The Impact of the Convergence to IFRS on the Accounting Quality in Mexico

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the implementation of IFRS in the accounting quality of Mexican non-financial listed firms in both the convergence and adoption phases. I used two accounting quality measures, namely value-relevance and earnings management, in a cross-sectional design, comparing the original and restated accounting reports of 42 non-financial listed firms during the period of 2007 to 2009 and 33 of the same firms in 2010 and 2011. I found a decrease in earnings management that primarily stems from the convergence phase in the years 2008 and 2009. These results are relevant for investors interested in emerging markets as a portfolio diversification strategy and for firms listed in those stock markets. Particularly, an increase in transparency could lead to more tradability of stocks listed in the BMV, as potential foreign investors might see in the financial reports prepared under IFRS a tool that increases not only standardization and comparability, but also reliability of accounting information. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first study that documents the effects of each of the phases (convergence and full adoption) on an IFRS implementation process in emerging markets. In addition to this contribution, my results quantitatively support an explanation of Barth et al. (2008) for the mixed results reported in the IFRS adoption literature.