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Could IFRS Replace US GAAP? A Comparison of Earnings Attributes and Informativeness in the US Market

Author

Listed:
  • Elizabeth A. Gordon

    (The University of Texas at San Antonio)

  • Bjorn N. Jorgensen

    (The University of Texas at San Antonio)

  • Cheryl L. Linthicum

    (The University of Texas at San Antonio)

Abstract

We compare various earnings attributes of two accounting standards in one regulatory environment. We consider all firms that file Form 20-F reconciliations from IFRS to USGAAP with the SEC for 2004-2006. We find USGAAP and IFRS share many earnings attributes with two notable exceptions: USGAAP exhibits higher cash persistence and value relevance. Both IFRS and USGAAP accruals are incrementally informative over cash flows. While USGAAP net income has incremental informativeness over IFRS earnings and cash flows, the reverse is not true. USGAAP exhibits higher relative information content. Our results inform US regulators considering whether to permit, or require, IFRS.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth A. Gordon & Bjorn N. Jorgensen & Cheryl L. Linthicum, 2011. "Could IFRS Replace US GAAP? A Comparison of Earnings Attributes and Informativeness in the US Market," Working Papers 0028, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    • Handle: RePEc:tsa:wpaper:0066acc
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    Cited by:

    1. Holger Daske & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz & Rodrigo Verdi, 2008. "Mandatory IFRS Reporting around the World: Early Evidence on the Economic Consequences," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1085-1142, December.
    2. Fuad, Fuad & Juliarto, Agung & Harto, Puji, 2019. "Does IFRS convergence really increase accounting qualities?Emerging market evidence," Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, Universidad ESAN, vol. 24(48), pages 205-220.
    3. Mary E. Barth & Wayne R. Landsman & Danqing Young & Zili Zhuang, 2014. "Relevance of Differences between Net Income based on IFRS and Domestic Standards for European Firms," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3-4), pages 297-327, April.
    4. Stuart Mestelman & Emad Mohammad & Mohamed Shehata, 2015. "The Convergence of IFRS and U.S. GAAP: Evidence from the SEC's Removal of Form 20‐F Reconciliations," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 190-211, September.
    5. Eng, Li Li & Sun, Li & Vichitsarawong, Thanyaluk, 2013. "The valuation properties of earnings and book values reported under IAS, domestic GAAP and U.S. GAAP: Evidence from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Singapore," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 278-285.
    6. Roger Silvers, 2016. "The Valuation Impact of SEC Enforcement Actions on Nontarget Foreign Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 187-234, March.
    7. Christian Leuz & Peter D. Wysocki, 2016. "The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 525-622, May.
    8. Strauss, Ilan & Yang, Jangho, 2020. "Corporate Secular Stagnation: Empirical Evidence on the Advanced Economy Investment Slowdown," INET Oxford Working Papers 2019-16, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    9. Ferrer García, Cristina & Laínez Gadea, José Antonio, 2013. "Detectando diferencias en la medición de la calidad del resultado: evidencia empírica para empresas españolas || Detecting Differences on the Earnings Quality Measurement: Empirical Evidence on Spanis," Revista de Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa = Journal of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, vol. 16(1), pages 5-28, December.
    10. Rabiu Saminu Jibril, 2019. "The Impact of International Financial Reporting Stanadard (IFRS) Adoption on Accounting Quality in Nigerian Listed Money Deposit Banks," Applied Finance and Accounting, Redfame publishing, vol. 5(1), pages 49-57, February.
    11. Xiaoli Ortega, 2017. "A Review of IFRS and U.S. GAAP Convergence History and Relevant Studies," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(9), pages 31-38, September.
    12. Saleh JAWARNEH, 2021. "The Difference Between Ifrs And Us Gaap In Financial Statement Presentation," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 30(2), pages 309-317, December.
    13. Meena Bhatia & Mwila J. Mulenga, 2019. "Value Relevance of Accounting Information: A Review of Empirical Evidence Across Continents," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 8(2), pages 179-193, December.
    14. Troy Pollard, 2016. "Sneaking in the back door? An evaluation of reverse mergers and IPOs," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 305-341, August.
    15. Palea, Vera & Scagnelli, Simone Domenico, 2014. "Do Earnings Reported under IFRS Improve the Prediction of Future Cash Flows? Evidence From European Banks," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201443, University of Turin.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    IFRS; US GAAP;

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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