We examine whether accounting quality improvements around voluntary International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption can be attributed to the change in accounting standards per se. Following the mandatory adoption of IFRS in many regions of the world, much attention is being given to the association between accounting standards and accounting quality.

Some prior studies document accounting quality improvements or favorable economic consequences around voluntary IFRS adoption. Yet, the extent to which we could expect the same improvement for firms forced to adopt remains an open question. By examining this question, we provide evidence on whether accounting standard regulations improve information in capital markets.