Trends of Accounting Changes in the Context of Lithuanian Economic Development

Abstract

Changes in accounting system have direct impact to economic stability and development of the states. It could be noticed analyzing experience of accounting harmonization in stabile and transitional economy countries, as well. The aim of this paper is to disclose to what extent changes in Lithuanian accounting policy within the framework of European Union determined results of Lithuanian economic development. In the first part of the article we tried to shed more light to the preconditions of those tremendous changes in the Lithuanian economy and accounting as well by analyzing the main features of transitional economy from accounting changes point of view. In the second part we briefly discussed changes in Lithuanian accounting systems since 1990 and disclose impact of it to the results of economic development. Further accounting policy perspectives, national peculiarities and problems of it discussed as well. The main conclusion based in performed study is as follows: • Natural feature of initial stage of Lithuanian accounting reform is that the State government becomes the main initiator of accounting legislation. An important role in the drafting of accounting reform legislation played considerations about tax revenue. On the other hand authorities remained primary users of accounting information, because of lack of interest form private sector. • Business accounting standards and international accounting and financial reporting standards become the main methodological basis for accounting in Lithuanian companies. Those standards raised accounting to a higher level of quality and this could be an advance of Lithuanian accounting. Application of IAS (international accounting standards), required for companies listed in the stock exchange market, opens new possibilities for foreign investors and capital market development. • According to the results of the research it is difficult to evaluate the direct effect to economic results, because of the complexity of factors influencing economic development. The tendencies of the relations between changes in accounting policy and foreign direct investment are similar to EU states. However according to the results in the case of capital market the tendencies were opposite. In Lithuanian case the domestic investors were more active than the foreign ones. Summarizing it could be maintained that the changes in accounting policy in Lithuania did not make such significant influence on economic development, as it happened in other EU countries, because of features of transitional economy and it is too early to look for visible results.