Monitoring or payroll maximization? What happens when workers enter the boardroom?

Review of Accounting Studies - We examine whether worker representation on corporate boards results in improved monitoring or payroll maximization. Several economic theories predict that worker...     

Review of empirical research on rotation and non-audit services: auditor independence in fact vs. appearance

Confidence in the processes of corporate reporting and auditing has rapidly decreased recently due to front-page accounting scandals in both the United States and Europe. The goal of audit regulations, such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act in the United States (US) and the 8th Directive in the European Union (EU), is to restore public trust in the auditing process. Along with other regulatory aspects, requirements related to audit partner rotation and bans on providing concurrent non-audit services were implemented to maintain auditor independence, both in fact and in appearance. However, the implementation of audit regulation implies that increased requirements are able to enhance the failed audit function. Empirical research should help to understand the impact of these two regulatory aspects and indicate their effectiveness in maintaining auditor independence. Thus, we outline the newest empirical research related to audit partner rotation and non-audit services and independence in fact or in appearance. Overall, we conclude that prior research does not point to one particular requirement that would most effectively restore trust in the audit function. Rather the existence of multiple threats to auditor independence might demand a combination of several requirements to maintain auditor independence. Thus, more research is needed to investigate the joint effects of different threats to auditor independence, e.?g., non-audit fees and audit partner tenure.     

Management Guidance Bevorzugen professionelle Kapitalmarktteilnehmer wirklich Punktprognosen?

Mit Hilfe der Management Guidance wird durch kapitalmarktorientierte Unternehmen in unterschiedlicher Form über die voraussichtliche Entwicklung wesentlicher Gesch?ftszahlen berichtet. Vorliegende empirische Arbeiten gehen einheitlich davon aus, dass eine Punktprognose der erwarteten zukünftigen Kennzahlen anderen Formen vorzuziehen ist. über die diesbezüglichen Pr?ferenzen professioneller Kapitalmarktteilnehmer liegen bisher jedoch kaum gesicherte Erkenntnisse vor. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht daher auf Basis einer Fragebogenstudie die entsprechenden Pr?ferenzen dieser wichtigen Zielgruppe. An der Befragung nahmen insgesamt 123 Kapitalmarktteilnehmer teil, insb. Sell- und Buy-Side-Analysten sowie Asset Manager. Entgegen den bisherigen Annahmen wird eine Intervallprognose als hilfreicher angesehen als eine Punktsch?tzung. Weitergehende Analysen erlauben Einblicke in die Pr?ferenzen einzelner Berufsgruppen.     

Tax avoidance in different firm types and the role of nonfamily involvement in private family firms

This study simultaneously distinguishes between private family firms, private nonfamily firms, public family firms, and public nonfamily firms. We show that private family firms avoid taxes less than public family firms and public nonfamily firms; however, we do not find a difference between private family firms and private nonfamily firms. Therefore, building on family firm heterogeneity, our results indicate that tax avoidance in private family firms differs depending on the involvement of nonfamily owners and/or managers. We find that private family firms that are wholly owned and managed by family members indeed avoid taxes less than private nonfamily firms.     

Detecting Target‐Driven Earnings Management Based on the Distribution of Digits

We present a novel research design to detect target‐driven earnings management in accounting data. As a particular concern in this line of research, information about the exact earnings target value of a given firm is often not available. We therefore develop an empirical strategy that does not require such information. To this end, we rely on the concept of the distribution of digits rather than the distribution of the earnings metric itself. We then theoretically derive that the mean of the distribution of digits, in particular, exhibits a specific pattern around the earnings target that can be exploited to investigate target‐driven earnings management. This pattern arises regardless of the distribution of digits that obtains in unmanaged data. We extensively test our theoretical predictions using both simulated and archival data.     

Improving earnings quality: The effect of reporting incentives and accounting standards

We investigate the different effects on earnings quality of accounting standards and reporting incentives for Germany over the period 1994 to 2005. To this end, we control for reporting incentives at the firm level, instead of the country level, by using the timing of voluntary IFRS adoption as a proxy for reporting incentives. We then include reporting incentives in an analysis of earnings management and information asymmetry. Contrary to common expectation, we find that IFRS reporting potentially decreases earnings quality on average; but also that reporting incentives appear to have lower effects on earnings quality in IFRS statements than in GGAAP statements. Thus, IFRS may lead to more homogenous earnings quality across firms.     

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