Title: Compliance with International Accounting Standards in a national context: some empirical evidence from the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges

Authors: Khaled Samaha, Pam Stapleton

Addresses: School of Business, Economics and Communication, The American University in Cairo, Room 601 – Jameel Building, 11 Youssef El-Guindy St., P.O. Box 2511, Cairo 11511, Egypt. ' Manchester Business School, Crawford House, Booth Street, Manchester, M15 6PB, UK

Abstract: The contribution of this paper is to provide evidence, from a sample of 281 listed companies, about Egyptian convergence to international accounting. We construct indices to measure both disclosure and measurement/presentation convergence, and the impacts of education and training, tax, and three company characteristics on compliance. Compliance, which is low, is associated with the volume of trading in company stocks, but not with industry sector or legal status. The findings suggest weak enforcement, and a need for education and training of accountants, and the removal of adverse tax implications for companies if increased convergence is to be achieved.

Keywords: Egyptian accounting standards; international accounting standards; emerging capital markets; Egypt; de facto compliance; enforcement; education; training; tax conflicts; de jure convergence; Cairo Stock Exchange; Alexandria Stock Exchange.

DOI: 10.1504/AAJFA.2008.016890

Afro-Asian Journal of Finance and Accounting, 2008 Vol.1 No.1, pp.40 - 66

Published online: 26 Jan 2008 *

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