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Financial reporting and firm valuation: relevance lost or relevance regained?

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  • Luzi Hail

Abstract

In this study, I examine whether balance sheet and income statement numbers have lost or regained their relevance over the last 30 years. Institutional and macroeconomic factors like the global trend towards strengthening regulation and harmonising financial reporting, the extended use of fair values over historical cost, and the recurring occurrence of accounting scandals, market bubbles, and financial crises make it likely that the role of financial reporting for firm valuation has changed. Following prior research, I estimate four models for the concurrent relation between market value and accounting numbers, and then examine the pattern in explanatory power over time. I find that the loss in relevance of the income statement continues in recent years and is present in a large international sample, in particular in countries with strong institutions. While the overall relevance of the balance sheet remains stable, I find a downward trend during the first sample half, which reverses in the second half, especially in common law countries with strong investor protection, strict disclosure requirements, and integrated markets. Even though several caveats apply, the results suggest that changes in the economy, the institutional environment, and in how firms operate affect the relative importance of accounting information for the use in firm valuation by outside stakeholders.

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  • Luzi Hail, 2013. "Financial reporting and firm valuation: relevance lost or relevance regained?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 329-358, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:43:y:2013:i:4:p:329-358
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2013.799402
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Benston, George J. & Bromwich, Michael & Litan, Robert E. & Wagenhofer, Alfred, 2006. "Worldwide Financial Reporting: The Development and Future of Accounting Standards," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195305838, Decembrie.
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    1. Valentin BURCA, 2014. "Implications of IFRS Adoption on Balance-Sheet vs Income Statement Figures," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 3, pages 33-42.
    2. César Camisón & José Antonio Clemente & Sergio Camisón-Haba, 2022. "Asset tangibility, information asymmetries and intangibles as determinants of family firms leverage," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(7), pages 2047-2082, October.
    3. Manganaris, Panayotis & Spathis, Charalambos & Dasilas, Apostolos, 2015. "The effects of mandatory IFRS adoption and conditional conservatism on European bank values," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 72-81.
    4. Valentin BURCA, 2020. "Earnings Quality Versus Accounting Regulation. Empirical Assesment On Accuracy Of Macroeconomic Estimates," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(1), pages 72-87, November.
    5. Mirela Nichita & Carmen Turlea, 2015. "Approach Regarding a Framework for Risk Reporting in Order to Enhance the Related Good Practices," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 17(40), pages 1108-1108, August.
    6. Schaberl, Philipp D., 2016. "Beyond accounting and back: An empirical examination of the relative relevance of earnings and “other” information," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 98-113.
    7. Petaibanlue, Jirada & Walker, Martin & Lee, Edward, 2015. "When did analyst forecast accuracy benefit from increased cross-border comparability following IFRS adoption in the EU?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 278-291.
    8. Durocher, Sylvain & Georgiou, Omiros, 2022. "Framing accounting for goodwill: Intractable controversies between users and standard setters," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    9. Thomas R. Loy & Sven Hartlieb, 2018. "Have estimates of cost stickiness changed across listing cohorts?," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 161-181, August.
    10. Pascual-Ezama, David & Paredes, Mercedes Rodríguez & Sanchez-Martín, María-del-Pilar & de Liaño, Beatriz Gil-Gómez, 2018. "Shorter and easier is more useful: A longitudinal analysis of how financial report enforcement affects individual investors," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 29-37.

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