Các nhân tố tác động đến mức độ sẵn sàng áp dụng chuẩn mực báo cáo tài chính quốc tế đối với các doanh nghiệp tại Việt Nam.Các nhân tố tác động đến mức độ sẵn sàng áp dụng chuẩn mực báo cáo tài chính quốc tế đối với các doanh nghiệp tại Việt Nam.Các nhân tố tác động đến mức độ sẵn sàng áp dụng chuẩn mực báo cáo tài chính quốc tế đối với các doanh nghiệp tại Việt Nam.Các nhân tố tác động đến mức độ sẵn sàng áp dụng chuẩn mực báo cáo tài chính quốc tế đối với các doanh nghiệp tại Việt Nam.Các nhân tố tác động đến mức độ sẵn sàng áp dụng chuẩn mực báo cáo tài chính quốc tế đối với các doanh nghiệp tại Việt Nam.Các nhân tố tác động đến mức độ sẵn sàng áp dụng chuẩn mực báo cáo tài chính quốc tế đối với các doanh nghiệp tại Việt Nam.Các nhân tố tác động đến mức độ sẵn sàng áp dụng chuẩn mực báo cáo tài chính quốc tế đối với các doanh nghiệp tại Việt Nam.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY ĐỖ KHÁNH LY FACTORS IMPACTING THE DEGREE OF PREPAREDNESS OF IFRS APPLICATION BY ENTERPRISES IN VIETNAM SUMMARY OF DISSERTATION Ho Chi Minh City – 2022 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY ĐỖ KHÁNH LY FACTORS IMPACTING THE DEGREE OF PREPAREDNESS OF IFRS APPLICATION BY ENTERPRISES IN VIETNAM Discipline: Accounting Code: 9340301 SUMMARY OF DISSERTATION ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR: 1- Nguyễn Thị Kim Cúc, Ph.D 2- Trần Văn Tùng, Assoc Prof, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City - 2022 This research was completed at: the University of Economics HCMC (UEH) Academic Supervisor: 1- NGUYEN THI KIM CUC, Ph.D 2- TRAN VAN TUNG, Assoc Prof., Ph.D Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: Reviewer 3: This dissertation will be presented to the Institutional Board of Dissertation Review at the University of Economics HCMC (UEH) on … 20 _ The dissertation is accessible at the library of the University of Economics HCMC (UEH) LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS In Vietnamese Acronym BCTC DN VN Full Words Báo cáo tài Doanh nghiệp Việt Nam In English Acronym ACCA ADB CPA EU IAS IASB IASC IASCF ICAEW IFRS IMF IOSCO SME TIFS Full Words Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Asian Development Bank Certified Public Accountant European Union International Accounting Standards International Accounting Standards Board International Accounting Standards Committee International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales International Financial Reporting Standards International Monerary Fund International Organization of Securities Commissions Small and Medium Enterprise T- Technological Infrastructure; I- Individual; F- Financial US GAAP VAA VACPA VAS VFRS WB WTO Constraints; S- Supportive Environment United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Vietnam Association of Accountants and Auditors Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants Vietnam Accounting Standards Vietnam Financial Reporting Standards World Bank World Trade Organization INTRODUCTION The Introduction presents the background of the reseach problem which is based on realistic and theoretical demands It consists of: the urgency of the research, purpose of the study, research questions, scope of research, methodology, theoretical and conceptual framework, contributions of the study, and structure of the dissertation The urgency of the research Realistic requirements in Vietnam The immediate movement of domestic and foreign capital flows plays a decisive role in the efficiency of investment, production and business activities of the enterprises Therefore, to create a "common language" on financial statements at the same time to increase the comparability and the quality of accounting information so as to increase investor confidence, promote development and capital market, expand cooperation relationships and increase competitiveness of enterprises in the international arena, the compliance with a set of common financial statements standards is a very urgent requirement for Vietnam As of April 2019, there were 166 countries and territories in the world applying IFRS or had a roadmap of IFRS application for all or a majority of companies required for public disclosure, including the listed companies and financial institutions in their countries (IFRS Foundation, 2019) Besides, bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements; international financial institutions such as IMF, WB, and ADB; International stock markets, international investment funds, professional organizations such as the International Financial Accounting Standards Council, the Association of Certified Public Accountants (ACCA), AICPA, etc all required the member countries to define a roadmap and commit to comply with IFRS Vietnam, the country with 15 free trade agreements signed as of December 31, 2020 (WTO Center, 2020), is not an exception in the IFRS compliance under the contemporary trend On March 16, 2020, the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam stipulated the Project on building Vietnam’s Financial Reporting Standards (VFRS) which aims to require most of the enterprises to mandatorily apply since 2025, except the super-small enterprises and those that registered to apply IFRS previously (Bộ Tài chính, 2020) At present, when VFRS is not officially born (to August 2020), and with the fact that the IFRS has been applied by a small number of enterprises while the accounting staff at 700,000 enterprises have not been qualified enough to create financial reports by IFRS, the conversion of accounting system, training of staff, preparation of information technology insfrastructures, etc are a gigantic volume of work, extremely challenging and complex (Bộ Kế hoạch Đầu tư, 2019) Regardless, as at the beginning of 2025, all enterprises in Vietnam will be obliged to apply the IFRS whereas most of them have limited resources and funds for such a difficul requirement Especially, the criteria in IFRS are much more complicated than in the recent accounting standards in Vietnam, if the enterprises are not really prepared for such an application and the authority still insists on the mass application as planned (i.e., 2022), most probably the enterprises will face huge difficulties that may lead to not-recommended work-around solutions, manipulations, or even fraudulents which cause a significant impact to the pathway of the application of IFRS in Vietnam The question is, based on the pathway set by the Ministry of Finance, are enterprises in Vietnam ready to apply the IFRS in 2025? To answer the question, a research on factors that impact the degree of preparedness of enterprises in Vietnam is crucial and urgent at present The theoretical gap found through literature review Studies on factors influencing the readiness of IFRS application Research on the degree of preparedness of IFRS application by enterprises is a rather new field and drawing interest of many scholars However, the number of publications on this matter is minimal Scholars often focus on different areas, though evolving the IFRS application For example, Phan et al (2018) conducted a study to explore the impact of perceiving effects of accounting staff in readiness of IFRS adoption in enterprises in Vietnam Oyewo (2015) carried out a research and found out factors that influence the readiness of SMEs in Nigeria in the application of IFRS Moqbel et al (2013) conducted a study on enterprises’ readiness in applying IFRS in the United States Omri and Akrimi (2011) conducted a research on the readiness of Tunisian listed companies in the application of IFRS The authors examined particular characteristics of every company that voluntarily applied IFRS in order to explain their readiness in the application of IFRS Guerreiro et al (2008) studied the readiness of firms for IFRS application in Portugal Floropoulos and Moschidis (2004) conducted a study on the readiness and familiarity of Greek small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the application of IFRS in Greece Hoewever, through literature review, the author saw no study on measuring and testing the role of support by manager to the degree of preparedness for IFRS application by enterprises (Figure 1.1) Approach to the concept of “degree of preparedness in IFRS application” The concept of readiness for IFRS application has been approached by scholars in different directions (according to the latest results of the author's review on the readiness to apply IFRS of enterprises) The approach by Guerreiro & colleagues (2008) on the readiness to apply IFRS was used by several scholars for their researches, for example it was employed by Omri & Akrimi (2011), Klỗ & colleagues (2014) The approach by Phan & colleagues (2018) was to measure the readiness to apply IFRS by enterprise by type of business, which is, according to the author, not reflecting the true nature of the degree of preparedness in IFRS application Therefore, in this study, the author approaches the concept of degree of preparedness in applying IFRS in light of Guerreiro & colleagues (2008) and develops a scale to measure the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by the enterprises in Vietnam Substantial theories used in previous studies: It is not easy for enterprises to apply IFRS because it depends on several factors such as ability of the enterprise and external support In researching the degree of preparedness in IFRS application, the authors used different theories to account for their research models The approach using institutional theory was adopted in the researches involving accounting standards, typically by Zucker (1987), Carruthers (1995), Carpenter & Feroz (2001), Phan & colleagues (2018) The approach using institutional isomorphism was adopted in the researches on IFRS application by Aburous (2019), Phang & Mahzan (2013) The approach using agency theory was adopted in the researches by Guerreiro & colleagues (2008) on the application of IFRS by enterprises in Portugal The approach using planned behavior theory was adopted in the researches on the level of readiness in IFRS application in the Unites States by Moqbel & colleagues (2013) These schools of theory have a common view in interpreting the impact of both internal and external factors to the degree of preparedness for IFRS application by enterprises These schools are not conflicting, but supplementing each other The relevant researches about IFRS in Vietnam: Vietnam is in the stage of encouraging enterprises to apply IFRS and the number of academic researches on the degree of preparedness in IFRS application is small They were mainly studieds on the benefits and challenges for businesses when applying IFRS, or factors that affect the application of IFRS by the enterpreises A few prominent research directions in Vietnam today can be outlined as follows: Research on the benefits of IFRS for businesse: The reseaches revealed the benefits for enterprises from the application of IFRS, such as the enhancement of compatibility in financial reports between enterprises across the countries, increase the accountability of information, external investors use financial reports more effectively, accelerate the approach to international markets more than that of current accounting system of Vietnam, etc Typical researches can be listed as of Phan Thi Hong Duc and Mascitelli, 2014; Le Hoang Phuc, 2014; Phan et al., 2016; Tran et al al., 2019 Research on challenges and disadvantages of IFRS application in enterprises: The researches pointed out challenges and disadvantages when the enterprises apply the IFRS, such as: the complex nature of the IFRS, a lack of guidance on the first IFRS reporting, the insufficiency of the capital markets, the weak execution of laws and regulations, the high cost for IFRS application, demands on staff knowledge and expertise, environment barriers, staff training, etc Typical researches can be listed as of Phan & colleagues (2014), Nguyễn Ngọc Hiệp (2017), Chuc & colleagues (2019) Research on the factors impacting the application of IFRS: There were several studies on factors impacting the IFRS application from different perspectives, both on macro and micro factors Typical researches can be listed as of Lê Trần Hạnh Phương (2019), Tran & colleagues (2019) Nguyễn Thị Ánh Linh (2019), Tran & colleagues (2020) Identifying the research gap: Synthetizing the research results from the international and domestical researches on the topic, the author spotlights the research gap as follows: First of all, the approach taking a combination of the institutional theory and the agency theory in studying the degree of preparedness in IFRS application has yet been conducted by any author Therefore, this approach will suggest a new interpretation on the research problem Secondly, Vietnam is a country that has an incomplete institutional environment for the application of IFRS, therefore the role of the manager is considered essential in the context that the countries whose economies resemble Vietnam just had a very limited number of researches on the degree of preparedness in IFRS application So, a study on the role of enterprise manager towards the degree of preparedness in IFRS application is necessary Thirdly, the measurement and verification of the correlation between the support of the manager and the degree of preparedness in IFRS application has not been studied before In Vietnam, the enterprise managers, who are considered the most significant influence on the degree of preparedness in IFRS application, have not been taken into account in other studies Should this factor play a significant impact to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application? This question is worth to be studied and tested Why the research is conducted in Vietnam? The setting of this research is based on Vietnam’s economy, a developing country, where the business environment is different from that of the developed countries As a result, the impact on the degree of preparedness in IFRS application may be also different from that of the researches conducted in advanced countries In the early stage of implementing the IFRS application scheme, enterprises are supported by the government in enhancing the ability to apply IFRS and the manager becomes a factor that significantly influences the process of IFRS application at the enterprise Therefore, the question is, in what way the enterprises are able to increase the degree of preparedness in IFRS application? To answer that question, the research on “FACTORS IMPACTING THE DEGREE OF PREPAREDNESS OF IFRS APPLICATION BY ENTERPRISES IN VIETNAM” becomes top essential in the current context It helps the enterprises in Vietnam clearly perceive the degree of impact of each and every factor to degree of 14 2.5 The concept and the measurement of “degree of preparedness” 2.5.1 The concept of “degree of preparedness” In this study, the “degree of preparedness” is defined as the level of readiness to apply IFRS by the enterprises in Vietnam In which, the application of IFRS system does not only depend on the subjective standpoint of policy makers, but also depends on the preparedness of enterprises In this perspective, the degree of preparedness of the enterprises is the readiness for changes to comply with the IFRS To achieve this, the manager should facilitate good conditions for the enterprise to approach the IFRS by gaining the knowledge about IFRS and other vital information for himself to make sure the financial statements are preprared according to IFRS 2.5.2 The measurement of “degree of preparedness” 2.6 Research model and hypotheses 2.6.1 Developing reseach hypotheses 2.6.1.1 The impact from the perception of benefits, perception of challenges, and perception of disadvantages to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application 2.6.1.2 The impact from the support of manager to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application 2.6.1.3 The impact from the level of IFRS understanding of IFRS to the perception of benefits, perception of challenges 2.6.1.4 The impact from the level of IFRS understanding of IFRS, perception of benefits, perception of challenges, and perception of disadvantages to the support of manager 2.6.2 Suggesting the research model and synthetizing the hypotheses 15 Fig 2.2 – Research model Perception of benefits on the application of IFRS H4 (+) H6-1(+) Level of understanding on IFRS H6-2(+) H7-1(+) Perception of challenges on the application of IFRS H1 (+) H2 (-) Degree of preparedness in IFRS application H7-2(-) H6-3(+) H3 (-) H8 (+) Perception of disadvantages on the application of IFRS H5 (+) H7-3(-) Support by the manager towards to application of IFRS Source: by the author 16 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Chapter presents the research process, research methodology, results of overall qualitative and quantitative research The chapter also describes the method of sampling, data collection and analysis using both qualitative and quantitative approaches 3.1 The research process Fig 3.1 – The research process Identify the problem Research purpose Theoretical background Draft scale of measurement Draft scale of measurement Qualitative study Cronbach’s Alpha: (1) Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient; (2) Corrected item – Total correlation Overall quantitative study EFA: KMO, factor loading, Average Variance Extracted (AVE) Official quantitative study Official Scale Assessment on structural model - Coefficient of determination - Blindfolding (Q2) - Effect size Cohen’s f2 Assessment on scale model - Composite reliability (CR) - Convergent - Discriminant Conclusion and implication Source: By the author 17 3.2 Designing the scale of measurement 3.3 Designing qualitative study 3.3.1 Process of qualitative study 3.3.2 Sample for qualitative study 3.4 Designing overall qualitative study 3.4.1 Objectives The design of a preliminary quantitative study aims at evaluating the quality of the draft scale, which is the next step after group (expert) discussion The author relies on the draft scale that was adjusted through expert discussion to conduct the survey After receiving feedback, the author proceeds to process data for assessment, scale adjustment and adjustment of the research model for the final round before proceeding with the official quantitative research in order to test the model and other hypotheses The specific objectives are as follows: - Evaluate the content and reliability of the scale, analyze exploratory factor(s) to determine discriminant of the scale; Complete the survey questionnaires to serve for the official quantitative research 3.4.2 Sample for the overall quantitative study 3.5 Designing the official quantitative study 3.5.1 Objectives The official quantitative research design is carried out to test the hypotheses This is the next step in the preliminary quantitative research, with particular goals as below: - Evaluate reliability by Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, analyze exploratory factors, evaluate discriminant of the scale; - Test the research hypotheses using PLS-SEM techniques to identify factors affecting the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by the enterprises; - Test the necessary estimates in order to evaluate the sustainability of the research model 3.5.2 Research sample 3.5.3 Data processing techniques 18 CHAPTER RESEARCH RESULT AND DISCUSSION Chapter presents the results from data analysis and quantitative research via Cronbach’s Alpha, EFA, PLS-SEM tests, together with discussions This chapter answers the questions: What are the factors that impact the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprises in Vietnam? What is the degree of impact by each and every factor to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprises in Vietnam? 4.1 Preliminary research results 4.1.1 Qualitative research 4.1.1.1 Results from adjusted research model 4.1.1.2 Design, adjust, and develop the scale 4.1.2 Preliminary research results 4.1.3 Summary of the preliminary research 4.2 Official research results 4.2.1 Descriptive statatistics 4.2.2 Cronbach’s Alpha Analysis 4.2.3 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 4.2.4 Assessment of the measurement model 4.2.4.1 VIF Test 4.2.4.2 Reliability and convergence test 4.2.4.3 Suitability test 4.2.4.4 Dicriminant test through Fornell – Lacker test 4.2.5 Assessment on structural model The author evaluates the structural model through Bootstrapping test According to Schumacher and Lomax (2004), to be able to broaden the overall research results, the model should be tested for reliability through bootstrapping technique The author proceeds an analysis with a repeated sample size of 5.000 observations, with “n” of 5.000 19 and the initial sample size is 238 The Bootstrapping estimated results are shown in Fig 4.23, reflecting the following assessment: Table 4.23 – Estimated results of the structural model Estimation Standard deviation t P β β (Bootstrapping) Direct impact of the perception of benefits, perception of challenges, perception of disadvantages, the support by manager, and level of IFRS understanding to the degree of preparedness of IFRS application NTBL -> MDSS -0,227 -0,235*** 0,055 4,110 0,000 *** NTLI -> MDSS 0,251 0,253 0,069 3,635 0,000 *** NTTT -> MDSS -0,366 -0,368 0,062 5,921 0,000 HOTRO -> MDSS 0,455 0,453*** 0,064 7,078 0,000 ns MDHB -> MDSS 0,099 0,101 0,064 1,546 0,122 Direct impact of the perception of benefits, perception of challenges, perception of disadvantages, and level of IFRS understanding to the support by manager NTBL -> HOTRO -0,174 -0,181** 0,070 2,472 0,013 ns NTLI -> HOTRO -0,002 0,000 0,071 0,028 0,978 *** NTTT -> HOTRO -0,176 -0,181 0,068 2,592 0,010 MDHB -> HOTRO 0,194 0,195*** 0,060 3,217 0,001 Direct impact of the level of IFRS understanding to the perception of benefits, perception of challenges, perception of disadvantages MDHB -> NTBL -0,012 -0,014 ns 0,068 0,180 0,857 MDHB -> NTLI 0,465 0,467*** 0,062 7,471 0,000 ns MDHB -> NTTT 0,061 0,061 0,068 0,903 0,367 Indirect impact of the level of IFRS understanding to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application via the perception of benefits, perception of challenges, perception of disadvantages, and the support by manager to the application of IFRS MDHB -> MDSS 0,189 0,192*** 0,052 3,679 0,000 = 44,8%; = 8,9%; = 21,6% = 0,030; = 0,073; = 0,139; = 0,343 Impact magnitude = 0,026; = 0,033; = 0,034 f = 0,275 Remarks: (*) significance level 10%; ( **) significance level 5%; Correlation (***) significance level 1%; ( ns) No significance (Source: Results from data analysis by the author) 4.2.5.1 Assessment of the adjusted coeffiecient of determination 4.2.5.2 Impact magnitude (f2) 4.2.5.3 Estimation of path coefficient and reliability interval 4.2.5.4 Prediction on suitability Q2 through blindfolding 20 4.3 Discussion on research results 4.3.1 Testing the research hypotheses The author suggests 12 hypotheses, the test results show there are out of 12 accepted and rejected (Table 4.26) based on the p-value value from the results of structural model estimation in Table 4.23 1) Impact of the perception of benefits to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application The estimated results show the hypothesis H “The perception of benefits positively impact to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprise in Vietnam” is accepted (β = 0,251, p = 0,000 < 0,01) 2) Impact of the perception of challenges to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application The estimated results show the hypothesis H2 “The perception of challenges negatively impact to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprise in Vietnam” is accepted (β = -0,366, p = 0,000 < 0,01) 3) Impact of the perception of disadvantages to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application The estimated results show the hypothesis H3 “The perception of challenges negatively impact to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprise in Vietnam” is accepted (β = -0,227, p = 0,000 < 0,01) 4) Impact of the level of IFRS understanding to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application The estimated results show the hypothesis H4 “The level of IFRS understanding positively impact to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprise in Vietnam” is rejected (β = 0,099, p = 0,122 > 0,1) However, when examining the indirect effect of the level of IFRS understanding via perception of challenges, perception of disadvantages, perception of benefits, and the support of manager, the result is β = 0,189, p = 0,000 < 0,01 (Table 4.24) 21 5) Impact of the support by manager to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application The estimated results show the hypothesis H “The support by manager in IFRS application positively impact to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprise in Vietnam” is accepted (β = 0,455, p = 0,000 < 0,01) 6) Impact of the level of IFRS understanding to the perception of benefits, perception of challenges, and perception of disadvantages in IFRS application The estimated results show the hypothesis H 6-1 “The level of understanding of IFRS positively impact to the perception of benefits by enterprises in Vietnam” is accepted (β = 0,465, p = 0,000 < 0,01) The hypotheses H6-2, H6-3 are rejected (H6-2: β = 0,061, p = 0,367 > 0,1; H6-3: β = -0,012, p = 0,857 > 0,1) 7) The impact of the perception of benefits, perception of challenges, perception of disadvantages, and the level of IFRS understanding to the support of the manager in IFRS application The estimated results show the hypotheses H 7-2 and H7-3 are accepted (H7-2: β = -0,176, p = 0,01 < 0,05; H7-3: β = -0,174, p = 0,014 < 0,05) The hypothesis H7-1 is rejected (β = -0,002, p = 0,978 > 0,1) 8) The impact of the level of IFRS understanding to the support by manager in IFRS application The estimated results show the hypothesis H 8: “The level of IFRS understanding positively impacts the support of manager” is accepted (β = 0,194, p = 0,001 < 0,01) Table 4.26 – Results of the research hypotheses test Suggested Hypotheses Hypothesis H1: The perception of benefits positively impact to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprise in Vietnam Hypothesis H2: The perception of challenges negatively impact to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprise in Vietnam P-value 0,000 Result Accepted 0,000 Accepted 22 Hypothesis H3: The perception of disadvantages negatively 0,000 Accepted impact to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprise in Vietnam Hypothesis H4: The level of IFRS understanding positively 0,122 Rejected impact to the degree of preparedness of IFRS application by enterprises in Vietnam Hypothesis H5: The support by manager positively impact 0,000 Accepted to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprise in Vietnam Hypothesis H6-1: The level of IFRS understanding 0,000 Accepted positively impact to the perception of benefits in IFRS application by enterprises in Vietnam Hypothesis H6-2: The level of IFRS understanding 0,373 Rejected positively impact to the perception of challenges in IFRS application by enterprises in Vietnam Hypothesis H6-3: The level of IFRS understanding 0,861 Rejected positively impact to the perception of disadvantages in IFRS application by enterprises in Vietnam Hypothesis H7-1: The perception of benefits in IFRS 0,979 Rejected application positively impact to the support by manager Hypothesis H7-2: The perception of challenges in IFRS 0,01 Accepted application negatively impact to the support by manager Hypothesis H7-3: The perception of disadvantages in IFRS 0,015 Accepted application negatively impact to the support by manager Hypothesis H8: The level of IFRS understanding positively 0,001 Accepted impact to the support by manager Source: Generalized by the author from the research results Comparison on the research results in light of the background theories: 1) The Institutional Theory 2) A combination of the Institutional Theory and the Agency Theory 23 Chapter CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION Chapter summarizes the study and highlighs the findings The author makes conclusion and a few implications for the policy-makers as well as other institutions, especially the enterprises in paying attention to the factors impacting the degree of preparedness in IFRS application in Vietnam This chapter also points out the limitations and suggests some directions for further studies 5.1 Research conclusion The research aims to find and analyze the factors affecting the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprises in Vietnam in order to help them visualize the impact of each factor to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application It also creates a foundation for the policy-makers to design and stipulate strategies and policies that best support the enterprises in raising the degree of preparedness in IFRS application in Vietnam Here are the highlights: Firstly, qualitative research techniques including literature review, relevant background theories, generalization, comparison, comparison methods, and group discussion method with experts are used by the author to identify the factors impacting the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by the enterprises in Vietnam From the quantitative analysis, the author built the research model, scale, and the hypotheses for the factors that impact the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by the enterprises in Vietnam, consisting of: perception of challenges, perception of benefits, perception of disadvantages, the support of manager, and the level of IFRS understanding, which were used in the quantitative analysis that followed Secondly, the author conducted the quantitative research method through data collection, data processing, descriptive statistical analysis, Cronbach's Alpha test; EFA techniques and PLS-SEM analysis to determine the factors affecting the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by the enterprises in Vietnam 24 Thirdly, the research results revealed 04 factors that impact the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by the enterprises in Vietnam, inclusive of: perception of disadvantages, perception of benefits, perception of challenges, support by manager As for the factor “the level of IFRS understanding”, it has indirect effect to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application via the perception of benefits and the support by manager in the application of IFRS of the enterprises in Vietnam Fourthly, the study discovered different levels of impact, by order of significance, of the factors to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by the enterprises in Vietnam, specifically: the manager plays an important role in enhancing the degree of preparedness of enterprise in the application of IFRS in Vietnam (impact weight 0,455), next is the perception of challenges in IFRS application (impact weight 0,366); followed by the perception of benefits from the application of IFRS for the enterprise (impact weight 0,251); the perception of disadvantages in IFRS application (impact weight 0,227), and lastly the indirect impact of the level of IFRS understanding in IFRS application (impact weight 0,189) Finally, through the PLS-SEM path model, the study also identified a correlation between the perception of benefits, perception of challenges, and the perception of disadvantages with the support by manager in the enterprises in Vietnam This is the premise for other authors to dig more deeply into these correlations because the author has not found any quantitative research related to the above correlation in the world at present 5.2 Theoretical implication On the premise of the research results, the author suggests theoretical implications on the level of preparedness to apply IFRS of enterprises, in particular: Firstly, the study has clarified the correlation between the manager’ support and the degree of preparedness in IFRS application, which has not been disclosed in previous researches Therefore, this study does contribute to the repository of literature relating to the topic 25 Secondly, the approach of combining the institutional theory and the agency theory in studying the degree of preparedness in IFRS application is marginally used by other authors This suggests new interpretations on the research topic In other words, the use of the institutional theory and the agency theory in rationalizing the impact of the support by manager to the degree of preparedness in IFRS application has not been carried out before The study contributes to increase the value of the institutional theory, the agency theory as well as the combination of these two for future researches in accountancy field Thirdly, the author adopted the scale by Guerreiro et al (2008) to measure the degree of preparedness in IFRS application, which has not been widely tested The author has inherited and successfully developed a new scale to measure the degree of preparedness in IFRS application for the benefits of future researchers who would conduct further academic studies 5.3 Practical implication From the encapsulated results, the author proceeds to propose practical implication from each factor, contributing to improving the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by the enterprises in Vietnam as follows: 5.3.1 Implication from the factor “Perception of benefits” 5.3.2 Implication from the factor “Perception of disadvantages” 5.3.3 Implication from the factor “Perception of challenges” 5.3.4 Implication from the factor “Support by manager” 5.3.5 Implication from the factor “Level of understanding” 5.4 Limitations and directions for further studies The research has achieved its goals results despite few limitations The author hereby suggests some directions for further studies on this topic, specifically: First of all, the research result revealed 04 factors affecting the degree of preparedness in IFRS application, including: (1) Perception of benefits that has positive impact; (2) Perception of disadvantages which has negative impact; (3) Perception of challenges which has negative impact; (4) Support by manager which has a positive impact; and one factor that has indirect effect, which is the level of IFRS understanding 26 However, the level of explanation for the impact of these factors on the degree of preparedness in IFRS application by enterprises in Vietnam could only explain 44.8% of the fluctuation the degree of preparedness in IFRS application, the remaining 55.2% probably belong to other factors that the author has not had a chance to comprise in the research model The reason for this phenomenon is because the research topic on the degree of preparednedd of IFRS application is moderate locally and internationally, thus the identification of impact factors to the degree of preparednedd of IFRS application by enterprises is also a new topic (the similar studies in the world did have a very low level of interpretation, from 10% to 30%) The author therefore suggests that further reseach orientation is to add new factors in order to increase the level of interpretation for subvariable, which is the degree of preparednedd of IFRS application by enterprise Secondly, the reseach employs the non-probability convenience sampling method, which is considered as non-generalizable for the crowd Hence, future researches may use probability sampling methods in order to enhance sample size quality Finally, regarding the sampling locations, the author selected 05 regions to conduct the survey, consisting of: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi City, Da Nang, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai province Although the regions selected have high density of research subjects, future studies should increase the geographical coverage and scope a more typical sample to ensure the generality and representation for all enterprises in Vietnam 27 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS BY THE AUTHOR Factors affecting the application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Vietnamese enterprises Published in 2020 – Industry & Trade Journal (Tạp chí Công Thương), Iss No 16, July 2020 The Impact of perception of benefits, perception of disadvantages, and perception of challenges to the degree of preparedness for IFRS application of enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City Published in 2020 – Economics & Forecast Journal (Tạp chí Kinh tế Dự báo), Iss No 30, October 2020 ... perception of disadvantages, the support of manager, and the level of IFRS understanding, which were used in the quantitative analysis that followed Secondly, the author conducted the quantitative research... 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