Localization of International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-Sized Entities in Iran

Objective: Today, the major share of enterprises in the countries are small and medium-sized enterprises, and these enterprises play an important role in the economy. One of the main obstacles to the survival of small and medium-sized enterprises is the problem of financing. Lack of transparency of financial information and increased credit risk is the most important obstacle in attracting the necessary financial resources by these firms. Having a set of accounting standards tailored to the conditions and limitations of these firms can largely address these challenges. One of the important sources for reporting small and medium-sized enterprises is the standards published by the International Accounting Standards Board.
In this study, the need to make adjustments to the requirements for recognizing and measuring international financial reporting standards of small and medium-sized entities based on the conditions of these business units in Iran has been investigated.
Methods: In this research, the mixed research method has been used. Due to the fact that this research has examined the necessity of applying adjustments in some provisions of the SMEs standards, it is necessary to examine the various aspects of the recognition and measurement requirements of these standards through interviews with experts. Therefore, it is necessary to use the qualitative research method in the first stage. Content analysis method was used to analyze qualitative data. In this regard, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 managers and partners of auditing firms and standardized members of the auditing organization who were selected by the method of snowball.
After identifying the items that need to be adjusted in the qualitative stage, in the second stage, information is collected and analyzed through the quantitative research method and using the questionnaire tool. The binomial and Friedman tests were used to analyze the quantitative data. In this regard, through stratified sampling method, 315 samples were selected from certified public accountants and a questionnaire was distributed among them.
Results: The research findings indicate that the international financial reporting standards of SMEs should be adjusted in five areas. In the cash flow standard, it should be permissible to present some cash flows in a net basis. For reasons including the usefulness of presenting information in a net form, in cases where full international standards allow the presentation of amounts in a net form, and also because it does not affect the simplification of applying for small and medium-sized business units, the use of this method of presentation is justified.
In the Intangible Assets Standard, intangible assets created during the development phase must be invested under certain conditions. Due to the decrease in the motivation of the managers of SMEs to carry out research and development expenses and considering the importance of these expenses for SMEs (especially companies active in the field of information technology), the more appropriate procedure is to allow capitalization of development expenses.
In the business combinations standard, the acquirer should account for acquisition-related costs as expenses in the periods in which the costs are incurred. Due to the failure to correctly calculate the amount of goodwill in the case of adding acquisition-related costs to the investment purchase price, the board's revision in the new draft of the standard is to expense these expenses instead of capitalizing them and finally, due to the lack of effect of capitalization of acquisition-related costs in simplifying the work for SMEs, the use of this method is justified.
In the investments in associates standard, the accounting for investment in associates should be done by equity method. Due to the fact that if the SMEs are given the right to choose the accounting method of investments in associates, it will lead to the use of the cost method, as a result, the accounting numbers will be far from reality. Also, considering the complexities of using the fair value method in Iran, the use of equity method can be justified.
Finally, In the borrowing costs standard, the financing costs of eligible assets should be capitalized. Due to the inflationary conditions of Iran and the tendency of companies to obtain financing through loans, the figure of interest expense in the profit and loss statement is important in some SMEs, and spending these expenses leads to the distortion of the profit and loss statement. Therefore, it can be appropriate to use the method of capitalizing financing expenses for qualified assets.
 Conclusion: The results indicate that the best strategy in applying the international financial reporting standards for SMEs is the strategy of adjusting some requirements for recognition and measurement based on the conditions of these entities in Iran.