This article reports the result of a survey carried out on the importance and applicability of International Accounting Standards (IAS, now known as International Financial Reporting Standards, IFRS) Madagascar. This article uses IFRS to cover the use of international standards both before and after the reform of the International Accounting Standards Committee in 2001. The results of the survey show that IFRS are both totally applicable and also very important to Madagascar. An important challenge before the accounting bodies and professionals of Madagascar is addressing 20 issues not dealt with, in the present accounting plan and incorporating the same in the revised accounting plan.

In less developed economies, the most dominant economic forces are institutions owned by the government and therefore require that the government financial management system should be efficient and effective. However, accounting systems that have been installed in these countries have been seen to be too sophisticated for their requirements, (Berry and Holzer, 1993). In this decade, the government of many developing economies gives priority to privatization as well as joining the globalization process. Several African countries have set up their stock exchanges to stimulate both local and foreign investment. Mauritius, Namibia, Malawi, Botswana, Swaziland, among others could be cited as examples. Consequently, the number of users of accounts in these countries and the needs of these users for accounting information have also changed, hence causing a change in the accounting and reporting requirements in these countries.