Readiness of SMEs in UAE for an accounting standard transition to IFRS for SMEs: an empirical analysis

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) are the backbone of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is recently classified under emerging market with approximately 85% to 95% of the companies being SMEs. The banks have become very selective as lenders and investors in the UAE. Therefore, SMEs in the UAE should adopt international financial reporting standard (IFRS) for SMEs, which is a simplified version of IFRS prepared especially for SMEs. An empirical study is undertaken to explore the readiness of the SMEs in UAE to adopt IFRS for SMEs. The dependent variables in the questionnaire analyse the stage of readiness for the accounting standard transition. The sample size is 35 and the findings suggest that 60% of the SMEs in UAE are likely to follow IFRS for SMEs in the next three years.