Impact of IFRS on Accounting Data – Gray Index of Conservatism Applied to Some European Listed Companies
In: Analele ştiinţifice ale Univerşităţii Alexandru Ioan Cuza din Iaşi: Annals of the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iasi. Ştiinţe economice = Economic Sciences Section, Band 60, Heft 2, S. 33-51
ISSN: 2068-8717
Abstract
The Gray index of conservatism (also called index of comparability) is a good instrument to assess differences between two or more sets of accounting standards. We use this index to measure the impact of the compulsory application of IFRS in Europe, in 2005. The sample contains data from almost 600 companies listed on Euronext markets in 2005 (Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, and Paris). The paper analyzes some accounting figures such as equity, net income, leverage, return on equity and return on assets. The results confirm that former Belgian, French, and Portugal GAAP were more conservative than IFRS. In some cases, for all the countries the IFRS numbers seem to be much less conservative.