This paper examines the effect of SFAS No. 142 on the informativeness of earnings with two dimensions:(1) the ability of earnings to predict future operating cash flows and (2) earnings persistence. Contrary to the pervasive evidence of opportunistic reporting, we find evidence that the ability of earnings to predict future operating cash flows and earnings persistence has improved after the enactment of SFAS No. 142.
In particular, this improvement is observed on firms with the highest level of discretionary accruals. Overall, the results of this paper contribute to the understanding of the effect of mandatory accounting changes on the properties of earnings and its interaction with managerial discretion.