Value Relevance of Accounting Information in Nigerian Listed Financial Companies

This paper investigates the value relevance of accounting information (book value and earnings) on the market price of shares before and after the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Nigeria. It also examines whether the relevance of accounting information in Nigerian financial companies has decreased or increased over time. It used a judgemental sample of 10 quoted Nigerian Banks for 10 years (2007 – 2016) and the ordinary least square (OLS) regression. The result of the data analysis showed insignificant relationship between book value per share (BVS) and market price per share (MPS) as well as insignificant relationship between earnings per share (EPS) and market price per share (MPS) before (P=0.57 and 0.59 respectively) and after (P=0.76 and 0.54 respectively) the adoption of IFRS in Nigeria. A comparison of the results for the periods before and after adoption, indicates that the book value per share and earnings per share of banks are not more sensitive to share prices under IFRS than under the previous Nigerian SAS. It is recommended that concerted effort is required from the regulatory authorities to ensure full compliance with the IFRS.