Strong Impact Of Comprehensive Income On European Groups Listed In American Markets

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of Comprehensive Income on Net Income according to SFAS 130 issued by FASB for a sample of 136 corporate groups on the European continent listed in NYSE and NASDAQ for the period 1999-2004, taking as a reference the information contained in the reconciliation with US GAAP when they presented their accounts to the SEC. We have detected noticeable extreme values and outliers and, on average, marked negative effects on the groups considering the analysis detailed by size and industries, essentially motivated by the stock-exchange crisis of the early 2000's and by unfavorable exchange rates, particularly between the Euro and the U.S. dollar. All of this reveals the greater connection of Comprehensive Income with the reality of the markets than Net Income, which presumes that SFAS 130 issued by the FASB contributes to the increase of the relevance of the financial information in the performance area.