IPSAS adoption associations with perceived financial reporting quality and institutional sustainability in the fragile state context of Somalia

International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are widely promoted to strengthen transparency, comparability, and accountability in public financial reporting, yet evidence on their effectiveness remains mixed in fragile and post-conflict contexts, where reforms may be symbolic rather than substantive. This study investigates how multidimensional IPSAS adoption mechanisms relate to perceived financial reporting quality (FRQ) in Somalia’s federal public institutions ( n = 286). Anchored by Institutional Theory, Legitimacy Theory, and the Resource-Based View, a cross-sectional quantitative survey was administered to financial management professionals in Mogadishu-based federal ministries, departments, and agencies. Using five-point Likert measures, IPSAS adoption was operationalized through professional training, institutional support, technological infrastructure, and compliance and monitoring mechanisms. All four mechanisms were positively and significantly associated with perceived FRQ, with professional training showing the strongest association. Diagnostics indicated acceptable multicollinearity, approximate normality, and limited common method bias. The findings imply that IPSAS reforms in Somalia are most strongly associated with higher perceived reporting quality when capacity, governance support, technology, and enforcement are implemented coherently. However, conclusions are associative due to the cross-sectional, perception-based design and geographic concentration in Mogadishu.