IFRS adoption and credit ratings: A comparative study in emerging and developed markets

Abstract

The study examined the effects of mandatory International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on the quality of accounting information from three perspectives: the ability of accounting figures to explain credit ratings and their evolution after IFRS adoption; the difference in information gains from mandatory IFRS adoption between emerging and developed countries; and the identification of aspects of national governance capable of explaining these information gains. This article differs from the existing literature in three respects: it uses a more comprehensive and heterogeneous sample of emerging and developed countries; it uses the bootstrapping resampling method for a consistent analysis of the results; and it examines the heterogeneity of the effects of IFRS adoption as a function of country-level development and governance characteristics. The study reinforces the relevance of accounting information for analyzing companies’ credit risk and makes new contributions to the literature on the heterogeneity of the effects of IFRS adoption. By using a multi-country sample, the article has potential implications for national and international accounting and finance literature, and is also useful for regulators and international portfolio managers. The analyses were based on the ratings and annual accounting data of 566 companies domiciled in 36 countries over the period from 2005 to 2017, using a bootstrapping resampling method. This article documented that mandatory IFRS adoption increased the ability of accounting data to explain the credit ratings assigned by rating agencies. Moreover, it was found that this relationship is, on average, more pronounced in emerging economies. The analysis also showed a positive relationship between the control of corruption and the information gain associated with IFRS adoption.