International Accounting Standardisation in Hungarian Practice

The purpose of this study was to measure the differences between national rules and international methods, evaluating and analysing their financial effects on the economic environment. To examine decisions made by companies to adopt IFRS, we created a sample comprising Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) companies that adopted IFRS in Hungary in 2005. The financial data are taken from accounts published on the Budapest Stock Exchange and in the Hungarian Business Information database. In our sample, the firms are classified as either ‘following international standards’ or as ‘using domestic accounting rules’. The results show that larger firms (those with more leverage, higher market capitalisation and substantial exports) were more likely to have adopted international accounting standards. Among these firms, lower profits are declared less frequently—possibly indicative of the quality of earnings management. Companies that had adopted IFRS also provided higher quality and value-relevant accounting information systems.