The Internationalization and Voluntary Adoption of International Accounting Standards by Japanese MNEs

This study investigates the relationship between the degree of a company’s internationalization and the voluntary adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) based on an analysis of Japanese multinational enterprises (MNEs). Our research is based on a unique setting, namely, the co-existence of voluntary IFRS and US GAAP, which began in Japanese corporations after March 2010. We find as follows. First, voluntary IFRS and US GAAP adoption is higher in Japanese MNEs with a higher internationalization degree. Second, greater foreign shareholding of Japanese MNEs would result in voluntary US GAAP adoption rather than that of IFRS. This result implies that foreign shareholders prefer US GAAP adoption over IFRS adoption or Japanese GAAP. Under a semi-globalization perspective, Japanese MNEs tend to have a US region-specific approach. This finding is interpreted as follows: foreign shareholders with shareholder-oriented logics stress the compatibility of financial reporting of MNEs with a US region-specific approach. Our study also provides new insight into international accounting standards of MNEs under stakeholder-oriented corporate governance. Corporate governance deviation, such as US GAAP adoption, is caused by greater presence of foreign shareholders with shareholder-oriented logics.