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We study ceremonial adoption of voluntary standards, where participants adopt the standard in principle but do not change their practices. Ceremonial adoption can benefit individual participants, who may be able to reap the benefits of association with the standard at lower cost, but it can be problematic for overall levels of adoption. We conceive of ceremonial adoption as an interaction between strategic incentives of participants and social ties to their audiences, such that not all participants are likely to ceremonially adopt. Our setting is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for sustainable construction. We study the conditions under which projects register for LEED certification, allowing them to claim affiliation with LEED, but then do not actually finish certification. While our data are correlational in nature, our results suggest that studying the competition for audience members (in our case, occupants) can provide greater understanding of certification behavior as well as overall levels of adoption. Our findings have implications for organizations that design and maintain voluntary standards and for organization theorists who wish to understand field-level change. Thus, we provide more evidence that strategy and organizational theory interact in important and often unexamined ways.

The purpose of this study is to examine the indirect relationship between the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards for small and medium-sized enterprises (IFRS for SMEs) and the corporate governance index (CGI) by checking the mediating effect of the quality of financial statements (QFS) on this relationship.

The main objective of the IFRS for SMEs standard is to meet the specific needs of SMEs in transition and developing economies. Here, the authors used the structural equation method to investigate SMEs in countries that mandate the application of IFRS for SMEs for the years 2010 (pre-adoption) and 2016 (post-adoption). The final sample covered two emerging countries: the Dominican Republic and El Salvador.

The results show a positive association between the adoption of IFRS for SMEs, CGI and QFS. Furthermore, the findings confirm that the relationship between IFRS for SMEs adoption and CGI is under the control of the QFS.

This study provides standard setters and managers of SMEs with an overview of the importance of QFS on the significance of this relationship in emerging countries. The study contributes to the literature by examining the indirect relationship between IFRS for SMEs and CGI and building a CGI that integrates a set of governance practices linked to SMEs.

In 2018, the International Financial Reporting Standard 9-Financial Instruments became mandatory, effectively changing the underlying accounting principles of financial instruments. This paper systematically reviews the academic literature on the implementation effects of IFRS 9, providing a coherent picture of the state of the empirical literature on IFRS 9.

The study thrives on a systematic review approach by analyzing existing academic studies along the following three broad categories: adoption and implementation, impact on financial reporting, and risk management and provisioning. The study concludes by providing research prospects to fill the identified gaps.

We document data-related issues, forecasting uncertainties and the interaction of IFRS 9 with other regulatory standards as implementation challenges encountered. Also, we observe cross-country heterogeneity in reporting quality. Furthermore, contrary to pre-implementation expectations, we find improvement in risk management. This suggests that despite the complexities of the new regulatory standard on financial instruments, it appears to be more successful in achieving the intended objective of enhancing better market discipline and transparency rather than being a regulatory overreach.

As the literature on IFRS 9 is burgeoning, we provide state-of-the-art guidance and direction for researchers with a keen interest in the economic significance and implications of IFRS 9 adoption. The study identifies gaps in the literature that require further research, specifically, IFRS 9 adoption and firm’s hedging activities, IFRS 9 implications on non-financial firms. Lastly, existing studies are mostly focused on Europe and underscore the need for more research in under-researched jurisdictions, particularly in Asia and Africa. Also, to standard setters, policymakers and practitioners, we provide some insight to aid the formulation and application of standards.

This paper aims to examine the influence of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on corporate tax avoidance (CTA). In addition, this study aims to explore whether family ownership moderates the impact of IFRS adoption on CTA.

The authors used a sample of 1,856 firms from various countries around the world, covering the period between 2010 and 2022. To estimate the proposed econometric models, the authors applied both fixed and random effects regression methods.

The present findings show that IFRS adoption has a negative impact on CTA, as measured by the effective tax rate and book-tax differences. This negative impact is more pronounced in “common law” countries than in “civil law countries.” Additionally, the authors found that family ownership plays a moderating role by positively affecting the impact of IFRS adoption on CTA.

The findings have practical, regulatory and academic implications for fostering accountability and fairness in taxation. This study suggests that implementing IFRS reduces tax avoidance and emphasizes the need for firms to evaluate the implications of IFRS adoption on their tax-planning strategies. It highlights the importance of aligning financial reporting practices with international standards to enhance transparency and minimize tax avoidance opportunities. The differential impact of IFRS adoption between “common law” and “civil law” countries underscores the role of legal and regulatory frameworks. In addition, family ownership plays a significant role in shaping tax-planning strategies. From an academic perspective, this research provides a foundation for further exploration into the relationship between IFRS adoption and tax avoidance.

The existing literature has predominantly concentrated on examining the effect of IFRS adoption on CTA, and the empirical findings have been inconsistent. This study introduces a novel perspective by considering the moderating influence of family ownership in determining the impact of IFRS adoption on CTA.

The global insurance industry has implemented International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 17 insurance contracts effective from January 1, 2023. The Islamic insurance (Takaful) industry would find itself at a crossroads if IFRS 17 should also be adopted for Takaful contracts. This paper aims to explore the process of IFRS 17 adoption for Takaful contracts in Malaysia and the implementation of the standard in the early adoption year.

Applying a qualitative approach, this study uses a literature review search and interviews to analyze deeper into the adoption process in Malaysia. Using institutional work, this paper analyses the process timeline, the actors and their roles and actions in the adoption process. The authors interviewed 12 informants from different backgrounds comprising the national standard setters, preparers and the IFRS 17 consultants.

The adoption process of IFRS 17 in Malaysia is an interplay between the accounting standard setter, the government and the industry associations who are the major actors in the process. These actors have different roles and contributions, but they work together to accomplish a single vision, adopting IFRS 17 for all. There is an interplay between actors to disrupt the accounting practice and involved in creating various institutional work to ensure the concerns of Takaful practitioners are well addressed. This research also found that the companies faced significant challenges in applying the standard in the early months of implementation.

This paper contributes to the literature by providing an explanation and examples of the IFRS adoption for Shariah transactions. The story of Malaysia can become a case study for other countries that are still deciding on adopting IFRS 17, especially for the Islamic insurance industry.

The story of Malaysia can become a case study for other countries that are still deciding on adopting IFRS 17, especially for the Islamic insurance industry.

This paper contributes to the literature on the debate of the application of IFRS to Shariah transactions by using institutional work theory as a framework.

This article aims to identify and review existing studies on the adoption and compliance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Africa.

The methodology involves a sole focus on studies conducted with an African sample, using a bibliometric method and data from the Web of Science (WoS) database. Visualizations from VOSViewer and Biblioshiny software are employed to identify the dominant authors, journals and countries contributing to research in the region.

The findings reveal existing collaborations among authors in the field. However, the study emphasizes the need for additional research to enhance the intellectual structure of the research domain, as the majority of related documents are concentrated within twenty articles with at least one citation.

The practical implications underscore the importance of collaboration in practice, emphasizing the need for cooperation among corporations, experts and regulatory agencies involved in IFRS adoption and compliance in Africa. By fostering collaborative efforts and knowledge-sharing among corporations, experts and regulatory agencies, practitioners can enhance their understanding, streamline implementation processes and improve compliance methods.

This review is one of the few to explicitly conduct a bibliometric review of IFRS adoption and compliance studies in Africa, providing a foundation for future research to determine the current direction of IFRS studies in this region.

This paper aims to assess the factors that may explain the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) convergence, considering Hofstede’s cultural dimensions as the theoretical reference for the cultural approach proposed. Additional factors include countries’ contextual and macroeconomic characteristics.

Logistic and probit regression models were used to identify the factors that may explain the IPSAS (fully or adapted) use by countries, including 166 countries in this assessment (59 for those whose cultural dimensions are available).

The findings consistently indicate collectivism and indebtedness levels as explanatory factors, providing insights into cultural dimensions along with macroeconomic characteristics as a relevant factor of countries’ convergence to IPSAS.

There are different levels of IPSAS convergence by countries that were not considered. This aspect may hide different countries’ characteristics that may explain those options, which could not be distinguished in this paper.

As a result of this paper, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board may gain insights that can be applied within the IPSAS due process to overcome the main challenges when collaborating with national authorities to achieve a high level of convergence. This analysis may include how to accommodate countries’ cultural differences as well as their contextual and macroeconomic characteristics.

There is a trend of moving toward accrual-based accounting standards by countries. Because the public sector embraces a new culture following the IPSAS path, it is relevant to assess if there are cultural factors, besides contextual and macroeconomic characteristics, that may explain the countries’ convergence to those standards.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first cross-country analysis on the likely influence of cultural dimensions on IPSAS convergence as far as the authors’ knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of institutional structures on the strength of auditing and financial reporting standards.

This paper employs a panel data of 36 African countries over the period 2000–2018. System generalised method of moments (SGMM) was employed to estimate the relationship between institutional structures and the strength of auditing and financial reporting standards in Africa.

The findings of this paper indicate a positive and statistically significant relationship between institutional structures and the strength of auditing and financial reporting standards. As a further analysis, the study finds that the relationship between institutional structures and the strength of auditing and financial reporting standards is stronger for economies with common-law accounting traditions than those with civil-law origin.

The paper has important implications for countries striving to adopt and implement auditing and financial reporting standards fully. Such efforts must begin with establishing strong institutional structures in those countries.

This study presents the first empirical panel data evidence on the effect of institutional structures on the strength of auditing and financial reporting standards in Africa. Further, the methodology employed in this study can be regarded as effective in testing the phenomenon in other regions, or it can be employed as a guiding model for future research in the area.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Shariah Advisory Board (SAB), Audit committee (AC) and board of directors (BD) characteristics on the performance of Islamic banks (IBs) in the MENA region.

The paper employs a quantitative approach, utilizing both ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and panel data analysis (random effects models) to examine the relationship between corporate governance variables and the performance of IBs. The sample consists of 50 IBs from 10 countries, spanning a seven-year period (2010–2016), with the exclusion of the Covid-19 pandemic period. To ensure the robustness of the results, various sensitivity tests were conducted, including pooled regression OLS and subsample analysis based on adhering to the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) standards.

The study's findings suggest that the size of the SAB and the membership of at least one member of the SAB on the AAOIFI have a notable adverse effect on the performance of IBs. On the other hand, the AC independence has a positive influence on bank performance. However, there was no significant impact observed for AC size, meeting frequency and BD characteristics on bank performance. The research also revealed nuanced relationships between governance variables and bank performance when analyzing the sample based on AAOIFI adoption. Among banks not adhering to AAOIFI standards, SAB size and CEO duality negatively affected return on assets, while AC independence positively impacted it. For AAOIFI-compliant banks, AC independence significantly improved bank performance, whereas AC meetings exhibited a negative effect. Furthermore, there were no significant relationships observed for return on equity among banks not adhering to AAOIFI standards, whereas AAOIFI-compliant banks experienced positive impacts from AC independence. These results offer valuable insights into the intricate connection between governance attributes and bank performance, particularly in the context of AAOIFI standards adoption.

The study's findings have important practical implications for various stakeholders in the Islamic banking industry. For bank practitioners and management, the study highlights the significance of enhancing the independence of AC to improve decision-making and risk management, leading to better bank performance. Moreover, careful selection of SAB members can mitigate potential negative effects on performance. Policymakers may consider promoting AAOIFI standards to shape the relationship between governance and bank performance. Investors can use the insights to make informed decisions, and banks with stronger governance may attract more investments.

Through quantitative analysis and AAOIFI-based sample division, this study adds to the growing literature on corporate governance and the performance of IBs by examining the impact of multiple corporate governance variables on the performance of IBs in the MENA region. To provide a theoretical basis for this relationship, three theories, namely agency, stewardship and stakeholder theories, are employed and discussed.

Sustainable development (SD) is widely acknowledged as the center around which all development efforts should revolve. Banking is a crucial component of SD, and the adoption of sustainable banking practices by various banking institutions is a powerful catalyst for its achievement. This paper aims to investigate the level of adoption of environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators in India and the extent to which financial institutions use these strategies. In addition, the banks have been classified according to their sustainable banking performance and showing a relationship between ESG and sustainability.

An ESG framework has been developed for the Indian banking system that focuses on the behavior of banks. The evaluation of literature helps to identify the gaps in particular frameworks for analyzing sustainable banking practices in developing nations because of the variation in economic criteria between developed and developing countries. An attempt to construct a common framework for measuring the banking sector’s sustainable efforts has been done in the past. Specifically in India, where the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability are of equal importance to governance indicators, these studies fall short of providing relevant indicators. Multiple financial reports, nonfinancial reports, corporate social responsibility reports and business responsibility reports of this sector were analyzed using content analysis techniques against ESG indicators for sustainability attainment.

The result of this study shows that both the sectors are disclosing their environmental indicators more as compared to other dimensions. While the analysis says that private companies are going better than public companies in terms of disclosing their ESG indicators. As compared to the international banking sector, adoption of Global Reporting Initiatives standards, United Nations Environment Programme Financial Initiatives (UNEP FI), Green Credit Policy and Equator Principles (EP) is near to the ground in India. IDFC bank is the only entity that started implementing EP practices and Yes bank also is doing a wonderful implementation of the green policies and is the signatory to UNEP FI.

The current state of sustainable banking in India is reflected in the implementation of the proposed framework. To better integrate sustainability problems into banking, this study provides helpful information for banks and other stakeholders. In addition, this study corrects the lack of research in the Indian context on sustainable banking.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge by far, this is one of the prime studies to inspect the degree of ESG disclosure by the Indian banking sector in their sustainability report.