Differential corporate reporting: Registered accountants’ and auditors’ views in South Africa

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a postal survey of South African Registered Accountants’ and Auditors’ views on the suitability of selected South African Statements of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice to a range of South African entities varied by size, structure and user base. The paper provides evidence of (1) the need for differential corporate reporting in South Africa, (2) that a single threshold for differential corporate reporting may not adequately address the South African differential corporate reporting needs, and (3) the need for both the presentation and disclosure and the recognition and measurement requirements of specific statements of South African Generally Accepted Accounting Practice to be dealt with in differential corporate reporting standards.

Key Words:

• Differential corporate reporting
• Registered accountants and auditors
• Generally accepted accounting practice
• South African entities