Accounting conservatism in the post-IFRS period: Do provisions matter?

Abstract

Accounting conservatism is an important aspect of financial reporting quality. Considering the tradeoff between relevance and reliability of the accounting information, it is argued that the level of conservatism of financial reports is increased by provision items, which are mainly future oriented estimations. Using a sample of 1,225 firm-year observations from Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) between the years 2005-2010, this paper examines the relationship between provisions and conservatism. Overall findings show a positive association between provisions reported under IAS-37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets and both earnings and balance sheet conservatism. This study makes significant contribution to the accounting literature by providing empirical evidence on such associations referring the use of provisions as a proxy for accounting conservatism.