IS GLOBAL ADOPTION OF IFRS ACHIEVABLE? SUGGESTIONS FROM LEGITIMACY THEORY

We show why “adoption” of one set of globally accepted accounting standards is presently unachievable. By “adoption” we mean that a jurisdiction incorporates IFRS instantly as published by the IASB into its national accounting. This study provides evidence that the IASB has used a Legitimacy Theory strategy to gain acceptance of its standards by more than 120 countries across the globe but it has only gained pseudo-“adoption” (not as written by the IASB) of its standards by several countries. We show that achieving policing and enforcement of its standards globally has proven to be empirically illusive. This legitimacy deficit explains why convergence between the IASB and FASB is currently idle and thus offers a possible solution to global adoption of one GAAP. Bridging this legitimacy gap using an internationally respected regulator and firm level adoption of a global GAAP may be the output legitimacy approach needed to gain adoption of one set of accounting standards globally.