Resistive factors of delaying IFRS adoption in Saudi Arabia listed firms

Purpose - This study aims to explore and identify the factors that affect Saudi Arabia's decision concerning the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and particularly the resistive factors that delay full IFRS adoption. It identifies the way in which Saudi Arabia’s social, political, educational and religious context influence the adoption of IFRS and the delay in doing so. Design/methodology/approach - A mixed methodology is used in this research, including both quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews) data analysis. Whereas, using mixed methods led to enhance the results. Findings - The findings show that globalisation, accounting bodies and political circumstances were found to be positively related to IFRS adoption in Saudi Arabia. In contrast, culture and accounting development were found to have a negative impact on the IFRS adoption. Interestingly, the results showed that religion has no effect on IFRS adoption in Saudi Arabia. Practical implications - This paper can be of use to both researchers and practitioners interested in investigating more resistive factors that could affect future IFRS adoption in developing countries. Moreover, the findings could be useful to senior managers and legislators in Saudi Arabia firms, in relation to decisions about enhancing the quality of adopting IFRS. Originality/value - This research provides an important contribution to the existing literature by using a comparative method to present an in-depth exploration of the factors that affect countries, drawing on the framework of the neo-institutional perspective in a developing country.