Segment reporting in Hong Kong listed firms : an empirical assessment of IFRS no.8

IFRS 8 and its counterpart HKFRS 8 supersedes IAS 14 and HKAS 14 in 2006 to upgrade segment information disclosure that is increasingly becoming important financial information in investment decision making. This study attempts to document the quantity and usefulness of segment information disclosure by Hong Kong listed firms as a consequence of implementing HKFRS 8. The study employs the value relevance of accounting information theory as a measure of usefulness of segment disclosure where segmental data are analysed by the portfolio return approach and regression analysis. Purposive sampling method is used to obtain samples from Hong Kong listed firms. The study results indicate that implementation of HKIFRS 8 has not improved the quantity of segment information, but improved the usefulness of segment information disclosed by Hong Kong listed firms. This is because the “management approach” under HKIFRS 8 leads to segment disclosure reflecting the real financial position of firms