Accountants' perception on the effectiveness of accounting standard towards enhancing financial reporting

This study empirically investigates accountants' perceptions of the contribution of accounting standards, specifically those issued by the MASB, in improving financial reporting. In addition, this study attempts to describe the awareness and understanding among preparers regarding the introduction of MASB 26 Interim Financial Reporting through the analysis of Malaysian listed companies' interim reports. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed to accountants, with 71 (14.2%) responses received and 71 interim reports analyzed. The findings are consistent with the MASB’s objective to continually improve the quality of external financial reporting. The study demonstrates that approved accounting standards help improve the format of financial reporting from the accountants' point of view. Accountants believe that the standards make financial statements more transparent and assist preparers in harmonizing the format of financial reporting. This helps increase the credibility of financial statements, making them more comparable and reliable, which is in line with corporate governance requirements for companies to provide useful and transparent financial reporting to meet users' needs. Furthermore, the analysis of the interim reports' content indicates that accountants understand and are aware of the intended purpose of Interim Financial Reporting.