Abstract—Over the two past decades, the rapid integration
of capital markets underlined the necessity for developing a
single set of high quality international accounting standards.
The growing acceptance of international accounting standards
has given power for International Accounting Standards Board
(IASB) to work and develop this project. Iraq is a country
where its accounting practices have been influenced by different
philosophies from outside and inside Iraq during its modern
history. After the fall of Saddam Hussain international
institutions have begun to play an important role in reshaping
Iraq’s economy including its accounting for oil. This paper
investigates the challenges and opportunities for Iraq in
transitioning from its national Unified Accounting System
(UAS) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).
The investigation used a qualitative research approach
including two research methods. For archival resources to the
accounting system and the pressure to change, content analysis
was used. To ascertain the views of persons of significant
importance, In-depth semi-structured interviews were
conducted with academics, managers, consultants, CFO, CAO,
and accounting professionals in Iraq based on the New
Institutional Theory (Isomorphism) was used to analyze the
interview transcripts. The results revealed that the current
situation in Iraq is an example of institutional isomorphism,
specifically coercive isomorphism by the World Bank and IMF;
mimetic isomorphism by the IOCs and normative isomorphism
by the Big 4 accounting firms. Further, this study highlights the
need for further research into the impact of adopting IFRSs in
developing and emerging countries, particularly those in the
Middle East.
Index Terms—IFRS, institutional theory, accounting system,
world bank, IMF, Big 4 accounting firms.
Mohammad Abud-Allah Ibrahim is with University of Baghdad and
currently is with Newcastle Business School, Faculty of Business & Law,
The University of Newcastle Australia (e-mail:
mohammed.ibrahim@uon.edu.au).
Patricia Stanton and Marcus Rodrigs are with Newcastle Business
School, Faculty of Business & Law, The University of Newcastle Australia
(e-mail: Patricia.Stanton@newcastle.edu.au,
Marcus.Rodrigs@newcastle.edu.au).
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Cite: Mohammad Abud-Allah Ibrahim, Patricia Stanton, and Marcus Rodrigs, "Should Iraq Adopt IFRSs?," International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance vol.5, no.6, pp. 541-550, 2014.