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Relative and incremental value relevance of book value and earnings during the global financial crisis

Md Khokan Bepari (School of Business and Law, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia AND Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh)

International Journal of Commerce and Management

ISSN: 1056-9219

Article publication date: 2 November 2015

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the relative and the incremental value relevance of book value and earnings in the Australian market in the context of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis (GFC) and the non-crisis period (NCP).

Design/methodology/approach

Least square regressions are used to examine the research questions. Changes in the coefficient estimates and the relative explanatory power (adjusted R2) of book value (BV) and earnings between the GFC and the NCP are examined.

Findings

The findings suggest that both BV and earnings are value relevant in the Australian market surrounding the GFC. There were structural breaks in the association of BV and earnings with firms’ market value. The value relevance of earnings has increased and that of BV has decreased during the GFC compared to the NCP. During the study period, the explanatory power of earnings was greater than that of the BV.

Research limitations/implications

The single country context examined limits the generalisability of the findings.

Practical implications

The importance of this study lies in its showing the sustained importance of earnings in security valuation even during a period of macroeconomic uncertainty. Australian accounting standards have been shaped by a balance sheet focus. The recent move towards the fair value-based International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has further enhanced the focus on the balance sheet. Nevertheless, the evidence in the present study demonstrates that even for a country with a balance sheet focus, the value relevance of earnings increases during a GFC. Hence, it is the earnings number, rather than the balance sheet, which should receive greater attention from accounting regulators and auditors.

Originality/value

This is the first known study to examine the value relevance of fundamental accounting information, such as BV and earnings, in the context of the 2008-2009 GFC. It extends prior research in the context of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and provides evidence on the impact of a worldwide exogenous shock on the value relevance of BV and earnings from a relatively mature and developed country with different legal, institutional and enforcement backgrounds.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the helpful comments and suggestions made by two reviewers that have improved the paper.

Citation

Bepari, M.K. (2015), "Relative and incremental value relevance of book value and earnings during the global financial crisis", International Journal of Commerce and Management, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 531-556. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCoMA-11-2012-0072

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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