Problems of Implementing International Accounting Standards in a Transition Economy : A Case Study of Russia

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and their predecessor, International Accounting Standards (IAS) are gaining in worldwide recognition. All publicly traded companies in the EU must adopt them by 2005 and many other countries either have adopted them or plan to do so in the near future. In 2002, the Russian Prime Minister announced that all Russian companies and banks must prepare their financial statements in accordance with international standards starting January 1, 2004. Implementing that decision will not be easy, for a variety of reasons. Not all international standards have been translated into Russian. Many Russian accountants are not sufficiently familiar with international standards to implement them. Some Russian universities have only recently started teaching international standards and the continuing education programs of the various Russian accounting associations are not yet prepared to offer comprehensive courses on international standards. Current Russian accounting standards conflict with international standards in several important ways and these conflicts will not be resolved in the near future.This paper reviews the literature on this subject and incorporates the results of interviews conducted of Russian accounting firms, enterprises and university professors in July and August 2003