically significant and correlated positively with the dependent variables. Finally, contract enforcement was partially significant and contributed to the dependent variable.

A lack of GEI data for all 54 African countries limited this study to only 35 African countries: 31 in sub-Saharan Africa and 4 in North Africa. Therefore, the generalisability of this study’s findings to the whole of Africa might be limited. Second, this study depended on indexes for this study. Therefore, any inconsistencies in the index aggregation if any could not be authenticated. This study has practical implications for the development of entrepreneurship in Africa. Public and private institutions for credit delivery, contract enforcement and the provision of utility services such as electricity are crucial for entrepreneurship development.

The institutional void is a challenge for Africa. This study highlights the weak, corrupt nature of African institutions that supposedly support MSME growth. Effective entrepreneurship development in Africa depends on the presence of a supportive institutional infrastructure. This study engages institutional theory to explain the role of institutional factors such as state institutions, financial institutions, utility providers and markets in entrepreneurship development in Africa.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to test whether intellectual capital mediates the relationship between board of directors’ effectiveness and adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and to examine the contribution of the specific elements of intellectual capital and board of directors’ effectiveness to adoption of IFRS.

This study is cross-sectional. Usable questionnaires were received from 67 microfinance institutions (MFIs) that are members of the Association of MFIs of Uganda. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and MedGraph program (Excel version).

Results indicate that intellectual capital mediates the relationship between board of directors’ effectiveness and adoption of IFRS. Results further indicate that board independence and board meetings contribute significantly to the adoption of IFRS unlike board size and board committees. Results also indicate that in the intellectual capital elements, only structural capital and human capital significantly contribute to the adoption of IFRS unlike relational capital.

This study provides more insights on our understanding of the relationship between intellectual capital, board of directors’ effectiveness and adoption of IFRS. Specifically, it provides first time evidence of the mediation effect of intellectual capital in the relationship between board of directors’ effectiveness and adoption of IFRS using evidence from an African developing country – Uganda. Further, this paper adds to existing literature on corporate governance and reporting practices, as it provides more insights on the contribution of specific elements of board of directors’ effectiveness and intellectual capital to adoption of IFRS.

From an agency theory realm, this study aims to respond to the more recent calls to deeply analyze the indirect influence of professional shareholders, namely, institutional, blockholder and foreign owners, on the extent of compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) mandatory reporting requirements.

Multivariate regression analysis was applied. Moreover, quantitative static and dynamic panel data have been used. More plainly, ordinary least squares was run as a baseline estimator. Afterwards, one-step system generalized method of moment and two-stage least squares were conducted to control for the potential endogeneity dilemma. The analysis is based on a sample of nonfinancial listed firms on the Palestine Stock Exchange for the time span of 10 years, from 2010 to 2019.

After controlling for the detrimental effect of the endogeneity issue, the findings clearly reveal that the effect of the three types of professional shareholders (institutional, blockholder and foreign) on the extent of compliance with IFRS is more significant under a high proportion of independent nonexecutive directors.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, prior literature on the nexus between shareholding structure and compliance level with IFRS has restricted solely to analyzing the direct influence without casting the light on the moderation effect of independent nonexecutive directors. Hence, analyzing this sensitive configuration merits attention. In this vein, to ameliorate the compliance level with IFRS, regulators have to devote remarkable effort to updating both enforcement mechanisms and best practices of shareholding structure simultaneously.

In recent years, Tunisian listed companies have been preparing their financial statements under a hybrid set of accounting standards; a mixture of national and international standards. The purpose of this paper is to empirically verify to what extent this particular form of de facto compliance with IAS/IFRS (which are not authorized in Tunisia) is used among listed companies. The paper further analyzes accounting professionals’ perception of the current state of Tunisian standards and their attitudes in the absence of relevant national Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs).

Two methodological approaches were used to answer the paper’s research questions: a document analysis approach and a survey questionnaire.

The document analysis revealed that a growing number of listed companies complement local GAAPs by standards they select among IAS/IFRS. The perception study indicated that Tunisian Accounting Standards are, indeed, less suitable for listed companies’ needs. Accordingly, when there is no local standard to measure a specific transaction or event, accounting professionals seem to have no problem in using some IAS/IFRS as a complement to overcome the unachieved nature of local GAAPs. However, the overall findings are likely to suggest that international standards used must not conflict with the Tunisian conceptual framework’s provisions. This means that the use of IAS/IFRS in conjunction with local GAAPs is generally perceived as being beneficial to the quality of financial statements.

This study may be of interest to many developing countries that have not continued the harmonization of their accounting standards with IAS/IFRS. Future research should focus on the reasons which have led to this unachieved harmonization and the consequences of the normative gap which might emerge.

Previous research has often shown how difficult it is to apply international accounting standards in developing countries, especially when they do not correspond to the companies’ needs. Difficulties could occur when local standard-setters do not accurately know which new international standards are suitable to the market needs. The study gives some insights suggesting that corporate accounting practices should be analyzed to understand the real needs for new standards.

The paper highlights the beginning of a de facto convergence with international accounting standards without any support of national de jure convergence. Consideration of this phenomenon may contribute to the understanding of the malaise that characterizes the current accounting standard-setting in developing countries.

This paper aims to examine gender differences in credit access and credit default.

Using panel data drawn from 917 valid credit borrowers covering the period 2012 to 2015 drawn from among 6,849 study subjects and a national household financial survey (n = 29,500) conducted in China, this study focuses on gender differences in small and micro entrepreneurs’ financial behavior, specifically with respect to credit access and credit default.

The study revealed the following: Women expressed having more barriers to obtaining a business loan than men; gender had a significant effect on women’ credit default; and women were less likely to default a loan than male loan borrowers did. An exploration of the reasons for credit access and default found that female loan applicants were more likely to display a lack of knowledge and confidence in loan application.

The study contributes to literature by using the Marxian concept of reification in explaining women and their financial behaviors in China.