A look at the public policy conflict regarding the discovery of accountants' tax accrual workpapers

This article focuses on the conflict in public policy between the need to provide the investing public with accurate information with regard to corporate financial statements and the need to provide the IRS with the necessary tools in order to assure corporate compliance with the tax laws of the country. The conflict arises because of the contention of the IRS that it is entitled to have access to an independent auditor's tax accrual workpapers on the one hand, and the contention by CPAs that such access will prevent adequate disclosure to the independent auditor. The article examines the policy questions on both sides of the issue and concludes that regardless of any decision by the Supreme Court in a pendingcase, Congress should pass legislation to resolve the conflict and clearly identify the scope of any previlage accorded with regard to tax accrual workpapers.     

Inventories,credit transactions,and the marginal effective tax rate

It is observed that marginal effective tax rates (METR), as conventionally calculated, can only consider working capital requirements to a limited extent. A formula is derived to incorporate inventory requirements into the calculation and, via a numerical example, it is shown that such an incorporation can radically alter METRs from those conventionally calculated. The analysis is extended to credit transactions without affecting the above conclusion. Thus, if METRs are to be used as a means of evaluating the effects of tax policy on the incentive to invest, working capital requirements need to be explicitly allowed for.     

Failure prediction: Sensitivity of classification accuracy to alternative statistical methods and variable sets

The purpose of this study was to assess the sensitivity of the prediction of business failure to the use of different variable sets and different statistical methods. This objective was accomplished by comparing the performance of failure prediction models using four alternative variable sets on firms which failed from 1966–1975. The four sets of variables were those used by Altman (1968), Deakin (1972), Blum (1974), and Ohlson (1980). A linear discriminant model, a quadratic discriminant model, and a logit model were developed for each of the four variable sets. For a given variable sets, the linear and logit models had comparable misclassification rates and performed at least as well as the quadratic models. Using linear discriminant analysis or logit analysis, all four variable sets performed comparably.     

Systematic risk and the theory of the firm: A reexamination

A recent microeconomic model of the determinants of equity betas (Subrahmanyam and Thomadakis 1980) is generalized by including risky human capital in the market portfolio and allowing a general covariance structure between the model's sources of uncertainty. This provides an explanation of the ambiguous effect of operating leverage on beta by viewing human capital and equity contributors as risk sharers in the firm's output risk. This explanation may help to clarify the apparent conflict with the previous literature. The relationship between systematic risk and monopoly power is rederived and shown to depend upon a plausible condition on the correlation between wage rate and price uncertainty. Finally, the public policy implications of this analysis are presented.     

An empirical examination of capital expenditure in the health sector

This empirical study in the nursing home industry attempts to delineate factors, and thus acquire insights, as to capital expenditures, and address a critical issue regarding governmental reimbursement policy and the economic viability of health care institutions. Combinations of financial performance, financial structure, and institutional context associated with high capital investment nursing homes differ from combinations associated with low capital investment homes. A multivariate analysis of data obtained from 185 nursing homes shows that although there was some difference between the two groups of nursing homes in basic financial and institutional characteristics, only a small subset of the variables were statistically significant discriminators. The hypothesis was then examined within each of the three major nursing home segments—for-profit, not-for-profit, and country homes. Neither financial performance, financial structure, nor institutional context alone is sufficient to explain differences in capital investment behavior. Perhaps more importantly, the extent to which these combination of factors do contribute to explaining capital investment strategies differs within each of the major segments of the industry. Also, these combinations of factors generally differ across the major industry segments as they relate to capital investment strategies.     

The investment tax credit in capital replacement: A simulation

Congressional intent in passing various versions of the investment tax credit has been to stimulate increased investment in capital goods. This paper examines the impact of ITC on the replacement component of investment from the standpoint of the individual firm. The simulations run assume that the firm incorporates correctly all tax effects, to arrive at the optimal replacement decision. The results imply that from the micro standpoint, the law does not necessarily generate the intended behavior. As implications for policy, further research in this area should focus on individual firm action rather than on macro models.     

The economic rationale for the nature and extent of corporate financial disclosure regulation: A critical assessment

The regulatory framework for corporate financial disclosure has been the subject of a large literature, most of which has focused on the economic rationale for disclosure requirements. This extant economic analysis has not led to any definitive conclusions regarding the necessity for disclosure regulation nor has it provided public policy guidance as to the nature and extent of required corporate financial disclosure. It is evident that broader-based analysis and research incorporating relevant social and political (as well as economic) factors is necessary to gauge appropriate public policy for financial information disclosure.     

The costs of complying with a government data collection program: the FTC's Line of Business Report

The Federal Trade Commission's Line of Business Report Program requires some 440 of the largest U.S. corporations to gather and report detailed data. The program's compliance costs were and are a major issue between the reluctant respondents and the FTC. Analysis of the estimates made by the parties reveals why and how a government agency tends to underestimate costs severely. Principally, the agency does not recognize that a company must prepare data that can withstand hostile scrutiny: inexpensively prepared estimates will not do. The analysis reveals that the estimates used by the FTC are based on very questionable procedures and evidence. A procedure is suggested to avoid or resolve differences in cost estimates claimed by the parties.     

State regulation of accounting practices and municipal borrowing costs

This article examines the association between state regulation of accounting practices and municipal borrowing costs. The results demonstrate that stringent accounting regulations do have an effect on borrowing costs after abstracting the effects of other explanatory variables. The direction of the observed effect is difficult to assess due to presence of multicollinearity in the model. However, lower borrowing costs are suggested by the analysis.     

The role of generally accepted reporting methods in the public sector: An empirical test

This study explores the role of standard or generally accepted accounting and reporting methods in the public sector. It differs from prior studies that address public sector accounting issues in that it considers more directly how the political process influences decisions to report financial information. The primary contention is that adopting standard reporting methods reduces costs to public officials that arise from factors that characterize political markets. Empirical evidence based on data from the state governments is consistent with this contention, but theoretical and methodological problems restrict our ability to ascertain which specific factors are relevant.     

Comparability: An analytic examination

Comparability is often invoked as an evaluative criterion in regulatory and financial reporting controversies. This article explores the issue by first developing a formal model of comparability that is consistent with the prior information economics literature regarding normative criteria. This model is then used in a restricted setting to explore how such criteria might eventually be used to establish preference relationships.     

Tax reform: Analyzing a comprehensive income tax

This paper includes an analysis of the general costs and benefits associated with the introduction of a comprehensive income tax. The introduction of a comprehensive income tax may result in such benefits as simplicity, horizontal equity, and neutrality that may, in turn, be offset by the costs in vertical equity, implementation losses, and efficiency losses. The solution to the question of the desirability of the comprehensive income tax may turn upon the nature of these costs and benefits as well as the philosophy of tax reform that is adopted.