The Advantages and the Challenges of Adopting IFRS into UAE Stock Market

This paper aims to assess the benefits gained and the challenges experienced by companies listed on the UAE stock market following the introduction of IFRS. Since the announcement by the European Union to adopt IFRS by listed companies, many countries have followed suit, hoping to gain competitive edge in attracting the Foreign Direct Investment to boost their economic growth. This study focuses on examining the advantages and challenges faced by companies listed on the UAE stock market listed companies as a result of adopting IFRS. The framework used in this analysis will be based on the identification and assessment of key drivers influencing companies listed on the UAE stock market. To what extent are these factors internal or external to the financial sector, but which have a direct bearing on the overall economic environment? The views and perceptions of the Chief Financial Officers’ (CFOs) for Dubai and Abu Dhabi listed companies, financial analysts of the financial statements in the two listed companies and auditors will be analysed. Methodology: Questionnaires were used as the main method of data collection. Questionnaire were distributed in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets, The data obtained through the questionnaires have been imported into software for analysis, namely, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings: The results clearly show that the benefits of adopting IFRSs in UAE inevitably far outweigh the difficulties and costs. The findings also reveal that adoption of IFRSs in UAE stock markets has improved the overall standard of the quality of financial reporting, which help in attracting investors to invest in the UAE stock markets. However, many respondents were still apprehensive that effective and professional financial reporting decisions will be affected by the level of education of accounting users, the methods provided by some IFRSs, and the inadequate enforcement mechanisms. Keywords: IFRS, advantage, accounting standards, challenge, UA