管理层权力、大股东掏空对真实盈余管理的影响研究

基于A股上市公司2009-2014年的数据,论文研究了管理层权力、大股东掏空对真实盈余管理的影响。研究结果表明：管理层权力与真实盈余管理正相关;大股东掏空引发其与管理层的合谋,对管理层权力与真实盈余管理的正相关关系起到正向调节作用;同时,管理层权力与真实盈余管理的正相关关系及大股东掏空的正向调节作用在国有企业比非国有企业显著。     

关于股改前后现金股利影响因素的实证研究

对股改前后影响现金股利水平的公司治理变量研究表明,虽然股改矫正了现金股利与增长机会之间的关系,使股改后当存在增长机会时,公司会减少现金股利的发放,但是我国上市公司的现金股利尚未呈现出全流通资本市场上作为降低控股股东与中小股东代理成本工具的现金股利政策应有的特征,突出表现在股改前后影响上市公司现金股利支付水平的股权结构变量并未发生变化,股改前后都存在股权集中度、第一大股东持股比例及第二到第十大股东持股比例与每股现金股利呈显著正相关、而流通(非限售)股比例与每股现金股利呈显著负相关的关系。     

内部控制对股权结构与盈余质量的传导效应

以2007～2009年我国深沪A股上市公司为研究样本,引入中介变量的研究方法,检验并揭示内部控制对股权结构影响盈余质量的中介传导作用。结果发现:第一大股东持股比例越高,内部控制水平越低,盈余质量水平越低;股权制衡能力越高,内部控制水平越高,更利于提高企业的盈余质量;机构投资者持股比例越高,企业的内部控制水平越高,但盈余质量越低。总体看,内部控制对股权结构与盈余质量具有传导效应,但是显著性存在差异,对股权结构中的第一大股东持股比例、机构投资者持股比例与盈余质量的中介传导效应要显著高于对股权制衡能力与盈余质量的中介传导效应。     

盈余质量对会计信息报酬契约有用性的影响及股权特征的交互作用分析

本文以盈余可靠性维度作为盈余质量的替代,检验管理者报酬契约中的会计监督作用是否存在、其受到公司股权特征制约或促进的程度以及对企业未来业绩的影响。研究发现:(1)从整体情况看,上市公司盈余的低可靠性对管理者报酬—会计业绩的敏感性产生显著负向影响,说明盈余质量影响了管理者报酬契约中的会计业绩度量。(2)政府机构直接控制的上市公司控股股东缺乏监督经理人的剩余索取权激励,在管理者报酬契约制定中对盈余质量的评价监督重视不足。(3)第一大股东对董事会的控制增强了盈余可靠性影响管理者报酬—会计业绩敏感性的程度,在一定程度上说明大股东与上市公司之间在监督激励管理者方面的“治理协同效应”。(4)第一大股东与第二大股东之比对盈余可靠性影响报酬—会计业绩的敏感性程度产生削弱的影响。(5)盈余的低质量使管理者现金报酬的激励效果受到制约,在管理者报酬契约中针对会计信息的可靠性进行会计监督,增强了对管理者进行激励的效果。     

大股东与盈余管理程度的实证研究

大股东是公司治理的重要主体,第一大股东的性质和持股比例的不同会对盈余管理行为产生不同的约束力。本文以2003～2005年的上市公司为样本,基于分行业修正的琼斯-现金模型研究了第一大股东的性质及其持股比例与盈余管理程度相关关系。研究结果表明:国有股似乎更能控制盈余管理行为;第一大股东持股比例与盈余管理程度之间呈线非线性关系,从大体上看呈近似U型曲线结构,以40%～60%这个区间的盈余管理程度比较轻也比较稳定。     

股权集中、股权制衡与会计稳健性

运用我国A股上市公司2002～2004年的数据,本文研究上市公司两个股权结构变量——股权集中度与股权制衡度——对会计盈余信息质量特征之一的会计稳健性的影响。研究表明,股权集中度高的上市公司将不利于会计盈余信息质量的提高,少数大股东可能通过及时确认“好消息”以及滞后确认“坏消息”的方式来掩盖对中小股东的“掏空”行为,会计盈余稳健性较低;而股权制衡度较高的上市公司会计盈余就有较高的稳健性,这将有利于抑制少数大股东对会计盈余信息的操纵从而保护中小投资者财富不受侵占。     

大股东控制、财务杠杆与公司价值——国有及民营上市公司治理的比较研究

本文以2002～2004年的上市公司为样本,研究了第一大股东持股比例、财务杠杆与公司价值之间的关系.研究发现,国有控制上市公司与民营控制上市公司公司价值并无显著差异;国有控制上市公司第一大股东持股比例与公司价值呈U形关系,民营控制上市公司第一大股东持股比例与公司价值则呈倒U形关系;国有控制上市公司财务杠杆比率与公司价值负相关,民营控制上市公司财务杠杆比率与公司价值则正相关.其政策含义是,政府应该继续贯彻"抓大放小"的战略方针;监管部门应该关注持股比例较高的民营上市公司第一大股东的资金来源及其行为特征,防止其对公司其他利益相关者的侵害行为;银行贷款应对国有及民营企业一视同仁,银行需要加强对国有控制上市公司贷款的监督.     

股权分置后上市公司大股东如何进行控制权管理

在股权分置改革中，非流通股股东主要的股改方案为送股、权证、缩股．这些方案中以送股方案最为常用．使得非流通股股东持有的股份数有不同程度的减少。从整体上看，我国上市公司的股权集中度仍然较高，绝大部分国企和民营的家族企业仍处于绝对控股的状态。在已实施和拟实施股权分置改革的502家上市公司中．第一大股东处于绝对控股地位（持股比例超过50％）的占到40．8％，而第一大股东的股份超过第二至第四大股东股份总和的上市公司占82．7％。本文所指的大股东．主要是拥有上市公司相对控制权的股东．对价方案使得这些股东的股权有所削弱，而股改后原来的非流通股也可在证券市场上自由流通．使得在公开市场上的收购具有可操作性．     

终极控制股东、金字塔结构与会计稳健性

我国股权大都集中在大股东的手中,终极控制股东普遍采用金字塔股权结构的方式对底层公司实施控制并影响会计稳健性。基于Basu模型,采用2012-2017年深沪两市A股上市公司数据,对终极控制股东产权性质、金字塔股权结构对上市公司会计稳健性进行研究。结果表明：与终极控制股东为非国有的上市公司相比,终极控制股东为国有的上市公司会计稳健性更高;金字塔层级增加导致会计稳健性降低;金字塔层级的增加对于国有控股企业和非国有控股企业会计稳健性的影响存在差异,国有终极控制上市公司的会计稳健性更高。     

股权分置改革、经理薪酬与会计业绩敏感度

本文选取了2002--2006年沪深交易所上市公司会计业绩指标、盈余管理指标与公司高管层年度薪酬数据，对股改前后中国上市公司会计业绩与经理薪酬之间的敏感度变化进行检验，并考察上市公司经理薪酬与盈余管理变量相关关系在股改前后的变化。结果发现，股改后经理行为对会计业绩敏感性增强，公司长期发展的会计业绩变量回归系数及显著性水平显著提高，公司治理机制得到改善。在对股改前后的分组数据进行整体回归后发现，非操纵性应计利润与操纵性应计利润对经理薪酬都存在显著正相关关系，并且股改后的显著性水平较股改前有所提高。净资产指标在经理薪酬契约中的显著性水平在股改后有所下降，公司所有者正在经历由账面价值最大化向市场价值最大化转变的过程。     

The Effect of Accounting Restatements on Earnings Revisions and the Estimated Cost of Capital

This paper examines the effect of accounting restatements on a firm's cost of equity capital. We show that, on average, accounting restatements lead to both decreases in expected future earnings and increases in the firm's cost of equity capital. Depending on the model used, relative percentage increases in the cost of equity capital average between 7 and 19% in the month immediately following a restatement. The relative increase in the cost of capital dissipates as time passes and after controlling for analyst forecast biases, but continues to average between 6 and 15% in the most conservative setting. We also show that restatements initiated by auditors are associated with the largest increase in the cost of capital, and that firms with greater leverage experience greater increases in their cost of capital. Overall, our evidence is consistent with accounting restatements lowering the perceived earnings quality of the firm and increasing investors' required rates of return.     

The association between earnings quality and the cost of equity capital: Evidence from the UK

Empirical evidence that examines the association between earnings quality and the cost of equity supports theoretical work that information risk is a non-diversifiable risk factor. However, the main body of evidence, centred on Francis et al.'s (2004) seminal work, focuses on earnings quality measures that are based on US GAAP. This study extends the analysis of Francis et al. (2004) for a sample of UK listed firms during the period 2005 to 2011. This setting and time period enables us to examine the effect of IFRS based earnings on the pricing of earnings quality and how this relation is influenced by a period of severe macro-economic turbulence as in the case of the recent global financial crisis. We find a significant negative association between each accounting-based earnings quality proxy considered separately and the cost of equity. Our results also indicate that during the financial crisis the relationship between earnings quality and cost of equity becomes more prominent than in the pre-crisis period. Our results also document that investors place more importance on the innate component of accruals quality than on the discretionary component. Our results should be of interest to US standard setters who are considering adopting or converging to IFRS.     

Does Earnings Quality Influence Corporate Social Responsibility Performance? Empirical Evidence of the Causal Link

The study examines the causal links between earnings quality and corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance using a large sample of United States (US) firms from 1992 to 2013. We first find that the association between earnings quality and CSR performance is positive and significant. We then test the flow of causality using Granger's (1969) lead–lag analysis to determine whether changes in earnings quality cause changes in CSR performance or vice versa. Our findings show that changes in earnings quality cause changes in a firm's CSR performance but not vice versa. Further analysis shows that earnings quality reduces the cost of equity capital for firms with higher CSR performance. These findings suggest that one plausible means by which firms with higher earnings quality can maintain better CSR performance is to reduce their cost of equity capital.     

An Empirical Evaluation of Investment Income under the Equity Method of Accounting

This study investigates the valuation implications of equity method earnings among Chinese listed firms, which are often perceived by the Chinese business press of employing the equity method to avoid reported losses. Our results show that firms with declining core earnings are more likely to have equity method investments than firms with increasing core earnings. Also, firms with lower core earnings report higher equity method earnings. Moreover, equity method earnings do not improve earnings persistence but are found to be relevant. Investors act as if they naively fixate on equity method earnings. A portfolio constructed on the basis of core earnings and equity method earnings generates a hedged return of 8%.     

The Effects of International Financial Reporting Standards on the Accounts and Accounting Quality of Australian Firms: A Retrospective Study

We examine the effect of Australian equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the accounts and accounting quality of 1,065 listed firms, relying on retrospective reconciliations between Australian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (AGAAP) and IFRS. We find that IFRS increases total liabilities, decreases equity and more firms have earnings decreases than increases. IFRS earnings and equity are not more value relevant than AGAAP earnings and equity and while adjustments for changes in accounting for provisions and intangibles other than goodwill are value relevant, they weaken associations with market value. Goodwill adjustments improve associations with market value. We also find that the reconciliation note for the earnings adjustments contained no new information.     

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO QUALITY,EARNINGS, DIVIDENDS,FIRM SIZE,LEVERAGE, AND RETURN ON EQUITY

This paper examines the risk-return performance of portfolios formed from S&P quality rankings over the time period 1970–1979. In addition, the risk-return characteristics of the portfolios are compared with performance as measured by fundamental data regarding earnings, dividends, firm size, leverage, and return on equity. The results suggest that the S&P quality rankings are closely correlated to risk as measured by the variability of returns and earnings changes, but the rankings are not correlated with the variability of dividend changes. The quality rankings are not uniformly correlated with mean portfolio returns or mean dividend changes, nor is the relationship between quality and mean earnings changes strong. Finally, quality rankings are related to firm size and return on equity. However, relationships between quality and leverage are discernible only at the extremes.     

Auditor quality effects on the relationship between accruals,cash flows and equity returns: a variance decomposition analysis

In this paper, we examine the relative importance of the cash flow and accruals components of earnings in explaining the variation in UK company equity returns, together with the extent to which these relationships vary by auditor quality. We use a multivariate time-series approach that can be reconciled to a log-linear theoretical valuation model and, unlike the standard linear regression of returns on earnings components, accommodates time-varying discount rates. Based on a decomposition of the variance of equity returns, cash flows and accruals, our results indicate that both cash flow news and accruals news are important drivers of UK equity returns, although cash flows are more influential than accruals. We also find that variation in both earnings components has a more significant effect on returns for clients of large auditors. Finally, our results provide mixed evidence on the question of whether the impact of auditor quality is highest for the accruals component of earnings.     

Information,uncertainty, and behavioral effects: Evidence from abnormal returns around real estate investment trust earnings announcements

In this study, we examine the influence of real estate market sentiment, market-level uncertainty, and REIT-level uncertainty on cumulative abnormal earnings announcement returns over the 1995–2009 time period. We first document the relative coverage of analysts' earnings forecasts on U.S. REITs, as well as REITs from several countries (i.e., Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Japan, the Netherlands, and UK). We show that coverage outside of the U.S. is limited, and we consequently focus our analysis on U.S. REITs. We find strong evidence that earnings announcements contain pricing relevant information, with positive (negative) earnings surprises relative to analysts' forecasts resulting in significantly positive (negative) abnormal returns around the announcement date. Consistent with the findings from the broader equity market literature, we find limited evidence of a pre-announcement drift in the cumulative abnormal returns. However, in sharp contrast to the existing equity literature, we find no evidence of a post-earnings announcement drift in our aggregate sample or when the sample is restricted to the largest negative surprises. We find evidence of a post-earnings announcement drift for only the largest positive earnings surprises. These results are consistent with REIT returns more quickly impounding information relative to the broader equity market, in part because of the parallel private real estate market and because of the U.S. REIT structure and information environment. Finally, in our conditional regression analysis of cumulative abnormal returns, we find that real estate investor sentiment, market-wide uncertainty, and firm-level uncertainty significantly affect the magnitude of abnormal announcement returns and also influence the effect of unexpected earnings on abnormal returns.     

Do Investors Perceive the Link Between Equity Method Earnings and Future Earnings? The Role of Supplemental Disclosures

Equity method investments are commonly a material component of a firm's corporate structure, yet these investments are presented to financial statement users through opaque financial reporting. This study demonstrates that the link between equity method earnings and future earnings is stronger than the link between consolidated earnings and future earnings, consistent with the synergistic and diversification benefits of equity method investments. Next, this study demonstrates a limitation in the opaque reporting of equity method investments by revealing that the market fails to fully incorporate into prices the link between equity method earnings and future earnings. Further, this study contributes to the active debate among practitioners and regulators about the usefulness of supplemental disclosure requirements related to equity method investments. Results indicate that supplemental equity method investment disclosures aid the market in impounding the persistence of equity method earnings into share price.     

Sarbanes–Oxley Act and the quality of earnings and accruals: Market-based evidence

In this paper we study the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) on the valuation weights of earnings and earnings components. The analysis seeks evidence that SOX is associated with changes in investors’ perception of earnings and accruals quality. Of particular interest in the analysis is the effect of SOX on the valuation weight of discretionary accruals that are perceived to be most vulnerable to manipulation prior to SOX. We find reliable increases in the valuation weights of earnings and earnings components after the passage of SOX. Nonetheless, we also find that the post-SOX shifts in the valuation weights of earnings and earnings components are indistinguishable from zero among firms in which the percentage equity shares held by institutional investors is 15% or greater.