The Impact of Mandatory IFRS Adoption on Equity Valuation of Accounting Numbers for Security Investors in the EU

Motivated by the European Union (EU) decision to mandate application of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to the consolidated financial statements of all EU listed firms (Regulation (EC) 1606/2002), starting in December 2005, we compare the value relevance of accounting information in 14 European countries in the year prior to and the year of the mandatory adoption of the IFRS. We focus on three accounting information items for which measurements under IFRS are likely to differ considerably from measurements under domestic accounting practices across the EU countries prior to the introduction of the international standards: goodwill, research and development expenses (R&D), and asset revaluation. These three items, selected on an a priori basis, have been shown in previous research to differ in the effect of uncertainty on their future benefits. We use valuation models that include these three variables and in addition the book value of equity and earnings. Overall, our study suggests that the adoption of the IFRS has increased the value relevance of the three accounting numbers for investors in equity securities in the EU. Association tests support our two hypotheses: (1) in the year prior to the mandatory adoption of the IFRS, the incremental value relevance to investors of the three domestic GAAP-based accounting items was greater in countries where the respective domestic standards were more compatible with the IFRS; and (2) the higher the deviation of the three domestic GAAP-based accounting items from their corresponding IFRS values, the greater the incremental value relevance to investors from the switch to IFRS. These associations prevail when considering cross-country differences in the institutional environments, which tend to provide complementary effects.     

IFRS and Secrecy: Assessing Accounting Value Relevance Across Africa

We examine the value relevance of accounting across several African countries and test whether IFRS improved the value association of earnings and equity book values. We report a stronger valuation association between accounting and stock prices in African countries classified as having a secrecy culture. This increases after IFRS and more so for earnings. On the other hand, IFRS induced a stronger increase in the book value coefficient in the less secretive and more developed South African market. We surmise that the more conceptual focus of IFRS induced an increased demand for higher‐quality accounting professionals, which had a filtering‐down effect of improving quality information flow and breaking down the secrecy culture. Our research highlights the diverse impacts of IFRS and the role of culture, asset markets and accounting professionalism, in driving the relevance of accounting components across Africa.     

Cultural Influences on Judgments of Professional Accountants in Auditor–Client Conflict Resolution

This study examines cultural influences on professional judgments of Australian, Indian and Chinese Malaysian accountants in relation to auditor–client conflict resolution. The study draws on cultural characteristics of, and differences among, these societies to formulate hypotheses that Australian accountants are less likely to resolve audit conflicts by acceding to clients than Indian and Chinese Malaysian accountants, and are also less accepting of resolving audit conflicts in this way. Data are gathered through a survey questionnaire administered to samples of senior accountants from "big-six" (at the time of data collection) firms in Australia, India and Malaysia. The questionnaire comprised an auditor–client conflict scenario, and used both single-item and multidimensional [specifically, the Multidimensional Ethics Measure of Reidenbach and Robin (1988, 1990)] measures of professional judgment. The results support the hypotheses about differences in Australian compared to Indian and Chinese Malaysian professional judgments. Additionally, the results support the Multidimensional Ethics Measure as having greater explanatory power than a single-item measure. The results have implications for the international harmonisation of accounting and auditing standards, and for audit procedures and codes of conduct in international accounting firms.     

EUROPEAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW

This study contributes to the accounting literature by providing empirical evidence from China that adopting IFRS does not necessarily lead to IFRS-type accounting practices. We examine the impact of regulatory enforcement, in particular, an important Chinese government compulsory compliance policy implemented in 2001, and audit upon the convergence of Chinese accounting practices. Using a sample of 103 Chinese B-share companies between 1999 and 2004, we reveal that the decline in earnings difference between firms' financial statements under Chinese GAAP and IFRS is the result of the implementation of the 2001 policy and the audit committee which effectively control the firm's application of standards rather than the differences between the standards. The effect of audit committee leads us further to argue that the convergence of accounting practices may be affected by not only the lack of insufficient understanding of IFRS by local accounting professionals, but also the management opportunistic behaviour during the application of different standards. It implies that corporate governance may affect the convergence of accounting practice. However, we do not find evidence for international audit firms outperforming their Chinese local CPAs with regard to IFRS compliance. Therefore, the Chinese government should be cautious in promoting the participation of international audit firms in China for achieving IFRS compliance.     

论文化对会计活动的影响

随着会计理论的不断发展完善,学术界对其的研究已不再停留于表面,而是开始挖掘会计背后所代表的环境与文化因素。本文从会计与环境的关系出发,就构成影响会计活动的环境因素之一——文化这一要素进行讨论,主要分析社会文化这一大环境对各国会计制度的影响,同时也对企业文化这一小环境中的会计活动作出探讨。     

从文化视角看中国会计改革进程

本文基于Hofstede的文化五维度模型和Gray的会计亚文化理论，探讨了文化对中国会计改革可能产生的影响。调查问卷的统计结果表明，不确定性规避、集体主义、权力距离等文化维度，都可以在不同程度上解释我国会计改革过去进展状况。笔者认为，文化是影响会计改革进程的一个不可忽视的因素，深入了解我国传统文化可以使人们以更加包容的心态去看待会计改革进程。     

Evolution of intangible asset accounting: Evidence from Australia

This study investigates how the adoption of IFRS in Australia has changed the accounting for goodwill and identifiable intangible assets (IIA). Based on unique hand‐collected data for 802 Australian firm‐years during 2000–2010, we find that expenses related to IIA are higher under IFRS, which is consistent with the view that IFRS accounting policies for IIA are stricter than those under Australian domestic accounting standards pre‐2005 (AGAAP). Our results show two effects that accompany higher IIA expenses under IFRS, which reduce a negative impact on earnings: (i) lower goodwill expenses, and (ii) a shift in recognition of IIA from those with finite useful life to IIA with indefinite useful life. Finally, our market value analyses suggest that the market does not treat mechanical goodwill amortization as a genuine expense, but does treat as genuine expenses discretionary impairment charges, and more lenient IIA amortization under AGAAP. Our results are in line with prior Australian studies claiming that imposing stricter accounting rules for intangible assets under IFRS tends to diminish the quality of investors' information set.     

The Influence of Culture on Organizational Design and Planning and Control in Australia and the United States Compared with Singapore and Hong Kong

This study draws on the national cultural dimensions of power distance, individualism, and Confucian dynamism to predict and explain differences in philosophies for, and approaches to organizational design and management planning and control systems in Australia and the US, representing Anglo-American nations, and Singapore and Hong Kong, representing the 'five dragons' of East Asia. Data were gathered by survey questionnaires mailed to senior accounting and finance executives in 800 organizations.
The results were largely as predicted and, in general, provide support for the importance of national culture in influencing organizational design and management planning and control systems. In particular, the cultural values of Anglo-American society relative to East Asian society are associated with a greater emphasis on decentralization and responsibility centres in organizational design, and a greater emphasis on quantitative and analytical techniques in planning and control. By contrast, the cultural values of East Asian society are associated with a greater emphasis on long-term planning and on group centred decision-making. The results are important to managers in global organizations who need to understand the cultural bases of observed differences in organizational and management planning and control practices in Anglo-American and East Asian nations.     

对企业会计文化建设的几点思考

企业会计文化建设是我国会计建设的重要内容,已经引起会计管理部门的高度重视。但是,由于企业会计文化建设在我国时间不长,特别是基层企业对于企业会计文化建设还缺乏认识。本文就什么是企业会计文化,企业会计文化的基本功能,我国企业会计文化现状及原因等企业会计文化建设中需要弄清的几个基本问题进行了有益的探讨。     

公允价值会计在我国应用的文化相关性分析

本发展中国家为了加快发展速度,往往直接引进西方的会计体系。但是,他们对西方会计在本国应用的相关性很少进行缜密细致的分析。本文以公允价值会计为例,结合Gray的理论框架,分析了应用公允价值会计的社会文化条件与我国现实条件的差异,从而从文化角度剖析公允价值会计在我国应用受阻的原因。     

文化全球化时代加强对青年学生传统文化教育的思考

当前,在与外来文化和现代流行文化的碰撞和交融中,我国传统文化的地位受到了强烈的冲击。当代青年学生的传统文化意识淡化已成为教育界的一个现状及文化发展过程中的一个忧患。培养青年学生对传统文化价值的认同感,寻找传统文化与现代文化的有效结合,从而促进青年学生树立传统文化意识,不仅是培养现代人才的基本要求,也是我国传统文化未来发展的必然选择。     

The Role of International Financial Reporting Standards in Accounting Quality: Evidence from the European Union

Previous studies on the effect of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on accounting quality often have difficulties to control for confounding factors on accounting quality. As a result, the observed changes in accounting quality could not be attributed mainly to IFRS. We use a unique research setting to address this issue by comparing the accounting quality of publicly listed companies in 15 member states of the European Union (EU) before and after the full adoption of IFRS in 2005. We use five indicators as proxies for accounting quality. We find that the majority of accounting quality indicators improved after IFRS adoption in the EU. That is, there is less of managing earnings toward a target, a lower magnitude of absolute discretionary accruals, and higher accruals quality. But our results also show that firms engage in more earnings smoothing and recognize large losses in a less timely manner in post‐IFRS periods. In addition, we examine the effects of institutional variables on financial reporting quality. Our contribution to the literature is that we show the improved accounting quality is attributable to IFRS, rather than changes in managerial incentives, institutional features of capital markets, and general business environment, etc.     

英语教学中习语与英汉民族文化的差异

习语是语言的核心与精华,与本民族的风土人情、历史文化有着千丝万缕的联系。它是各国文化的精髓,反映各国的风俗习惯。习语又受文化的影响,反映其文化特征。中英两种文化孕育了各具民族特色的习语。本文试从生存环境,生活习俗,历史文化,宗教信仰方面阐述英汉文化的差异,并提出如何导入教学中使学生真正学好英语。     

澳大利亚会计国际化进程及其启示

自2005年开始,澳大利亚国内报告实体开始采用国际财务报告准则(IFRS),由此,澳大利亚的会计国际化进程宣告完成。本文通过回顾澳大利亚会计改革与发展历程,剖析其与IFRS趋同的内在动因,并审视澳大利亚政治、经济、立法等宏观背景对其会计国际化进程的深远影响,以期对我国的会计国际趋同提供借鉴。     

IFRS Adoption and Accounting Quality: A Review

Abstract

In 2002, the European Union (EU) Parliament passed a regulation that requires consolidated and simple accounts for all companies listed in the EU to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for fiscal years starting after 1 January 2005. This change in accounting systems will have a large impact on the information environment for EU companies. This paper provides a review of the literature on adoption of different Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). We thus provide background and guidance for researchers studying the change in accounting quality following widespread IFRS adoption in the EU. We argue that cross-country differences in accounting quality are likely to remain following IFRS adoption because accounting quality is a function of the firm's overall institutional setting, including the legal and political system of the country in which the firm resides.     

国际会计准则的走向分析及其启示

本文通过回顾国际会计准则的发展历史,从国际会计准则委员会的努力和欧盟、美国等不同利益集团对国际会计准则的态度等方面,简要分析了国际会计准则的走向及其对我国会计国际协调的启示。     

论我国会计国际化的模式选择

随着经济全球化浪潮的掀起,作为商业语言的会计同样面临着国际化的抉择。本文针对目前我国会计国际化的不同观点,在对我国会计准则与国际财务报告准则之间差异进行比较、分析的基础上,以会计信息使用者及其需求为出发点,提出了我国会计国际化的模式选择。     

从民间舞蹈文化传承探究非物质文化遗产价值

随着非物质文化遗产保护力度的加强,对于民间舞蹈的发展和传承带来了更加优越的社会环境,这一过程中人们逐渐意识到民间舞蹈文化在非物质文化遗产保护中的重要性,同时对于非物质文化遗产的价值分析也形成了全新的文化解读。然而,当前针对非物质文化遗产保护不到位和不全面的问题也是值得去研究和关注的。时代发展赋予了非物质文化遗产不同的文化内涵,这既是一种民族性格和民族信仰的体现,同时在促进民族文化传承与发展方面也有不可忽视的现实意义。作为民族传统文化审美体现的重要方面,民间舞蹈是对我国各民族人民生活体验和思想精髓的有效概括,这对于探究非物质文化遗产的现实价值有着重要的启示作用。实现对非物质文化遗产的保护既需要从历史发展眼光明确非物质文化遗产的时代价值,同时也应辩证地看待民间艺术在非物质文化遗产中的发展与传承问题。本文从民间舞蹈文化传承方面探究了我国非物质文化遗产的特点及其当代价值。     

The impact of accounting reform on accounting quality: Evidence from Nigeria

The effectiveness of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is dependent on the strength of enforcement of accounting standards in a given country. This study explores the implications of the adoption of IFRS in Nigeria after the enforcement of accounting standards was strengthened. The strengthening of accounting standards enforcement, and the subsequent adoption of IFRS in Nigeria, was recommended by the World Bank to improve the country's regulatory outlook after a capital market crisis in 2007/2008 that was triggered by widespread accounting irregularities. Results indicate that accounting quality declined in Nigeria following the adoption of IFRS; while earnings management increased, timely loss recognition and earnings persistence reduced. Our study contributes to the burgeoning literature on IFRS adoption and concludes that the effect of IFRS adoption is contextual. Therefore, accounting regulatory institutions operating in a similar context to Nigeria should localize IFRS.     

Accounting for Securitizations: A Comparison of SFAS 140 and IASB 39

This paper examines the accounting for securitizations under US GAAP and international financial reporting standards (IFRS). Using a sample securitization of the Ford Motor Company, we demonstrate substantial differences depending on whether the securitization is recorded following US GAAP or IFRS. Our analysis suggests international convergence of accounting standards will be more challenging as the FASB and IASB begin tackling issues, such as asset securitization, that have important economic consequences and where the differences between US GAAP and IFRS are substantive.