Accounting standards and investor perception of earnings quality: IAS/IFRS vs. German Gaap

We analyze the earnings quality under the IAS/IFRS and German GAAP by evaluating the earnings management degree in IAS and HGB adopters and by investigating what is the level of uncertainty (reliability) that investors perceive from the earnings announced. Our results show that IAS and HGB adopters do not present any significant differences in earnings management, if we examine the working capital accruals, while IAS/IFRS sub-sample is less engaged in earnings management, considering the total accruals. Moreover, investors recognize IAS/IFRS earnings higher reliable, but the uncertainty level perceived is negatively related with the firm size.