Title: IFRS adoption and the opinion of OHADA accountants

Authors: Saidatou Dicko; Anne Fortin

Addresses: Department of Accounting, École des sciences de la gestion, Université du Québec à Montréal, P.O. Box 8888, Downtown Postal Station, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3P8, Canada ' Department of Accounting, École des sciences de la gestion, Université du Québec à Montréal, P.O. Box 8888, Downtown Postal Station, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 3P8, Canada

Abstract: With market globalisation and the adoption of international financial reporting standards (IFRSs) by more and more countries worldwide, it seems appropriate to investigate the level of IFRS knowledge among African accountants working in countries belonging to the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). It is also important to determine how they feel about the relevance of IFRSs in Africa. This study is a seminal step towards any level of IFRS adoption by African standards setters and companies. The results indicate that participants appear to have fairly good knowledge of IFRSs and are in favour of applying them for listed companies, but not for all businesses. These results may be of interest to OHADA and will provide data for future decisions about the evolution of accounting standards in OHADA member countries.

Keywords: Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa; international financial reporting standards; IFRS adoption; OHADA accounting; accountant opinions; OHADA accountants; accounting standards.

DOI: 10.1504/AAJFA.2014.063746

Afro-Asian Journal of Finance and Accounting, 2014 Vol.4 No.2, pp.141 - 162

Received: 29 Apr 2013
Accepted: 13 Nov 2013

Published online: 31 Jul 2014 *

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