ABSTRACT
SMEs have come to accept the importance of accounting
information harmonization in order to remain in today’s business environment.
In 2009, the IASB developed and published the IFRS for SMEs in response to the
need for a high quality internationally comparable and transparent financial
information. In January 2012, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana
directed the use of IFRS for SMEs in Ghana for reporting periods beginning
2013. However, there are widespread reports of non-compliance regarding the
2013 financial reports which resulted in the extension of the compliance period
to 2015 by the Institute (ICAG, 2014). The result indicate that Eighty Five
(85%) of the sampled entities prepare financial statements. However, most of
these financial statements are prepared in compliance with the Ghana National
Accounting Standards and others with the full IFRS. The implication of this
finding is that, internationally, there is no demand on SMEs to prepare
financial reports for international users hence no compliance regarding the
directive by ICAG regarding 2015 period.It was recommended that there should be
a continuous education, sensitisation, and communication to stakeholders of
issues associated with IFRS for SMEs should commence in earnest. Also A rigorous
IFRS/IFRS for SMEs capacity building programme should be embarked upon by all
regulatory bodies, firms and training institutions in order to provide the
needed manpower for the successful implementation of the IFRS for SMEs.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME’s) have come to
accept the importance of accounting information harmonization in order to
remain in today’s business environment. In 2009, the IASB developed and
published the IFRS for SMEs in response to the need for a high quality
internationally comparable and transparent financial information. Since the
adoption of the IFRS for SMEs in Ghana in January, 2012, research is yet to
empirically examine the level of compliance and the possible implementation
issues confronting SMEs in Ghana. With about 90% of businesses registered in
Ghana falling within the SME category, SMEs seem to remain a critical sector in
Ghana’s quest for economic development. The research therefore contributes to
filling the gap by examining the implementation problems and benefits of IFRS
for SMEs in Ghana. This research therefore provides a platform to identify some
issues and provides guidelines to practitioners and policy makers.
Background to the Study
Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs) contribute quite
significantly to the economic growth and development of Ghana. SMEs provide
about 85% of manufacturing employment and contribute up to about 70% of
National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Abor & Quartey, 2010). Even in
developed countries, SMEs make a significant contribution to GDP and national
employment (Culkin & Smith, 2000). According to Hallberg (2001), SMEs are
the engines for economic development in several developed countries such as
Japan and United States.
The role they play as a major source
of innovation and growth has been emphasized in contemporary research
(Bravnerhjelm, 2008).Prasad, Green and Murinde (2001) also contends that,
growing SMEs will contribute to expanding the size of the directly productive
sector in the economy; generating tax revenue for the government and
facilitating poverty reduction through fiscal transfers and income from
employment and firm ownership in terms of profits, dividends and wages.
In Ghana, SMEs represent a significant segment of the economy
and account for a large proportion of economic activities. Data from the
Registrar General Department in Ghana indicate that about 90% of businesses
registered are either micro, small or medium enterprises (Mensah, 2004).
Compared to larger companies, most SMEs are registered as sole proprietorship
and private companies rather than corporate bodies. SMEs are seen to mostly
exist in the service industry, trading, agri-business and manufacturing
industry. SMEs are also seen in the form of restaurants, consulting services
and mostly diverse in nature. Despite the economic contribution of SMEs, the
failure rate is much higher than that of larger organisations. For instance,
SMEs in South Africa fail at a rate of between 70% and 80% (Adeniran &
Johnston, 2012).
Mostly, SMEs encounter limited financial and non-financial
resources. One of the major problems is access to sources of external finance
(Herrington et al., 2009). The majority of SMEs depend on funding from the
owner, family and friends, which is often inadequate for survival and growth
(Carpenter and Petersen, 2002). Research by Berry et al. (2002) documents the
reliance of SMEs on bank debt as the most appropriate source of financing.
These researchers, however, pointed out that, access to bank debt is a
frequently cited challenge for SMEs as they lack
a consistent track record of profitability that would demonstrate their capability
to repay loans. Banks do prefer credible audited financial statements by
independent auditors for reasonable assurance of the firms’ creditability.
(Howorth & Moro, 2006) indicates that, the bank’s lending decision is often
based on the evaluation of the SME’s financial statements and/or the provision
of collateral, and/or credit rating score.
Besides, the activities of SMEs on the international markets
are limited by a great deal of obstacles in comparison to large enterprises.
Different national financial reporting and tax systems can be considered as the
most important obstacles (European Commission, 2003). The variability of the
national financial reporting standards allowed companies to choose from
numerous accounting methods in presenting their financial statements. This
caused uncertainty about the reliability and usefulness of the information
derived from these reports. It was also very difficult to compare the financial
statements of companies situated in different countries.
Again, many developing countries strive to mobilize financial
resources from domestic and international sources to attain their economic and
social development goals. The availability of relevant information on potential
investment targets has a bearing on efforts to mobilize investment for
financing economic and social development. Such information plays an important
role in making critical investment decisions and conducting risk assessment. It
also contributes to improved investor confidence and decreased cost of capital.
Economic resources have become more mobile across borders. Enterprises that
provide potential investors with reliable and comparable financial statements are more likely
to attract domestic and international investment.
In addition, the faster pace of globalization, the growing
interdependence of international financial markets and the increased mobility
of capital have added to the pressure and demand for the harmonization of
accounting and financial reporting frameworks and related standards around the
world (ACCA, 2010).Recognizing the significant influence that financial
reporting has on investment decisions, developing countries are attaching
greater importance to transparency in accounting and reporting. This is a
welcome development considering the fact that the quality of financial
reporting is essential to the needs of users who require useful accounting
information for investment and other decision-making purposes. It is expected
that, countries adopting IFRS for SMEs would have higher degree of transparency
and comparability of financial reporting, decrease in asymmetric information
and at the end would attract more investment and foster higher international
trade.
According to the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts
on International Standards of Accounting Reporting, SMEs in most countries have
been required to conduct their accounting and reporting on the basis of
standards originally intended for larger companies (ISAR, 2001). In July 2009,
the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) developed and published a
separate set of financial reporting standards - International Financial
Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs). The
standard was designed to apply to the financial reporting needs of all SMEs
irrespective of size or geographical location.
In developing the IFRS for SMEs, one
of the objectives was to develop, in the public interest, a single set of high
quality, understandable and enforceable global accounting set of standards for
the SME sector. The IFRS for SMEs represents a big step forward for SMEs in
particular and for the financial communication in general.The IFRS for SMEs
isdesigned to meet the financial reporting needs of entities that; Do not have
public accountability responsibility and Publish general purpose financial
statements for external users. The IASB recognized the cost and difficulty
relatively to small private entities of preparing a fully compliant IFRS
information.
The IASB argues that, a single set of global financial
reporting standards appropriate for SMEs is needed because, the benefit of
global accounting information will increase comparability, improved efficiency
of capital allocation, consistency in audit quality and the facilitation of
financial reporting education and training. The IASB also recognised that,
users of private entity financial statements may have a different focus from
those interested in publicly listed companies. This difference can be explained
in the area of; financial statement users and their information needs; the
accounting expertise available to the entity and the ability of SMEs to bear
the cost of using the same standard as the larger publicly accountable entities
(IASB, 2009).
The IFRS for SMEs attempts to meet needs, whilst trying to
balance the costs and benefits to the preparers of the financial statements.
The IFRS for SMEs is a stand-alone standard and does not require
cross-referencing to IFRSs. In addition, it contains fewer disclosure
requirements in a dramatically shorter document compared to full IFRSs and is
therefore expected to appeal both the users and preparers of
financial statements. IFRS for SMEs enables companies to adopt a cost-effective
global standard which facilitates global comparison and interpretation of
financial statements by users as well as providing the ability to adopt an
international framework when preparing consolidated financial statements. The IFRS
for SMEs is a self-contained standard of about 230 pages which is separate from
full IFRSs and is therefore available for any jurisdiction to adopt whether or
not it has adopted the full IFRSs. Epstein and Jermakowicz (2010) defined IFRSs
as standards and interpretations issued by the IASB. The IFRS for SMEs is
considered to be a significant development which may have strong impact on
accounting and auditing practice in the future, but the attitude of national
regulators and standard-setters is crucial in establishing the limits of this
possible impact (Jermakowicz & Epstein, 2010).
The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) adopted
the International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium Entities
(IFRS for SMEs) in January 2012, to entirely replace the Ghana Accounting
Standards (GAS), which was set up in 1993 by the ICAG. The new standards is
believed, would enable Ghanaian small companies’ financial statements to be
understood in the global market. It would also ensure greater comparability of
financial information of companies in Ghana with their peers in other parts of
the world, as well as ensure investor confidence in financial reporting. SMEs
in Ghana would have to comply with the International Financial Reporting
Standard (IFRS for SMEs) by the end of 2013, if their financial statements are
to be globally compatible.
The implementation of the standard is
important in harmonizing Ghana's financial accounting sector, to assist various
users of financial statements in making informed decisions, said Felix Nana
Sackey, Deloitte Country Managing Partner. According to Sellhorn and
Gornik-Tomaszewski, (2006) whiles countries with strong accountability
traditions probably build their strategy regarding the IFRS for SMEs
implementation on their national experience, it is argued that, some level of
resistance to IFRS adoption and implementation might be experienced in
countries not having such traditions. Irvine (2008) regarded the IFRS
implementation as a legitimate act because it could affect a country’s
reputation as a modern, organized and well-regulated place to do business.
However, according to Mark and Thomas (cited in Howorth &Moro, 2006), the
movement towards convergence and implementation requires research to provide
updated assessment of convergence and impediments to its progress. Rodrigues
and Craig (2007), also advise that, countries should evaluate the costs and
benefits before making decision to adopt standards which are relevant and
useful for them. According to Karlson et al., (2007) IFRS implementation at the
firm level is a demanding process that is both time consuming and requires a
lot of resources.It is therefore important that the implementation process is
not underestimated by business entities (Rippe, 2001) and National
Regulators.Against this background, the study seeks to contribute to the issue
by providing evidence from Ghana on the extent to which accounting information
prepared by SMEs complied with IFRS for SMEs and to investigate the likely
implementation challenges, prospects and benefits thereof.
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