A comparative study of accounting standards of financial institutions in GCC countries

There has been a growing tendency for cooperation among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the development of economic and financial institutions. This has led to an increasing need for the standardisation of accounting regulations in order to improve cooperation and enhance the efficiency of the financial institutions amongst these. In this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate the accounting standards followed by the financial institutions in five selected GCC countries (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates) with some policy prescriptions for harmonisation of the accounting regulations. This paper provides a comparative analysis of various accounting policies and practices, including loans and provisions, assets, investments, taxation, liabilities, foreign exchange, revenue recognition, and consolidation of each GCC countries banking and other financial institutions.