The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has benchmarked the adoption of implementation of international accountancy standards in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
At the end of 2024, 60% MENA jurisdictions had adopted International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), up from 42% in 2019. Kuwait, Palestine and Türkiye were assessed to have progressed from partial adoption to full adoption over the last five years.
Most (53%) MENA countries had adopted international standards on ethics in 2023, compared with one third in 2019. Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, UAE and Yemen have all adopted the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
Over that period, the rate of adoption on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) increased from 0% to 27%. In 2024, the UAE, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Algeria were assessed to have adopted the IPSAS, although IFAC noted that reporting remains cash-based in most these countries.
The rate of adoption on IFRS Accounting Standards for the private sector decreased from 58% to 53%. Egypt and Iraq were assessed to have fully adopted the standards in 2019 but reassessed as having partially adopted them at the end of 2024 after a more rigorous assessment framework was introduced.