LA ARMONIZACION CONTABLE MATERIAL: EVIDENCIA EMPÍRICA DEL

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the degree of material harmonization between the Portuguese accounting practices and IASB international accounting standards. We analyse exhaustively the Portuguese practices and the most recent modifications on international accounting standards. In this paper, the accounting topics which were analysed more frequently in previous studies and are generally referred as problematic accounting areas were selected for further research. Our sample includes 237 disclosure and measurement practices over 14 accounting categories. The methodology used in this research proposes to measure the similarities or differences between the accounting practices of 37 Portuguese groups and the recommendations of the IFRS. We attempt to do an itemby- item comparison in the selected categories. The Jaccard coefficient is calculated and the discrimination for the different categories is ranked accordingly. The results indicate that diversity exists among Portuguese accounting practices and international accounting standards. The flexibility of the regulation concerning some concepts and methods contributes to the Portuguese diversity and compromises comparability issues. Given these results, we indicate the accounting items and categories that need future intervention from Portuguese regulators.