Purpose

Prior literature investigating the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) finds that managerial incentives, capital market institutions and accounting standards interact to endogenously determine accounting outcomes. In this paper, we investigate the impact of changing from local GAAP to IFRS in 2012 on earnings management by public firms in Mexico. Given the institutional environment and managerial incentives in Mexico, there is not a clear theoretical prediction for the impact of Mexico's adoption of IFRS on earnings management. Thus, it is an empirical question whether a change in accounting standards had any effect on earnings management.

Design/methodology/approach

We use three measures of earnings smoothing and one measure of upwards earnings management. Logistic regression analysis along with t-tests across two time periods, pre-IFRS (2009–2011) and post-IFRS (2013–2015) are used to determine if there is a significant change in the earnings management of Mexican firms, and if this change is different for companies cross-listed in the US and companies listed only in the Bolsa.

Findings

We hypothesize and find that adopting IFRS is associated with lower earnings management via earnings smoothing in Mexico, and the reduction is greater for firms cross-listed in the United States. Our results support the contention that strong institutions and enforcement aid in the implementation of new accounting standards.

Originality/value

First, we contribute to the literature on the adoption of IFRS around the world. The consensus in the literature is that the impact of IFRS on financial reporting is country-specific. To our knowledge, we are the first to conduct such research on Mexico. Second, our findings indicate that IFRS adoption is associated with a reduction in earnings management through income smoothing by firms in Mexico. This contributes to a small but growing body of literature documenting consequences of improvements in Mexican capital markets. Results of research in this area provide important insights to capital market participants and regulators in Mexico.

中文翻译：

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国际财务报告准则对盈余管理的影响：来自墨西哥的证据

目的

调查采用国际财务报告准则 (IFRS) 的先前文献发现，管理激励、资本市场机构和会计准则相互作用以内生地决定会计结果。在本文中，我们调查了 2012 年从当地 GAAP 更改为 IFRS 对墨西哥上市公司盈余管理的影响。鉴于墨西哥的制度环境和管理激励措施，墨西哥采用 IFRS 对盈余管理的影响尚无明确的理论预测。因此，会计准则的变化是否对盈余管理产生影响是一个实证问题。

设计/方法/方法

我们使用三种盈余平滑指标和一种向上盈余管理指标。使用IFRS 前（2009-2011 年）和 IFRS 后（2013-2015 年）两个时间段的逻辑回归分析和t检验来确定墨西哥公司的盈余管理是否发生重大变化，以及是否对于在美国交叉上市的公司和仅在Bolsa上市的公司，这种变化是不同的。

发现

我们假设并发现在墨西哥采用 IFRS 与通过盈余平滑降低盈余管理有关，而在美国交叉上市的公司的降低幅度更大。我们的结果支持强有力的制度和执法有助于实施新会计准则的论点。

原创性/价值

首先，我们为全球采用 IFRS 的文献做出贡献。文献中的共识是，国际财务报告准则对财务报告的影响因国家而异。据我们所知，我们是第一个对墨西哥进行此类研究的人。其次，我们的研究结果表明，采用 IFRS 与墨西哥公司通过收入平滑导致的盈余管理减少有关。这促成了少量但不断增长的文献记录墨西哥资本市场改善的后果。该领域的研究结果为墨西哥的资本市场参与者和监管机构提供了重要的见解。