International Firm Lobbying and ED 8 Operating Segments

Abstract

Exposure Draft 8 (ED 8) Operating Segments was introduced to replace the revised IAS 14 Segment Reporting and to align segment reporting requirements with their United States counterparts in SFAS 131. ED 8 proposed material changes in the identification, measurement and disclosure of corporate segment information. In response to the ED, there were 182 comment letters from various respondents including firms, professional associations, regulatory authorities and accounting firms. This paper investigates the influence of firm characteristics such as size, performance, and number of segments on firms’ lobbying position choices on ED 8. Results reveal that larger firms were more likely to lobby in favour of ED 8, and firms with two or fewer segments were more likely to lobby against ED 8. It also provides evidence that relatively profitable firms operating in an environment of low competition are less inclined to support ED 8.