The Impact of Eliminating the 20-F Reconciliation Requirement for IFRS Filers on Earnings Persistence and Information Uncertainty

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Kang ◽  
Gopal V. Krishnan ◽  
Michael C. Wolfe ◽  
Han S. Yi

SYNOPSIS: On November 15, 2007, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) eliminated the requirement that foreign private issuers reporting under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) include a reconciliation to U.S. GAAP in their 20-F filing. To the extent that the reconciliations had information content, it is possible that the information environment of IFRS filers deteriorated in the post-reconciliation period, unless they voluntarily improved disclosure quality. Using difference-in-differences tests, we examine whether there was any change in the persistence of earnings and analyst forecast dispersion after the new regulation. We find that earnings persistence increased (did not increase) and analyst uncertainty measured by the forecast dispersion did not increase (increased) for firms domiciled in weaker (stronger) investor protection countries. These results suggest that firms from a weaker investor protection environment had a greater incentive to “signal” the quality by voluntarily improving the disclosure quality in the post-reconciliation period to compensate for any possible information loss from no longer providing the reconciliation. Our findings also suggest that the elimination of the reconciliation requirement did not have a uniform effect on IFRS filers and that the effect varies with the firm's home country reporting environment. JEL Classifications: M41

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Oleh Pasko ◽  
Mykola Hordiyenko ◽  
Fuli Chen ◽  
Yarmila Tkal ◽  
Yulia Abraham

For the purpose to provide scholars with a more quantifiable and visualized snapshot of the realm of IFRS research (lingua franca in global business today) we conducted a scientometric review of 973 articles related to the issue published during the period from 2009 to 2020 and indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection. The findings show that the number of related articles has been increasing year by year. The global research on IFRS has been produced chiefly in the USA, England, Australia, China and Germany which not only generated majority of the high-yielding research institutions as well as productive authors but also countries of origins most of the prolific journals. Among the innumerable subject matters debated in these selected papers key are earnings management, information disclosure quality, accounting standards, the impact of IFRS, value relevance, and IFRS adoption. Since 2009, IFRS research bursts can be divided into three stages: 1) the period from 2009 to 2011 - mainly focused on the discussion of the concepts of IAS and IFRS; 2) the period from 2012 to 2014 turned to the theoretical level, and 3) from 2016 to 2020 when the research focused on the practical level. This scientometric review would complement and enrich existing literature by incorporating a quantitative perspective into it.


Author(s):  
Doug Barney ◽  
Daniel Tschopp ◽  
Steve Wells

Financial reporting complexity costs money. The process of developing and promulgating financial reporting standards is costly. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the International Accounting Standards staff spend time, expertise, and funds writing detailed financial reporting standards. Reporting companies spend money studying and applying these financial reporting standards. Investors, financial analysts, and creditors, while knowledgeable in financial accounting, spend time and resources interpreting and analyzing the resulting financial reports. While there are a number of factors that contribute to the complexity in financial reporting, the level of reading complexity, or readability, is an essential element of a clear, easy-to-understand accounting standard. Recently the FASB adopted a process to bring about a Codification for U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). What impact, if any, did the FASB’s Codification have on the level of reading complexity or readability in U.S. GAAP? The results of several readability tests reported in this article indicate the impact of Codification on the level of reading complexity or readability is not a positive one.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-310
Author(s):  
Nicola Moscariello ◽  
Fabio La Rosa ◽  
Francesca Bernini ◽  
Pietro Fera

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of two different financial reporting models (revenue-expense vs asset-liability) on several earnings attributes. Design/methodology/approach The analysis compares the earnings attributes of non-financial private firms using the Italian generally accepted accounting principles (Italian GAAP, based on a revenue-expense model) with those of the Italian non-financial private firms voluntarily adopting the international financial reporting standards (IFRS, based on the asset-liability model). To address major methodological concerns, the research design is based on a single-country analysis and on three different samples as follows: firms voluntarily adopting IFRS; a matched sample of Italian GAAP firms; Italian GAAP firms belonging to the Elite programme, and therefore, comparable to the IFRS adopters in terms of incentives towards financial reporting transparency. Findings The results show that firms reporting under a revenue-expense model are characterized by a stronger revenue-expense matching degree, along with higher earnings’ persistence, earnings’ predictability and conditional conservatism than firms adopting an asset-liability model. In addition, contrary to the expectations, Italian GAAP firms do not present smoother earnings and do not report greater abnormal accruals than IFRS adopters do. Overall, the findings suggest that the switch from a revenue-expense model to an asset-liability model negatively affects several earnings attributes of non-financial private companies, shedding new light on the drawbacks associated with the adoption of the IFRS accounting model. Originality/value This study addresses a theme characterized by sparse research efforts, adding new insights to the debate on the decline in the quality of earnings and on the drawbacks associated with the adoption of the IFRS accounting model.


Author(s):  
Kateryna Sova ◽  
◽  
Natalia Yatsenko ◽  
Denys Zagirniak ◽  
◽  
...  

The article is devoted to the study of the impact of the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on changes in the investment climate in Ukraine. The relevance of the topic is that improving the practice of applying IFRS as a tool for exchanging financial information is one of the key conditions for improving the investment climate in Ukraine. The authors have created the generalized scheme that illustrates the chronological list of enterprises that are required by law to prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS. It was noted that in 2018, in accordance with Part 2 of Article 12 of the law on accounting and financial reporting in Ukraine and resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 547 from 11.07.2018, the criteria of enterprises that are required to prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS were updated. This step significantly increased the level of application of international standards due to the adoption of such a decision at the legislative level. The dynamics of the number of IFRS enterprises in Ukraine was analyzed. The analysis showed that over the past three years, the number of almost all enterprises that must apply international standards has been growing. The advantages of using IFRS for different users of financial statements were determined. It was determined that the priority users of IFRS financial statements are investors. At the same time, it was noted that the main advantage for other users of financial statements prepared in accordance with international standards is the improvement of the investment climate. The dynamics of the Investment Attractiveness Index of Ukraine based on the Likert scale in the period from 2016 to 2020 was analyzed. The direct investment receipts to Ukraine from the European Union countries were studied. The dynamics of direct investment in the Ukrainian economy was analyzed for two types of economic activities that should form financial statements in accordance with IFRS, namely, the extractive industry and quarrying, as well as financial and insurance activities.


Author(s):  
Yosra Makni Fourati ◽  
Rania Chakroun Ghorbel

This study aims to examine the consequences of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) convergence in an emerging market. More specifically, we investigate whether the adoption of the new set of accounting standards in Malaysia is associated with lower earnings management. Using a sample of 3,340 firm-year observations across three reporting periods with different levels of IFRS adoption, we provide evidence that IFRS convergence improves earning quality. In particular, we find a significant decrease in the absolute value of discretionary acccruals in the partial IFRS-convergence period (2007-2011), whereas this effect is restrictive after the complete IFRS- implementation.


Author(s):  
Chris D. Gingrich ◽  
Leah Kratz ◽  
Ryan Faraci

This study explores the impact of mandatory adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in developing countries on business leaders’ perceptions of the overall accounting and financial environment. The study employs survey data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report to gauge business leaders’ perceptions of the accounting and financial environment. Eight countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia comprise case studies, all of whom recently adopted mandatory IFRS use for publicly listed companies. Each survey variable is tracked over time, comparing pre and post IFRS adoption, vis-à-vis the same variable in a control country that did not adopt IFRS. IFRS adoption shows mostly positive impacts on the accounting environment in four cases. The impact of adoption in the other three countries is mostly insignificant. These results should encourage policymakers in developing countries to improve auditing and enforcement practices to increase the likelihood of positive results from IFRS adoption.


Author(s):  
RAFAEL CONFETTI GATSIOS ◽  
JOSÉ MARCOS DA SILVA ◽  
MARCELO AUGUSTO AMBROZINI ◽  
ALEXANDRE ASSAF NETO ◽  
FABIANO GUASTI LIMA

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study aims to assess the impact of adopting IFRS standard on the equity cost of Brazilian open capital companies in the period of 2004-2013. Originality/gap/relevance/implications: The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards aims to increase the quality of accounting information. Studies performed in Europe suggest that, after the adoption of the IFRS standard, there was a reduction in the equity cost of companies due to the reduction of information asymmetry and risk. Key methodological aspects: The equity cost was calculated using the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) adapted to the Brazilian case. The empirical strategy was the difference analysis in differences, comparing the results of companies that voluntarily adopted the IFRS with companies that adopted IFRS after the mandatory adoption period. Summary of key results: The results indicate that the adoption of the IFRS standard does not contribute to reduce the equity cost in Brazil. Key considerations/conclusions: Suggesting that the process of adopting the international accounting standard may take more time to impact the equity cost of Brazilian open capital companies, since the impact of IFRS is not related only with the adoption, but also with its use by companies and users.


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