Earnings Forecast Accuracy

Sammanfattning: Title: Earnings Forecast accuracy; - Are earnings forecasts more accurate in the post IFRS adoption period Seminar date: 2013-05-30 Course: BUSN69 Degree Project - Accounting and Auditing, 15 ECTS credits Authors: Gustaf Bertland and Jens Skönnå Advisor: Kristina Artsberg Key words: earnings, forecasts, accuracy, analysts, IFRS Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the accuracy of earnings forecasts. Methodology: Qualitative & Quantitative study, Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test Theoretical perspectives: The theoretical perspective reflects previous researches that consider behavioral, information symmetry, psychological aspects and rational theories, examines the influence of accounting standards Empirical foundation: The study includes 6 interviews with analysts and statistical tests of earnings forecasts compared to actual earnings. The sample consists of 40 corporations from NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, Large - and Mid Cap markets. The study includes year 2000-2010. Conclusions: We were able to conclude that there were different factors, which contributed to accurate earnings forecasts. We can however not conclude that forecasts accuracy has improved post IFRS adoption hence our empirical and interview results.