Ratio Analysis and Equity Valuation: From Research to Practice

Financial statement analysis has traditionally been seen as part of thefundamental analysis required for equity valuation. But the analysis has typicallybeen ad hoc. Drawing on recent research on accounting-based valuation, this paperoutlines a financial statement analysis for use in equity valuation. Standardprofitability analysis is incorporated, and extended, and is complemented with ananalysis of growth. An analysis of operating activities is distinguished from theanalysis of financing activities. The perspective is one of forecasting payoffs to equities. So financial statement analysis is presented as a matter of pro formaanalysis of the future, with forecasted ratios viewed as building blocks offorecasts of payoffs. The analysis of current financial statements is then seen asa matter of identifying current ratios as predictors of the future ratios thatdetermine equity payoffs. The financial statement analysis is hierarchical, withratios lower in the ordering identified as finer information about those higher up.To provide historical benchmarks for forecasting, typical values for ratios aredocumented for the period 1963–1999, along with their cross-sectionalvariation and correlation. And, again with a view to forecasting, the time seriesbehavior of many of the ratios is also described and their typical long-run,steady-state levels are documented.  

中国上市公司会计信息披露管制：现实考察与经验证据

中国资本市场在短短十多年的发展历程中设立了一系列守门人,从而构建了一个形式上较为完善的会计信息披露管制框架。本文以1993年至2003年4月底被证券管制机构处罚的272次会计信息披露违规事件作为研究样本,初步考察和评价了我国上市公司会计信息披露管制制度的整体有效性,并以此为依据,对上市公司管制框架的内部和外部各个制度环节———监事会、独立董事、外部审计、证监会及其派出机构、交易所———的有效性进行了检验和分析。  

财务报表国际趋同的重大进展——IASB与FASB《财务报表列报初步意见》之分析

财务报表作为公司对外财务报告的核心载体,其结构、内容及繁简在国际上充满争议。如何使财务报表最为及时、准确、有效地传递公司财务信息给使用者,是理论和实务界的共同努力方向。国际会计准则理事会(IASB)和美国财务会计准则委员会(FASB)联合发布的《财务报表列报初步意见》讨论稿提出了颠覆性的方案。针对讨论稿中提出的变革方案,我们需要从强化资产负债观、逐步引入综合收益表、加强对新报表分类模式理论研究三个方面努力,以改进我国财务报告,实现我国会计准则与国际财务报告准则持续和动态趋同。  

The Differential Persistence of Accruals and Cash Flows for Future Operating Income versus Future Profitability

Prior research provides evidence that a higher proportion of accrued relative to cash earnings is associated with lower earnings performance in the subsequent fiscal year. The result has been widely interpreted as indicative of higher levels of operating accruals relative to cash flows foreshadowing a subsequent earnings reversal, and thus signaling earnings management. We note, however, that earnings performance in prior studies is typically defined as one-year-ahead operating income divided by one-year-ahead invested capital, or a measure of profitability. We find that accruals are more highly associated than cash flows with invested capital in the denominator of the profitability measure. In contrast, accruals and cash flows have no differential relation to one-year-ahead operating income. The evidence is not consistent with accruals having a reversal effect on earnings. This suggests that the lower persistence of accruals versus cash flows may not be due to earnings management but may rather be due to the effect of growth on future profitability.  

上市公司财务报告舞弊的识别——基于三角形理论的实证研究

为构建财务报告舞弊识别模型,本文选取2000—2009年发生财务报告舞弊的A股上市公司及其配对非舞弊公司为研究对象,利用配对样本t检验、Wilcoxon符号秩检验、Logistic回归,对描述三角形理论的25个指标研究发现,两类公司之间营业利润—经营现金流量、外部董事比例等指标描述的压力和机会因素存在显著差异;各指标与舞弊可能性的相关关系表明,压力越大、机会越多,舞弊可能性越大。由此建立的识别模型正确识别率达到93.7%,有助于人们识别舞弊,帮助上市公司发现舞弊根源。  

The Revenue Consequences of Using Formula Apportionment to Calculate U.S. and Foreign-Source Income: A Firm-Level Analysis

This paper examines the 1989–1993 publicly available financial reports of 46 U.S.-based multinationals to estimate the revenue implications of implementing a U.S. federal formula apportionment system. Ignoring behavioral responses, we estimate shifting to an equal-weighted, three-factor formula would have increased their U.S. tax liabilities by 38 percent, with an 81 percent increase for oil and gas firms. We find the firms report a lower percentage of their worldwide profits as American profits than their American share of assets, sales, or payroll. The results may be attributed to more profitable foreign operations, tax-motivated income shifting, or measurement error.  

Contextual Fundamental Analysis Through the Prediction of Extreme Returns

This study examines the usefulness of contextual fundamental analysis for the prediction of extreme stock returns. Specifically, we use a two-stage approach to predict firms that are about to experience an extreme (up or down) price movement in the next quarter. In the first stage, we define the context for analysis by identifying extreme performers; in the second stage we develop a context-specific forecasting model to separate winners from losers. We show that extreme performers share many common market-related attributes, and that the incremental forecasting power of accounting variables with respect to future returns increases after controlling for these attributes. Collectively, these results illustrate the usefulness of conducting fundamental analysis in context.  

The Revenue Consequences of Using Formula Apportionment to Calculate U.S. and Foreign-Source Income: A Firm-Level Analysis

This paper examines the 1989–1993 publicly available financial reports of 46 U.S.-based multinationals to estimate the revenue implications of implementing a U.S. federal formula apportionment system. Ignoring behavioral responses, we estimate shifting to an equal-weighted, three-factor formula would have increased their U.S. tax liabilities by 38 percent, with an 81 percent increase for oil and gas firms. We find the firms report a lower percentage of their worldwide profits as American profits than their American share of assets, sales, or payroll. The results may be attributed to more profitable foreign operations, tax-motivated income shifting, or measurement error.  

基于分类回归树算法的上市公司会计信息失真识别研究

利用26个财务变量建立分类回归树模型对会计信息失真进行识别研究,结果表明所建模型对会计信息失真企业的正确识别率达到80%以上,能将第二类错误率控制在20%以下.实证还发现留存收益在总资产中的比率小于2%的公司很容易出现会计信息失真,最后作者利用8年数据对该结果进行检验,表明其识别能力非常出色.  

A Survey of Accountants' Opinions on Cash Flow Reporting

The results of a survey of members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland is reported. The survey gives evidence of the views of professionally qualified accountants concerning their support for, and the feasibility of reporting on, a cash flow basis. Considerable support was discerned for preparing company annual financial reports on a cash flow basis.