Perceptions and characteristics of financial statement users in developing countries: Evidence from Iran

By S. Mirshekary, S. Saudagaran. 2005

141 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract 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.

Subfields: Accounting, General Decision Sciences, Management Information Systems

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/4e5c2f48a9e72e69b8fdaaa1e8d3a77c7ad111e3

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Citations in the corpus

Corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) determinants of listed companies in Palestine (PXE) and Jordan (ASE) (2014, background): “Financial reporting practices have evolved in each country based on the nature of the market, the level of economic development, tax regulations, legal systems, the regulatory enforcement regime, among others (Mirshekary and Sandagaran 2005).”
Development of accounting in Iran (2008, background): “Prior to 1979, financial reporting in Iran was influenced heavily by Anglo-American practices (Mirshekari and Saudagaran, 2005).”
Financial literacy and investment decisions of UAE investors (2009, background): “Mirshekary and Saudagaran (2005) assessed how different users of financial statements use the information items disclosed in the annual reports, as well as the importance of different sources of information in making investment decisions.”
Determinants of capital structure: an empirical study of firms in Iran (2015, unknown): “Approximately 70 per cent of the Iranian economy is still controlled by the government (Mirshekary and Saudagaran, 2005).”