Earnings Conservatism in Pre- and Post- IFRS Periods in Turkey: Panel Data Evidence on the Firm Specific Factors

In order to increase the usefulness and quality of financial reporting, there is a move to IFRS globally. Sharing similar motivations with the rest of the world, since 2005 all publicly traded companies in Turkey have been preparing their financial statements according to International Accounting/Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Considering the need for understanding the economic consequences of harmonization, we investigate the impact of IFRS adoption on the earnings conservatism as a dimension of reporting quality in Turkey. The results of the study show that, IFRS adoption increased both timeliness and earnings conservatism (asymmetric timeliness), the impact is stronger for financial firms, for firms having lower debt levels, and for smaller firms.