Journal of African Development

The convergence of Indian accounting standards with International Financial Reporting Standards through the adoption of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) represents a major reform in corporate financial reporting, with potential implications for the stability and informativeness of reported earnings. The aim of this study is to examine the level and change in earnings volatility of selected Indian corporates before and after the adoption of Ind AS. Specifically, the objectives are to analyse earnings volatility during the pre-Ind AS period, assess earnings volatility in the post-Ind AS period, and compare volatility across the two accounting regimes. The study adopts a quantitative and comparative research design based on secondary data collected from audited financial statements of selected Indian listed companies. Earnings volatility is measured using standard deviation, and statistical analysis is performed using mean, one-sample t-test, and paired-sample t-test with the help of MS Excel and SPSS. The findings reveal that earnings volatility is statistically significant in both periods and increases significantly after Ind AS adoption, indicating heightened sensitivity of reported earnings under the IFRS-converged framework. The study concludes that while Ind AS adoption leads to higher reported earnings volatility, such volatility reflects enhanced responsiveness of accounting numbers to economic conditions rather than a decline in reporting quality...