Achieving global convergence of financial reporting standards: implications from the South Pacific region

The forces of globalization and political expediency are forcing an increasing number of countries to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Although numerous countries are adopting IFRS, the approaches used for convergence continue to differ significantly across countries. Using selected countries from the South Pacific region, this chapter investigates the relationship between country-specific characteristics and the selection of the appropriate approach for the adoption of IFRS. The country-specific attributes that have been found to influence convergence are (1) the set of accounting standards that prevailed in the country at the time the selection was made, (2) the availability and experience of professional accountants, (3) the relevant educational and professional training, (4) the presence of the Big 4 accounting firms, and (5) the accounting regulatory framework. The results of this study suggest that complete comparability in financial reporting may be difficult to achieve across all countries in the region even after adopting the IFRS because of differences in country-specific factors. These findings are important because they indicate that attention should be concentrated on theorizing and empirically testing the effects of country-specific attributes on convergence efforts across jurisdictions.