Has IFRS Enhanced Accounting Uniformity?

Abstract

I examine the effect of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on the accounting uniformity of financial statements for a sample of firms listed on Euronext. Using Taplin’s (2004) uniformity index, I find that IFRS adoption enhances uniformity of financial statements of firms operating within the same country (national uniformity) and between countries (international uniformity). The change in uniformity is not, however, homogeneous within and across jurisdictions that are subject to different accounting regulations before IFRS adoption. Specifically, those countries whose local GAAP was further from IFRS prior to adoption experience a predictably greater increase in uniformity upon IFRS adoption. I also find that international uniformity is increased most for items where IFRS eliminated divergence with local GAAP and for items where no regulation existed under local GAAP; when IFRS preserved the accounting choice set prescribed under local GAAP, uniformity does not increase.

Keywords: Accounting Uniformity, Local GAAP, IFRS August

JEL Classification: M40, M41, M48