IFRS convergence and revisions: value relevance of accounting information from East Africa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative value relevance of accounting information arising from the adoption of converged and revised International Accounting Standards (IAS)/International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in East Africa. Design/methodology/approach The research applies “same firm year” design for identification of the effects of changes in accounting standards. A model similar to Ohlson’s price model and random-effects GLS are used to estimate R 2 of the regressions of share prices on book values and earnings. Findings The results show that accounting information prepared from revised and converged IAS/IFRS display higher value relevance and also increased following the revision and convergence of IAS/IFRS. The cross-product term is more significant in the post-revision/convergence period thus providing further evidence for increased value relevance after the revision of IAS/IFRS. The results are robust to various models and show that value relevance in East Africa is relatively lower than that of the developed markets. Originality/value The current study provides empirical evidence that value relevance increases with converged/revised IAS/IFRS based on quasi natural experimental setting in East Africa. The authors also extend the debate on whether value relevance is relevant in emerging markets, which are regarded as imperfect markets with few regulations, weak enforcement and limited sources of information. The results may be useful to accounting preparers, regulators, investors, standard setters and countries seeking to adopt IAS/IFRS in developing countries.