FOREIGN INVESTMENT
Will global adoption of IFRS increase the amount of investments in foreign businesses? According to research published in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, the effect will be small, largely due to “home bias.”
Prior research reveals that investors perceive a higher risk associated with foreign investments due to numerous factors, including differences in financial accounting standards, uncertainty about financial statement quality, and a lack of familiarity with anticipated future cash flows. Home bias is the idea that shareholders favor domestic over foreign investments, preferring the certainty and familiarity of financial information available from domestic firms. In addition, investors feel they have a greater understanding of domestic financial reporting, which enhances their decision making.
Authors Messod Beneish and Teri Lombardi Yohn examined prior research related to home bias to predict the effect of IFRS adoption on investments in foreign equities by domestic investors. Their work, published in the November/December 2008 issue of the journal, suggests that the geographic proximity of domestic companies causes investors to perceive a “home court” advantage compared to foreign companies—one that will not be reduced even when IFRS adoption standardizes financial reporting.