Culture, Economics and Disclosure of (IAS/IFRS) Information: Empirical Evidence in the Tunisian, French and Canadian Contexts

Abstract

According to the theory of environmental determinism, the accounting system of a country is made by the environment. From our study on three samples of the three countries in different cultural and economic environments (50 Tunisian firms listed on Tunindex, 35 French companies listed on the CAC40 and 36 Canadian companies listed on TSE60), we have demonstrated that despite the adoption by these three countries in a single repository (IAS / IFRS), the degree of implementation of these standards (for each standard) differs from one country to another. We have also found that the level of IAS/IFRS disclosure in Canada is higher than in France which is in far higher than in Tunisia turn. The high level of disclosure of TSE60 companies of Canada compared to the CAC 40 companies of France is explained by existing differences between the cultural dimensions of the two countries. Indeed, Canada is characterized by professionalism and transparency in contrast to France which is characterized by the statutory control and discretion. In addition, for Tunisia, extensive reading annual reports showed a low level of disclosure and demonstrated the presence of a large number of items unenforceable. Inapplicable items reflect the absence of the scope of the standards adopted by Tunisia. Thus, standards adopted and those not yet adopted by Tunisia face rather the level of economic development as the national culture. The results of this study demonstrate the validity of the theory of environmental determinism.

Keywords: Theory of environmental determinism, Disclosure, IAS/IFRS.