Title: Readiness of SMEs in UAE for an accounting standard transition to IFRS for SMEs: an empirical analysis

Authors: Vijaya Kumar

Addresses: Business School, Middlesex University, Block 16, Knowledge Village, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Abstract: Small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) are the backbone of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is recently classified under emerging market with approximately 85% to 95% of the companies being SMEs. The banks have become very selective as lenders and investors in the UAE. Therefore, SMEs in the UAE should adopt international financial reporting standard (IFRS) for SMEs, which is a simplified version of IFRS prepared especially for SMEs. An empirical study is undertaken to explore the readiness of the SMEs in UAE to adopt IFRS for SMEs. The dependent variables in the questionnaire analyse the stage of readiness for the accounting standard transition. The sample size is 35 and the findings suggest that 60% of the SMEs in UAE are likely to follow IFRS for SMEs in the next three years.

Keywords: emerging markets; SMEs; International Financial Reporting Standard; IFRS adoption; accounting standards; small and medium-sized enterprises; United Arab Emirates; UAE.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSBA.2014.067145

International Journal of Strategic Business Alliances, 2014 Vol.3 No.4, pp.282 - 296

Received: 09 Jul 2014
Accepted: 17 Sep 2014

Published online: 07 Feb 2015 *

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