Value relevance of earnings: Evidence from Middle Eastern and North African Countries

Asokan Anandarajan, Iftekhar Hasan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Researchers as well as regulators are increasingly more interested in enhancing their understanding of the factors that influence value relevance of reported earnings in financial statements. In the light of globalization and increased exposure to international accounting practices, a better comprehension of factors contributing to or reducing value relevance of earnings is essential. This paper investigates the value relevance of earnings and its components for a number of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. Additionally, the paper examines how differences in levels of mandated disclosures, source of accounting standards, and legal systems moderate the informativeness of earnings to investors. We find that mandated disclosure and source of accounting standard, (especially non-governmental source) are positively associated with earnings informativeness. Additionally, MENA countries with French civil law and systems have lower value relevance relative to countries in our sample with English and related legal codes. Further, the firms that have adopted international financial reporting standards have higher value relevance than firms in MENA countries which adhere to local standards.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)270-279
Number of pages10
JournalAdvances in Accounting
Volume26
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2010

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Accounting
  • Finance

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