Compliance with IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements: a structured literature review

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature on compliance with IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements for the post-2005 period. We adopt a structured literature review methodology and address three key questions: how is research on compliance with IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements developing; what is the focus and critique of the literature on compliance with IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements; and lastly, what is the future for research on compliance with IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements? We find that studies mostly draw samples from one country and mainly focus on small markets or less developed economies. Articles which use sample firms from more than one country tend to examine primarily large firms from EU countries. We identify accounting standards which are commonly associated with low compliance and discuss factors affecting compliance. We note that only a limited number of studies examine the market consequences of compliance. Although we identify multiple scoring methods used in the literature, most studies employ a single method in isolation, despite the shortcomings of this approach. Only a small proportion of studies considers materiality of the disclosures investigated or performs validity and reliability tests. Finally, we discuss policy implications arising from this stream of research and suggest avenues for future research.