Information quality of IFRS and US-GAAP: a comparison of multiple earnings attributes under IFRS and US-GAAP

This report represents a comparison between the quality of reported earnings under IFRS and US-GAAP. Following the work of Francis et al. (2004), who summarized seven widely used earning attributes in accounting research, this report will determine differences in earning quality between IFRS and US-GAAP reported earnings, based on four of the earning attributes summarized in their article 'Cost of equity and earning attributes'. After discussing the literature on earning attributes a framework will be presented which contains four earning attributes: value relevance, timeliness, persistency and predictability. The fist two attributes are characterized as market-based attributes, while the latter two are characterized as accounting-based attributes. A sample will be used consisting of twenty two firms listed on the DJ Eurostoxx 50, which present their financial reports in compliance with IFRS and reconcile a part of their financial reports to US-GAAP because of listing requirements in the US. The results indicate that IFRS is significantly more value relevant and timelier than US-GAAP with respect to the reported earnings. Concerning the persistency and predictability of the reported earnings, no significant differences are found.