An assessment of accounting regulation changes in Lithuania

Bazėje Social Science Research Network straipsnis peteiktas kitokiu pavadinimuInformation and its availability are assumed to be key determinants of efficient resource-allocation decisions in the economy. Previous scientific research has demonstrated that financial information of entities is influenced by accounting and reporting regulation and undergoing accounting harmonization processes in the European Union, however in Lithuania these issues were merely analyzed. The aim of this paper is to identify and evaluate undergoing accounting regulation changes in Lithuania. The paper addresses three issues: evaluates the background for accounting regulation changes in Lithuania; identifies de jure accounting regulation changes in Lithuania and compares them with the same of the European Union; and assesses de facto implementation of accounting regulation by Lithuanian companies. Research results indicate that over the research period de jure Lithuanian accounting regulation has undergone significant changes. These changes have largely been influenced by the European Union wide accounting harmonization processes; however Lithuanian accounting regulation has national peculiarities such as mandatory financial accounting and reporting was introduced only in 2001; our national Business Accounting Standards are created as a simplified version of the IFRS and Lithuania has avoided double-set accounting standards situation. Analysis of de facto implementation of accounting regulation reveals that Lithuanian companies have followed a different pattern: some have chosen early IFRS adoption while others adopted accounting regulation changes only when they became compulsoryVytauto Didžiojo universiteta