Conceptual formation and explanation in IFRS-based financial accounting research

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive review of the conceptual formation and explanation within International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)-based financial accounting research. The mandatory adoption of IFRS by the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2005 resulted in an increase in the number of scientific articles explaining the effect of mandating IFRS on capital markets within the EU. Independently, these studies offer interesting insights; however, there have been few attempts to offer a critical analysis of the current state of the field in terms of conceptual formation and the role of theories in explanation. This paper provides a richer understanding of the scientific basis of the empirical research within this emerging field. We identify and critically assess a sample of eight relevant scholarly articles. Our findings suggest that the concepts in these articles appear to be borrowed from the mainstream accounting and finance literature and used in the form of variables. These concepts primarily play a deductive role. The nature of explanation appears to be mechanistic. We offer a discussion of our review’s findings and suggest some implications for future research.