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The objective of the present study is to examine whether the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) increases financial information quality. The IFRS brings about substantial changes in accounting standards. One of the prominent features of the system is that it results in the production of financial information of higher quality. Most extant studies in this area are performed at firm-level. The present study, on the other hand, examines the impact of IFRS adoption at the country-level. Environmental determinism theory states that accounting is a function of environmental variables, such as ownership structure, information environment and capital market condition. Therefore, the impact of IFRS adoption could be different across different countries. The present study addresses the existing lack of research that compares the outcomes of IFRS adoption between countries. Besides comparing the quality of financial information before and after the adoption of IFRS, the present study also compares the effects of IFRS adoption between countries with different accounting bases prior to the adoption. The results show that financial information quality, measured by five indicators, improves after IFRS adoption; and that the impact is more prevalent in a rules-based country compared to a principles-based country. Keywords: IFRS; information quality; Malaysia; the Philippines ABSTRAK Matlamat kajian ini adalah untuk melihat sama ada penggunaan International Financial Reporting standards (IFRS) dapat meningkatkan kualiti maklumat kewangan. Terdapat perubahan ketara terhadap piawaian perakaunan berikutan peralihan kepada IFRS. Antara ciri IFRS yang sering diketengahkan adalah ia memungkinkan penghasilan maklumat kewangan yang lebih tinggi kualitinya. Berbeza dengan kajian lepas yang melihat kesan IFRS pada peringkat firma, kajian ini mengkaji kesan IFRS di peringkat negara. Menurut teori penetapan persekitaran, perakaunan dipengaruhi oleh faktor persekitaran seperti struktur pemilikan, persekitaran maklumat dan keadaan pasaran modal. Berdasarkan teori ini, kesan peralihan kepada IFRS mungkin berbeza antara negara. Kekurangan kajian lepas yang mengkaji di peringkat negara mendorong kajian ini untuk dijalankan. Di samping melihat perbezaan dalam kualiti maklumat kewangan sebelum dan selepas penggunaan IFRS, kajian ini turut meneliti dan membandingkan kesannya antara dua buah negara yang mengguna pakai dua asas piawaian perakaunan yang berbeza sebelum penggunaan IFRS. Hasil kajian menunjukkan kualiti maklumat kewangan meningkat selepas penggunaan IFRS. Keputusan ujian juga menunjukkan bahawa peningkatan kualiti lebih ketara bagi negara yang berubah dari asas berdasarkan peraturan dalam penyediaan piawaian perakaunan ke IFRS. Kata kunci: IFRS; kualiti maklumat; Malaysia; Filipina
Rad et al. (Tue,) studied this question.