If we are to accept what standard-setters and some researchers tell us, then a DIFFREP system is beneficial for reducing the cost of financial reporting, though this should not come at the cost of the quality of information made available to SME financial report users. It is therefore important to weigh user needs when considering the value of a DIFFREP system. The system should be informative, the benefits of producing the information should outweigh the costs, and there should be a limit to the amount of information, so as to avoid information overload for users.
As such this study will analyse IFRS-SME as a potential DIFFREP standard for New Zealand, in terms of the user needs identified in the literature (despite the limitations of those findings). Because NZ already has a DIFFREP system in place, the analysis will compare IFRS-SME to the current NZ DIFFREP system.
The literature identified various user needs for financial reports. First there are needs which are not DIFFREP or IFRS-SME specific. Profitability, solvency, liquidity, and balance sheet strength were identified as user needs. This information can be gleaned from financial accounts including an Income Statement and a Balance Sheet. Full NZ IFRS, NZ DIFFREP, and IFRS-SME all require these two statements. As such there is nothing to compare in terms of the differences in reporting regimes. No testing related to these needs is done here.
It was found that users also want information regarding the future prospects of an entity, prior year events, and international comparability of financial reports. The first two factors cannot be measured from financial reports alone. The third is an all or nothing characteristic, dependant upon the reporting system in place in a country. If the country has adopted an international set of reporting standards then a resident entity’s financial reports will be internationally comparable. Therefore these factors do not lend themselves to measurement in terms of differences between current NZ DIFFREP and IFRS-SME adoption. This study does not test these needs.
Prior research also indicates that users have preferences for SME financial reporting system characteristics: (1) that they limit accounting options, and; (2) that they limit disclosure requirements. The literature confirms that in creating IFRS-SME the IASB limited both accounting options and disclosure requirements as compared to full IFRS. This is not the case when IFRS-SME is compared to NZ DIFFREP. IFRS-SME has more disclosure requirements than NZ DIFFREP. Examples include the requirement to account for and have full note disclosure of financial instruments; to prepare a statement of cash flows; to