The main objective of this thesis is to study the effect of the mandatory adoption of IFRS on the accounting quality. Empirical tests have focused on two panels, the first consists of 14 European countries adopting IFRS and the second is composed of eight others non-adopters of IFRS. Both panels were divided according to their institutional features: the force of law, the degree of incentive for financial reporting and the differences between local GAAP and IFRS. The results of empirical tests indicate that the adoption of IFRS has had a positive effect on the informational relevance of accounting numbers on the compared institutional groups. Conversely, empirical tests show an increase in earnings management after the adoption of IFRS. Finally, the results of tests on the quality of earnings attributes are mixed and differ depending on institutional factors.
