Perceptions and characteristics of financial statement users in developing countries: evidence from Iran
Version 2 2024-06-13, 10:41Version 2 2024-06-13, 10:41
Version 1 2017-07-21, 15:30Version 1 2017-07-21, 15:30
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-13, 10:41authored byS Mirshekary, SM Saudagaran
We examine the perceptions and characteristics of users of corporate financial statements in Iran. We provide evidence based on a survey of seven different user-groups. Our results suggest that annual reports are regularly used as a basis for making investment and other economic decisions. As in many developing countries, users depend more heavily on information obtained from the published annual reports than on advice from stockbrokers and acquaintances or on tips and rumors. While respondents differed in their rating of the importance of different sections of the annual report, the overall results showed that they ranked the income statement, the auditors' report, and the balance sheet as the three most important parts of the annual report (in that order). There is a weak level of consensus among bank loan officers, tax officers, and auditor groups about the importance of several information items. Most users believe that a delay in publishing annual reports, lack of reliability of the information, and lack of adequate disclosure are the main concerns with corporate financial reports in Iran. The evidence on Iran is relevant to other developing countries in the Middle East and beyond.
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Journal
Journal of international accounting, auditing and taxation