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We assess the impact of NZ IAS 32 on the financial reporting of convertible financial instruments by retrospective application of the standard to a sample of New Zealand companies over the period 1988 ‐ 2003. NZ IAS 32 has a broader definition of liabilities than does the corresponding current standard (FRS‐31) and it does not permit convertibles to be reported under headings that are intermediate to debt and equity. The results of the study indicate that in comparison with the reported financial position and performance, the reporting of convertibles in accordance with NZ IAS 32 would result in higher amounts for liabilities and higher interest. Thus, analysts using financial statement information to assess risk of financial distress will need to revise the critical values of commonly used measures of risk and performance when companies report under NZ IAS

The main aim of this paper is to investigate Financial Instruments (FIs) disclosures provided by Jordanian listed companies under International Financial Reporting Standard No. 7 (IFRS 7) as compared to those supplied under International Accounting Standards (IAS) 30/32.

A sample of 82 Jordanian listed companies is used in this monograph. A disclosure index checklist was constructed to measure FI information provided by the sample companies.

The study finds that a larger number of Jordanian listed companies provided a greater level of FI-related information after IFRS 7 was implemented. Specifically, the sample firms provided 47 per cent of the disclosure index items after implementing IFRS 7 as compared to 30 per cent under IAS 30/32. In addition, the industrial analysis of FI disclosure revealed that the highest level of disclosure was provided by firms in the banking sector over the two periods; these companies disclosed 44 per cent of FI-related items pre-IFRS 7 and 69 per cent of items post-IFRS 7. Moreover, the industrial analysis of FI disclosure pre-and post-implementation of IFRS 7 revealed specific aspects of usefulness. In particular, some components of FI disclosure (Balance Sheet and Fair Value) showed no significant differences within and across sectors post the implementation of IFRS 7, suggesting that the new standard may have enhanced the comparability of such information.

The results provide timely findings to Jordanian authorities who may be trying to evaluate the current reforms adopted; stringent enforcement mechanisms are needed to ensure full compliance with accounting standards. However, the present investigation was conducted on a single nation (Jordan); the circumstances in Jordan gave rise to the importance of the current study. A cross-country comparative analysis is needed in order to examine the application of IFRS 7 in a developing country context.

The results of the current study have a number of implications for policymakers. First, they provide a great deal of insight for the International Accounting Standards Board about the relevance of its standards to countries outside the Western context. In addition, the findings provide valuable insights for policymakers in Jordan who are concerned about the implications of mandatory disclosures.

The analysis of FI disclosure in developing countries in general, and in Jordan in particular has been overlooked by the extant literature and therefore this study is the first of its kind to examine this research issue for a sample of Jordanian firms.

This paper investigates the financial disclosure practices of corporate annual reports published in Asian countries including Bangladesh, Indonesian, Malaysia and the Middle East countries including Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The purpose of the study is to measure the financial disclosure diversity in these countries, with a view to developing a classification of their similarities and differences in respect to their compliance with International Accounting Standards (IAS). Annual reports of 126 public companies liisted on the countries' stock exchanges are the central data source, supplemented with other relevant information about financial disclosure practices in each country. A disclosure checklist adopted from all IASs and summarised in 306 individual items of financial disclosures is used as a means of extending an understanding of financial reporting in these countries. Results show the relative degree of conformity with IASs for each of the countries included in this study.

The purpose of this paper is to: examine the value relevance of financial instruments disclosure (FID) provided by Jordanian listed companies under International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 7) as compared to that supplied under IAS 30/32; provide evidence about the value relevance of high vs low levels of FID; and investigate which components of FI-related information are more value relevant.

A sample of 70 Jordanian listed companies is used in this monograph. A disclosure index checklist was constructed to measure FI information provided by the sample companies. In addition, a valuation model is employed to test the association between FID and market value.

Although evidence is provided that FI information was value relevant over the two periods of investigation, the information supplied after the implementation of IFRS 7 was more strongly associated with market values. An analysis of the sub-components of FID reveals that the details about balance sheet, fair value and risk information matter when valuing equity. Overall, the results indicate that investors value FI-related information when making their equity pricing decisions. The result suggests that compliance with IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements does produce relevant financial statements.

The results of the current study have a number of implications for policy makers. First, they provide a great deal of insight for the IASB about the relevance of its standards to countries outside the western context. In addition, the findings provide valuable insights for policy makers in Jordan who are concerned about the implications of mandatory disclosures.

The analysis of FID in developing countries in general, and in Jordan in particular, has been overlooked by the extant literature and therefore this study is the first of its kind to examine this research issue for a sample of Jordanian firms.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) can be used for monitoring environmental degradation. A comprehensive review of academic and professional literature indicates that the IFRS regime provides useful conceptual and practical frameworks for monitoring firms that are operating in environmentally sensitive industries.

Using qualitative and case study research methods, the financial statements of three environmentally sensitive companies were studied.

The sustainability reports produced by the companies contained both information and propaganda. The credibility of published sustainability reports is unclear. The size and adequacy of the contributions of the companies towards sharing the costs of decommissioning, rehabilitation and restoration of the environment are not disclosed. A new statement is proposed.

Policy implications at national and international level are many.

The paper shows that environment has both financial and non‐financial implications. The effects of environmental degradations on the habitat and society are serious.

The paper contributes to new knowledge in several ways. There are at least three major conclusions from this paper, and the ideas are original.

This study investigates Asia Pacific banks' annual report disclosures on derivatives using the Basel Committee and IOSCO joint recommendations as the derivative and risk management disclosure benchmark. Based on our constructed disclosure index, the mean score is 35%, suggesting that many of the disclosure recommendations are not being adopted by the banks in our sample. Cross‐country and regional variation exists in the disclosure practices, with the variation associated with the extent to which accounting regulations for derivative instruments are operational. Hong Kong banks have the highest mean disclosure scores while the Philippines banks have the lowest mean disclosure scores. Australasian banks generally provide more disclosures than East Asian and South East Asian banks, and banks in developed countries generally have a higher level of disclosure relative to developing countries. The transparency of derivative activities by the banks is expected to improve as Asia Pacific countries promulgate accounting regulations congruent with international accounting standards.

The purpose of this paper is to address recent calls for research regarding the valuation implications of mandatory disclosure requirements (cf. Hassan et al., 2009; Leuz and Wysocki, 2008; Schipper, 2007).

The paper measures compliance with all International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) mandatory disclosure requirements for a sample of firms. The paper subsequently explores whether the compliance scores (i.e. the mandatory disclosure levels) are value relevant and whether the value relevance of accounting numbers differs across high- and low-compliance/disclosure companies.

The paper finds that the levels of mandatory disclosures are value relevant. Additionally, not only the relative value relevance (i.e. R2) but also the valuation coefficient of net income of high-compliance companies is significantly higher than that of low-compliance companies.

This paper is an indicative single country case study that focuses on the IFRS adoption year (2005) in the EU. It forms a new avenue for research regarding the valuation implications of mandatory disclosure requirements. It remains to future research to examine whether the findings also hold in other countries and periods.

These findings are expected to be particularly relevant to standard setters and regulatory bodies that are concerned about the implications of mandatory disclosure requirements (Schipper, 2007).

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that examines the value relevance implications of IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements, focusing on European country after 2005. The authors indicate that IFRS mandatory disclosures do lead to more transparent financial statements (cf. Pownall and Schipper, 1999), mitigating concerns about companies’ fundamentals (cf. Anctil et al., 2004).

The purpose of this paper is to examine translation in the context of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by taking the example of the English term “impairment” in IAS 36, and following it into 19 translations. The paper then examines the terms used for impairment in English translations of annual reports provided by firms. Consideration is given to the best approach for translating regulations and whether that is also suitable for the translation of annual reports.

The two empirical parts of the paper involve: first, identifying the terms for impairment used in 19 official translations of IAS 36, and second, examining English-language translations of reports provided by 393 listed firms from 11 major countries.

Nearly all the terms used for “impairment” in translations of IAS 36 do not convey the message of damage to assets. In annual reports translated into English, many terms are misleading in that they do not mention impairment, peaking at 39 per cent in German and Italian reports in one year.

Researchers should note that the information related to impairment in international databases is likely to contain errors, and the authors recommend that data should be hand-collected and then carefully checked by experts. The authors make suggestions for further research.

Translators of regulations should aim to convey the messages of the source documents, but translators of annual reports should not look only at the reports but also consult the terminology in the original regulations. The authors also suggest implications for regulators and analysts.

The paper innovates by separately considering regulations and annual reports. The authors examine a key accounting term systematically into a wide range of official translations. The core section of the paper is a new field of research: an empirical study of the translations of firms’ financial statements.

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.

It is well known that once regulatory bodies adopt a financial reporting paradigm, it becomes the guiding principle for accounting regulation. This paradigm itself in the field of accounting represents the starting point of the research. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the specific case of the Czech Republic and Romania, namely on aspects concerning regulations in the field of financial instruments.

The authors have approached an a priori economic analysis of national regulations in correlation with international standards inferences. In doing so, they have identified several key issues, which need to be discussed when thoroughly analyzing accounting regulations for financial instruments. Furthermore, the authors have used statistical indicators in order to determine the degree of similarities and dissimilarities between the two national accounting systems and also in correspondence with the international referential.

The results of the performed analysis show a high level of similarities between the two national set of GAAPs and IFRS/IAS, and also among the two of them, still both of them being closer to the international referential than to each other. Research limitations/implications – The paper only approaches formal harmonization in the area of reporting for financial instruments. Moreover, those issues analyzed through the regulations' perspective need to be closely quantified in matters of their actual implementation, pertinent conclusions and correlations being then made regarding the status of each country within the global capital market.

The paper represents a first step within the intended scientific démarche, a priori research having the attribute of generating feedback on hypothetical reporting alternatives prior to implementation.

This parallel analysis performed on the two national accounting systems from the financial instruments' point of view finds results, which are explained through the bonding theory.