Items affecting comparability in the financial statement : A quantitative study of the development in Sweden 2005-2010, its causes and the implications for financial statement users

Abstract: The thesis investigates the phenomenon of items affecting comparability and its development in 30 Swedish companies during the period 2005-2010. It further tries to answer the question of how these items affect different groups of financial statements users. Previous research indicates that managers have incentives to take a “big bath” during crises. To answer the questions both a quantitative research by examining 180 annual reports and a qualitative containing three interviews has been conducted. The result reveals an increase of reported items affecting comparability costs during 2008 and 2009. Managers engage in “big bath” accounting as well as accounting for cutting down on the extra capacity that emerges during recessions. The impact this has on the users of financial statements varies, where some find it to be an important issue, others see it as a minor problem. The small sample used made the study fragile for extreme values. In order to make more conclusive conclusions a larger sample would be necessary.