DOES IFRS ADOPTION AFFECT THE QUALITY OF FINANCIAL REPORTING IN RUSSIA? - THE HISTORICAL ASPECT

The key idea of the paper is to compare the financial reporting quality before and after International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption in Russia. Firstly, the paper suggests a retrospective analysis of accounting standards development in Russia. Secondly, the main problems of IFRS implementation in Russia are being discussed. The main aim of the paper is to show how the transition to IFRS process in Russia run and suggest methods to improve it. The paper contributes to the question if the convergence of Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) with IFRS affected the financial reporting quality of listed firms in Russia and what was the historical influence on the quality of reporting. Since the paper is devoted to the transition of the accounting system in Russia to IFRS, it looks at the history, approaches and teaching of IFRS in Russian Federation in order to provide a broader international perspective of this important arena that shapes the view of accounters. Besides, the paper illuminates the most of the problems, connected with the transition process in Russia. It is done by describing the overall context of accounting education and experience in implementing of IFRS within the contemporary Russian accounting system and the system of higher education. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the globalization causes the growing interdependence of the countries around the world and paper contributes to solving the existing problems caused by transition and suggesting ways to improve this process.