IFRS from three different points of view
1. Introduction
Stakeholders of a company have a need for information about that company. The main reason for this is that stakeholders have to take decisions about a company. Stakeholders are external parties that have some sort of concern in the company, such as investors, suppliers, creditors, banks, and employees. Thus, stakeholders require information because they need that information to make a good decision (Klaassen, Hoogendoorn, Vergoossen, 2008). For example, an investor who has to decide whether to invest more money into a company or to retract his money from that company may need information about the productivity, profitability, and price of equity of that company. Companies provide such information in their financial statements, which consist of a balance sheet or statement of financial position, an income statement, a statement of cash flows, a statement of comprehensive income and a statement of changes in equity. Accounting standards are a form of regulation for preparing financial statements and IFRS is such a set of accounting standards, established by the IASB. Since 2005, IFRS are mandatory for all listed companies in the European Union but not only European countries use IFRS. The use of IFRS has spread to over 100 countries and many other countries use or allow some adapted version of IFRS (Ball, 2006). Now that IFRS have been fully in use for eight years, evaluation can be done. From this intention a research question arises, which is 'Has the IASB achieved its goals for implementing IFRS, and has IFRS been advantageous or disadvantageous for companies which are obligated to use it, and for investors?'. The answer to this research question will be given by looking at IFRS from the point of view of the IASB, companies, and investors. 
The structure of this paper will be as follows. First, the point of view of the IASB will be discussed, taking a closer look at their reasons for introducing IFRS as well as assessing whether they have been successful according by examining whether these reasons have been fulfilled. Second, the point of view of investors will be taken in looking at IFRS, discussing the pros and cons of IFRS for them. Third, IFRS will be looked at from the point of view of companies obligated to use them, also discussing the pros and cons for them. After these three discussions, a conclusion will be formulated by both assessing whether the IASB was successful and combining this with whether the investors and companies have benefit from IFRS. 

2. The IASB
As mentioned in the introduction, information is required by stakeholders. All over the world companies prepare financial statements to meet this need for information of their stakeholders. However, from country to country financial statements differ, due to what probably are 'social, economic, and legal circumstances', as well as 'different countries having in mind the needs of different users of financial statements when setting national requirements.' (IASB, 2011, A24). Nobes (2006) finds that a relationship between a country's law system and its accounting standards is suggested, but he notes that under a different hypothesis it is more likely that a relationship between strong equity markets and good financial reporting would have been found. Also, culture is a factor of influence on a country's accounting standards, as well as the way individual regulators interpret a particular accounting standard, and the tax system of a country. Together, these factors result in differences between national accounting standards and financial statements. The constitution of the IFRS Foundation shows that the foundation was established with the purpose 'to develop, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted financial reporting standards based upon clearly articulated principles' (IFRS, 2010, p. 5). The objectives of IFRS itself build on this purpose, stating that 'the objective of [financial reporting] is to provide financial information about the reporting entity that is useful to existing and potential [stakeholders] in making decisions about providing resources to the entity' (IASB, 2011, A27). 
Thus, the reason of the IASB for implementing IFRS can be summarized as providing useful information about a company to the stakeholders of that company. This covers details such as comparability among countries and meeting different needs for information from different stakeholders as discussed above. Proceeding on this statement, reasons for providing useful information about a company can be identified. Why would it be useful for investors to compare financial statements? Klaassen et al (2008) recognizes the increasing globalization as a reason for this. As markets globalize, investors invest in companies all over the world. Financial statements prepared under the same accounting standards are easily compared, thus providing useful information to the investor.
Another point regarding globalization should be made. Not only is the objective of the IFRS Foundation to provide high-quality standards to be internationally used, the IFRS Foundation also cooperates with the American FASB. Together, the standard setting boards 'work towards convergence on four major projects' (McEnroe & Sullivan, 2011, p. 21). This convergence increases similarities between financial statements prepared under U.S. GAAP and IFRS, thus also increasing global comparability of financial statements. 

3. Investors
Armstrong, Barth, Jagolindzer, Riedl (2006) mention arguments both in favour and against IFRS adoption. Firstly, the quality of financial reporting has increased when compared to the quality of financial reporting under domestic standards. Secondly, the cost of comparing financial statements from different companies has decreased since the financial statements are already prepared under the same set of accounting standards. Thirdly, European firms have become more globally competitive and this has increased the liquidity of European firms. Ball (2006) strengthens these arguments with the argument that IFRS has decreased adverse selection between small investors and professionals. He states that small investors are 'less likely to be able to anticipate financial statement information from other sources' (Ball, 2006, p. 11). This means there is information asymmetry between small and professional investors which would mean a lag for small investors. Uniform accounting standards have decreased this information asymmetry and thus have decreased the lag and provide more equal opportunities for small and professional investors. Furthermore, adjustments made between financial statements prepared under different accounting standards to increase their comparability have been eliminated, thus reducing costs investors have to make for processing financial information. This cost reduction in turn has increased the efficiency of stock markets in incorporating financial information in their prices and investors will benefit from efficient stock markets.
 In contrast to these arguments for positive effects of IFRS on the decision-usefulness of financial statements for investors, Armstrong et al (2006) argue that neither differences between the economies were recognized, nor were 'political and economical features' (Armstrong et al, 2006, p. 2) that caused the dissimilarities between accounting standards recognized. This argument is also recognized by Ball (2006), who notes that 'incentives of [preparers] and [enforcers] remain primarily local' (Ball, 2006, p. 15). Judgements about future cash flows have to be made and local forces determine how managers make these judgements. With established standards, these local forces are ignored and more national differences disappear, even though these differences might be important for investors to  take into account in their decision making process. 

4. Companies
Companies may have different interests in preparing their financial statements than financial statement users may have. Klaassen et al (2008) recognize the concern of a company that its competitors also have access to their financial statements and thus have access to a lot of useful and valuable information about the company. This may affect the market position of that company. Whether IFRS is beneficent to a company or not may differ for each individual company, depending on each individual company's preferences. Where the benefits of information about competitors include a possibility for a particular company to anticipate on a competitor's position and actions, competitors could have the possibility to anticipate on that particular company's position and actions, which would mean a loss for that company. Thus, apart from a company's ability to seize an opportunity when one appears, no actual advantages or disadvantages in terms of information occur under IFRS. 
Arguments for advantages for companies can be deduced from the statements made about advantages for investors. Interaction between investors and companies is an important factor when assessing advantages and disadvantages, since an advantage for investors can increase their will and opportunities to invest. Thus, the argument made by Armstrong et al (2006) that cost of comparison for investors decreases is an advantage for a companies as well, since investors can more easily make the decision to invest in them. Furthermore, Amstrong et al mentioned that European firms would become more globally competitive due to preparing their financial statements under IFRS. This can also be seen as an advantage for companies, since this increases their market for sales. Increased comparability of financial statements also benefits customers since they too receive more useful information about a company and thus can become more acquainted with that company and its products. 
Disadvantages for companies include the cost and complexity of converting to IFRS. McEnroe and Sullivan (2011) have discussed several studies, conducted by accounting companies, regarding the willingness of U.S. companies to switch to IFRS. The study by Deloitte, discussed by McEnroe and Sullivan, concludes that 30 percent of the included companies would consider adopting IFRS. However, of these 30 percent, 43 percent indicated that the difficulties of adopting IFRS are a significant obstacle on the way to adoption. In the European Union adoption of IFRS is mandatory since 2005 but this survey identifies problems that companies for whom IFRS is not (yet) mandatory could have in adopting IFRS. Jermakowickz and Gornik-Tomaszewski (2006) add to this that many companies who voluntarily use IFRS still have to prepare their financial statements under local accounting principles as well, which takes away the potential benefits of using IFRS. They also recognize that there is little guidance for implementing IFRS, as well as little uniform interpretation. Nobes (2006) too comments on uniformity and interpretation, as he mentions that words can get lost in translation which results in different nuances and different possible interpretations. Another disadvantage for companies is mentioned by Palepu, Healy and Peek (2008); they have observed that managers have less possibilities to show individual differences in their financial statements. The established standards reduce possibilities for managers to show their business judgement in the financial statements; instead, the IFRS state which judgements and assessments should be made and shown. Lastly, Armstrong et al (2006) notice that problems could arise in implementation of the standards; if implementation is differential, potential benefits of high-quality standards could disappear.

5. Summary and Conclusion
In summary, the advantages for investors of using IFRS consist of increased accounting quality, increased liquidity of the firms they invest in, decreased adverse selection, decreased cost of comparing, decreased cost of information processing, and increased market efficiency. In contrast to these advantages the disadvantages are stated, being the ignoring of individual differences between countries and economies, the lack of visibility of managers' business judgement, and the lack of visibility of incentives. The advantages for companies of using IFRS are the ease with which investors can decide whether to invest in them, and a better global competitive position. The disadvantages of IFRS for companies, however, are decreased opportunities for managers to show individual differences, the cost and complexity of adopting IFRS, the lack of guidance for implementation, and the lack of uniform interpretations.
When balancing the discussed advantages and disadvantages for both investors and companies, it can be concluded that for investors the advantages exceed the disadvantages, but for companies there is no clear score. Thus, further research should be done to assess whether companies have actually benefit from the implementation of IFRS. As to the assessment of the success of the IASB in their implementation of IFRS, one can be brief: their goal of 'a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted financial reporting standards based upon clearly articulated principles' (IFRS, 2010, p. 5) has been met as far as the investors are concerned. The success of the IASB with regard to companies should, as mentioned, be further evaluated. 
Thus, the answer to the research question 'Has the IASB achieved its goals for implementing IFRS, and has IFRS been advantageous or disadvantageous for companies which are obligated to use it, and for investors?' can be formulated as 'The IASB has achieved its goals for implementing IFRS regarding the point of view of the investors and IFRS has been advantageous to investors. Whether the IASB has achieved its goals for implementing IFRS regarding the point of view of the companies, and whether IFRS has been advantageous to companies, should be further researched.'



References
Armstrong, C.S., Barth, M.E., Jagolindzer, A.D., Riedl, E.J. (2006), Market reaction to events surrounding the adoption of IFRS in Europe, The Accounting Review, Vol. 85, No.1, p. 31-61

Ball (2006) International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): pros and cons for investors, Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 36, Supplement 1, p. 5-27

International Financial Reporting Standards Board (2011), International Financial Reporting Standards (Part A), London: IFRS Foundation Publications Department

Jermakowickz, E.K., Gornik-Tomaszewski, S (2006), Implementing IFRS From the perspective of EU publicly traded companies, Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Vol. 15, No. 2, p. 170-196

Klaassen, J., Hoogendoorn, M.N., Vergoossen, R.G.A. (2008), Externe Verslaggeving, Houten: Noordhoff Uitgevers Groningen

McEnroe, Sullivan (2011) Individual investors' attitudes toward the acceptance of International Financial Reporting Standards in the United States, Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Vol. 20, No. 1, p. 20-31

Nobes (2006) The survival of international differences under IFRS: towards a research agenda, Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 233-245

Palepu, K.G., Healy, P.M., Peek, E. (2010), Business Analysis and Valuation, IFRS Edition, Hampshire: Cengage Learning