Global Comparability of Financial Reporting Under Ifrs: Does Comparability Enhance Value Relevance of Earnings Across Countries?

The globalization of financial markets worldwide has progressively pushed toward simultaneous globalization of accounting information. Thus, during the last 50 years, categories of preparers, users, and regulators have devoted their efforts to support the global comparability of financial reporting aiming at favoring the comparison of corporates’ financial performances at a cross-country level. In the same vein, IASB, national standard setters, and jurisdictions have participated in and given momentum to this process. At the same time, academic research has followed this process and tried to build a theoretical framework to address the related issues, to assess the impact on preparers, users, and regulators, while defining hindrances and obstacles to the comparability of financial reporting especially in an IFRS environment.

In this context, this book reviews research studies on the comparability of financial reporting at a global level as well as highlights empirical analyses that demonstrate the extent to which global comparability has been achieved, and how it enhances value relevance of earnings across countries. It also looks at the cross-country investors’ perspectives by shaping the empirical analysis to provide further insights on the role of the ＂Big Four＂ auditing services in enhancing the comparability of earnings. The book provides an original contribution to the current debate about the comparability of financial reporting under IFRS and will be useful for researchers in the field.

Francesco De Luca is Full Professor of International Accounting and Financial Reporting at the University ＂G. d’Annunzio＂ of Chieti-Pescara (Italy), where he is also Head elect of the Department of Management and Business Administration. Between 2012 and 2017, he spent several periods as a visiting scholar at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (USA). He is currently a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management, and of the Journal of Governance and Regulation. He is also a fellow of the American Accounting Association, European Accounting Association, and member of the Board of the Società Italiana dei Docenti di Ragioneria e di Economia Aziendale (SIDREA). He has (co)authored articles on international accounting standards convergence, non-financial information, venturing and start-up finance, and financial distress analysis.

Ho-Tan-Phat Phan received his PhD from the University ＂G. d’Annunzio＂ of Chieti-Pescara (Italy) in 2021. He obtained his BSM degree from President University in Indonesia, and later, he obtained his MSc in risk and risk management from the University of Florence in Italy. He has been visiting scholar for one year at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (USA). His research interests focus on corporate reporting, financial and non-financial information, and corporate valuation.