Presumably the most meaningful area for future research on the effects
of IFRS implementation differences may be the differences in IFRS
implementation in the top and bottom left quadrants of Fig. 1. For the
consolidated financial statements of public firms, all member states of
the EU and EEA must utilize IFRS. However, for the single-entity annual
accounts, IFRS or domestic GAAP may be applicable depending on each
country's implementation choice reported in Panels A of Tables 2 and 3.
Some countries require IFRS for the preparation of single-entity accounts;
as a result no difference between the applicable accounting
standard for the preparation of single-entity and consolidated statements
exists. However, if domestic GAAP is permitted, or even required,
for single-entity accounts, the potential for different outcomes is
present. While technically independent, it is likely that in countries
requiring domestic GAAP for the preparation of single-entity accounts,
but IFRS for group accounts, any judgment involved in the preparation
of consolidated statements under IFRS may be exercised in accordance
with domestic GAAP for reasons of convenience (Nobes, 2006) or to
avoid cognitive dissonance