THE EFFECT OF IFRS ENFORCEMENT FACTORS ON ANALYSTS’ EARNINGS FORECASTS ACCURACY

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of IFRS mandatory adoption by French companies on analysts’ earnings forecast accuracy. In addition, we consider the impact of corporate governance mechanisms, as IFRS enforcement factors, on earnings forecasts. Using a sample of 98 companies over the period from 2003 to 2007, our results show increased forecast accuracy after the mandatory adoption of IFRS. We also find that the independence, the international competency and the efficiency of the board members, the board size, and the quality of external audit are important factors for the implementation of IFRS and, these factors improve earnings forecast accuracy.