Cover
Volume 7, Special Issue 6 (2026)

Published: October 25, 2026

Pages: 50-62

Research Article

Financial statements and their impact on administrative decision-making and the challenges they face: The general authority for taxes in Iraq as a case study

Faisal S. Aboud 1 Madiha A. Faleh 2 Rasha A. Rashid 3 Muhannad T. Jassim 4
1Accounting, College of Management and Economics, Baquba, Iraq
2Oversight and Auditing, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Baghdad, Iraq
3Registration, College of Management and Economics, Baquba, Iraq
4Oversight and Auditing, College of Education for Humanities, University of Diyala, Baquba, Iraq
History
  • Received: August 14, 2026
  • Available Online: October 25, 2026
DOI

https://doi.org/10.56967/ejfb2026981

Abstract

The research This research aims to demonstrate the importance of financial statements, the determinants of their effectiveness, and their relationship to administrative decisions. The General Authority for Taxes and the General Authority of Customs, both affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Finance, are obligated to implement tax laws. Furthermore, a Tax Policy Department was established within the Economic Department of the Iraqi Ministry of Finance in 2005. This department is responsible for drafting tax laws and developing tax strategy in Iraq. Consequently, decision-makers, assessors, and auditors within the General Authority for Taxes are required to possess professional qualifications and skills that enable them to examine financial data at a high level, particularly data prepared according to International Accounting Standards. They are also responsible for providing electronic software to facilitate administrative decisions aimed at achieving fairness in the distribution of the tax burden, saving time, and enhancing trust between taxpayers and the tax authority. This has made administrative assessment the foundation of the practical application of tax accounting. The research successfully addresses two key questions: First, do financial statements encourage or discourage administrative decision-making? The second question is whether the Iraqi legislator succeeded in achieving a balance between the interests of the state, society, and taxpayers through the tax system. The methodology used in this research was deductive, employing a descriptive approach to analyze financial reports (2021-2023) and an inductive approach using econometric analysis to refute the initial hypothesis: (There is no relationship between financial statements and administrative decisions). This was demonstrated by the results of the assessment memoranda, which showed that the relationship between financial statements and administrative decisions is interconnected, representing a part-whole relationship, as they constitute a significant financial resource and their proportion in the state's public revenues has increased.

Keywords

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