Cameroon and 15 other African States belonging to the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) adopted the Uniform Act Organizing and Harmonizing Undertakings' Accounting Systems on March 23, 2000, which scuttled the OCAM accounting plan in favor of the new OHADA accounting system (SYSCOHADA). Companies were required to adopt SYSCOHADA for company accounts and consolidated accounts beginning on January 1, 2001, and January 1, 2002, respectively. The goal of this study is to compare the impact of the presentation format and informational content of both accounting systems on the judgments and decisions of bankers, and, more specifically, to find out whether the information contributed by SYSCOHADA has changed the judgments and decisions bankers made under the old OCAM accounting plan. To that effect, a field experiment was conducted with Cameroonian bankers using a within-subjects design. Significant differences were noted in bankers' underlying judgments (operating income, net income, cash flow, leverage, liquidity, and ability to raise capital) as well as in their initial judgments about profitability and financial structure. Conversely, no significant differences were noted with respect to other judgments and decisions, i.e. principal judgments about the overall risk rating and overall risk trend, the loan decision, and the interest rate to charge (risk premium). Further, the new statement of sources and applications of funds (SSAF) influenced their underlying judgments about operating income, leverage, liquidity, and ability to raise capital, as well as their initial judgments about financial structure.
The African member-states of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), adopted the Uniform Act Organizing and Harmonizing Undertakings' Accounting Systems (X, 2000) on March 23, 2000, which required that companies adopt the new OHADA accounting system for corporate financial statements covering financial years beginning on or after January 1, 2001, and for consolidated financial statements issued for the following year and beyond.1 Cameroon, one of the organization's principal member-states, had been using the accounting system of the Joint African and Malagasy Organization (Organisation Commune Africaine et Malgache, or OCAM), which was developed in 1970 after the French accounting plan of 1957. The shift to the new accounting system would bring about content changes and a new format for conveying information to external users — in this case, the State, bankers, and shareholders.
Numerous behavioral studies in financial accounting indicate that sophisticated users (bankers and financial analysts) and non-professional investors alter their judgments and decisions when presented with a change in accounting information format and content (Harper et al., 1987, Hirst and Hopkins, 1998, Hopkins et al., 2000, Maines and McDaniel, 2000 and Viger et al., 2008). In view of these findings, it can be reasonably assumed that a change in accounting systems, as has occurred in Cameroon, affected the judgments and decisions of accounting information users in that country.
The aim of this study is to assess the impact of the new presentation and information content on the judgments and decisions of Cameroonian bankers, one of the primary user groups in the country.2 More specifically, this study explores whether the information produced by the OHADA accounting system (SYSCOHADA) has caused Cameroonian bankers to take a different stand in their judgments and decisions as compared with those they formed on the basis of the OCAM plan.
The results of this research will enlighten the Cameroonian financial community about the impact of the new accounting system and be of interest to other OHADA member-states that formerly used the OCAM plan. This study augments the behavioral literature on the judgments and decisions of sophisticated accounting information users by focusing on the impact of concurrent changes in both presentation format and information content, whereas earlier studies examined these aspects only separately. Evidence will be provided that data on the impact of financial statement changes on judgments from studies in developed countries are valid for developing countries as well. The present research also reveals whether any effect on bankers' initial and underlying judgments extends to their subsequent judgments and decisions. Finally, the description provided of SYSCOHADA and its differences from the previous OCAM system will give insights into the development of accounting thought in one of Africa's major regions.
