Discretionary accounting choices: the case of IAS 19 pension accounting

Based on a sample of 3207 firm-year observations for the years 2005–2013, we investigate how stock-listed companies in France, Germany and the UK use two discretionary choices in their accounting for defined benefit pension plans under International Accounting Standard (IAS) 19 Employee Benefits. We first analyse companies’ decision whether to voluntarily early adopt the equity method of accounting for actuarial gains and losses. Second, we analyse companies’ choice to present pension interest cost and expected return on plan assets, or, in 2013, net pension interest cost, in operating or financial income. Our findings provide evidence that companies’ decisions to early adopt the equity method in 2005, the first year this accounting choice was available, were motivated by short-term effects on equity. Our analyses also indicate that the choice regarding where to present interest cost and expected return on plan assets in the income statement is associated with the resulting effect on Earnings before Interest and Tax. Finally, we document country-specific differences in the use of the discretion provided under IAS 19, suggesting that discretionary pension accounting choices may impede comparability.     

The role of accruals and cash flows in explaining security returns: Evidence from New Zealand

This paper empirically examines the relative and incremental information content of earnings and cash flows and the role of firm-specific contextual factors in moderating information content in New Zealand. Accounting earnings are considered to be the premier information source for decision making and a substantial volume of literature, primarily in the United States, shows that earnings provide superior information to that of cash flows. However, significant reporting differences in New Zealand warrant and investigation of the role of earnings and cash flows to explain security returns. Results show that (a) earnings have higher explanatory power than cash flows, although the difference is not statistically significant, and (b) both earnings and cash flows have incremental information content for stock returns. Further analysis shows that the valuation role of earnings and cash flows is moderated by firm-specific factors.     

Analysis of embedded options in individual pension schemes in Germany

Newly introduced government-subsidized pension products in Germany are required to contain a promise by the seller to provide a “money-back guarantee” at the end of the term. The client is also given the right to stop paying premiums at any time (paid-up option). In this case, the amount of all premiums paid must also be guaranteed by the seller at maturity, no matter when the client stopped paying the premiums. Previous analyses of guarantees in such government-subsidized pension products have ignored this additional option. Within a generalized Black/Scholes framework, we analyze the value of the paid-up option for different products, market scenarios, and client behavior. Our results indicate that the paid-up option significantly increases the value of the money-back guarantee. Furthermore, we find that reducing volatility by shifting the client’s assets from stocks to bonds as maturity approaches is a suitable means of reducing the risk arising from the “pure” money-back guarantee but much less effective in reducing the risk arising from the paid-up option. JEL Classification G13 · G23 · G28     

Accrual and cash flow accounting models: A comparison of the value relevance and timeliness of their components

This research uses the empirical framework developed by Easton, Harris and Ohlson (1992) to examine the relative ability of the accrual and cash flow accounting models to capture value relevant events. In particular, components of clean surplus accrual earnings are compared with components of total cash flows to determine their relative abilities to recognise value relevant events in a timely manner. The results indicate that the association between stock returns and earnings is higher than that with total cash flows for return intervals of between one and ten years. Cash flows from operations and current accruals are able to recognise value relevant events in a timely manner, while non-current and non-operating accruals only become consistently value relevant when longer return intervals are considered. Cash flows from investing and financing activities are less value relevant than the other components considered, especially over longer return intervals.     

Determinants and economic consequences of cash flow restatements

The FASB, PCAOB, SEC, and AICPA have all acknowledged that the accounting field needs to revisit the statement of cash flows (SCF). While the overall number of restatements has held steady over the past five years, the percentage of cash flow restatements (CFRs) has risen from 8.7% of all restatements in 2009 to 20.2% of all restatements in 2014. We examine the determinants of CFRs, investors’ differential beliefs about CFRs, and the information content of CFRs by focusing on abnormal trading volume and price reactions to CFRs. We then examine whether the guidance the SEC/AICPA published in early 2006 changed the information content of CFRs. Finally, since the proper classification within the SCF is a current regulatory issue, we examine whether classification shifting within the SCFs impacts the market. The market finds CFRs to be informative with some investor disagreement as shown by higher abnormal trading volume. We also find an incremental volume reaction to changes in operating cash flows after the SEC allowance period. While the market responds negatively to CFRs, we find that the market does not differentiate between whether classification shifting occurs or does not occur with the CFR. This study has implications for policymakers, auditors, and investors since it is one of the first to examine the capital market consequences of CFRs.     

Distortion effects and extreme observations in empirical research: An analysis of the incremental information content of cash flows

Linear regression models are used in a number of studies examining the presence or absence of incremental information content in cash flows. The results of these studies are not consistent. This paper provides evidence of the impact that extreme observations can exert on parameter estimates in a regression model. Two techniques commonly used to address the problem of extreme observations are considered. These techniques, winsorising the data and trimming the data, are compared to a regression diagnostic technique, Cook's distance. The comparison of these techniques provides evidence that the choice of technique can determine the significance or otherwise of regression results. This paper concludes that the inconsistency in reported results examining the incremental information content in cash flows may be attributed to the techniques adopted to address the issue of extreme observations.     

The value relevance of cash flows, current accruals, and non-current accruals in the UK

Cash flow statements have a longstanding history as mandated financial statement disclosures, having replaced funds flow statements. The usefulness of such disclosures with respect to one of the main purposes of financial statements—providing information relevant to the assessment of future cash flows and their uncertainty, and the market value of firms—is still subject to debate. This study investigates whether various partitions of earnings involving combinations of a cash flow measure of performance and measures of current accruals and non-current accruals improve the ability to explain market values in the UK relative to using earnings alone. Using a valuation model-based methodology, and employing a UK sample of non-financial firms for the years 1993 to 2007, our results suggest strong support for the assertion that cash flows can have incremental value relevance relative to either earnings or funds flows. By implication, cash flows can have separate value relevance from total and, in particular, current accruals. There is slightly less consistent evidence that current and non-current accruals can have separate value relevance but, nonetheless, the results are still strongly in favour in this respect. Generally, the main source of increase in explanatory power for market values is the separate inclusion of our cash flow measure in the estimated regressions. As a consequence, we conclude that the statement of cash flows in the UK provides information useful to UK investors in valuing firms. Further, requiring a cash flow statement, as opposed to a funds flow statement, improves the information content of financial statements in the UK.     

Corporate reporting implication in migrating from defined benefit to defined contribution pension schemes: A focus on the UK

Pensions are intricately linked to employees’ well-being in the latter part of their life and during their working life in that they provide a sense of financial security in retirement. Since the 1980s, pension schemes have changed both in concept and detail with significant consequences for beneficiaries. This paper explores one of the major changes: the migration from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) pension schemes focusing on this change's interface with accounting. In exploring this shift from DB to DC schemes, the paper uses a critical perspective to reflect on this interface including how the change is accounted for in corporate reporting narrative. The key focus is on issues of political economy: it is found in this respect that while wealth is effectively distributed from pension holders efforts are made to legitimise or displace attention from pension changes. An analysis of narratives of corporate annual reports is undertaken to critically explore corporate communication to stakeholders vis-à-vis pension scheme changes. Findings suggest limited and problematic engagement with employees as per the corporate annual report narrative. We also point to a lack of appetite on the part of existing employees to engage employers on these changes. The change is framed to give workers an impression that they are taking responsibility for their future whilst an alternative view is that in actuality the organisation is decoupling from pension responsibility and devolving associated risks to employees for greater profitability. Counter accounting may be a way forward.     

The usefulness of operating cash flow and accrual components in improving the predictive ability of earnings: a re‐examination and extension

We examine whether the components of accruals and operating cash flows improve the predictive ability of earnings for forecasting future cash flows. Unlike most previous studies, we avoid data estimation errors and sample self‐selection bias because we exploit data from Australia where reporting of actual cash flow components had been mandatory since 1992. We show that accrual components and operating cash flow components together are more useful than (i) earnings, (ii) operating cash flows and total accruals and (iii) the combination of operating cash flows with accrual components in forecasting future cash flows. These results are robust to several contextual factors, including the length of the operating cash cycle, industry membership, firm profitability and firm size.     

Fiscal institutions and the funding of US state and local pension plans

This paper investigates the relationship between the funded ratio of US public pension plans and several fiscal institutions adopted by state governments. The author analysed a large data set from 1997 to 2012, and found that states with stricter balanced budget requirements and debt limits had a lower pension funded ratio, whereas states with tax and spending limits in place had a higher funded ratio. The findings contribute to the current debate on public sector pension reforms in the US and internationally.     

Smart defaults: Determining the number of default funds in a pension scheme

We propose a new methodology for the smart design of the default investment fund(s) in occupational defined contribution pension schemes based on the observable characteristics of scheme members. Using a unique dataset of member risk attitudes and characteristics from a survey of a large UK pension scheme, we apply factor analysis to identify single factors for risk aversion, risk capacity and ethical investment preferences, and then apply cluster analysis to these factors to identify two distinct groups of members across age cohorts. We find membership of these clusters depends on a number of personal characteristics, with the principal differentiating feature being that one group had previously engaged with the pension scheme, while the other had not. These identified characteristics can be utilised in the design of smart default funds, including appropriate engagement strategies.     

The relative information content of operating and financing cash flow in the proposed cash flow statement

This study compares the relative information content of the new specifications of operating and financing cash flow as proposed jointly by the IASB and the FASB with the specifications in SFAS No. 95. A unique feature of the study is the use of the Siegel and Biddle (1994) test of relative information content. The results indicate that the proposed operating cash flow measure has less relative information content than the current measure, and the results for financing cash flow are consistent with equity investors finding no significant difference between the current and proposed measures.     

Adoption of IAS 19R by Europe's premier listed companies: Corridor approach versus full recognition: Summary of an ACCA research monograph

This report provides a summary of a research monograph sponsored by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) [Fasshauer, J., Glaum, M., & Street, D. L. (2008). Adoption of IAS 19R by Europe's premier listed companies: Corridor approach versus full recognition. An ACCA research report, London] and is based on our in-depth analysis of the defined benefit pension plan disclosures provided in the year 2005 by companies constituting the premier segments of 20 European exchanges. Most importantly, the study identifies the method these companies selected under International Accounting Standard (IAS) 19 for the recognition of actuarial gains/losses, provides insight into factors affecting the policy choice between the methods allowed under IAS 19 for the recognition of actuarial gains/losses, and assesses the impact on profit and loss (P&L) and the balance sheet of using the new IAS 19 option of full recognition through the Statement of Recognized Gains and Losses (SORIE), in contrast to the traditional corridor approach. We also benchmark key pension assumptions against relevant country or industry averages.As accounting for defined benefit pension plans continues to evolve with the amendment of IAS 19, the recent issuance of SFAS 158 in the U.S., the release of The Financial Reporting of Pensions in Europe, and most notably the release of Preliminary Views on Amendments to IAS 19 Employee Benefits by the IASB, our research provides timely empirical evidence regarding important issues to be addressed in the IASB's current retirement benefits project.     

An analysis of risk-taking behavior for public defined benefit pension plans

This paper presents the first comprehensive study on the determinants of public pension fund investment risk and reports several new important findings. Unlike private pension plans, public funds undertake more risk if they are underfunded and have lower investment returns in the previous years, consistent with the risk transfer hypothesis. Furthermore, pension funds in states facing fiscal constraints allocate more assets to equity and have higher betas. There also appears to be a herding effect in that CalPERS equity allocation or beta is mimicked by other pension funds. Finally, our results suggest that government accounting standards strongly affect pension fund risk, as higher return assumptions (used to discount pension liabilities) are associated with higher equity allocation and portfolio beta.     

Accruals and the naïve out-of-sample prediction of operating cash flow

Recent evidence indicates that a naïve no-change out-of-sample forecast of operating cash flow is as accurate as regression model forecasts. The current study uses this evidence to compare the accuracy of two naïve cash flow forecasts: 1) a pure no-change forecast and 2) a no-change forecast which includes adjustments for changes in accounts receivable, inventory and accounts payable. The size- and accrual-matched results indicate that the naïve cash flow forecast with accruals is notably more accurate than the naïve forecast without accruals. Moreover, the results indicate that large sums of positive accruals are more useful for cash flow prediction than large sums of negative accruals. Overall, the study provides creditors, analysts and other members of the financial community with an efficient and effective protocol for cash flow prediction.     

基于战略风险管理模式下的养老保险公司风险管理分析

战略风险管理模式是金融企业比较流行的一种全面风险管理模型。本文在分析养老保险公司业务经营及风险管理特殊性的基础上,应用战略风险管理基本思想,提出了当前形势下养老保险公司风险管理的核心问题,并对公司目前面临的风险类别、风险因素以及风险管控措施进行了分析研究。     

A comparative analysis of the Australian and New Zealand liquidation schemes

On September 28, 2022, Australia announced an inquiry into the effectiveness of its corporate insolvency laws. The Australia and New Zealand corporate insolvency frameworks have similar objectives and operate in a similar context where, as is the case the world over, most companies are small to medium enterprises. Despite liquidation being just one of several collective and formal corporate insolvency procedures, it is the most frequently occurring procedure in both countries by a large margin. The Australian and New Zealand liquidation schemes have many similarities but also some key differences. Differences include the structure of the respective schemes; the levers prompting liquidation of companies in appropriate circumstances; the role of creditors, the court and the regulator; and the management of low-value and assetless liquidations. These differences are analysed to determine what, if anything, the New Zealand scheme might contribute to development and/or reform of Australian corporate insolvency law. As consistency and coordination with Australian insolvency law is a New Zealand policy aim, the lessons the Australian scheme might have for New Zealand are also considered. Many of the points on which the Australian and New Zealand liquidation schemes differ are of universal concern (such as the management of low-value liquidations), meaning that the nature and success (or otherwise) of the Australian and New Zealand responses are of wider, comparative interest.     

The relevance of earnings and cash flows in a heavily regulated industry: Evidence from the Greek banking sector

This study examines the informational quality of annual accounting earnings within Greek banking institutions taking into consideration the most significant risks facing by such firms and specifically interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk and solvency risk, alongside with the persistence of earnings and bank size as significant determinants of ERCs. Data analysis over a period of ten years (1995-2004) revealed that earnings have higher incremental importance in explaining stock return movements compared to cash flows since earnings change has been found to affect stock returns positively. Additionally, interest rate risk has a positive but not significant impact on the return-earnings relation but on the contrary solvency risk, credit risk and liquidity risk proved to have a negative impact on the valuation process for both small and big-sized banks. Finally, tests on the incremental informativeness of cash flows when earnings are transitory provide significant results suggesting that investors seek for alternative measures of banks' performance when earnings are characterized by increased extremity but inversely cash flows and earnings seem to be equally value relevant when investors evaluate big-sized banking institutions. The results are generally robust to the specification of the empirical models and the research design employed in our study.     

The development of discounted cash flow and profitability of investment in France in the 1960s

The methods and concepts of the history of technology can make a contribution to the history of management techniques. The model developed by Hughes (1983) to trace the history of a technique from the invention phase to the stabilization phase can provide a useful tool of analysis. The history (until now written exclusively in Anglo-Saxon terms) of the slow adoption by firms of the very old technique of discounting, in order to evaluate investments, can be discussed within a new framework. In France the innovation phase took place very early, as a result of a long tradition of economic calculation. The French case demonstrates the link between management innovation and the social and economic environment. This link appears to be more in accord with Gille's 'loose determinism' than with any rigid causality.     

公共养老储备基金资产配置比较研究与启示——基于挪威、法国、爱尔兰、新西兰四国公共养老储备基金比较分析

公共养老储备基金的资产配置策略是以储备基金的营运目标为导向制定的。设定基准投资组合、分散化的全球资产配置、重视新兴市场与社会责任投资、再平衡策略与动态资产配置策略并重等成为近年来各国共公告养老储备基金资产配置的主要特征。基于全国社会保障基金的投资实践,文章提出了制定差异化的资产配置策略以实现不同阶段目标,投资监管模式和资产配置策略同步创新以实现投资监管与投资实践良性互动,加快资产配置策略的全球布局以实现区域经济套利和人口红利套利,注重储备基金的责任投资导向、凸显养老金绿色投资功能的改革建议。