National Cultural Dimensions and Adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (SMEs)

Abstract

The research problem: This study investigates whether the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs) is linked to national culture. Motivation or theoretical reasoning: Little is known about the role of cultural dimensions in explaining countries’ adoption of the IFRS for SMEs. Focusing on this topic could contribute to a better understanding of the adoption of the IFRS for SMEs and would enrich the international accounting literature. Conducting a specific empirical investigation into the IFRS for SMEs is motivated by the difference between the full IFRS and the IFRS for SMEs, by the inherent characteristics of SMEs, and by differences between the number of countries that adopted the full IFRS and those that have adopted the IFRS for SMEs. The test hypotheses: We used Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture (Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long-term Orientation, and Indulgence) to capture a country’s culture. We expected that these six dimensions would play a crucial role in countries’ decision to adopt the IFRS for SMEs. Based on previous relevant studies, we developed a research hypothesis for each of the mentioned cultural dimensions. Target population: We selected the 101 countries included in Hofstede’s study. For each country, we looked at the data available on the IFRS website to identify its position in relation to the IFRS for SMEs. The final sample included 97 countries. Adopted methodology: After classifying countries in three groups (Non-Adopters, Voluntary Adopters, and Mandatory Adopters), we performed several statistical regressions with adoption of the IFRS for SMEs as the dependent variable and the cultural dimensions as the relevant independent variables. Analyses: Among others, we used several logistic regressions to estimate the association between national culture and the use of the IFRS for SMEs. We initially performed a statistical estimation for each of the six dimensions of national culture. Then, we included all cultural dimensions simultaneously. Finally, we performed robustness tests by applying multinomial regressions and focusing on the group of full IFRS adopters. Findings: Empirical results revealed that the adoption of the IFRS for SMEs was less likely in countries with the highest levels of individualism. This conclusion held for both Mandatory and Voluntary Adopters. In contrast, the other dimensions of national culture were not significant in explaining the adoption of the IFRS for SMEs by national accounting regulators.