Coexistence and potential convergence between national accounting standards and IFRS: some Spanish evidence

Since 2005, European Union (EU) listed enterprises are required to apply international financial reporting standards (IFRS). For this reason, a concern for EU standard setters is the existence of two financial reporting systems: national accounting standards and IFRS. This paper explores the expectations and preferences of auditors and managers of private companies. To this end, I use a survey which was completed by 229 respondents. The results indicate managers and auditors are moderately satisfied with pre-2005 accounting standards. However, evidence is presented suggesting IFRS characteristics that are not in line with the preferences of Spanish users. Overall, Spanish respondents do not support the coexistence of IFRS and domestic accounting standards and would be willing to accept a convergence process to an IFRS-based regulation. However, this paper also shows evidence that a number of issues may limit IFRS acceptance and result in application problems that may affect the quality of information provided.