Is accounting information (Earning-related) valua-relevant in the emerging Vietnamese stock market?
Abstract
This study investigates if accounting information (earnings-related) based on Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VAS) in the Vietnamese stock market is perceived by domestic investors to be value-relevant. The paper is motivated by proofs of value relevance literature existing in more developed markets such as the U.S. stock market and by the recent improvements in accounting standards and the Vietnamese stock market. To confirm the results of previous findings on the existence of value relevance, available market data from a sample of companies listed in Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2014 was used according to the return model and the price model. In particular, two research questions are addressed. First, accounting information (earnings-related) is found to be value-relevant in the Vietnamese market based on both the time-series and pooled cross-section regressions. Second, with respect to two factors including (1) positive versus negative earnings and (2) firm size, the value relevance is further examined to see if it varies in a predictable manner with those factors. Although Vietnamese stock market is young and accounting and financial reporting is perceived to be insufficient in the country, the findings of this paper are collectively documented to show that value relevance do exist in the market. Moreover, the price model yields much better statistical outcomes than the return model, explaining approximately 80% of the cross-sectional variations in annual returns of stocks, compared to only about 7% as explained by the price model. Furthermore, accounting information is more value relevant with respect to firms reporting positive earnings than those reporting negative earnings. In the same way, accounting information is more value relevant with respect to firms with below-median market values than those with above-median market values.