Market reaction to IFRS 9 adoption in the United States

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the investors’ reaction to International Financial Reporting Standards 9 (IFRS 9): Financial Instruments adoption in the U.S. capital market. We examine by using companies in the S&P 500 stock market index encompassing the 22 events relating to IFRS 9 process preparation from 2009 to 2014.

The findings indicate that the U.S. capital market positively react to the event which increase the probability of IFRS 9 adoption, although most listed companies in the U.S. market have applied US GAAP as accounting standard for their financial reporting. These results show the convergence benefits in accounting standards of IFRS and US GAAP in the topic of Financial Instruments. The study also indicates the higher positive market reaction for the firms with higher information quality.