From SAS to IFRS: An Investigation of Nigeria Transition Road Map Implementation Problems

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate transition road map problems encountered by the Nigerian authorities in moving from local Statements of Accounting Standards (SAS) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Design/methodology/approach – A postal questionnaire survey of 50 accounting professionals which includes Nigeria's Financial Reporting Council and other industrial specialists was undertaken. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the most common problems. Independent t-tests were employed to determine whether there were any significant differences in the perception of the problems according to job type, experience, sector and gender.

Findings – The questionnaire findings suggest that many problems have been encountered in the as yet unfinished transition from SAS to IFRs. These include lack of training on IFRS at tertiary institutions and the fact that Nigerian regulators do not have sufficient capacity to drive the transition process. The results also show that there are some significant differences in the perception of the transition road map implementation problems according to job type, experience, sector and gender.

Research limitations/implications – The study's results are based on responses from 50 out of a possible 500 accounting professionals surveyed and therefore cannot be generalised. The problems documented in the results should therefore be regarded as indicative rather than exhaustive.

Practical implications – This paper has practical implications for the Nigeria's Financial Reporting Council as it may want to review why the road map was not achieved and assess whether any lessons could be learnt for the future. The results are also important especially for those listed companies that failed to meet the January 2012 deadline for IFRS reporting.

Originality/value – This paper identifies Nigeria transition problems that are peculiar to Nigeria in its bid to be IFRS compliant some of which have not been documented by existing literature. Second, it is the first study to document accounting standards transitional problems in the African context.