IAS were issued by the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). The Inter-nationa! Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the successor body to the IASC, issues International Financial Reporting Standards, which include standards issued not only by the IASB but also by the IASC, some of which have been amended by the IASB. With the exception of an amendment of IAS 19, relating lo the asset ceiling test for employee benefits, our sample period predates the mandatory effective dales of standards issued by the IAS 13. However, the IASB issued several amendments to LAS in December 2003 that firms could choose to implement before the mandatory effective dates.