FINANCIAL REPORTING IN BALTIC COUNTRIES: POSITIONING WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING ARENA

This paper contributes to the body of literature on international accounting harmonization by focusing on the particular case of Baltic countries. The developed analysis is positioned under current circumstances challenging the road towards a single set of high quality global accounting standards. The originality of the paper consists in offering insights to three national accounting systems that were rarely exploited by accounting research literature. National accounting regulations are analyzed and discussed in relation to IFRS, finally leading towards formal harmonization measurement. Emphasis is placed on measurement related aspects and financial statements. The employed research methodology includes qualitative content analysis for accounting regulations and coefficients previously used in literature in order to quantify the level of similarity between accounting systems. The obtained results document a significant similarity degree between the Baltic accounting systems and IFRS. This should be considered by stakeholders when analyzing the current state of facts in the international arena. Such results should be used in documenting the national strategy to attract potential foreign investors in entering the Baltic markets.