IFRS Adoption and Financial Reporting Comparability: A Two-Decade Research Synthesis

This review synthesizes two decades of evidence on whether IFRS adoption improves financial reporting comparability, and under what institutional conditions any gains persist over time (De George et al., ۲۰۱۶). Across the literature, comparability is motivated as a key attribute that can lower information-processing costs and improve cross-firm and cross-country decision usefulness (De Franco et al., ۲۰۱۱). Archival evidence around the EU’s mandatory switch generally finds average improvements in cross-country information comparability, while also emphasizing meaningful cross-sectional variation (Yip & Young, ۲۰۱۲). A recurring theme is that IFRS adoption effects are not mechanical and depend on firms’ reporting incentives and country-level institutions that shape implementation quality (Daske et al., ۲۰۰۸). Studies that isolate comparability channels show that improved comparability can translate into capital-market benefits, including a more informative environment and reduced frictions (Brochet et al., ۲۰۱۳). At the same time, research indicates that enforcement and monitoring changes can be first-order drivers of observed market outcomes commonly attributed to IFRS adoption (Christensen et al., ۲۰۱۳). Evidence on reporting quality and managerial discretion remains mixed, suggesting that IFRS can coincide with better outcomes for some settings while leaving room for opportunistic reporting in others (Ahmed et al., ۲۰۱۳). Overall, the synthesis highlights that comparability gains are more likely when compliance incentives are strong and when institutional complements support consistent application across firms and countries (Cascino & Gassen, ۲۰۱۵).

کلیدواژه ها:

IFRS adoption ، financial reporting comparability ، accounting harmonization ، enforcement and institutions