Accountants’ Comprehension of the Thai Financial Reporting Standards for Non-Publicly Accountable Entities

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) study accountants’ understanding and opinions with regard to the Thai Financial Reporting Standards for Non-Publicly Accountable Entities and to 2) investigate their understanding and opinions with regard to the Thai Financial Reporting Standards for Non-Publicly Accountable Entities, classified by individual accountant. The quantitative method was employed whereby the populations were the accountants in the Lower Northeast group 2.  By utilizing the Taro Yamane sampling method, 388 samples were selected with the error rate level set to 5%.  Cluster sampling was used for data collection.  The research tools include 1) questionnaires at the reliability of 0.889 and 2) interviews.

The results show that the accountants agreed at a high level that accounting standards require times to understand.  However, they assist the accountants to reduce some complexity that enables such accountants to present financial data in time, particularly for facilitating decision making process and bettering users to easily understand the financial statement.  In addition, it is found that the accountants understand accounting standards at the moderate level.  By considering personal characteristics, age can affect the accountants’ understanding of accounting standards at different levels.  Nevertheless, gender, level of education, accounting work experience, accounting training attendance, and accounting professional license have made no difference in the accountants’ understanding level. As for the accountants’ opinions of accounting standards, accounting training differently brings accountants’ perceived accounting standards while other personal characteristics do not. Accountants should develop their knowledge and monitor changes in accounting standards regularly in order to be used to provide quality financial information to the executive.