Assessment of the Satisfaction of the Russian Investment Community with the Quality of Financial Statements according to International Standards

Abstract

The decline in the functionality of corporate reports compiled in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) destabilizes the market information system and has a direct impact on investment decisions by the end users of these reports. One of the main factors contributing to the noted dysfunctionality is the discrepancy between the downward trend in the consumer value of the IFRS reporting for investors and the high assessments of its “formal” quality by the IFRS practitioners. For an effective solution of the identified problem, it is important to study the current qualitative assessments of the reporting by its end users. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to evaluate the degree of satisfaction among the representatives of the national investment community with the consumer characteristics of financial statements under IFRS. The hypothesis assumes that the consumer properties of the financial statements in their current state do not meet the interests of the users, primarily the investors. The applied methodology includes expert review using multivariate analysis tools. The objectivity and scientific novelty of the results obtained are also confirmed by the analysis of primary data from a survey conducted among the representatives of the business environment. The results of the tests performed are statistically significant and strongly indicate against the null hypothesis. The study confirms the low degree of satisfaction with the quality of the reporting among investors with heterogeneity of assessments in functional groups. Consequently, at the current stage of development of the IFRS system, formally high-quality financial statements do not fully meet the expectations and only partially meet the needs of the end users represented by investors and other interested representatives of the business community. The theoretical significance of the obtained results expanding the base of empirical data on the practical usefulness of financial statements, rests in the proposals for criteria and clarification of the level of satisfaction among the investment community of Russia with the quality of financial reporting under IFRS. The practical significance of the results obtained lies in the possibility of their use for adjusting managerial decisions in the practice of organizing international financial accounting and standardizing financial reporting.