Most of the arguments in favor of IFRS adoption focus on the effects on capital markets and
investors. One argument is that the adoption of IFRS improves financial reporting to outside
investors. To support this argument, proponents point out that IFRS are more capital market
A related argument is that IFRS reduce the amount of reporting discretion relative to many
local GAAP and, in particular, compel firms toward the bottom of the quality spectrum to improve
their financial reporting. Consistent with this argument, Ewert and Wagenhofer 2005 show that
tightening the accounting standards can reduce the level of earnings management and improve
reporting quality. However, as discussed earlier, reducing the amount of reporting discretion also
makes it harder for managers to convey their private information through the financial statements.
Thus, the effect of changes in discretion on reporting quality is a priori not obvious.
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