Title: Advancing firms performance in Ghana: does IFRS adoption matter?

Authors: Kingsley Opoku Appiah; Prince Gyimah; Michael Boachie Adom

Addresses: School of Business, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana ' Department of Accounting Studies Education, University of Education, Winneba, Kumasi-Campus, Kumasi, Ghana ' Operation Department, Vision Fund Ghana, Kumasi, Ghana

Abstract: This study examines whether the transition of local GAAP to IFRS affects listed firms in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Using binary logistic regression on the dataset from Ghana, we find that profitability and liquidity reduced during the official adoption fiscal year of IFRS but not, earning management. We also find that growth and leverage increase during financial reportage for the post-adoption period of IFRS. We conclude that the adoption of IFRS leads to more value relevant accounting measures in developing country context. Our study is one of first of its kind to investigate the effect of pre-and-post adoption of IFRS in Ghana using accounting measures, implying the study's finding does not only contribute to the literature, but also policy and practice.

Keywords: IFRS; performance; earnings management; listed firms; Africa; Ghana.

DOI: 10.1504/AJAAF.2020.111730

African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, 2020 Vol.7 No.2, pp.143 - 154

Received: 28 Jun 2019
Accepted: 27 May 2020
Published online: 11 Dec 2020 *

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