This paper contributes to the discussion on the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (IFRS for SMEs) in the academic literature by examining the political economy of convergence, and illuminating the processes used by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to achieve convergence and participation by developing economies. The IFRS for SMEs was developed to facilitate implementation of a two-tier reporting regime in the developing economies. Since 2000, progress towards issuance of the IFRS for SMEs has been hindered by a lack of active engagement by SMEs and academics from developing economies. It is found that (1) a lack of grounded studies and empirical knowledge on SME users’ needs impeded the development of the IFRS for SMEs; (2) the capital market assumption adopted for the IFRS is clearly inappropriate; and (3) the under-representation of developing economies in international standard setting remains an issue. It is recommended that the IASB ascertains the users of SME reports and their needs and then develops a coherent conceptual framework for SMEs (particularly those from developing economies). The IASB needs to take into consideration the needs, culture and regulatory infrastructures of the developing economies, the political agendas of the standard-setting stakeholders, and barriers to implementation."> This paper contributes to the discussion on the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (IFRS for SMEs) in the academic literature by examining the political economy of convergence, and illuminating the processes used by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to achieve convergence and participation by developing economies. The IFRS for SMEs was developed to facilitate implementation of a two-tier reporting regime in the developing economies. Since 2000, progress towards issuance of the IFRS for SMEs has been hindered by a lack of active engagement by SMEs and academics from developing economies. It is found that (1) a lack of grounded studies and empirical knowledge on SME users’ needs impeded the development of the IFRS for SMEs; (2) the capital market assumption adopted for the IFRS is clearly inappropriate; and (3) the under-representation of developing economies in international standard setting remains an issue. It is recommended that the IASB ascertains the users of SME reports and their needs and then develops a coherent conceptual framework for SMEs (particularly those from developing economies). The IASB needs to take into consideration the needs, culture and regulatory infrastructures of the developing economies, the political agendas of the standard-setting stakeholders, and barriers to implementation."> This paper contributes to the discussion on the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (IFRS for SMEs) in the academic literature by ">
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The Political Economy of Convergence: The Case of IFRS for SMEs

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  • S. Susela Devi
  • R. Helen Samujh
Abstract
type="main"> This paper contributes to the discussion on the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (IFRS for SMEs) in the academic literature by examining the political economy of convergence, and illuminating the processes used by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to achieve convergence and participation by developing economies. The IFRS for SMEs was developed to facilitate implementation of a two-tier reporting regime in the developing economies. Since 2000, progress towards issuance of the IFRS for SMEs has been hindered by a lack of active engagement by SMEs and academics from developing economies. It is found that (1) a lack of grounded studies and empirical knowledge on SME users’ needs impeded the development of the IFRS for SMEs; (2) the capital market assumption adopted for the IFRS is clearly inappropriate; and (3) the under-representation of developing economies in international standard setting remains an issue. It is recommended that the IASB ascertains the users of SME reports and their needs and then develops a coherent conceptual framework for SMEs (particularly those from developing economies). The IASB needs to take into consideration the needs, culture and regulatory infrastructures of the developing economies, the political agendas of the standard-setting stakeholders, and barriers to implementation.

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  • S. Susela Devi & R. Helen Samujh, 2015. "The Political Economy of Convergence: The Case of IFRS for SMEs," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 25(2), pages 124-138, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ausact:v:25:y:2015:i:2:p:124-138
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    2. Issam Benhayoun & M. Marghich Abdellatif, 2017. "IFRS for SMEs: A Structured Literature Review [International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting]," Post-Print hal-01910461, HAL.
    3. Karen Handley & Sue Wright & Elaine Evans, 2018. "SME Reporting in Australia: Where to Now for Decision†usefulness?," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(2), pages 251-265, June.
    4. Warren, Rebecca, 2024. "Maintaining and extending hegemony: The politics of accounting standard setting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Flauzeliton José Aparecido Gonçalves & André Aroldo Freitas De Moura & Fabio Yoshio Suguri Motoki, 2022. "What influences the implementation of IFRS for SMEs? The Brazilian case," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2947-2992, June.
    6. Stewart Jones & Nurul Alam, 2019. "A machine learning analysis of citation impact among selected Pacific Basin journals," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(4), pages 2509-2552, December.

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