K－IFRS 도입을 위한 준비는 회계품질 향상에 기여했는가? ：감사인의 K－IFRS 도입 컨설팅서비스의 장기 효과를 중심으로

[Purpose] Most of countries and companies around the world have adopted IFRS and are expected to have spent large amount of preparation costs. Nevertheless, little has yet been discussed about the appropriateness of and the estimates of such costs incurred when adopting IFRS. In response, this study examines whether companies that actively prepared for the introduction of K－IFRS report higher quality of accounting information than those that do not. [Methodology] This study uses Auditor－provided IFRS Consulting Services (AICS) as a proxy of the efforts and costs involved in preparing for the adoption of K－IFRS. Furthermore, current study applies difference－in－difference method to investigate whether the accounting quality of AICS companies after K－IFRS adoption differs from the level of accounting quality of AICS companies prior to K－IFRS adoption and those that did not receive such services. [Findings] The results show that the quality of accounting information of companies with a high understanding of K－IFRS by receiving AICS is higher than others. Specifically, AICS companies show incremental decrease in accruals management after K－IFRS adoption. Moreover, the level of financial statements comparability of AICS companies significantly increased after K－IFRS adoption. However, there is no evidence that the AICS reduces the real earnings management. The findings are consistent in cases of using a two－stage regression method or a propensity score matching to mitigate endogeneity concern. This improvement in accounting quality is further enhanced as it approached to the recent year, confirming that the effectiveness of AICS is constantly accumulating on the accounting quality of the companies. [Policy Implications] This study has conducted a long－term time series investigation to examine the effect of preparing the adoption of K－IFRS on accounting quality. This allows to empirically check whether preparations for the K－IFRS adoption have been properly made, suggesting important implications for regulators that have promoted and supervised the introduction of K－IFRS.