4.7.3. Discussion of Cost/Benefits of the Transition to IFRS

In line with Gupta et al. (2015), the conclusion generated from the descriptive and empirical analysis was that accounting experts are optimistic towards the benefits associated with the implementation of the IFRS, while at the same time they are concerned about the significant costs and challenges, such as inadequate training of staff, changes required in the process, changes in information technology infrastructure and other costs that are associated with the implementation of the IFRS. The low response rate below 50% makes the study limited. The number of responses used to arrive at the conclusion was quite small with respect to their target population. Perhaps if the response rate was higher, the results would have been different.

This, however, contradicted the works of others in the Swiss accounting system who found that a high percentage of firms voluntarily chose IAS in the 1990s, and switching to IAS was likely to be more costly for Swiss firms than for firms from countries with higher reporting standards; as such, voluntary adopters in Swiss firms should expect more advantages from IAS adoption (Dumontier and Raffournier 1998; Murphy 1999). While proponents of IFRS claim that IFRS increases financial comparability and usefulness of accounting information concord with the findings of this study, others believe worldwide adoption of IFRS by all firms is costly, complex and does not necessarily improve the quality of accounting reports. These study findings did not agree as there was significant evidence that the benefits of the transition to IFRS supersede cost.
