Financial decision making and the adoption of IFRSs: evidence from greek listed firms

Abstract

The impact of the application of IFRSs to the accounting ratios and financial decision making models and systems has been mostly ignored in the current literature. As the changes in the accounting standards can lead to different values for the accounting ratios, and therefore to different information and, possibly, to different decisions, this issue can be very important for financial analysts and financial decision makers. This study aims to examine the differences of the disclosed financial information, in the form of accounting ratios, derived from the companies’ Financial Statements prepared in conformity with Greek – Local General Accepted Accounting Principles (Greek - GAAP), or in conformity with IFRSs. The sample used, includes all the manufacturing firms listed in Athens Stock Exchange at 2005. A variety of financial decision models available in the literature are employed in order to investigate the differences in the decisions arising from the use of IFRSs. The differences in the information and the decisions are presented and analysed and the results are discussed thoroughly.

JEL Classifications: M40, M41