The Impact of International Financial Reporting Standards on Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from Iraq

Abstract

Prior studies provide mixed evidence on whether the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) deters or contributes to greater financial reporting quality. Thus, this research investigates how the transition affects financial reporting quality. This study measures financial reporting quality by earnings management and the value relevance of earnings. Using a sample of listed firms on the Iraq Stock Exchange during 2015–2019, the current study indicates no significant relationship between the transition to IFRS and earnings management. Further, the transition to IFRS positively affects the value relevance of earnings. Thus, collectively, the impact of the transition to IFRS is conditional to the proxies of financial reporting quality. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence regarding the impact of IFRS on financial reporting in an under-studied emerging market. This paper has important implications for regulators, standard setters, listed firms, and other stockholders. It shows that the transition to IFRS has positive effects even in firms from developing countries.