The Impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on Improving the Financial Performance of Iraqi Banks: An Applied Study of Banks Listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange for the Period (2012-2021)

This research aims to study the impact of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the quality of financial reports and the financial performance of Iraqi banks, in light of the economic transformations and openness to the global business environment after 2003. The study started from a problem that is the extent to which the Iraqi environment, with its economic, legal, political and cultural determinants, is able to absorb and apply the requirements of international standards and the reflection of this on the quality of accounting information and the efficiency of financial performance. The research was based on a study of a set of international standards related to the banking sector, particularly International Financial Reporting Standard No. (9) concerning financial instruments and Standard No. (7) concerning disclosure of financial instruments, in addition to Standards (10) and (12) concerning consolidated financial statements and disclosure of interests in other entities. The factors affecting the adoption of these standards were also analyzed and their relationship to the quality of financial reports was measured. The study used the descriptive analytical approach supported by statistical methods to test the research hypotheses on a sample of Iraqi banks subject to the instructions of the Central Bank of Iraq, which obligated banks to apply IFRS standards starting from 2016. The results showed that there is a statistically significant effect of adopting IFRS standards on improving the quality of financial reports and a positive impact on some financial performance indicators, with this effect varying according to the differences in environmental and regulatory factors.