Meta-analysis of IFRS Adoption Effects on Financial Reporting Quality

Adopting the international financial reporting standards during the recent years has aroused abundant empirical researches in respect to the outcomes resulting from such a change in accounting regime around the globe. These studies have been carried out upon various legal origins stemming from different temporal periods and research designs, each followed by variegated results. To acquire comprehensive evidences regarding the real consequences of adopting the international financial reporting standards based on the experiences gained by the countries that have exercised these standards, the present research paper carries out a meta-analysis on the studies dealing with the effects of adopting international financial reporting standards on discretionary accrual items. Based on the analyses run over 107 observations, with an independent sample of 401057 firm-years, results signify that adopting the international financial reporting standards has not, led to the financial reporting improvement and by itself the positive or negative consequences resulting from the acceptation of these standards depend on numerous factors such as the countries’ legal systems and the accounting and auditing enforcement regime practiced in a country.