Financial Accounting and Reporting Research in Transition Economies

This paper discusses several research design issues and other issues relevant to empirical-archival financial accounting research in transition economies. Several environmental features of transition economies affect both the identification of research questions and the development of research designs to address those questions; these environmental features include the extent to which the stock market is informationally efficient and the attributes of financial reporting standards. I also discuss how elements of the implementation of financial reporting standards, including the expertise and professionalism of preparers and auditors and securities laws and enforcement, affect the design of financial accounting research in transition economies.