To whom are IAS earnings informative? Domestic versus foreign shareholders' perspectives

Abstract

Using a sample from the Helsinki Stock Exchange, this paper analyses the information content of dual disclosures of IAS (International Accounting Standards) and LAS (Local Accounting Standards) earnings. Their information content to foreign and domestic shareholders can be distinguished from each other as the unrestricted shares (available to foreign and domestic investors) and the restricted shares (available to domestic investors only) of the same set of companies were listed separately during 198492. The information content is tested with regressions using market-adjusted stock returns measured from the fifty-week period ending in the week of financial statements release. The overall findings suggest that restating local GAAP earnings according to the IAS helps to meet foreign investors' information needs, but is of limited use to domestic investors.