The transition to international financial reporting standards in Spain: relevance and timeliness of adjustments

Author： Vázquez-Veira Pascual Garrido-Miralles; Pablo J.

ISSN： 1740-8008

Source： International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Vol.7, Iss.4, 2011-10, pp. : 287-302

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Abstract

Since 2005, firms listed on any European stock market have been required to prepare mandatory consolidated financial statements under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Those groups that adopted IFRS in 2005 were required to present their financial statements at 31 December 2004 under both local accounting rules and international standards, creating two sets of accounts referring to the same activity but using different measurement systems. Our sample consists of listed Spanish firms applying IFRS for the first time. This study focuses on the value relevance and timeliness of the mandatory IFRS adjustments and reconciliations required in the transition from Spanish accounting principles to international standards. Our results indicate that only equity adjustments were relevant to the market, and that this information was included in prices when the reconciliation was published and not before.