Comparative analysis of IFRS practices of Islamic and conventional banks in Bangladesh /

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyse financial reporting practices of the listed Islamic and conventional banks in Bangladesh, in terms of their compliance with the measurement, presentation and disclosure requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as well as the assertion of comparability of the reported figures. The study involved content analysis of the audited financial statements with year-ending 31 December 2014 of the 7 Islamic and 23 conventional banks that are listed in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and in Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). 29 of these banks are private commercial banks (PCBs) and 1 is state-owned commercial bank (SCB). For the purpose of evaluating compliance with IFRS presentation and disclosure requirements, the study selected 38 mandatory requirements of IAS 1. To examine the compliance with IFRS measurement requirements, the depreciation policies of the banks are selected and contrasted with IAS 16 and IAS 38 requirements. The comparability of the reported figures is also assessed based on the depreciation policies and the reported depreciation amounts. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) has adopted these standards as BAS 1, BAS 16 and BAS 38 respectively. Depreciation is selected for the purpose of this study due to its importance in directing financial performance of a reporting entity. Also, the flexibility IFRS allows in selecting a depreciation policy may result in differences in practices among the reporting entities, which may sacrifice comparability of the reported figures. The study finds that the Islamic banks in general comply with IFRS presentation and disclosure requirements more than the conventional banks, and the depreciation policies adopted by the Islamic banks asserts greater comparability as compared to the conventional banks. However, the study also finds that IFRS are not always observed by the Islamic and conventional banks in Bangladesh in presentation and disclosures of the financial statements and in adopting accounting policies. The study further finds that divergence in accounting policies exist that acts as a barrier to the efforts of achieving comparability in financial reporting. The findings of this research will allow the accounting standard setters, external auditors and the regulators in identifying some of the areas of non-compliance and the bottlenecks in achieving comparability of the financial statements.