IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ecl/stabus/1976.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

International Accounting Standards and Accounting Quality

Author

Listed:
  • Barth, Mary E.

    (Stanford U)

  • Landsman, Wayne

    (U of North Carolina)

  • Lang, Mark

Abstract

We examine whether application of International Accounting Standards is associated with higher accounting quality. The application of IAS reflects the combined effects of features of the financial reporting system, including standards, their interpretation, enforcement, and litigation. We find that firms applying IAS from 21 countries generally evidence less earnings management, more timely loss recognition, and more value relevance of accounting amounts than do a matched sample of firms applying non-US domestic standards. Differences in accounting quality between the two groups of firms in the period before the IAS firms adopt IAS do not account for the post-adoption differences. We also find that firms applying IAS generally evidence an improvement in accounting quality between the pre- and post-adoption periods. Although we cannot be sure that our findings are attributable to the change in the financial reporting system rather than to changes in firms' incentives and the economic environment, we include research design features to mitigate the effects of both.

Suggested Citation

  • Barth, Mary E. & Landsman, Wayne & Lang, Mark, 2007. "International Accounting Standards and Accounting Quality," Research Papers 1976, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:stabus:1976
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://gsbapps.stanford.edu/researchpapers/library/RP1976.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hollis Ashbaugh & Morton Pincus, 2001. "Domestic Accounting Standards, International Accounting Standards, and the Predictability of Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(3), pages 417-434, December.
    2. Holger Daske, 2006. "Economic Benefits of Adopting IFRS or US-GAAP - Have the Expected Cost of Equity Capital Really Decreased?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3-4), pages 329-373.
    3. Barth, Mary E. & Beaver, William H. & Landsman, Wayne R., 2001. "The relevance of the value relevance literature for financial accounting standard setting: another view," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 77-104, September.
    4. Holger Daske, 2006. "Economic Benefits of Adopting IFRS or US‐GAAP – Have the Expected Cost of Equity Capital Really Decreased?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3‐4), pages 329-373, April.
    5. Christian Leuz, 2003. "IAS Versus U.S. GAAP: Information Asymmetry–Based Evidence from Germany's New Market," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3), pages 445-472, June.
    6. Mark Lang & Jana Smith Raedy & Michelle Higgins Yetman, 2003. "How Representative Are Firms That Are Cross‐Listed in the United States? An Analysis of Accounting Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 363-386, May.
    7. Christian Leuz, 2003. "IAS Versus U.S. GAAP: Information Asymmetry–Based Evidence from Germany's New Market," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3), pages 445-472, June.
    8. Marco Pagano & Ailsa A. Röell & Josef Zechner, 2002. "The Geography of Equity Listing: Why Do Companies List Abroad?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2651-2694, December.
    9. Lang, Mark & Smith Raedy, Jana & Wilson, Wendy, 2006. "Earnings management and cross listing: Are reconciled earnings comparable to US earnings?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 255-283, October.
    10. Dechow, Patricia M., 1994. "Accounting earnings and cash flows as measures of firm performance : The role of accounting accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 3-42, July.
    11. Ball, Ray & Shivakumar, Lakshmanan, 2005. "Earnings quality in UK private firms: comparative loss recognition timeliness," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 83-128, February.
    12. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    13. Ray Ball & Lakshmanan Shivakumar, 2006. "The Role of Accruals in Asymmetrically Timely Gain and Loss Recognition," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 207-242, May.
    14. Cramer, J. S., 1987. "Mean and variance of R2 in small and moderate samples," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2-3), pages 253-266, July.
    15. Ball, Ray & Kothari, S. P. & Robin, Ashok, 2000. "Corrigendum to "The effect of international institutional factors on properties of accounting earnings"; [Journal of Accounting and Economics 29 (2000) 1-51]," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 241-241, October.
    16. Burgstahler, David & Dichev, Ilia, 1997. "Earnings management to avoid earnings decreases and losses," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 99-126, December.
    17. Ball, Ray & Kothari, S. P. & Robin, Ashok, 2000. "The effect of international institutional factors on properties of accounting earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-51, February.
    18. Ball, Ray & Robin, Ashok & Wu, Joanna Shuang, 2003. "Incentives versus standards: properties of accounting income in four East Asian countries," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 235-270, December.
    19. Harris, Mary S. & Muller III, Karl A., 1999. "The market valuation of IAS versus US-GAAP accounting measures using Form 20-F reconciliations1," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1-3), pages 285-312, January.
    20. Healy, Paul M., 1985. "The effect of bonus schemes on accounting decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1-3), pages 85-107, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jeno BEKE, 2010. "The Practical Experience of Adapting to the International Accounting Standards," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 11(1), pages 110-123, March.
    2. Federica Doni & Silvia Rossetti & Roberto Verona, 2017. "Performance Reporting Choices after the Adoption of IAS 1 Revised: Comparative Evidence from Europe and the USA," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(4), pages 558-574.
    3. Ioannis Tsalavoutas & Paul André & Lisa Evans, 2009. "Transition to IFRS and value relevance in a small but developed market: A look at Greek evidence," Post-Print halshs-00460532, HAL.
    4. Ernstberger, Jürgen & Vogler, Oliver, 2008. "Analyzing the German accounting triad -- "Accounting Premium" for IAS/IFRS and U.S. GAAP vis-à-vis German GAAP?," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 339-386, December.
    5. Chiu, Tzu-Ting & Lee, Yen-Jung, 2013. "Foreign Private Issuers' Application of IFRS Around the Elimination of the 20-F Reconciliation Requirement," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 54-83.
    6. Efobi, Uchenna & Nnadi, Matthias, 2015. "Foreign Aid, IFRS Adoption and Foreign Direct Investment," EconStor Preprints 114568, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    7. Giuseppe Sannino & Gianluca Ginesti & Carlo Drago, 2014. "Impairment estimates for available-for-sale equity instruments under IFRS: evidence from italian Banks," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(2-3-4), pages 115-140.
    8. Uchenna R. Efobi & Matthias Nnadi, 2015. "How Does Foreign Aid Affect the Relationship between IFRS Adoption and Foreign Direct Investment?," Research Africa Network Working Papers 15/014, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    9. Wan Razazila Wan Abdullah & Enny Nurdin Sutan Maruhun & Masetah Ahmad Tarmizi & Liyana Ab. Rahman, 2018. "Mitigating Earnings Management: Adoption of IFRS and Corporate Governance Practices in Malaysia," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 8(2), pages 760-772, February.
    10. Schleicher, Thomas & Tahoun, Ahmed & Walker, Martin, 2010. "IFRS adoption in Europe and investment-cash flow sensitivity: Outsider versus insider economies," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 143-168, June.
    11. Mohamed Elbannan, 2011. "Accounting and stock market effects of international accounting standards adoption in an emerging economy," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 207-245, February.
    12. Manuela Meçe & Artur Ribaj, 2019. "The Rural Development and Employment in Albania," European Journal of Economics and Business Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 5, ejes_v5_i.
    13. Kousenidis, Dimitrios V. & Ladas, Anestis C. & Negakis, Christos I., 2013. "The effects of the European debt crisis on earnings quality," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 351-362.
    14. Karampinis N. & Hevas D., 2009. "The Effect of the Mandatory Application of IFRS on the Value Relevance of Accounting Data: Some Evidence from Greece," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 73-100.
    15. Chen, Charles J.P. & Ding, Yuan & Xu, Bin, 2014. "Convergence of accounting standards and foreign direct investment," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 53-86.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mary E. Barth & Wayne R. Landsman & Mark H. Lang, 2008. "International Accounting Standards and Accounting Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 467-498, June.
    2. Dimitropoulos, Panagiotis E. & Asteriou, Dimitrios & Kousenidis, Dimitrios & Leventis, Stergios, 2013. "The impact of IFRS on accounting quality: Evidence from Greece," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 108-123.
    3. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    4. Günther, Nina & Gegenfurtner, Bernhard & Kaserer, Christoph & Achleitner, Ann-Kristin, 2009. "International financial reporting standards and earnings Quality: the myth of voluntary vs. mandatory adoption," CEFS Working Paper Series 2009-09, Technische Universität München (TUM), Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS).
    5. De George, Emmanuel T. & Li, Xi & Shivakumar, Lakshmanan, 2016. "A review of the IFRS adoption literature," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 67599, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Mohamed Elbannan, 2011. "Accounting and stock market effects of international accounting standards adoption in an emerging economy," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 207-245, February.
    7. Emmanuel T. De George & Xi Li & Lakshmanan Shivakumar, 2016. "A review of the IFRS adoption literature," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 898-1004, September.
    8. Goncharov, Igor & Werner, Joerg R. & Zimmermann, Jochen, 2009. "Legislative demands and economic realities: Company and group accounts compared," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 334-362, December.
    9. Macías, Marta & Muiño, Flora, 2011. "Examining dual accounting systems in Europe," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 51-78, March.
    10. Hans B. Christensen & Edward Lee & Martin Walker & Cheng Zeng, 2015. "Incentives or Standards: What Determines Accounting Quality Changes around IFRS Adoption?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 31-61, May.
    11. Marra, Antonio & Mazzola, Pietro & Prencipe, Annalisa, 2011. "Board Monitoring and Earnings Management Pre- and Post-IFRS," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 205-230, June.
    12. Lang, Mark & Smith Raedy, Jana & Wilson, Wendy, 2006. "Earnings management and cross listing: Are reconciled earnings comparable to US earnings?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 255-283, October.
    13. Palea, Vera, 2013. "IAS/IFRS and Financial Reporting Quality: Lessons from the European Experience," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201330, University of Turin.
    14. Himanshu & Jatinder P. Singh & Ashwani Kumar, 2020. "Prioritizing and Establishing Cause and Effect Relationships Among Financial Reporting Quality Metrics," Vision, , vol. 24(3), pages 330-344, September.
    15. Ioannis Tsalavoutas & Paul André & Lisa Evans, 2009. "Transition to IFRS and value relevance in a small but developed market: A look at Greek evidence," Post-Print halshs-00460532, HAL.
    16. Senteney, David L. & Bazaz, Mohammad S. & Senteney, Michael H., 2016. "Cross-market information transfers of ADR firms: An investigation of emerging market economies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 655-677.
    17. Lang, Mark & Raedy, Jana Smith & Wilson, Wendy, 2005. "Earnings Management and Cross Listing: Are Reconciled Earnings Comparable to US Earnings?," Working Papers 05-3, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Weiss Center.
    18. Chen, Charles J.P. & Ding, Yuan & Xu, Bin, 2014. "Convergence of accounting standards and foreign direct investment," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 53-86.
    19. Roberto Carlos Klann & Ilse Maria Beuren, 2018. "Earnings management IFRS adoption in Brazilian and British companies," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 15(1), pages 13-28, February.
    20. Eliwa, Yasser & Haslam, Jim & Abraham, Santhosh, 2021. "Earnings quality and analysts’ information environment: Evidence from the EU market," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ecl:stabus:1976. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/gsstaus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.