Developing economies are dependent on receiving loans, and the support of lending institutions
takes a variety of forms, including technical assistance, training programmes, or financing
capacity (Hopper 2012). Although not directly tested in this study, we assume that developing
countries find it beneficial to adopt IFRS for SMEs in order to attract external funds (Gordon
et al. 2012). For instance, Tarca (2004) applies the signalling theory (Spence 1973) at firm
level to examine the extent to which listed firms from five different countries use international
accounting standards (US GAAP or IAS). She argues that firms that prepare accounting information
based on international standards can signal their commitment to disclose more information
to market participants. In our setting, the decision to adopt IFRS for SMEs sends a credible signal
to lending institutions and international investors that developing economies are willing to introduce
an internationally acceptable set of high quality accounting standards. In other words, this
signalling mechanism enables adopting economies to credibly communicate their efforts.