Issues affecting decisions on mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Japan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore whether there are differences in either the level of support for the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards or the arguments made by various stakeholder groups within Japan’s Business Accounting Council (BAC) during different time periods from 2009 to 2013. Design/methodology/approach – Using a content analysis of related BAC meetings and referring to Gernon and Wallace’s (1995) accounting ecology framework, this study provides rigorous and holistic insights into the debates concerning the adoption of IFRS in Japan. Time-series analyses are specifically applied to unravel continuous or discontinuous patterns of BAC members’ statements. Findings – The results indicated significantly higher levels of disapproval of mandatory adoption of IFRS by representatives from accounting academics, manufacturing industry, and the Financial Services Agency than by those from the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Also, a lower level of disapproval of mandatory adoption of IFRS was found in 2009 than in 2012 and 2013. The results further demonstrated that diversity of opinions and arguments existed in different stakeholder groups as well as in different time periods. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this study suggest that accounting research will be enhanced by an objective and critical examination of the sociological context of the globalization (convergence) process. Originality/value – The results of this study will provide answers related to the possible, probable, and desirable aspects of the globalization (convergence) process by unraveling the causes and consequences of certain patterns presented in BAC members’ statements.