Multiple Evaluation Options & Comparability: Equity Investments in Italy and Spain

The harmonization among the European financial statements based on International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS/IFRS) became an urgent issue when the European Union issued the Regulation (EC) no 1606/2002 which required all listed companies to prepare consolidated accounts in accordance with International Accounting Standards beginning in 2005. The enforcement of the same set of accounting standards does not necessarily lead to comparability if we intend it as a harmonization of the accounting practices. As a matter of fact, European companies could still choose divergent accounting behaviors because IAS/IFRS offer multiple options for the evaluation of the same items, or because the accounting practices of those firms do not comply with the standards. The objective of this paper is to investigate if the level of comparability in consolidated financial reporting practices – as a result of de facto harmonization – has increased after the mandatory introduction of IAS/IFRS. To provide some evidence, the case studies of Italy and Spain have been elected since they are both Code law countries. First of all we test the level of de facto harmonization related to the accounting choices made by 129 Italian and 54 Spanish listed groups, from 2004 to 2009, that is pre and post IAS/IFRS application, in order to verify if the comparability between countries in policy choices, as measured by van der Tas C index, has changed after the application of IAS/IFRS, from the point of view of the users of the financial statements. Starting from the assumption that the de facto harmonization of the accounting practices increases the comparability among firms and among countries, the current study contributes to the literature by exploring the following main research question: Do harmonized accounting standards lead to comparable accounting practices, even when multiple evaluation options are provided? More precisely, comparability has been measured referring to the items of equity investments in subsidiaries, in associates, in joint ventures, and in other equity interests, since the participation item is an excellent setting for this kind of investigation. First results seem to reveal that we are still quite far from the expected and desired comparability. These findings could be helpful for the decisions of institutional regulatory bodies.IFRS, Comparability, Harmonization, Equity investments

IFRS introduction and its effect on listed companies in Spain

From the beginning of January 2005 publicly traded companies in the European Union have to comply with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for their consolidated accounts, as required by 1606/2002 European Commission Regulation. It had been suggested that the new accounting rules will facilitate not only the process of international harmonization of financial statements, but also efficient performance of financial markets and capital flows worldwide. This study analyzes the first results of IFRS implementation by Spanish non-financial listed companies.IFRS, IAS, Accounting harmonization

AN ATTEMPT AT MEASURING THE FISCAL INFLUENCE OVER ACCOUNTING OF ROMANIAN LISTED COMPANIES

This paper we seek to measure the fiscal influence over accounting on a de facto level,empirical analysis is being performed on companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE)and RASDAQ market, on a sample of 210 companies. Our observation was conducted in the year2008, the variables taken in the analysis being sales as proxy for ââ¬Ëaccounting’ and income tax asmeasure for tax effects. The model we use is defined in a dynamic fashion (marginal values) sincewe believe these variables reflect the best the true variations of accounting and tax numbers.The statistical results obtained show that there is a statistically significant influence of taxationover accounting of 4%; we are not able, however, to say if this amount is large or small , insince we have no benchmark value yet. This is also the first empirical tax research paper inaccounting on Romanian data.accounting, taxation, income tax, listed companies, Romania

Determinantes del tipo impositivo efectivo en el sector turístico: un modelo dinámico con datos de panel

This paper presents a dynamic model of the Effective Tax Rate (ETR) in the tourism sector. A dynamic model where the lagged endogenous variable ETR has been included as a regressor to identify the dynamic structure of the variable due to the existence of temporal adjustments between the short and long run in ETR payments has been estimated. The empirical analysis based on a panel data set over the 2008-2013 period explores the determinants of the ETR variable by using a Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) estimator controlling for heterogeneity in the tourism sector. The Arellano-Bond system GMM estimator has been used to estimate the model. The study seeks to shed light on the determinants of tax burden in the tourism sector covering the lack of studies on this topic. The findings obtained suggest that the ETR borne is determined by size, financing structure and type of entity. We deem the finding of the existence of non-linear relationships between ETR and size and financing structure relevant.Este artículo presenta un modelo dinámico para el Tipo Impositivo Efectivo (TIE) en el sector turístico. Este modelo dinámico ha sido estimado usando la variable endógena retardada TIE como regresor para identificar la estructura dinámica de dicha variable, debido a la existencia de ajustes entre el corto y largo plazo en los pagos del TIE. El análisis empírico basado en datos de panel en el periodo 2008-2013 explora los determinantes de la variable TIE utilizándose el estimador del Método Generalizado de Momentos (GMM) controlando la heterogeneidad en el sector turístico. El estimador de Arellano-Bond ha sido utilizado para estimar el modelo. Este estudio busca arrojar luz sobre los determinantes de las cargas impositivas en el sector turístico debido a la escasez de estudios en esta materia. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que el TIE se encuentra determinado por el tamaño, la estructura financiera y el tipo de empresa. Igualmente consideramos relevante el hallazgo de relaciones no lineales entre el TIE y el tamaño y la estructura de financiación

Corporate Finance in Europe from 1986 to 1996

After publishing its first report in September 1997, the Own Funds Working Group, in agreement with the European Committee of Central Balance Sheet Offices, decided to continue its work in order to gain a better understanding of the differences in financing structures between countries. To this end, the Group decided firstly to broaden the review period from 1986 to 1996. The compilation of figures and ratios over a longer period is advantageous in a number of ways. It not only enables an assessment of trends in financing structures in each country, but also of any changes in the ranking of the different countries involved. Furthermore, it gives an insight into the influence of cyclical and structural factors on this ranking. The Group also set itself the objective of not only taking a closer look at the influence of institutional factors The study was based, as the previous study, on incorporated companies (partnerships and sole proprietorships are therefore excluded) of the manufacturing industry, which is uniformly defined across all the countries. Once again, five size brackets according to turnover expressed in euros are analyzed. The size-based approach is essential because the aggregate values conceal the diversity of the situations in the various countries, especially in Germany where the results are strongly influenced by large firms. The two statistical parameters used are the weighted mean and the median. Moreover, to gain a better understanding of the influence of financing needs, assets have been broken down into their main items. As previously, efforts have been made to align methodologies so that the analyses cover variables that are as homogenous as possible from country to country.corporate finance, capital structure, europe, financial systme, credit, bankrutcy

Transition to IFRS and value relevance in a small but developed market: A look at Greek evidence

We examine the value relevance of accounting fundamentals after the mandatory transition to IFRS in Greece. We find no significant change in the value relevance of book value of equity and earnings between the 2004 pre IFRS and 2005 post IFRS periods and conclude that the accounting framework is not in itself sufficient for changing market participants' perception about value relevance of accounting information. However, market participants viewed the extra information provided by reconciliations between Greek GAAP and IFRS for 2004 figures as incrementally value relevant. Specifically, this applied to adjustments resulting from standards curtailing previous creative accounting practices and was mainly driven by firms with lower reporting quality (smaller firms and firms with non-‘Big 4' auditors).Value relevance, IFRS implementation, Greece, creative accounting, firm size, audit quality.

IFRS adoption in Europe : the case of Germany

From 2005 onwards, consolidated financial statements of listed European companies will have to comply with IFRS (IAS). Many German companies began adopting those standards in the 1990s, on a voluntary basis, because of their need to access international capital funding. Spanish companies, by contrast, are not permitted to adopt IFRS before 2005. This paper has two purposes: first, it analyses the financial impact of initial IFRS adoption on the statement of changes in equity and the income statement of individual German companies. Second, and taking into account the German experience, it focuses on the expected impacts on a sample of listed Spanish companies in two industrial sectors: chemical-pharmaceutical and fashion. Our analysis of German companies comprised all non-financial DAX groups applying IFRS plus additional listed companies in the two selected industrial sectors identified above. The impact of initial adoption of IFRS on German companies was, both individually and overall, very significant. The analysis suggests that the expected impact on Spanish companies is likely to be significant but to a lesser degree than in respect of the German companies in the study

Equity of European Industriel Corporations from 1991 to 1993

Throughout the Member States of the European Union, economic policy debate has centred on the terms of corporate financing, and in particular on whether the companies of each country have sufficient equity to compete in a single market. Moreover, faced with the risk of corporate insolvency, credit institutions consider a certain equity level to be one of several indicators of creditworthiness. Given this situation and within the framework of the work of the European Committee of Central Balance Sheet Offices, Germany, Austria, Spain, France and Italy and the second General Directorate of the European Commission invited a working group , to compare the f-inancial autonomy of European industriel companies. This study covered the period 1991 to 1993 and examined several issues. Do corporate equity levels vary according to the country ? Do these levels vary according to company size, regardless of the country? Do small companies have a specific position in each country? This study is based on an évaluation of corporate solvency, given that equity is used by companies and their financial partners to control risk exposure. After a brief reminder of the role of equity, the study sums up the research conducted since the publication in 1958 of the paper by Modigliani and Miller and gives a critical analysis of the empirical findings of intenational comparisons. All such research must begin by identifying and solving the financial and statistical methodological problems inherent to comparisons of the financing conditions of different countries. The work conducted gives rise to clear conclusions. - Corporate equity levels vary from country to country. These differences are at least partially related to variations in taxation, bankruptcy regulations, the organization of the banking system, the relationship between banks and companies and the financing practices of each country. - An overall analysis is insufficient and must be complemented by an analysis by company size. - The situation of the companies in each country can not be evaluated without taking into account financial requirements. - In France, regardless of the size of the company, the share of equity in overall financial resources appears larger than in other countries. Moreover, the difference between the equity of small and medium-sized companies and that of large corporations is narrower than in Germany or Austria. It should also be noted that this company classification is relatively recent in France.