International accounting standards for SMEs: Empirical evidences from Smes in a Country in Transition and a Developed Country Facing New challenges

This book provides theoretical backgrounds of this contemporary international accounting problem analyzing the globalisation phenomenon and its pressure for accounting harmonization, reviewing the literature focused on SMEs financial reporting including the users and cost-benefit principle, as well as the influential environmental factors. It also describes the institutional context of SMEs financial reporting in the European Union referring to the EU harmonization processes, pointing out the activities of IASB and UNCTAD-ISAR in the field of SMEs financial reporting standards and guidelines development. Actually, the most relevant parts of the book present the results of the empirical research of the International Accounting Standards implementation in two countries with different financial reporting environments: a country in transition (Croatia) and a developed country in stagnation (Italy). The comparison of empirical evidences once more stresses the obstacles of reaching the harmonization goals implicating the need to harmonize the institutional factors among the countries as the pre-condition of their accounting harmonization. The results could be useful as some implications for the standards setters, for accounting practitioners to benchmark their enterprise’s individual problems in IAS/IFRSs adoption in comparison with the research outputs, contributing also to the scholars’ studies in international accounting for SMEs.