The Role of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to Encourage International Investments in the Kurdistan Region-Iraq

Abstract

International accounting standards, which were renamed the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), have received global acceptance, as the rapid transformations in financial and economic relations, and the liberalization that they involved in the economy in trade and markets, deepened the need to establish a unified international approach in accounting that keeps pace with these developments. Because of the disparity and difference between countries in the accounting principles, accounting practices, and preparing the financial statements that would lead to the ambiguities and contradictions in the information and results contained in those financial statements. There are continuous efforts by the Central Bank of Iraq to implement international standards through the trend towards requesting financial data from banks according to international standards. Therefore, the banking sector, by its modernity and the challenges it faces daily, needs a high degree of financial disclosure and transparency in the financial reports, which are reflected in the banks’ financial position and performance. The financial statements look similar in form among different companies, but there is a difference among them in terms of content, due to the difference in the social, economic, and legal conditions in the external and internal environment of the companies. In reality, there are no specific accountings standards belong to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Therefore, this study aims to discover the extent to which the international financial reporting standards’ application contributes to encouraging foreign investment in the Kurdistan Region.