Using financial accounting data from manufacturing firms in 16 countries for 1986-1995, we demonstrate that the value relevance of financial reports is lower for countries where the financial systems are bank-oriented rather than market-oriented; where private sector bodies are not involved in...

In this study we compare the timeliness and conservatism of reported earnings across the U.S. and U.K. GAAP regimes. We present a theoretical model of the differential speeds of recognition of good news and bad news. This suggests informative and relatively robust ways of measuring dimensions of...

Since the start of 2005 all European Union (EU) firms trading in a regulated market are required to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for their consolidated financial accounts. Many more countries will - soon or later - follow suit and adopt IFRS for all listed firms....

The widespread acceptance of International Accounting Standards (IAS)/International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) makes it timely to examine their technical determinants as well as their implications for the accounting profession and the process of accounting harmonization. In this...

Accounting in shaped by economic and political forces. It follows that increased worldwide integration of both markets and politics (driven by reductions in communications and information processing costs) makes increased integration of financial reporting standards and practice almost...

The East Asian countries of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand provide a rare opportunity to study the interaction between the accounting standards under which financial statements are prepared and the incentives of managers and auditors who prepare them. Their accounting standards are...

Advocates of mandatory IFRS adoption claim that IFRS increases financial statement comparability and enhances the quality of financial disclosure, which in turn leads to more liquid markets. Using first-time disclosure (IFRS restatements), this study tests empirically this assertion by examining...

More than 120 countries require or permit the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (lsquo;IFRS') by publicly listed companies on the basis of higher information quality and accounting comparability from IFRS application. However, the empirical evidence about these presumed benefits...

This paper examines whether the current reporting and disclosure requirements for foreign registrants in the United States affect foreign firms' decisions to list on a U.S. exchange. We find that while firms from a weak disclosure environment are more likely to cross-list and either trade...

We examine cross-country differences in the valuation and time series characteristics of earnings to assess whether there have been systematic changes over time. Our results suggest that earnings multiples have become more similar, although systematic differences remain. Potential economic...