IFRS 16 LEASES AND ITS EFFECT ON THE FINANCIAL RESULTS OF IRAQI COMPANIES

Implementation of IFRS 16 Leases has changed the lease accounting principles by removing the operating lease and finance lease distinction under the lessee framework, requiring them to recognize most of their lease obligations on the balance sheet. The objective of the proposed research is to explore the effect of IFRS 16 on key performance and leverage metrics financially and the sectoral focus of the research will be obtained on a leasing-intensive or not leasing-intensive or leasing-light sector. The research design of the present study is longitudinal cross sectoral based on the data of 100 public listed companies in emerging economies that cover a six-year period of 2017-2022 including two years preceding and following the enforcement of IFRS 16. The EBITDA/Revenue, Debt/Equity, ROA, Debt/Assets, and ROE are the financial ratios that were analyzed. Statistical methods involve ratio analysis, a paired sample t-tests, ANOVA, and regression models with controls incorporating sectors. Keywords: IFRS 16, Lease Accounting, Financial Ratios, EBITDA Inflation, Sectoral Analysis, Debt Metrics, ROA, ROE, Accounting Standards, Financial Reporting Comparability