La valorisation boursière des états financiers des sociétés françaises : pertinence du référentiel IFRS

Cette étude s'intéresse à la valorisation boursière des états financiers des firmes françaises en vertu du référentiel comptable français et après l'adoption des IFRS. Les résultats sont les suivants : Premièrement, il semble que selon le référentiel français, les comptes du bilan ont un pouvoir explicatif de la valeur boursière bien supérieur aux résultats comptables. Deuxièmement, les accruals anormaux ne semblent être valorisés que selon les IFRS, qu'il s'agisse de l'impact sur la valeur boursière ou sur les rendements boursiers. Enfin, les résultats selon IFRS ont un pouvoir d'anticipation de la performance plus élevé que sous le plan comptable général puisque les rendements boursiers reflètent la performance comptable bien avant l'année de la publication du résultat comptable.gestion des résultats, IFRS, valorisation boursière

First-Time Adoption of IFRS, Managerial Incentives and Value- Relevance: Some French Evidence

International audienceThis paper investigates whether and how managerial incentives influence the decision to elect optional exemptions when first adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It also examines the value-relevance of the mandatory and optional equity adjustments that must be recognized as a result of the first-time adoption of IFRS. Both questions are addressed in the context of the mandatory adoption of IFRS by French firms in 2005. Three major findings emerge from our analyses. First, managerial incentives influence the decision to strategically elect one or more optional exemptions at the transition date. Second, mandatory equity adjustments are more valued than French GAAP equity, suggesting that the first-time adoption of IFRS by French firms is perceived as a signal of an increase in the quality of their financial statements. Third, the value-relevance of optional IFRS equity adjustments depends on whether they result in the disclosure of new information

Welcome to the Gray Zone: Shades of Honesty and Financial Misreporting

We examine the influence of CFO/CEO honesty perceptions on earnings management for the largest publicly traded companies in America, and show that visual cues play a significant role. Specifically, after controlling for incentives (i.e. stock-based compensation, bonuses, leverage) and opportunities (i.e. auditor independence, internal control deficiencies), members of senior management perceived to be less honest engage in higher levels of both accruals management and real earnings management. Interestingly, the beneficial impact of perceived honesty on earnings quality is most pronounced when both the CFO and the CEO are perceived to be honest. Findings are consistent with our conjecture that both the CFO and CEO independently contribute to a firm’s reporting environment

The auditor's assessment and detection of corporate fraud: some Canadian evidence

This study provides evidence on the effectiveness of the risk-based approach to fraud detection in an environment where auditing standards did not force auditors to separately consider misstatements arising from fraud. We find that auditors who consider fraud risk factors, rely on basic analytical and specific audit procedures, and are more experienced, are more likely to detect fraud. Firms that are members of a larger organisation are less likely to detect fraud. Finally, we document that auditor opinions on the implementation of auditing standards on fraud differ depending on whether or not they previously experienced and detected client fraud.auditing standards; audit planning; fraud risk assessment; audit procedures; fraud detection; corporate fraud; Canada.

Value relevance and timeliness of transitional goodwill-impairment losses: Evidence from Canada

Focusing on transitional goodwill-impairment losses (losses) recorded by Canadian firms following the adoption of revised standards on purchased goodwill, we investigate the value relevance and timeliness of mandatory changes in accounting principles accounted for using the retroactive method. We find a negative relationship between reported losses and share price. Such a finding is consistent with investors perceiving losses as being sufficiently reliable measurements of a reduction in the value of goodwill to incorporate them in their valuation assessments. We find also that investors put a higher valuation weight on losses reported by firms that are expected to record a loss. In addition, we show that investors perceive that there are reduced opportunities for managerial discretion when there is a more effective audit committee. Finally, our results show that returns lead losses, i.e., that losses represent a catch-up adjustment to reflect the cumulative effect of using the impairment approach for the first time. Overall, our evidence supports U.S. standard setters' decision, through SFAS 154, to favour enhanced comparability and consistency over the potential costs of frequent restatements. Our results also show that fair-value measurements can be relevant even when the financial statement elements of interest are inherently bound to measurement error and subject to significant managerial discretion. They support the notion that reliability is about faithful representation, not precision.Accounting for goodwill Audit committee Corporate governance Goodwill impairment Mandatory accounting changes

Performance measures quality and value relevance in flow-through organisational structures: the case of Canadian income trusts

Income trusts are rapidly emerging as a key force in Canadian capital markets and their unit market capitalisation exceeded 300 billion Canadian dollars by early 2008. One of the peculiarities of income trusts is that GAAP-derived measures, such as earnings, are replaced by non-GAAP measures, such as distributable income, as performance benchmarks. Hence, the need to pay investors a stable distribution motivates income trust managers to engage in distribution-based earnings management. Two research questions are addressed. Firstly, do income trusts use discretionary accruals to smooth EBITDA and, presumably, cash distributions to unit-holders? Secondly, do investors see through EBITDA smoothing? Our findings document that the EBITDA target deviation influences an income trust's accruals behaviour. Consistent with prior studies in dividend-focused environments, our results also suggest that investors may value positively discretionary accruals if they allow income trusts to maintain their cash distributions.cash distributions; earnings management; income smoothing; income trusts; non-GAAP measures; performance measures; quality; value relevance; organisational structure; Canada; capital markets; discretionary accruals.

On the Relationship between Voluntary Disclosure, Earnings Smoothing and the Value-Relevance of Earnings: The Case of Switzerland

This paper examines whether voluntary disclosure by Swiss firms constrains the use of discretionary accruals to smooth earnings, and explores the effect of voluntary disclosure on the value relevance of earnings. We focus on Swiss firms because Switzerland's financial reporting system provides managers with extensive discretion in corporate disclosure, and there are important variations in the level of information provided in their annual reports. We consider that managers can choose two different ways to voluntarily convey information, either through the quality and quantity of annual report disclosure or, through compliance with International Accounting Standards (IAS)/International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Relying on a simultaneous equations approach, our results suggest that Swiss firms use discretionary accruals to smooth earnings. However, this relation is reduced for firms that voluntarily disclose more information in their annual report or comply with IAS/IFRS or US GAAP. Moreover, we show that discretionary accruals of high disclosers or of firms voluntarily complying with IAS/IFRS or US GAAP receive a lower valuation weight.