The impact of adopting IFRS on profitability and stock performance in listed firms at Abu Dhabi and Dubai stock exchanges

This study aimed to investigate the main impact of adopting the International Financial Report Standards (IFRSs) on the users of financial reports in both the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and the Abu Dhabi stock exchange (ADX). The study has also examined the impact of adopting the ·IFRS on profitability of firms and stock performance in the two stock markets. In addition, the study has investigated the different challenges that adopting the IFRS had in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets following the compulsory adoption of IFRS and whether the implementation of IFRS would have different impacts on the DFM from those in the ADX. One of the most important developments in the literature related to accounting and finance at the beginning of this century is concerned with the compulsory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in Europe. With the introduction of IFRSs, there is the promise of the provision of financial statements that are more accurate and transparent and, therefore, the expectation of more value-relevance to investors when compared to local GAAP. Following the announcement that IFRSs were to be adopted by listed firms in the European Union in 2005, the accounting systems in developing countries have been affected, with countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAB), also announcing their desire to adopt the IFRS. However, as the nature of the business environment in the UAE is significantly different from that in western countries, serious argument arose between the users of financial reports in the UAB over whether the adoption of IFRSs was appropriate for their financial statements. The study has used two main methods to collect and analyse the primary data. Firstly, questionnaires were used to gauge how the preparers and users of financial reports view the adoption of IFRSs, in both DFM and ADX, and how this transition to IFRSs has affected their decision making. SPSS was used to analyse the collected data of the questionnaires using different tests such as t-test, ANOV A test, and Correlation test. Secondly, this study used the secondary data analysis to investigate the primary effects of adopting IFRS upon share performance and profitability of listed firms in the two stock exchanges. For the second data collection method, several multiple regression models were used based on the Ohlson and modified Ohlson models. The main findings of the study from the questionnaire indicate that most of users of the financial reports were in favour of the adoption of IFRSs in the UAB, however many of the users argued that the transition to IFRSs ought to be given careful consideration as it had negative effects on the accounting system of companies and raised the issue of lack of readiness and lack of competence of employees who are ill prepared for IFRSs. The findings of the questionnaire have also showed that the preparers at the banking sector were more satisfied with the adoption of IFRSs than was the case in other sectors. The results from the analysis of secondary data showed that the adoption of IFRSs had value-relevance for both the DFM and the ADX, with the greater relative impact being at the former. In addition, the analysis of results showed that the adoption of IFRSs had an impact on some financial indicators and this impact was higher in the ADX than it was in the DFM. The analysis also indicated that the adoption of IFRSs had a great impact on the trading volume of shares in both of the stock markets, with the impact being significantly higher in the ADX. In conclusion, as the main focus of the study was to examine the challenges and the impact of the recent adoption of IFRSs in one of the countries of the Middle East, this study has made a contribution to the literature on value-relevance in terms of stock performance and financial indicators. It has also shed light on an area of research which has been overlooked particularly in the Middle East.