IFRS without an International Financial Reporting Language (IFRL): Evidence of Multiculturalism and a Lack of Global Transparency in the EU

Yuliya V. Yurova; Mark D. Crowley; Caitlin Finning-Golden

doi:10.1016/j.scoms.2015.03.011

IFRS without an International Financial Reporting Language (IFRL): Evidence of Multiculturalism and a Lack of Global Transparency in the EU

Yuliya V. Yurova
, Mark D. Crowley
, Caitlin Finning-Golden

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Since 2005, all EU listed companies use IFRS. This paper examines 5000 EU companies from 2012 and 2013 and found that only 50% voluntarily file in English, the lingua franca or IFRL. We identified three tiers of transparency (High, Medium, Low) and found that Company Size (Equity, Revenue), Country Location (EU15, Population, GDP Rank), Language (Major Language, Number Speaking Local Language) and Trade (Ease in Doing Business, Trading Across Borders) all influenced filing in English. We also found that companies in low transparency countries (Spain, France, and Poland) had low foreign ownership and were not interested in global visibility.

Original language	American English
Pages (from-to)	53-60
Number of pages	8
Journal	Studies in Communication Sciences
Volume	15
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scoms.2015.03.011
State	Published - Jan 1 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research.

Funding

Although listed companies in the European Union (EU) are required by Regulation 1606/2002 to prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS; however, these companies are not required to prepare financial statements and disclosures in an International Financial Reporting Language (IFRL) or lingua franca. This paper examined annual filings from 5000 listed companies in the European Union (EU) for the years 2012 and 2013. We found that approximately fifty percent do not report in English. Our research identified three tiers of EU transparency (High, Medium and Low Transparency) and found that Company Size (Equity and Revenue), Country Location (EU15, Population, GDP Rank), Language (Major Language, Number Speaking Local Language) and Trade (Ease in Doing Business and Trading Across Borders) all influenced the filing of financial statements in English. We also found that companies in low transparency countries such as Spain, France, and Poland had lower foreign ownership percentages and less interest in the benefits of global visibility.

Funders	Funder number
European Commission	1606/2002

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Communication

Keywords

English as a lingua franca (ESL)
European Union (EU)
European multiculturalism
International financial reporting language (IFRL)
International financial reporting standards (IFRS)
Regulation 1606/2002
Transparency

Disciplines

Business

Access to Document

10.1016/j.scoms.2015.03.011

Cite this

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abstract = " Since 2005, all EU listed companies use IFRS. This paper examines 5000 EU companies from 2012 and 2013 and found that only 50\% voluntarily file in English, the lingua franca or IFRL. We identified three tiers of transparency (High, Medium, Low) and found that Company Size (Equity, Revenue), Country Location (EU15, Population, GDP Rank), Language (Major Language, Number Speaking Local Language) and Trade (Ease in Doing Business, Trading Across Borders) all influenced filing in English. We also found that companies in low transparency countries (Spain, France, and Poland) had low foreign ownership and were not interested in global visibility.",

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IFRS without an International Financial Reporting Language (IFRL): Evidence of Multiculturalism and a Lack of Global Transparency in the EU

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Keywords

Disciplines

Access to Document

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