Decrease in the Value Relevance of Accounting Information in Electric Distributors after the Brazilian IFRS adoption

Abstract Purpose: The present study evaluated whether there were reductions in the relevance of the accounting information of Brazilian energy distributors in the post-IFRS period. Design/methodology/approach: The rationale for such a conjecture stems from the fact that after the adoption of international accounting standards, energy distributors were unable to register regulatory assets and liabilities concerning their activities. Besides, the same hypothesis was also evaluated for Canadian electricity incumbents. The inclusion of the Canadian companies in this study was the result of the permission given by the IASB, through IFRS 14, so that adopters of international standards from 2015, could continue to register the regulatory items. Findings: Using a value relevance model it was possible to conclude that there was a reduction in the relevance of the accounting information in the Brazilian case and that this decrease is very potentially related to the write-off of regulatory assets after IFRS. It was also observed that the same effect did not occur in the Canadian companies after the adoption of this normative set. It was also verified that before the IFRS, both the regulatory assets of Brazilian companies and of Canadian firms, were from the statistical perspective also incorporated into the market value of the companies analyzed, denoting similar behavior on the part of investors. Originality/value: That is, although the economies of these jurisdictions are distinct, investors incorporated such accounting assets into stock prices because they could potentially verify realization rates on such items. Thus, it is concluded that the adoption of international standards did not benefit Brazilian energy distributors by distancing the book value from their market value.

摘要

## 研究目的
本研究旨在评估巴西能源分销商的会计信息相关性在采用国际财务报告准则（International Financial Reporting Standards，IFRS）后是否出现下滑。

## 研究设计/方法与思路
该猜想的理论逻辑源于：采用国际会计准则后，能源分销商无法再就其经营活动确认监管资产与监管负债。此外，本研究同时针对加拿大电力在位运营商验证了同一假设。将加拿大企业纳入样本的缘由是国际会计准则理事会（International Accounting Standards Board，IASB）通过《国际财务报告准则第14号（IFRS 14）》给予许可，允许2015年起采用国际准则的主体继续确认监管类项目。

## 研究结果
通过运用价值相关性模型（value relevance model），本研究得以得出如下结论：巴西样本的会计信息相关性出现了下降，且该降幅极有可能与国际财务报告准则实施后监管资产的核销相关。同时研究发现，采用该准则体系后加拿大企业并未出现同等效应。此外研究验证，在采用国际财务报告准则之前，巴西与加拿大企业的监管资产均从统计学层面被纳入所分析企业的市场价值，表明两地投资者的行为具有相似性。

## 研究创新性与价值
换言之，尽管两地司法管辖区的经济环境存在差异，但投资者仍将这类会计资产纳入股票定价，因为他们能够核实此类项目的实现率。由此可以得出结论：采用国际准则并未使巴西能源分销商获益，反而拉大了其账面价值与市场价值之间的差距。