This article analyzes the value-relevance of industry-based and resource-based competitive advantage in a large sample of firms listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. We measure competitive advantage by a single variable and perform a new decomposition into its underlying sources. In 1986-2005, the...

Firms listed on stock exchanges within the European Economic Area are required to report consolidated financial statements according to IFRS from 2005. The firms that adopted IFRS in 2005 were also required to restate their 2004 financial statements from national GAAP to provide comparable...

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...

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...

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...

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...