Implementation of international financial reporting standards, case study in Vietnam

This study investigates the process of implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in Vietnam during eleven years. Up to the end of 2012, twenty six of Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VASs) have been issued "based on" IFRSs. This study aims to obtain an understanding of theories and factors influencing the implementation, and explore benefits and challenges for the implementation. The main goal of this study is to find a suitable accounting theory of the implementation of IFRSs in Vietnamese accounting. An interpretivist paradigm, qualitative methodology and inductive reasoning are employed in this study. The methodology helps to obtain essential understanding of what happened, and explain why those incurred. Three methods used in this study consist of comparison, interview and case study. The findings of this study indicate that communist theories and Hochiminh's thoughts significantly influence the implementation. Vietnamese culture also participates to cause more challenges for the implementation. Many individual factors which are different from developing countries have been found in the implementation in Vietnam, particularly, the Vietnamese law system and values/behaviours of the Vietnamese people. The findings also indicate that benefits for the implementation in Vietnam outweigh challenges. This study enriches literature of implementation of IFRSs around the world and gives useful lessons for other countries in implementation of IFRSs. Particularly, the contributions of this study are essential to the countries which have accounting environments and attributes similar to Vietnam, such as an economy developed at a low level, and heavy intervention of government in the process of setting up accounting standards.This study investigates the process of implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in Vietnam during eleven years. Up to the end of 2012, twenty six of Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VASs) have been issued "based on" IFRSs. This study aims to obtain an understanding of theories and factors influencing the implementation, and explore benefits and challenges for the implementation. The main goal of this study is to find a suitable accounting theory of the implementation of IFRSs in Vietnamese accounting. An interpretivist paradigm, qualitative methodology and inductive reasoning are employed in this study. The methodology helps to obtain essential understanding of what happened, and explain why those incurred. Three methods used in this study consist of comparison, interview and case study. The findings of this study indicate that communist theories and Hochiminh's thoughts significantly influence the implementation. Vietnamese culture also participates to cause more challenges for the implementation. Many individual factors which are different from developing countries have been found in the implementation in Vietnam, particularly, the Vietnamese law system and values/behaviours of the Vietnamese people. The findings also indicate that benefits for the implementation in Vietnam outweigh challenges. This study enriches literature of implementation of IFRSs around the world and gives useful lessons for other countries in implementation of IFRSs. Particularly, the contributions of this study are essential to the countries which have accounting environments and attributes similar to Vietnam, such as an economy developed at a low level, and heavy intervention of government in the process of setting up accounting standards