SECTION ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Globalization of capital markets is an irreversible process hence the need for harmonization

of accounting standards in order to help standardize companies’ financial statements, especially

international investors whose interest span across the globe. Since financial information is the

medium of communicating financial transactions, it is important that different countries’

accounting standards be harmonized to form a single set of accounting standards, to improve the

rate at which investment and credit decisions are taken and aid international comparability of

companies’ performance both within and outside reporting countries. According to Essien-Akpan

(2011), as a result of increasing globalization and therefore competition, it becomes imperative that

countries and companies alike address issues that will make them become more attractive of

investors’ capital which is like the proverbial beautiful bride. Adekoya (2011) noted that there are

many potential benefits to be gained from the adoption of uniform, mutually recognized and

respected international accounting standards , the adoption cut the cost of doing business across the

borders by reducing the need for complementary information, make information more comparable,

thereby enhancing evaluation and analysis by users of financial statements. Ahmed (2011) also put

it differently that users become more confident of the information they are provided with and

presumably, this reduces uncertainties, promotes efficient allocation of resources and reduce capital

cost.

The evolution of this international convergence towards a global set of accounting standards

started in 1973 when 16 professional accounting bodies from major countries comprising UK,

Ireland, United States (US), Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands

agreed to form International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) responsible for the issuing

of International Accounting Standards (IAS) until April 2001 when the IASC was re-structured to

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International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) to develop a uniform set of accounting principles

that would be applicable globally and supersede the International Accounting Standards (IAS)

which allowed for different treatments of transactions and events, making comparative analysis

difficult and to be known as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) (Ajibade, 2011).

In Nigeria, to join the moving train of globalization and to take its advantages outlined

above, adoption of IFRS was launched in September 2010, by the Honorable Minister, Federal

Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Senator Jubril Martins-kuye (OFR) with the issuance of the

implementation roadmap for Nigerian adoption of IFRS. The roadmap set January 2012 as

compliance date for publicly quoted companies and significant public interest entities in Nigeria.

All other public interest entities are expected to mandatorily adopt IFRS by January 2013, and

small and medium-sized entities to adopt IFRS by January 2014.

Two years after the first adoption and implementation of IFRS in Nigeria, this study is meant to

evaluate the likely challenges of its post implementation.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Despite all the immense benefits of adopting and implementing IFRS such as reduced cost of

doing business across the borders via reduction in the need for complementary information,

comparability of information, enhancement in evaluation and analysis by users of financial

statements, reduction in uncertainties as well as capital cost, its implementation is however not

without challenges, especially in a developing country like Nigeria (Adekoya, 2011; Ahmed 2011)

Adoption of IFRS in Nigeria is faced with challenges which will entail significant costs and will

have far reaching challenges on a wide variety of stakeholders in the financial reporting process;

including financial statement preparers, investors, analysts, auditors, regulators and other partakers

of financial reporting process. These stakeholders are faced with a number of implementation

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challenges on the financial reporting process which include among others conversion will require

companies to re-align their systems, train employees and educate users of the financial statements

on changes to financial reports. Auditors will be required to implement extensive training

programmes to ensure that future accounting professionals receive a sound education on the

application of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) (Onoja, et al., 2013)

Post implementation challenges of IFRS are the major concern in Nigeria today after two

years of its adoption and implementation. Therefore the following research questions are to be

addressed in this study.

i. Do IFRS implementation led to additional cost of operations for entities that have

implemented it so far?

ii. Do the increased costs of operation as a result of IFRS implementation outweigh the

benefits derivable from its implementation?

iii. To what extent do managing public perceptions around changes in financial statements

brought about by IFRS implementation a challenge? In other words, do changes in

financial statements have any negative effects on public perceptions about the financial

statements?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

Generally, this study is aimed at evaluating the post implementation challenges of IFRS from

the Nigerian Accountants’ perspective. Specific objectives sought in this study include:

i. to evaluate whether IFRS implementation led to additional cost of operations for entities

that have implemented it so far.

ii. to examine whether the increased costs of operation as a result of IFRS implementation

outweigh the benefits derivable from its implementation.

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iii. to examine whether changes in financial statements have any negative effects on public

perceptions about the financial statements.

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The hypotheses to be tested in this study stated in null form (Ho) are as follow

Ho1 IFRS implementations do not significantly lead to additional cost of operations for entities

that have implemented it.

Ho2 Increased costs of operation as a result of IFRS implementation significantly outweigh

the benefits derivable from its implementation.

Ho3 Changes in financial statements have no significant effects on public perceptions about

the financial statements.

1.3 Justification for the Study

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is one of the major contemporary issues

in accounting profession globally and particularly in Nigeria today. Several studies into the benefits

of its adoption in Nigeria, pre-adoption and implementation challenges, issues and lessons for all

the stakeholders as well as its implication for the Nigerian Capital Market has been carried out by

many scholars. While some researchers refer to the advantages of adopting IFRSs in the developing

countries such as increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) (Halbouni, 2005 and Tyrrall et al.,

2007); others are concerned about the debate of such adoption due to the diversity in the cultural

and environmental factors among countries which would be detrimental to the adoption advantages

(Briston, 1990 and Larson, 1993). Nigeria is one of the developing countries for which these

standards could be either advantageous or detrimental to economic growth.

Consequently, with the last IFRS implementation phase still ongoing (small and medium-

sized entities to adopt IFRS by January 2014), this study is therefore set to assess the likely post

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implementation challenges faced by the entities that have implemented it so far from the

accountants perspective. This information can be of importance to other companies implementing

IFRS in Nigeria, the relevant stakeholders as well as standard-setters and regulators around the

world.

Researchers and students in other developing nations which are yet to adopt the IFRS

policy/standards may also find this study relevant.

Finally, finding of this study will contribute to the pool of information needed in making

relevant economic policies both in Nigeria and any other country that might find it useful.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study will examine the post implementation challenges of IFRS adoption in Nigeria

from the Accountants point of view. It will cover Accountants in Kwara State divided into three

sub-groups, viz. Auditors, Accountants (reporting) and those in the academics. This study will also

cover two years in terms of period (2012-2013), that is, the period that IFRS implementation is in

operation in Nigeria.

1.7 Definition of Terms

i. IFRS: Means International Financial Reporting Standards. It represent a unified global

commitment to developing a single set of high quality, globally accepted accounting

standards whose aim is to provide transparent and comparable information that is in the

public interest through general purpose financial statements (Herbert, 2010).

ii. Harmonization: The term harmonization means “the reconciliation of different

accounting and financial reporting systems by fitting them into common broad

classifications, so that form becomes standard while content retains significant

differences” (Mathews & Perera, 1996).

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iii. Convergence: Convergence means the process of converging or bringing together

international standards issued by the IASB and existing standards issued by national

standard setters, with the aim of eliminating alternatives in accounting for economic

transactions and events (Odia and Ogiedu, 2013)

SECTION TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

The expansion of International Trade and the accessibility to foreign stock and debt market

has given impetus to increasing the debate on whether or not there is need to be a global set of

accounting standards. As companies compete globally for scarce resources, investors and creditors

as well as multinational companies are required to bear the cost of reconciling financial statements

that are prepared using national standards. It was argued that a common set of practices will

provide a “level playing field” for all companies worldwide (Murphy, 2000).

2.1.0 Conceptual Framework

2.1.1 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

IFRS are standards and interpretations adopted by the International Accounting Standards

Board (IASB). They include International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International

Accounting Standards (IAS) and interpretation originated by the International Reporting Standards

Interpretation Committee (IFRSIC) (Oyedele, 2011). IFRS represent a single set of high quality

globally accepted accounting standards that can enhance comparability of financial reporting across

the globe. This increased comparability of financial information could result in better investment 6

decisions and ensure a more optimal allocation of resources across the global economy (Jacob and

Madu, 2009).

2.1.2 Adoption, Adaption (Harmonization), Convergence of IFRS: The Clarification

Despite the fact that IFRS are increasingly becoming the need of the hour across the world

and given aggressive attempts by companies in globalizing their operations, some confusion still

prevail over the difference between Adoption, Adaptation (or Adaption) of, and Convergence with,

IFRS. Although in common parlance and even in extant literature, the terms are used

interchangeably, conceptually there exists a significant difference between the two which all users

of IFRS – researchers, regulators, professionals, etc. - should understand and implement. It is

important in any IFRS discourse to clarify this distinction (Herbert, et al., 2013)

The term ‘adoption’ implies that national rules are set aside and replaced by IFRS

requirement. In simple terms, when a country or jurisdiction adopts IFRS, it means that the

country/jurisdiction shall be implementing IFRS in the same manner as issued by the IASB and

shall be 100% compliant with the guidelines issued by IASB. Adoption of IFRS means full scale

implementation or usage of IFRS without any variation. Within the European Union, for example,

IFRS adoption is obligatory for all listed companies for their consolidated statements (Nobes &

Parker 2008). The term ‘adoption’ is also used when a company chooses to use a set of accounting

rules other than the national one, that is, the one regulated by its national accounting standards, as

for example by Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in Nigeria.

Another term that raises confusion in the IFRS lexicon is ‘adaption’. Other literatures term it

as ‘harmonisation’. In simple terms, any transition to IFRS that entails the modification of IASB’s

standards to suit national/jurisdictional peculiarities or interests even without compromising the

accounting standards and disclosure requirements is referred to as adaptation (Herbert, et al., 2013).

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The term harmonization means “the reconciliation of different accounting and financial reporting

systems by fitting them into common broad classifications, so that form becomes standard while

content retains significant differences” (Mathews & Perera, 1996).

Convergence on the other hand means the process of converging or bringing together

international standards issued by the IASB and existing standards issued by national standard

setters, with the aim of eliminating alternatives in accounting for economic transactions and events.

Convergence with IFRS means that the country’s Accounting Standard Board (e.g. FRC of Nigeria)

in applying IFRS would work together with IASB to develop high quality compatible accounting

standards over time. Convergence is then the gradual process of changing a country’s accounting

rules towards IFRS. The ultimate objective of convergence is to achieve a single set of internally

consistent, high quality global accounting standards, issued by the IASB and adopted by all the

national standard setters (Ogiedu, 2011). The need for global convergence of accounting standard

or for an international standard setter is to:

(i) Recognise the growing need for international accounting standards.

(ii) Ensure no individual standards setter has a monopoly on the best solutions to accounting

problems.

(iii) Ensure no national standard setter is in a position to set accounting standards that can gain

acceptance around the world.

(iv) Clarify that there are many areas of financial reporting in which a national standards setter

finds it difficult to act alone.

Convergence is the process by which standard setters across the globe discuss accounting

issues drawing on their combined experiences in order to get at the most appropriate solution.

Obazee (2007) suggests that convergence could be either by adoption (a complete replacement of

national accounting standards with IASB’s standards) or by adaptation (modification of IASB’s

standards to suit peculiarities of local market and economy without compromising the accounting

standards and disclosure requirements of the IASB’s standards and basis of conclusions).

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Convergence was meant to bring standards like the US GAP and IFRS closer or harmonize them; to

produce identical standards. According to SEC (2010), there are two approaches to IFRS adoption

around the world: convergence and endorsement approaches. SEC (2010) classifies jurisdictions

which do not adopt IFRS as issued by the IASB as following the convergence approach. They keep

their local standards but make effort to converge with IFRS over time for instance, China.

Endorsement approach is where jurisdictions incorporate individual IFRSs into their local standards

like countries in the European Union (EU).

In summary, the implementation trajectory of IFRS involves three action words: adopt,

adapt, and converge. Put differently, with respect to IFRS, should a country adopt, adapt or

converge? In general, although IFRS adoption is the ultimate objective and offers similarities in

both challenges and benefits, however, national differences (socio-cultural and political) persist.

Thus, every country/jurisdiction will inevitably follow its own path towards achieving adoption.

Clearly, many countries face cultural, legal, and/or political obstacles to an immediate adoption of

IFRS. As a result of those impediments, countries may decide to follow the path and strategies that

will enable them to best achieve the objective. A country may implement strategies of (a)

immediate full adoption of IFRS, (b) continuous convergence with IFRSs, or (c) modify the

standards to suit their national peculiarities, without compromising the preparation and disclosure

requirements of IFRS (Herbert, et al., 2013).

2.1.3 Advantages and Benefits of IFRS

Proponents of IFRS claim that IFRS possess many advantages over the domestic accounting

standards of individual countries. Several studies report improvements in accounting quality

following voluntary IFRS adoption (Barth, Landsman and Lang, 2008) as well as mandatory IFRS

adoption (Daske, et al., 2008). For example, Barth, et al., (2008) provided evidence from 21

countries, showing that firms applying international accounting standards generally had less

earnings management, more timely loss recognition, and more value relevance of accounting

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amounts than others. Prior researchers provided many reasons for a higher accounting quality in the

financial statements under IFRS:

They were originally designed for developed capital markets and therefore, more relevant to

investors (Ball, 2006)

• They reduce the alternative accounting methods, leading to lower earning management (Winney,

et al., 2011).

• They require higher quality measurement and recognition rules (De Franco, Kothari and Verdi,

2010) that better reflect a firms underlying economic position, hence more transparent than local

GAAP (Herbert, 2010).

• They require higher disclosure levels, thereby mitigating information asymmetries between firms

and their shareholders (Healy and Palepu, 2001).

Besides the higher financial reporting quality argument, advocates of IFRS also claim that

IFRS reporting increases comparability of firms across markets and countries (DeFond, et al.,

2010), thus, facilitating cross-border investment (Lee and Fargher, 2010) and integration of capital

market (Saudagaran, 2008). In light of the IFRS effects on the capital market, the promoters of

IFRS often argue that companies could access the international capital market more easily

(Christensen, et al., 2011), especially the ones with high level of internationalization such as trading

or raising fund in overseas markets (Daske, et al., 2009).

In addition, there are also the intangible advantages that adopting firms might be able to

benefit from, when they implement additional disclosure policy under IFRS (Florou and Pope,

2012). For example, the firm may more easily access capital market (Soderstrom and Sun, 2007),

charge higher price for products (Ray 2010), and attract more experienced staff (Naoum, et al.,

2011) thanks to the reputation of more transparency than their competitors (Fox, et al., 2013).

In the same line of argument, prior researchers reported that serious, IFRS adopters experienced

significant declines in their cost of capital and substantial improvements in their market liquidity

compared to label, adopters (Daske, et al., 2009).

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2.1.4 Disadvantages and Costs of IFRS

There are several reasons why the expected benefits of IFRS may not be achieved. Reducing

accounting alternatives may result in a less true and faithful representation of the firms, underlying

economics (Barth, et al., 2008).

• As a result of the principle-based nature of IFRS (Hong 2008), professional judgment may create

the opportunities for earning management (Chand, et al., 2005; Jeanjean and Stolowy, 2008).

• Weak enforcement mechanisms of adopting nations can reduce financial reporting quality, even

when high quality accounting standards are implemented (Brown and Tarca, 2007; Chen and

Cheng, 2007)

In addition to the potential disadvantages, previous authors also expressed some concerns

regarding the costs of transitioning to IFRS. Smith (2009) expressed that transition costs may vary

from firm to firm and some may be common to all firms across many countries. For example,

according to the report “EU implementation of IFRS and the Fair Value

Directive” (ICAEW 2007), the ten common costs of conversion to IFRS includes:

i. IFRS project team,

ii. Software and systems changes,

iii. Additional external audit costs,

iv. External technical advice as well as Tax advice,

v. Training of staff,

vi. Training other staff (such as IT staff, internal audit and management),

vii. Communications with third parties,

viii. Additional external data costs,

ix. Costs arising from changes such as re-negotiating debt covenants, surveys of accounting firms

unveiled that most companies hire extra staff or use subcontractors for IFRS project team (Onoja, et

al., 2013)

2.1.5 Challenges of IFRS Implementation

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The move to a new reporting system (like IFRS) brings many challenges for different

stakeholders involving in the process such as regulators, preparers, auditors and users. In particular,

the challenge for regulators is to identify to what extent national GAAP will be similar or distant

from IFRS (Heidhues and Patel, 2008). This, in turn, requires the practitioners to develop or obtain

an in-depth analysis what changes in hardware, software, reporting processes are required; what

transitional workload adding to the normal day-to-day activities (AICPA, 2011). Managing public

perceptions around the changes in financial statements are another challenge for the management of

adopting firms (PWC, 2011).

Furthermore, Jermakowicz (2004) listed some key challenges in the process of adopting

IFRS to include:

i. The complicated nature of some standards of IFRS (e.g. impairment test in IAS 36)

ii. The lack of guidance of first time IFRS reporting (e.g. IFRS 1)

iii. The underdevelopment of capital market

iv. The weak enforcement of law and regulations

Tokar (2005) added that for the country that has a different official language other than

English, timely IFRS translation into the national language is another obstacle during the transition

period. The task of implementing IFRS is further complicated by the fact that IFRS are continually

evolving, and not yet finalised (Fox, et al., 2013). Several authors have also expressed their

concerns about how IFRS will be taught to students and how professionals will keep up to date

with new standards (Heidhues and Patel, 2008; Wong, 2004). Education for both professional and

non-professional resources also then becomes an important barrier for making IFRS convergence

with national accounting standards happening. Other challenges according to Egbere et al., (2013)

include:

i. Increased volatility of earnings,

ii. High cost of implementing IFRS,

iii. Complex nature of IFRS,

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iv. Lack of IFRS implementation guidance and

v. Tax driven nature of national standards.

2.2.1 Theoretical Frame Work

International convergence of accounting standards is not a new idea. The concept of

convergence first arose in the late 1950s in response to post World War II economic integration and

related increases in cross-border capital flows (Nobes, 2008). Initial efforts focused on

harmonization which entailed reducing differences among the accounting principles used in major

capital markets around the world. By the 1990s, the notion of harmonization was replaced by the

concept of convergence - the development of a single set of high-quality international accounting

standards that would be used in at least all major capital markets.

The need to develop a unified set of accounting standards arose from international

differences that curtailed investment opportunities (IFAC, 2008). Since accounting is affected by its

environment, the culture of that environment contains the most basic value that an individual may

hold; it also determines the value system of accountants. In using cultural differences to explain

international differences in behaviour of accountants and in the nature of accounting practices,

Gray (1988) suggests that a country with high uncertainty avoidance and individualism will be

more likely to exhibit conservative measure of income and a preference to limit disclosure of those

closely involved in a business. Gray’s postulation is hinged on the following proposition by

Hofstede (1980):

The divergence perspective recognizes country and cultural differences. The mainhypothesis is that national culture continues to be a dominating influence onindividuals’ attitudes and behaviors.

Other factors that precipitated the development of a unified set of accounting standards include

inflation, tax method, and legal system of a country. The unification of the different accounting

standards and the evolutionary changes that led to the development of IFRS has been a topical issue

in the accounting world. Since the early 1970s, various attempts have been made and are still being

13

made to eliminate or reduce many of the major differences in accounting standards through a

process known as harmonization (Herbert 2010).

2.3.1 Empirical Studies

Empirically, little study has been conducted into the post implementation challenges of IFRS

adoption in Nigeria. This could be mainly because of the time frame covered by this

implementation to date. It was however concluded from a study conducted to examine the benefits,

costs and challenges of IFRS implementation that Nigerian accounting professionals are optimistic

about potential benefits of IFRS and also anticipated significant costs and challenges during the

transition period (Onoja, et al., 2013). These challenges are not however expected to be associated

with transition alone; it is as well expected to go on even after implementation at least in the first

few years of post implementation. Moreover, the survey findings suggest a strong support in

switching from Nigeria SAS to IFRS gradually, though the level of support is different from the

lens of three different accountant sub- groups. (Onoja, et al., 2013).

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SECTION THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This section will focus on the research design, population and sample, Sampling technique and

sample size, Sources of data and instrument of data collection as well as method of data analysis.

3.1 Research Design

The research design for this study will be more of exploratory being one of the few empirical study

in this area. It will adopt a survey approach with the use of questionnaires which will be designed

to elicit opinions about the perception or knowledge of IFRS post implementation challenges in

Nigeria from Nigeria accountants’ lens.

3.2 Population and Sample

The population for this study will comprise mainly Accountants in Kwara State. The choice of

restriction to Kwara State alone is due to reason of logistic and resources (both in terms of time and

money). Also only Accountants are chosen to enable an objective opinion from those who have the

technical, professional and practical knowledge of IFRS.

15

The target sample respondents will be Accounting lecturers from Nigerian Universities, principally

from University of Ilorin, Kwara State University as well as Kwara State Polytechnic, Accountants

and Auditors in Practice from selected consulting firms in Ilorin, Offices of the Accountant-

General, Auditor-General of Kwara State, the Federal Inland Revenue Services in Kwara State as

well as some banks like GTBank Plc and First Bank of Nigeria.

3.3 Sampling Technique and Sample Size

Two different sampling techniques- Stratified and simple random sampling will be used in this

study. Stratified sampling technique will be used in dividing the population into strata (groups);

Academics (Lecturers and Students), Accountants and Auditors. While Simple random sampling

will then be used to draw sample from each stratum in order to guide against bias (to ensure fair

representation of population elements).

3.4 Sources of Data and Instrument of Data Collection

Both primary and secondary sources of data will be used in this study. The instrument to be used in

gathering the primary data- the main source will be questionnaire. The questionnaire will be

designed to measure the perceptions of Nigerian Accountants on the post implementation

challenges of IFRS in Nigeria two years after its adoption.

3.5 Method of Data Analysis

The nature of this study makes it appropriate to employ the use of inferential statistical tools such

as Chi-Square goodness-of-fit test which is used to test whether a frequency distribution fits an

expected distribution or hypothesized distribution. In other words, it is a test used to test the

significant difference between the observed frequency and expected frequency distribution. It is

used to determine how well empirical (observed) distribution i.e. those obtained from sample data,

fit theoretical (hypothesized) distribution such as normal, poison and binomial distributions. A chi-

square is denoted by χ2 and given as:

16

χ2 = Σ (O - E) 2

E

Where: χ2 = Calculated Chi-square value

∑ =Summation of the distribution

O = Observed frequency of each category; and

E =Expected frequency of each category.

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