We believe that our results have several policy implications. First, we document that
IFRS adoption by private companies resulted in increased earnings management, which is
worse among listed companies’ subsidiaries. IFRS were aimed at improving comparability
and relevance of financial reporting.18 These characteristics, while being of critical importance
for outside investors in making economic decisions, might be less critical for private
companies, more bounded to local territory activities and not oriented to market’s sources of
financing. Under this perspective, EU State Members’ decisions to enforce IFRS among private
companies should be carefully considered, especially if firms might perceive that transition
costs outweigh the benefits (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2008).