TAbstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS)-based data improve bankruptcy prediction over Australian Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (AGAAP)-based data. In doing so, this paper focuses on intangibles because
conservative accounting rules for intangibles under IFRS required managers to write off substantial
amounts of intangibles previously capitalized and revalued upwards under AGAAP. The focus on
intangibles is also motivated by empirical evidence that financially distressed firms are more likely to
voluntarily capitalize and make upward revaluations of intangibles compared with healthy firms.