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As of January 2005, rule CE 1606/2002 requires all European Union listed firms to use international accounting standards (IAS/IFRS). The purpose of this study is to understand the choice of early adoption of the IAS/IFRS. Using a logistic model, the research identifies the determinants of early adoption on a sample of 106 German and Austrian firms. It also examines whether the IAS/IFRS adoption is a pretext to manipulate accounting figures. The results indicate that size, capital intensiveness, ownership dispersion, and the abnormal growth of total assets and ROE increase the likelihood of early adoption. Further analyses allow inference that the motivation is linked to financing rather than financial statement manipulation.