The main objective of this research is to investigate the extent of the disclosure of key audit matters (KAMs) and the factors that affect the level of KAMs’ disclosure in the audit reports of the Middle East (ME) region. A disclosure index approach is employed to consider eight KAMs generated from the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 701 and a fixed effect regression run on a sample of 281 firms from four countries (Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, and Jordan) for four years (2017–2020), comprising 1124 observations. The findings show that the overall KAMs’ disclosure is approximately 56% across all countries. The study takes into consideration the positive and significant correlation between the leverage, audit committee characteristics, financial industry, audit firm, client size, profitability, liquidity, and KAMs’ disclosure in most sampled countries. This research contributes to our understanding of the level of KAMs’ disclosure and the factors specific to the ME region, which enhances policymakers’ and decision-makers’ knowledge of KAMs’ disclosure in audit reports.

This research investigates the perceptions of academics and practitioners on the quality of accounting education and the extent of integration of International Education Standards (IES) in the accounting programmes delivered in higher education institutions (HEI) based in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A mixed methods approach involving a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews is used. Data comprises of 151 responses and 12 semi-structured interviews with academics and practitioners based in six MENA countries. The majority of the respondents believe that there is a gap between theory and practice and the IESs are not in use in the universities and have had no substantial effect on accounting education. Significant differences exist between the views of the two groups in terms of the factors that affect the quality of accounting education. On the other hand, both groups agree about how accounting education should be improved in the future.

Purpose: In spite of facilitating and motivating factors in the external environment, the implementation of new management‐accounting techniques as activity‐based costing (ABC) in companies is disappointing. The aim of the study is to determine factors that catalyse, facilitate and motivate the decision to implement ABC in Jordanian industrial companies. Additional objectives include determining the problems associated with ABC implementation and assessing the degree of success of ABC implementation in Jordan.Design/methodology/approach: A sample of the Jordanian industrial companies was selected and a questionnaire survey was employed using a five‐point Likert scale to collect data from the financial managers, descriptive and analytical statistics were used to analyze the collected data.Findings: The findings indicate that the most important factor that facilitates the decision to implement ABC was the provision of adequate training and the most influential factors which motivate the process of ABC implementation include an increasing proportion of overhead costs, and an increasing number of product variants. Consequently, this study found that the interaction of three types of factors (catalysts, facilitators and motivators) create the potential for change in these companies. Barriers to change could make the change process slower, hindering, and even preventing change; and barriers to change were identified that may explain the differing implementation rates of ABC in the Jordanian industrial sector. The greatest barrier to implementing ABC was found to be its high cost of implementation, followed by the high cost of ABC consultancy and computer staff time.Originality/value: The study adds new elements to the institutional approach, and integrates it with concepts from psychology and organizational culture, to create a better understanding of management accounting. The results of study contribute to existing knowledge in the area of understanding the factors which act as catalysts, facilitate, and motivate ABC innovation and of those factors that create barriers to ABC implementation in Jordan.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the suitability of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in emerging markets such as Qatar. The current research attempts to obtain insights into the advantages and disadvantages of IFRS implementation in Qatar based on the perceptions of top management, academics in accounting and external auditors. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was the main tool used in this research. A total of 120 questionnaires were distributed to financial managers, academics and external auditors. Of the 97 replies (80 per cent), 91 completed questionnaires were analysed. Findings The results suggest that IFRS implementation is suitable for the business environment of Qatar because the adoption of IFRS provides many advantages to the Qatari business environment, regulations and stock market without incurring additional major costs. Moreover, IFRS imposes no major constraints on the business environment or Islamic social responsibility and education in Qatar. Practical implications The results of this research paper will help regulators in Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries develop accounting regulations. Originality/value This paper provides empirical evidence of the suitability of IFRS in emerging markets in general and the GCC region in particular and enhances the level of understanding of IFRS worldwide.

Purpose: Educational institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are striving for better resource management and finance. The bottom-up budgeting approach plays an important role in motivating executives' performance. The main aim of this paper is to discover whether there is a significant difference between bottom-up and a top-down approaches to budgeting in terms of managers' performance.Design/methodology/approach: Questionnaires were distributed to 453 university executives in 21 MENA educational institutions. The Kruskal–Wallis test was utilized to test the difference between the three groups (bottom-up, top-down and consultative approaches). Further analysis was conducted to test the difference between the two groups using the Mann–Whitney test.Findings: The results show that there is a significant difference between a bottom-up and top-down approach in terms of managerial performance. The study's findings indicate that the bottom-up approach to budgeting leads to higher performance indicators than a top-down approach to budgeting.Originality/value: The current study contributes to the research as it increases awareness of budgeting approaches that are used in higher education institutions, specifically in terms of the effect of these differences on executives' performance.