Real economic activity and accounting information in Spanish construction and real estate firms

The aim of this work is to determine whether the accounting information provided by construction and real estate firms in Spain reflects the real economic activity, during upswings and downturns. A relationship is found between economic conditions and financial reporting in a continental European country such as Spain. Although there is a relationship between real housing price growth and financial accounting measures, real estate companies seem to show an artificial position, since they only present a relationship with Return on Assets (ROA) based on low quality income (accruals). Therefore, a different financial position influences a different behaviour in these two similar sectors. In fact, some signs alerting of possible risk in real estate firms are shown. (C) 2014 ASEPUC. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.