The impact of fair value accounting on firms’ performance and pension assets

My dissertation comprises of two essays: 1) The Effects of Fair Value Measurements (IFRS 13) on Operating Performance and Market Performance, and on Value Relevance of Firms across European Countries; 2) The Disclosure of Fair Value Pension Asset under SFAS No.158, Pension Assumptions, and Earnings Manipulation. Fair value accounting has been gained a spotlight over years. My first essay focuses on Fair Value measurements (IFRS13), which provides a single source for all fair value measurements, and clarifies the definition of fair value and enhance the disclosures. I examine the effect of IFRS 13 fair value on operating performance, the market reaction to the key event of the announcement date of IFRS 13 adoption, and the effect on value relevance in the context of IFRS 13 adoption by a large sample of five countries in European Union: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom from 2010 to 2014. Evidences from the analyses of the models revealed that the operating performance overally decreased after IFRS 13 adoption in France and Germany but increased in Italy, Spain and United Kingdom based on some ratios to evaluate the operating performance. Firms with higher ROA in pre-IFRS 13 might report more consecutive earnings after IFRS 13 adoption than firms with lower ROA in pre-IFRS 13. Market reaction was tested on the key event of IFRS 13 adoption: the announcement date of IFRS 13. The results of the event study indicate that the cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) are negatively associated with the release date of IFRS 13 adoption, suggesting that European markets’ reaction has been somewhat negative to IFRS 13.The adjustment to earnings per share model suggests mixed evidence of a increase in value relevance. In summary, European market may perceive IFRS 13 as an important in financial reporting or a reduction in the formation asymmetry and these results have implications for investors, auditors, and educators. In September 2006, Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (SFAS) No.158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans, required firms to disclose and recognize the full funded status of defined benefit pension plans in the balance sheet instead of only in the footnote. Comparing with recognition, there are limited researches about the effect of the disclosure of fair value pension assets on the expected rate of return (ERR). Therefore, my second essay examines the association between the disclosure of fair value pension plan assets under SFAS No.158 and ERR. Empirical results support that firms with the Level-3 fair value of pension assets are more like to inflate ERR and are more like to meet ERR through the actual rate of return (ARR) of the Level-3 fair value of pension assets. In addition, I explore the relationship between the disclosure of fair value pension plan assets and earnings target through ERR management. The results document that firms with the Level-3 fair value pension asset more like to achieve earnings target when they marginally fall short of earnings expectations. Such disclosures could improve the efficient use of the information by market participantsPh.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Shaofeng Zhen