Abstract

The Roadmap toward IFRS Adoption in Korea proclaimed that listed companies would be permitted to apply the IFRS from 2009 and required from 2011, whereas unlisted companies would adopt some simpler and easier accounting standards than the IFRS to reduce accounting costs and burden. It is now a facing issue, if the unlisted companies adopt the IFRS, or use the existing K－GAAP, or make new financial accounting standards. This research investigates the alternatives of the accounting standards for the unlisted companies and gets opinions from the interest groups for each alternative. Respondents are also demanded to answer what are the important things to be considered when we establish accounting standards for unlisted companies. We made a questionnaire and sent it to the six categories of interest group during the period from December 5, 2007 to January 14, 2008. The six categories of interest group are unlisted companies, C.P.A.(Certified Public Accountants), financial institutions and analysts, government tax officials, accounting regulatory agencies, and professors of accounting. We collected 640 questionnaires and used 624 of them in data analysis. The summary of major findings is as follows. We asked whether unlisted companies should adopt the IFRS or they need different accounting standards. 373 respondents (59.8%) answered that unlisted companies should use different accounting standards, which can take the circumstances of Korean unlisted companies into consideration, whereas 251 respondents (40.2%) replied that unlisted companies should also use the IFRS. The respondents choosing the different accounting standards answer the questionnaire that cost reduction in accounting practices, adoption of simpler and easier accounting principles, and lack of competent accounting personnels in unlisted companies are the main reasons why they select the alternative. We also asked the respondents who choose the different standards which accounting alternatives is more desirable for the unlisted companies. Research result shows that the IFRS for SME, including modification of it, has strong attraction (64.0%) for the accounting standards. 31.1% of the respondents chose simplifying the existing K－GAAP and only 4.8% chose establishing new accounting standards for the unlisted companies. This survey also asked whether we need to make separate accounting standards for small and medium sized unlisted companies because they usually do not have sufficient accounting infra－structures and competent accounting personnels. 59% of respondents answered "Yes" but 41% replied "No", indicating that single accounting standards for the unlisted companies would be more desirable.

Keywords

• accounting standards for unlisted companies
• IFRS for SME
• K－GAAP
• alternatives of the accounting standards for unlisted companies

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