Firms listed on European, Australian and an increasing number of other stock exchanges are required to report according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We use a Norwegian sample to examine whether the adoption of IFRS in 2005 has changed the value relevance of earnings...

In 2003, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (FSA) disclosed that audit firms had violated the legal restrictions for providing non-audit services (NAS). In response, the FSA tightened the NAS regulations. This study examines how regulatory oversight affects the relation between the...

We test the value relevance of financial statements in Norway over the 40 years before IFRS were introduced. An improved association between financial reporting and value creation enhances decision making and control. We find that the time trend of overall value relevance has increased...

This study examines the interaction of audit firm characteristics with two core earnings management tools: classification shifting (CS) and core accruals management (CACM). CS occurs when management intentionally misclassifies recurring operational expenses as special items to inflate...

We investigate how audit firm size and large auditor-provided non-audit services (NAS) affect accruals quality around large equity issues and acquisitions for Norwegian public companies from 1999-2013. We find poorer accruals quality around large equity increases. Big 4 audit firms mitigate...

We show that if taxable income were linked to accounting income, there will exist an automatic safeguard against manipulation of earnings within the analyzed framework. Separating taxable income from accounting income will remove this self-controlled mechanism, and accordingly create a need for...

One of the major challenges to future financial reporting is to improve how intangible assets are accounted for. Expenditures on intangible resources have traditionally been expensed when incurred and therefore not treated as investments with book values. Dealing with intangible resources mostly...