Irregularities in annual accounting numbers: an empirical analysis ‐ the case of Jordan

Focuses on Jordan and the plethora of laws relating to financial reporting, which resulted in the Jordan Association of Certified Public Accountants adopting the International Accounting and Auditing Standards, to be applied to all financial statements issued after 1990. Investigates the effect this will have and, particularly, if there are any accounting irregularities leading to income enhancement. Surveys 74 firms in the period January 1990 ‐ December 1994, with data drawn from the Amman Financial Market annual figures. Explains how the data was analysed and used to test the hypothesis that the occurrence of numbers appearing in the second place of income numbers in annual reports conforms to the expected random distribution. Indicates, from findings, that there is a small deviation from the random distribution for the second digit and that the annual reports consist of accurate accounting data.