European financial reporting enforcement : analysis of practices and indices

This paper analyses how financial reporting enforcement varies across 17 Eu-ropean countries and the extent to which enforcement indices used in the existing accounting literature capture this enforcement. Based on survey responses from European enforcement bodies and regulatory specialists, the study finds extensive variations in financial reporting enforcement across the European countries. Furthermore, enforcement indices used in the accounting literature do not appear to capture financial reporting enforcement. These findings should be of interest to ESMA and other enforcement bodies as well as for the use of enforcement indices in accounting research. [Publisher's text].