Potential Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Vietnam : From Legitimacy to Isomorphism

Purpose – This paper discusses the perception of Vietnamese accountants regarding the legitimacy motives and institutional isomorphisms upon the consideration of IFRS adoption by Vietnamese policy makers.Design/methodology – A total of 728 received responses from 3,000 mailing questionnaires to Vietnamese auditors, accountants and academics across Vietnam in 2012 produce an effective response rate of 24 per cent. Findings – The results confirm the influence from coercive, normative, mimetic isomorphisms and legitimacy motives on the consideration of IFRS adoption in Vietnam.Research limitation – The sample was not large enough to generalise the findings. The non-response bias may be present in the results. Practical implication – The confirmed presence of institutional isomorphisms suggests the Vietnamese policy makers to recognise these influential forces and utilise them to support the accounting transformation process in Vietnam. Originality/value – This is the first study examines the influence of institutional isomorphism on the consideration of IFRS adoption by Vietnamese accounting policymakers. Paper type – Research paper