La pertinence et l'utilité prédictive de mesures de performance financière : une comparaison France, États-Unis et Suisse

The measurement of a firm?s performance is a crucial issue for many of its stakeholders : shareholders, directors, managers or debtholders. In addition, the effectiveness of many management systems (performance evaluation, compensation, strategy implementation) and their impact on value creation depend on the selection of an appropriate performance metric. This study proposes to compare five performance metrics in terms of their ability to capture value creation. These measures are net earnings, operating earnings, cash flows from operations, residual income and value added. The sample comprises firms from three countries : France, the United States and Switzerland. Results suggest that the value relevance of a performance metric as well as its predictive ability depend upon a country?s financial measurement and reporting environments. An investors-focused financial reporting environment enhances the power of performance metrics to explain stock returns. In contrast, a restrictive reporting environment which emphasizes reliability in performance measurement increases the predictive power of performance metrics. Furthermore, financial statements relying on the French ?plan comptable? provide a better prediction of value added, a macro-economic indicator. However, these results may be conditioned by how the various performance metrics are measured. In addition, for French firms, the standard setting framework for consolidated financial statements may differ from the prescriptions of the ?Plan comptable? regarding individual accounts.