Title: Relevance of intangible in the evaluation of firms: case of the French market

Authors: Wassim Jamoussi, Mohamed Aymen Baklouti, Habib Affes

Addresses: Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management of SFAX-TUNIS, Unit of Gouvernance Search, Route de l'aerodrum Km 3, 5 Sfax, Tunisia. ' Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management of SFAX-TUNIS, Unit of Gouvernance Search, Route de l'aerodrum Km 3, 5 Sfax, Tunisia. ' Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management of SFAX-TUNIS, Unit of Gouvernance Search, Route de l'aerodrum Km 3, 5 Sfax, Tunisia

Abstract: This research aims at explaining the accounting evaluation which is unable to provide the firm|s fair value due to intangibles. It consists of examining the relevance of traditional accounting information and that of intangibles in the firm|s evaluation. To reach to this goal, an empirical study has been carried out on a sample of 391 firms traded on the Paris stock exchange from 2001 to 2004 to explain the effects of intangibles on the firm|s value. The results show a significant decrease in the relevance of the traditional accounting information, based on earning per share, in the firm|s evaluation. However, the intangibles enhance the value of firms enjoying high growth rates. Finally, the results confirm the importance of information pertaining to earning per share and intangibles to the investors| decisions.

Keywords: accounting information relevance; earning per share; intangibles; firm evaluation; fair value; accounting evaluation; Paris stock exchange; France; investor decision making.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMFA.2008.020465

International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting, 2008 Vol.1 No.1, pp.115 - 125

Published online: 27 Sep 2008 *

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