Effects of foreign acquisitions on financial constraints,productivity and investment in R&D of target firms in China

This paper examines whether foreign acquisitions lessen financial constraints, improve investment in research & development (R&D) and productivity of the target firms in China based on a sample of 914 cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBM&A) over the period of 1994–2011. Using investment to cash-flow sensitivity to measure financial constraints, we find that foreign acquisitions in China are associated with a reduction of target firms’ financial constraints, irrespective of the ownership type of the target firm. However, the extent of financial constraint reduction is pronounced for non-SOEs compared to state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This study also provides evidence that foreign acquisitions improve Chinese target firms’ productivity and investment in R&D.     

The Effect of Guanxi on Audit Quality in China

Two types of guanxi have a close association with auditor independence in China: firm-level connections derived from state ownership and personal connections developed through management affiliations with external auditors. This article examines the effects of these two types of connection and their joint effect on audit quality. We find that state ownership and management affiliations with the external auditor both increase the probability of receiving a clean audit opinion in China. Furthermore, the probability increment brought by management affiliations for non-state-owned enterprises (NSOEs) is greater than that for state-owned enterprises (SOEs). These results suggest that state ownership and management affiliations are two important types of connection that impair auditor independence, and that management affiliations are of greater importance to private-sector firms than to SOEs.     

State ownership and corporate innovative efficiency

In this paper, we investigate the innovative efficiency of SOEs in China. Innovative efficiency refers to output of patents per dollar spending of R&D expenditure. The data indicate that minority SOEs are substantially more innovatively efficient than non-SOEs and majority SOEs. The relative innovative efficiency of minority SOEs is more pronounced among firms with high financial constraints. The data are consistent with the view that, in the Chinese context, there are favorable benefits to partial state ownership through access to talent, connections, and technological resources that enable efficient patent outcomes from R&D expenditure.     

State Ownership and Firm Performance: A Revisit

The low efficiency of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is widely accepted by academics. However, the accounting literature shows that non-SOEs are more likely to engage in earnings management, which artificially boosts their financial performance. This suggests that the higher financial performance in non-SOEs may be merely cosmetic. This study compares the real financial performance between SOEs and non-SOEs, while the real performance is obtained by estimating the level of earnings management and removing it from the reported financial performance. The result shows that there is no significant difference in real performance between SOEs and non-SOEs. This study sheds new light on the debate over the efficiency of SOEs and the relationship between ownership structure and financial performance.     

盈余管理与企业债务期限结构

以中国A股市场上市公司2001-2005年的经验数据为样本,实证分析了盈余管理对企业债务期限结构的影响,认为在我国企业的长期债务契约中普遍存在着盈余管理,而且盈余管理越多越容易获得长期借款;如果该企业是国有企业,其为了满足债务契约的保护性条款的盈余管理就变得不显著,这种现象的发生原因在于国有企业中存在着政治性贷款,且又存在预算软约束,故在银行与国有企业的债务契约中对会计信息的依赖会比较少,导致国有企业的盈余管理动机也削弱。由于受到债务契约条件的硬约束,非国有企业则存在着大量的盈余管理以获取长期借款。     

How and why auditors’ social exchange relationships influence their attitudes and behaviors: Implications for audit quality

External auditors regularly interact with various parties at work, such as their accounting firms, engagement team members, and clients. These interactions can help shape the nature of auditors’ social exchange relationships with these entities, which in turn may influence their behavior toward these targets. This installment of Accounting Matters draws from recently published research by Herda and colleagues to (1) explain how constructive auditor-target connections can develop and lead to beneficial outcomes like reduced auditor burnout and turnover intentions, as well as more citizenship behavior, and (2) discuss how these upshots might ultimately affect audit quality. This topic is important because audit quality translates into improved financial reporting, which helps stakeholders who rely on audited financial statements to make informed business decisions. Specifically, we underscore the key role auditors’ perceptions of fair treatment from a relationship partner play in fostering a strong psychological bond with the target via perceived support. We further consider how auditors’ consequent commitment to the target can result in favorable organizational outcomes, including enhanced audit and financial reporting quality. We also discuss practical implications for accounting firms.     

Auditor switching, earnings manipulation and auditor independence: Evidence from A-share listed companies in China

Based on data from Chinese A-share listed companies between 1999 and 2004, this paper examines the causes of auditor switching and its effects on the independence of successive auditors from the perspective of earnings manipulation. Results show that: (1) listed companies manipulate their earnings through replacing their auditor and the successive auditor fails to exercise necessary prudence; (2) for companies reporting profit in the year of auditor change, the formerly low discretionary accruals usually increase significantly after the switch mostly resulting from assets devaluation and adjustments to non-recurring items; (3) In contrast, for companies reporting losses in the year of auditor change, they take a “big bath” to adjust lower earnings of the same year. These findings indicate that auditor change is related to the conservatism of predecessor auditors and it damages the independence of successive auditors.      

Government connections and the persistence of profitability: Evidence from Chinese listed firms

We find that state owned enterprises (SOEs hereafter) have lower (higher) mean-reverting rates when profitability is better (worse) than the norm; while non-SOEs with politically connected executives have lower (higher) mean-reverting rates when profitability is extremely better (worse) than the norm. In addition, SOEs controlled by the central government have lower mean-reverting rates than those controlled by local governments. Our results are robust to a series of robustness tests and a test using alternative measures of profitability. We argue that government connections help firms maintain a relatively competitive advantage and thus have an important influence on mean-reverting patterns of profitability for Chinese firms.     

Does Financial Reporting Quality Affect Optimal Capital Structure? Evidence from China

In this study, we investigate the association between financial reporting quality and a firm’s deviation from its optimal capital structure. We find that a firm’s deviation from its optimal capital structure is decreasing in financial reporting quality. The results suggest that high-quality financial reporting helps to reduce a firm’s deviation from its optimal capital structure. In addition, we document that the relationship is intensified in non-SOEs, in which financial reporting quality plays a more crucial role. Furthermore, we find that bank connections diminish the role of financial reporting quality in optimal capital structure. Our results hold when we control for potential endogeneity in financial reporting quality and capital structure decisions. Our study contributes to both financial reporting quality and capital structure literature. We also contribute to the literature on informal contracts in organizational decision-making.     

Institutional Interest,Ownership Type,and Environmental Capital Expenditures: Evidence from the Most Polluting Chinese Listed Firms

This study empirically examines whether firms’ environmental capital expenditures impact institutional investors’ investment decisions in the Chinese market. We particularly examine the impact of ownership type on the relationship of environmental capital expenditures and the behavior of different types of institutional investors by classifying institutional investors into two categories, short-term and long-term investors. In addition, this study further investigates whether environmental capital expenditures related to ownership type increase firm value. We find that long-term institutional investors tend to invest in state-owned firms (SOEs) making environmental capital expenditures. Results also indicate that, with governmental backing and encouragement, the market value of SOEs making more environmental capital expenditures is likely to increase. However, no similar results are found for non-SOEs.     

The impact structure of social capital on corporate performance: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China

Vertical relationships with the government, particular relational capital and organizational social network capital, constitute corporate social capital (CSC). Using the empirical data of 97 listed companies in China, this paper examines the impact of CSC on corporate performance, finds that CSC has a positive impact on sales revenue but an insignificant impact on the improvement of ROA. More specifically, when a firm enlarges its sales revenue, the function of organizational network capital is stronger than that of a particular relational capital and that of governmental connections. The paper also finds that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have more advantages in using governmental connections, therefore leading to better social status than non-SOEs do, who have fewer advantages in using any particular relational capital. The article suggests that managers should appraise carefully the effectiveness of CSC, and combine it with other resources; firms should distinguish the structure of the impact of CSC on performance improvement in a dynamic way. With respect to the implication of this paper, it could help in analyzing firm behaviors in the transitional China. Translated from paper in International Symposium on Entrepreneur Research and Education, 2006, April (in Chinese)     

事务所的任期、会计师轮换与审计独立性——来自中国A股市场的证据

近年来审计任期与审计独立性的问题日益受到人们的关注。我国也出台了有关签字会计师轮换的相关规定。本文以来自中国A股证券市场的数据,检验了事务所任期和签字会计师轮换与审计独立性之间的关系。我们发现,审计独立性将随着事务所审计任期的延长而下降,但是,轮换签字会计师并不能够有效地改变这种趋势。该项政策实施的有效性值得进一步研究。     

New audit partner identification rules may offer opportunities and benefits

From the WorldCom and Enron accounting debacles that triggered the demise of Arthur Andersen to Ernst & Young’s 2013 and 2015 settlements of claims that its audits facilitated massive accounting fraud by financial services firm Lehman Brothers, large-scale financial scandals have led to increasing scrutiny of public auditors. Investors are justifiably eager to ascertain the quality of audits of public companies when making investment decisions. In the U.K., the reputation of the audit partner is recognized as a signal of audit quality, and as such, the names of the lead partners have been disclosed to the public since 2009. The U.S. standard of providing the auditing firm name without identifying the lead partner recently changed to match the U.K. and EU standard after much debate. As of May 2016, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has adopted—and the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved—new regulations that will require the public disclosure of the individual audit partner responsible for each public company audit, as well as the identification of any additional accounting firms that contribute to the audit. This article examines the new rules in light of disclosure requirements imposed on other professionals, as well as international auditor disclosure requirements. The accounting profession has generally opposed the new disclosures, but this article suggests opportunities and benefits for the profession as a result of the changes, including the opportunity for audit partners to develop individual reputations for quality and specialization. In addition, this article makes recommendations for business managers, owners, and investors for making the best use of the information the new disclosures will provide.     

Understanding Auditors’ Sense of Responsibility for Detecting Fraud Within Organizations

The objective of this study is to evaluate auditors’ perceived responsibility for fraud detection. Auditors play a critical role in managing fraud risk within organizations. Although professional standards and guidance prescribe responsibility in the area, little is known about auditors’ sense of responsibility for fraud detection, the factors affecting perceived responsibility, and how responsibility affects auditor performance. We use the triangle model of responsibility as a theoretical basis for examining responsibility and the effects of accountability, fraud type, and auditor type on auditors’ perceived fraud detection responsibility. We also test how perceived responsibility affects auditor brainstorming performance given the importance of brainstorming in audits. A sample of 878 auditors (241 external auditors and 637 internal auditors) participated in an experiment with accountability pressure and fraud type manipulated randomly between subjects. As predicted, accountable auditors report higher detection responsibility than anonymous auditors. We also find a significant fraud type × auditor type interaction with external auditors perceiving the most detection responsibility for financial statement fraud, while internal auditors report similar detection responsibility for all fraud types. Analysis of the triangle model’s formative links reveals that professional obligation and personal control are significantly related to responsibility, while task clarity is not. Finally, the results indicate that perceived responsibility positively affects the number of detection procedures brainstormed and partially mediates the significant accountability–brainstorming relation.     

Analysis of the impact mechanism of environmental regulations on corporate environmental proactivity—based on the perspective of political connections

Previous studies have demonstrated the favorable effects of political connections on corporate environmental proactivity (CEP). However, few studies have further verified whether this is definitively the case under environmental regulations and their underlying reasons, which would help elucidate the performance and motivation of politically connected firms’ (PCFs’) environmental proactivity. Using data from Chinese A-shares-listed industrial firms from 2010 to 2016, we find that environmental regulations can significantly improve CEP. Compared with non-politically connected firms (NPCFs), PCFs are more responsive to environmental regulations. Counterfactual analysis based on corporate resource conditions suggests that firms that are more supported by government in debt financing and show higher environmental proactivity are only found in PCF samples. In order to maintain this political relationship and continuously obtain debt financing support, PCFs tend to “bind” their business decisions to the government’s environmental governance objectives and display higher environmental proactivity. In summary, PCFs’ environmental proactivity involves self-interest decisions based on their resource conditions.     

产权性质、审计师声誉与债务融资能力--基于中国2010－2014年A股IPO公司的经验证据

以2010－2014年中国沪深两市A股IPO公司为样本,实证检验产权性质、审计师声誉与债务融资能力的关系,研究结果发现：公司选择高声誉审计师的概率与国有控股比例成反方向变化;在其他条件相同的情况下,审计师声誉与IPO公司债务融资能力显著正相关;进一步研究发现,审计师声誉与债务融资能力的正相关会随着国有控股比例的提高而减弱。     

Optimal cash holdings under heterogeneous beliefs

This paper explores a one‐period model for a firm that finances its operations through debt provided by heterogeneous creditors. Creditors differ in their beliefs about the firm's investment outcomes. We show the existence of Stackelberg equilibria in which the firm holds cash reserves in order to provide incentives for pessimistic creditors to invest in the firm. We find interest rates and cash holdings to be complementary tools for increasing debt capacity. In markets with a high concentration of capital across a small interval of pessimistic creditors or by a few large creditors, cash holdings is the preferred tool to increase the debt capacity of the firm.     

Busy Auditors,Ethical Behavior,and Discretionary Accruals Quality in Malaysia

The required professional and ethical pronouncements of accountants mean that auditors need to be competent and exercise due care and skill in the performance of their audits. In this study, we examine what happens when auditors take on more clients than they should, thus raising doubts about their ability to maintain competence and audit quality. Using 2803 observations of Malaysian companies from 2010 to 2013, we find that auditors with multiple clients are associated with lower earnings quality, proxied by total accruals and discretionary accruals. Our results demonstrate that associating client firms’ reported discretionary accruals with individual auditors, rather than their firms or offices, is important in determining audit quality. Moreover, we demonstrate that the disclosure of auditors’ signatures on their reports is useful for assessing auditor quality at the individual level, thus contributing to the debate on the usefulness of having auditor identities on reports.     

Internal Audits as a Source of Ethical Behavior,Efficiency, and Effectiveness in Work Units

This study of internal auditors and auditees, who engage in both financial and operational internal audits in Israel, extends theory and research on internal audits in organizational units. It develops and tests a model that examines the role of top management and internal auditors in facilitating learning from internal audits and driving perceived performance improvement. We argue that support from the top management for the internal audit as well as the auditor’s capacity (skills, resources, and behaviors) facilitate learning from audits and help audited units to improve ethicality, efficiency, and effectiveness in organizations. The results of time-lagged survey data provide general support for the hypothesized indirect relationships between auditor capacity, auditor–auditee relational exchanges, learning from audits, and three different perceived performance measures: ethical behavior, efficiency, and effectiveness. We discuss the implications for research on internal audits, proactive learning, ethics, and performance improvement of organizational units in the public sector.