Value relevance of accounting : emphasis on quarterly earnings reports in Norway

Abstract

In this thesis we study the value relevance of accounting information on the Oslo Stock Exchange. We address two questions; 1) are quarterly earnings reports value relevant and 2) are quarterly earnings more value relevant than annual earnings. This is studied over the ten year period 2002-2011 which covers the period after quarterly reporting became mandatory. Our findings indicate that quarterly earnings in fact are value relevant. Further, a return regressions on quarterly earnings figures yields a higher explanatory power (R2 = 0.1234) than for the traditional regression of return on annual earnings (R2 = 0.1074). The results found indicate that timely reporting is important and indeed relevant.