Grouping of Major Changes in Conceptual Framework of Financial Reporting and Analysis of New Challenges

Abstract

This article aims to research the major changes in the Conceptual Framework of Financial Reporting; to find out the new gaps in the current document; to group the changes into categories; to analyze the current difficulties and consequences of these changes for a consistent understanding between standard-setters and practitioners. The Onion research model based on the quantitative data collection with elements of descriptive analysis was considered as important contributions to the research methodology of the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting investigation. As a result, a comparative analysis of the financial reporting concepts was made between July 1989, September 2010, and March 2018. The implications of results are two-fold. On the one hand, the revised Conceptual Framework is a more comprehensive set of concepts that enhance the understanding between practitioners and standard-setters. On the other hand, it consists of the new gaps most of them in the “Updating” category. It is concluded that this innovation complicates the reporting process for practitioners because it requires using of additional judgments. Besides, the investigation shows some IFRS are not justified within only the Conceptual Framework that might be the subject for further research.