Findings – This paper found general agreement that the accounting regulation of public corporations
and banks is strongly influenced by the Libyan Commercial Code and the Income Tax Law. Although
listed companies and the banking sector in Libya are required to comply with International
Accounting Standards (IASs), the majority of them still comply with the US Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (US GAAP). Moreover, the conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that
the enforcement of IASs through the Libyan Accountants and Auditors Association (LAAA), local
auditors and the Libyan Stock Market has not achieved its purpose. The results also indicate that the
accounting profession in Libya is still in its infancy and still lacks clear structure in order to develop
corporate accounting practice and it appears to play only an important role in retaining external
influences on the accounting practice. The empirical results of this research show that the Salter and
Niswander (1995) criteria (longevity, setting exam and auditors’ opinion on companies’ financial
reports) found that the level of professionalism in Libya is below the required standard.