The mandatory adoption of IFRS on intangibles: upheaval or inertia? The case of France
by Corinne Bessieux-Ollier; Marie Chavent; Vanessa Kuentz; Elisabeth Walliser
International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation (IJAAPE), Vol. 8, No. 1, 2012

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of mandatory adoption of IFRS on intangibles in the French environment where firms were unable to develop 'experience of international standards' before they became mandatory from 1 January 2005. The question we try to answer is the following: did the change of accounting standards concerning the intangibles lead to the upheaval announced in the French accounts or did it rather introduce a phenomenon of inertia on behalf of the firms trying to modify their financial statements at a minimal level? An innovative divisive hierarchical clustering method for firms was applied: the DIV method. The results indicate three clusters of firms, each affected differently by the transition. Only one cluster displays a significant change whereas the others are unaffected by the transition. The inertia phenomenon described by Nobes (2006), arguing that pre-IFRS accounting treatments could survive under IFRS, is thus confirmed.

Online publication date: Wed, 30-Jul-2014

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation (IJAAPE):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

    Username:        Password:         

Forgotten your password?


Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com