The Causes and Effects of IFRS adoption Speed: Diffusion of Innovation Theory Perspective

This study investigates the drivers and economic benefits of adopting international financial reporting standards (IFRS) by applying the classification proposed by the diffusion of innovation theory. By employing multiple linear regression and a series of cumulative logistic regression for a large sample spanning 1995-to 2014, this paper shows that countries with Anglo-Saxon culture and substantial protection rights tend to accelerate their IFRS adoption decision to maintain their legal legitimacy. This paper also indicates that countries with lower governance indicators are more prone to hasten their IFRS adoption to improve the quality of their political systems. This research reports that countries with higher educational attainment and literacy rates but lower education quality levels are more likely to hasten their IFRS adoption to enhance their education systems quality. Results indicate a positive relationship between four economic indicators (i.e., economic growth, FDI, GDP, and interest rates) and the rapid IFRS adoption speed.