The Role and Current Status of IFRS in the Completion of National Accounting Rules – Evidence from Portugal

Perceptions regarding the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards in Portugal and Brazil

“…The enforcement of accounting standards for unlisted companies in Portugal is the responsibility of the Comissão de Normalização Contabilística (CNC, the Portuguese Accounting Standards Board), supervisory body of certified accountants [Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados (OCC)], and the supervisory body of statutory auditors [Ordem dos Revisores Oficiais de Contas (OROC)] (Isidro & Pais, 2017). In Brazil, initiatives to support accounting compliance are undertaken by the body that provides access to the auditing and accounting professions, that is, the Federal Council of Accountants [Conselho Federal de Contabilidade (CFC)] (Lopes, 2011;CFC Portal, 2018).…”

“…Although formalized by Decree Law 158/2009 of July 13 in 2009, Portugal's CNC is not yet doing any enforcement (Isidro & Pais, 2017). The OCC regularly checks accounting professionals' work, whereas the OROC performs quality checks on auditors (Isidro & Pais, 2017).…”

“…Although formalized by Decree Law 158/2009 of July 13 in 2009, Portugal's CNC is not yet doing any enforcement (Isidro & Pais, 2017). The OCC regularly checks accounting professionals' work, whereas the OROC performs quality checks on auditors (Isidro & Pais, 2017). In both countries, statutory auditors play an important supervisory role for accounting processes among entities subject to external auditing (Batista & Lopes, 2018;Guerreiro, 2009;Isidro & Pais, 2017;Silva et al, 2003).…”

“…The independent bodies responsible for translating and introducing IFRS in Portugal and Brazil are, respectively, the CNC and the Comitê de Pronunciamentos Contábeis (CPC, the Brazilian Accounting Standards Board). After the CNC (Isidro & Pais, 2017) and CPC (García et al, 2017;Lopes, 2011;CPC Portal, 2018) analyze and approve standards issued by IASB for their respective countries, each issues technical resolutions, orientations, and interpretations.…”

“…Similarly, CNC members include representatives of professional associations, stock market regulators, academia, industry, tax authorities, and government bodies. Both these accounting standard setters benefit from strong government support (Castro & Santana, 2018;Isidro & Pais, 2017).…”