The Influence of Specific Accounting Differences on the Choice between IFRS or Us Gaap

Abstract

Due to the increased competition on capital markets and given the global importance of US markets, IFRS and US GAAP are competing to become the world standards set. Although comparable in many aspects, IFRS and US GAAP still differ in accounting for some transactions. This paper addresses the question whether specific accounting differences between IFRS and US GAAP determine the individual firm's accounting standard preference. The results show that firms prefer that accounting regime that offers them the largest flexibility (i.e. less disclosure or more measurement options) on relevant accounting items (e.g. R&D expenditures). Furthermore, the flexibility in measurement seems to result in accounting numbers that are significantly valued by investors.

Keywords: Accounting differences, Accounting regime choice, Earnings quality