اندازه گیری تاثیر استانداردهای گزارش های بین المللی بر عملکرد بازار شرکت های تجاری عمومی

The decision whether to require publicly traded companies to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) remains in flux. In 2008, the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a roadmap leading to complete acceptance of IFRS in the US. With the potential replacement of US GAAP with IFRS in the near future, understanding the impact of IFRS on corporate financial reporting is more important than ever. This study examines two factors which are critical considerations in the decision to accept or not to accept IFRS in the US: How different is financial statement information derived under IFRS from information derived under US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP); and how much incremental information value, if any, is provided by IFRS over US GAAP? The present study extends prior research by examining concurrently both differences and their impact on market performance. Findings of this study support the view that differences on financial statement results between IFRS and US GAAP are not significant, thus, supporting proponents of adoption of IFRS in the US, after which all US publicly traded companies would use IFRS and not US GAAP.

Use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is a major financial reporting issue worldwide and the subject of extensive academic research (e.g. Barth, 2008, Blanco and Osma, 2004, Daske et al., 2008, Heino and Fontana, 2011, Hope et al., 2006, Pownall and Schipper, 1999, Rees and Weisbach, 2002, Reineking et al., 2013, Smith, 2012 and Wang and Smith, 2009). Pivotal events of the past decade include acceptance of IFRS for financial reporting in the European Union in 2005 and the US Securities and Exchange Commission's decision in 2007 to accept IFRS for financial reporting by non-US firms trading in US markets. In 2008, the Commission proposed a timeline leading to eventual acceptance of IFRS for all US publicly traded companies, foreign and domestic; this timeline was later revised in 2010. According to the timeline, complete acceptance of IFRS in the US may occur as early as 2015. Corporate management is accountable for the quality and reliability of financial statements. The increasing globalization of business, along with improvements in technology, has led to a globalization of the capital markets and increased foreign direct investment. Understanding the potential impact of IFRS on a company's accounting process is critical to accountants, auditors, corporate management, investors, lenders, financial analysts, regulators, and others connected to corporate financial reporting. This has led to increasing inclusion of an international accounting course in many university accounting programs, and corresponding development of international accounting textbooks (e.g. Doupnik and Perera, 2011 and Saudagaran and Smith, 2013). The pivotal question remains: Is acceptance of IFRS in the US inevitable? Smith (2008) refers to adoption of IFRS as an ‘unstoppable juggernaut.’ Even after much public discussion and notable academic research, the answer remains unclear. However, assuming the potential replacement of US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) with IFRS in the near future, understanding the impact of IFRS on corporate financial reporting is more important than ever. The overall purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of IFRS and its impact on corporate financial reporting in relation to US generally accepted accounting principles. Specifically, this paper addresses two questions which are critical considerations in the decision to accept or not to accept IFRS in the US: (1) How different is financial statement information derived under IFRS from information derived under US GAAP and, (2) how much incremental information value, if any, is provided by IFRS over US GAAP? No prior study has examined concurrently both differences and impact on market performance. To address these questions, we hand-collect financial data for 64 European Union firms that list stock on the New York Stock Exchange in both 2005 and 2006. We limit our sample to the years 2005 and 2006 in order to fall between two important rulings made by the EU and United States. First, beginning in 2005, all EU firms were required to use IFRS-based financial reports. Second, in 2007, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that non-US firms are no longer required to reconcile IFRS with US GAAP when reporting earnings (SEC, 2007). Therefore, 2005 and 2006 represent unique years in which the EU firms trading in US markets reported financial statements using two different standards: IFRS and US GAAP. We exploit this dual-reporting regime to evaluate the extent to which key financial statement numbers differ across IFRS and US GAAP. We find that over 67% of our sample firms report higher net income when reporting under IFRS than GAAP. However, the average difference in revenue, net income, total assets, total liabilities, and shareholders equity across the two reporting regimes is insignificantly different from zero. For the EU firms in our sample, reported earnings per share (EPS) are the only key financial figure that significantly differs across IFRS and US GAAP. Under IFRS, the mean EPS (basic) is $14.68 but falls to $7.39 when reporting under US GAAP. To better understand the differences (or lack thereof) between IFRS-reported and US GAAP-reported financial numbers, we also collect and summarize the primary reconciliation categories cited by the firms in our sample. In each Form 20-F, the average firm reports 7.5 reconciliations, with those related to “Intangible Assets, Impairments, and Goodwill” being the most frequent. Financial statement items do not appear to differ significantly between IFRS and US GAAP. However, the value-relevance of IFRS data to market participants in the US is still an empirical question. Each EU firm in the sample is matched to a corresponding US firm based on year, industry, firm performance, and size and compares long-run abnormal returns between groups. No evidence is found that 12-month abnormal returns are different for EU firms providing both IFRS and US GAAP information, compared to US firms reporting only US GAAP. Market participants do not place a premium on IFRS-based financial information, supporting the view that accounting quality and disclosure levels under IFRS are relatively equal to those under US GAAP.

While the US Securities and Exchange Commission, in 2008 and revised in 2010, proposed a timeline leading to eventual acceptance of IFRS for all US publicly traded companies, foreign and domestic, there remains considerable debate as to whether this timeline will be followed, culminating in US acceptance of IFRS. If the timeline was followed, complete acceptance of IFRS in the US could be as early as 2015. Better understanding of IFRS is essential to resolving the debate. Public discussion and academic research have not settled the matter. As a result, this study was initiated to further a better understanding of IFRS and its impact on corporate financial reporting in relation to US generally accepted accounting principles. Findings of this study support the view that differences between IFRS and US GAAP are not significant, thus, supporting proponents of adoption of IFRS in the US, after which all US publicly traded companies would use IFRS and not US GAAP. In this study, two factors were examined that play a key role in the US's decision to accept or not accept IFRS for all US publicly traded companies. The first factor examined is how different is financial statement information derived under IFRS from information derived under US GAAP; and the second, how much incremental information value, if any, is provided by IFRS over US GAAP. These two factors are evaluated via two research questions. The first research question addressed is: Does use of IFRS in place of US GAAP significantly affect major components of the financial statements of publicly traded companies? Results show a lack of significant differences between IFRS- and GAAP-reported financial statements. This is an important finding, as it shows there is substantial convergence between IFRS and US GAAP. The second research question examined is: Does use of IFRS in addition to US GAAP on financial reports of publicly traded companies significantly affect market performance of those companies (i.e., is there incremental value for IFRS-based financial statement information)? Results indicate that investors do not give a market premium to those firms that provide both IFRS and GAAP information. This is also an important finding, as it affirms the view that the accounting quality and/or disclosure levels under IFRS are relatively equal to GAAP.