Compliance with International Accounting Standards in a national context: some empirical evidence from the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges

The contribution of this paper is to provide evidence, from a sample of 281 listed companies, about Egyptian convergence to international accounting. We construct indices to measure both disclosure and measurement/presentation convergence, and the impacts of education and training, tax, and three company characteristics on compliance. Compliance, which is low, is associated with the volume of trading in company stocks, but not with industry sector or legal status. The findings suggest weak enforcement, and a need for education and training of accountants, and the removal of adverse tax implications for companies if increased convergence is to be achieved.