Header image

Industry differences in the value relevance of accounting information: Australian evidence

Tracks
Gallery 1
Tuesday, July 2, 2024
10:05 AM - 10:20 AM

Presenter

Agenda Item Image
Assoc Prof Warrick van Zyl
Associate Professor
University of Western Australia

Industry differences in the value relevance of accounting information: Australian evidence

Abstract

We compare the value relevance of firm-level net income and book value of equity measures in Australia across all industries between 2010 and 2018. We use summary measures of accounting information to indicate the usefulness of the more detailed data reported in the companys income statement and the balance sheet. Our data is for all companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in the period, which we rebalance to adjust for the dominance of the mining industry in the Australian market. Our results show that the value relevance of accounting information has varied over the period, being lower between 2010 and 2015, and higher between 2015 and 2018. At the industry level, explanatory power over the period varies from 30.5% for Technology companies to 77.7% for financial companies. Overall we find that book value of equity is value relevant across industries, whereas earnings has more limited value relevance in particular industries only. When we exclude loss-making firms, book value of equity (earnings) contributes less (additional) explanatory power, whereas the main results are robust to the exclusion of the mining sector.

Biography

Warrick is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia (UWA). He is the Director of External Engagement for the Business School and teaches accounting on the MBA programme. His research interests revolve around accounting standards and particular areas of interest include financial instruments, share-based payments, earnings quality, extractive industries, executive remuneration and non-GAAP reporting measures. He has over 25 years of accounting and management experience covering a broad range of sectors and roles. This includes positions at EY, a South African investment bank, the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, a start-up training business, etc. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has a PhD in Accounting from the University of Cape Town.

Chair

Zhongtian Li
Senior Lecturer
The University Of Newcastle, Australia

loading