The Adoption of AAOIFI Standards by Islamic Banks: Understanding the Microeconomic Consequences

This study seeks to measure the microeconomic consequences of the adoption of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) standards on the conservatism, financial performance (FP), and earnings management (EM) of Islamic banks (IBs). The study draws on data from 122 IBs across 22 countries over a period of eight years (2014–2021), using the generalised method of moments (GMM). The results indicate a positive impact of AAOIFI adoption on financial performance and conservatism compared to non-adopters. Our results further show that IBs that adopt AAOIFI are less involved in EM. After applying robustness checks (corporate governance, inflation, and mandatory adoption of AAOIFI in some countries), our results remain the same. The implications of the study are potentially valuable for those setting accounting standards (such as AAOIFI and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)), central banks, financial market regulators, investors, governments, and any adopting or non-adopting Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) through identification of the effects of AAOIFI adoption.