Estonia. Development of the Estonian financial reporting and good accounting practice

Abstract

Estonia has undergone enormous socio-economic changes during the last two decades. These changes, and the pressures for internationalization which have increased since Estonia’s incorporation into the European Union in 2004, have had important consequences. Among them are changes in accounting legislation as well as in accounting practice. The article deals with the development of financial reporting and Good Accounting Practice in Estonia. The main purpose of the article is to discuss the development of financial reporting in Estonia and the changes in Estonian accounting framework. The emphasis is on the changes in accounting and financial reporting which took place during 1990-1994, 1995-2002, 2003-2012 and in 2013. The article is dedicated to professor Jacques Richard in honor of his seventieth birthday. Professor Richard with 48 other Frenchmen are among more than 900 individuals who have influenced accounting and finance, or have furthered the development of the field and have been included in the two-volume (1405 pages) Encyclopedia of Accounting and Finance composed by the authors of this article and published in 2011 in Estonia.