On the Cost Structure of the Japanese Property-Casualty Insurance Industry

This article tests economies of scale and economies of scope for the property‐casualty insurance companies in Japan. We fit a composite cost function to a set of Japanese firms over the period from 1980 to 1995 and employ an error components model. Our main findings are as follows. First, statistically significant economies of scale are observed in both Japanese firms and foreign firms operating in Japan. Second, economies of scope are also statistically significant for Japanese firms and most of the foreign insurers between the “third sector” products and the rest of the property‐casualty insurance lines.     

An Investigation of Factors Influencing the Association between Top Management Ownership and Earnings Management

This study conjectures and shows that the level of stock ownership by top management is non-monotonically associated with managers' propensity to manage earnings. Increasing ownership from low levels decreases earnings management while ownership at high levels increases earnings management. Further, this study attempts to discern when the effects of management ownership are more salient for the firm. The results of this exploratory analysis of 15,945 firm observations over a six-year period show that the non-monotonic association between top management ownership and earnings management is significant, and hence more important, for the firm characteristics of low growth opportunities, high operating volatility, small size, frequent losses, high-technology, and low institutional ownership.     

The Association between Outside Directors, Institutional Investors and the Properties of Management Earnings Forecasts

We investigate the relation of the board of directors and institutional ownership with the properties of management earnings forecasts. We find that firms with more outside directors and greater institutional ownership are more likely to issue a forecast and are inclined to forecast more frequently. In addition, these forecasts tend to be more specific, accurate and less optimistically biased. These results are robust to changes specification, Granger causality tests, and simultaneous equation analyses. The results are similar in the pre– and post–Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) eras. Additional analysis suggests that concentrated institutional ownership is negatively associated with forecast properties. This association is less negative in the post–Reg FD environment, which is consistent with Reg FD reducing the ability of firms to privately communicate information to select audiences.     

Board Monitoring and Earnings Management Pre- and Post-IFRS

In this paper, we address the question of whether the board of directors is more effective in constraining earnings management after the mandatory application of IFRS. Specifically, we explore how two board characteristics — board independence and (2) the existence of an audit committee impact earnings management. Our empirical results suggest that board independence and audit committees play an important and effective role in reducing earnings management after the introduction of IFRS and that the accounting regulatory framework significantly contributes to the effectiveness of the two corporate governance mechanisms. Our findings also confirm that a company's corporate governance characteristics remain an important determinant of earnings quality; therefore, an analysis of the effects of new regulations must consider firm-level determinants.     

管理层业绩预告违规与分析师监管

本文从外部治理的角度考察了分析师对业绩预告违规的影响及其对监管制度的替代作用。研究结果表明,分析师跟踪可以显著降低上市公司业绩预告违规的概率;进一步控制分析师跟踪规模后发现,有明星分析师跟踪以及来自高声誉券商的分析师数量越多、分析师预测分歧度越低,预测越准确,这种治理作用越显著。但是分析师的监管作用仅在上市公司受监管较弱时有效,对受监管力度较强上市公司的业绩预告违规行为则没有显著影响,表明分析师对业绩预告的治理效应仅在监管力度较弱时发挥作用,成为监管制度的有效替代。本文拓展了我国分析师研究的领域与视角,并为监管部门信息披露制度的制定与执行提供了新的经验证据。     

The Association between Corporate Boards, Audit Committees, and Management Earnings Forecasts: An Empirical Analysis

We study how corporate boards and audit committees are associated with voluntary financial disclosure practices, proxied here by management earnings forecasts. We find that in firms with more effective board and audit committee structures, managers are more likely to make or update an earnings forecast, and their forecast is less likely to be precise, it is more accurate, and it elicits a more favorable market response. Together, our empirical evidence is broadly consistent with the notion that effective corporate governance is associated with higher financial disclosure quality.     

The Effect of Earnings Forecasts on Earnings Management

We develop a theory of the association between earnings management and voluntary management forecasts in an agency setting. Earnings management is modeled as a "window dressing" action that can increase the firm's reported accounting earnings but has no impact on the firm's real cash flows. Earnings forecasts are modeled as the manager's communication of the firm's future cash flows. We show that it is easier to prevent the manager from managing earnings if he is asked to forecast earnings. We also show that earnings management is more likely to follow high earnings forecasts than low earnings forecasts. Finally, our analysis shows that shareholders may not find it optimal to prohibit earnings management. Earlier results rationalize earnings management by violating some assumption underlying the Revelation Principle. By contrast, in our model the principal can make full commitments and communication is unrestricted. Nonetheless, earnings management can be beneficial as it reduces the cost of eliciting truthful forecasts.     

业绩预告披露与盈余管理研究

盈余管理存在的根本原因在于投资者与管理层之间的信息不对称。业绩预告作为上市公司未来经营成果、财务状况与现金流量的预测,在很大程度上会影响投资者对上市公司的评估及其投资决策。从业绩预告披露的特征方面出发,研究业绩预告披露与盈余管理之间的关系,包括业绩预告的性质、预告精确度、预告误差分别与盈余管理程度的关系,结果发现：发布业绩预告的公司,盈余管理水平更高。预告精确度以及预告期间与预测当期盈余管理水平正相关,预测误差与盈余管理水平负相关。当消息类型不同的时候,预测的强制性与否以及＂变脸＂对盈余管理水平的影响不同。结论支持了上市公司财务报告迎合业绩预告披露的说法。     

ERP系统、股权结构与盈余质量关系

以沪深股市ERP(企业资源管理系统)用户为样本,观察ERP是否影响了盈余质量。由于用户管理层持股比例偏低、股权集中度较高、股权制衡能力较弱,使得ERP内部使用者——管理层有较强的盈余操纵动机;ERP技术的先进性,为用户操纵盈余提供了便利。因而,ERP应用可能加剧用户的盈余操纵,降低盈余质量,这一假设得到实证支持。与已有研究不同,考虑了ERP使用者动机;选取与会计基础相关的可操控应计指标、与市场相关的盈余反映系数、会计稳健性指标多重检验;以新兴经济体国家中国公司为样本,改变了国际上主要研究美国情况局面。建议管理层、审计师、股东、监管层及相关人员在评估ERP系统及目前正在实施的XBRL(可扩展商业报告语言)效果时,考虑使用者动机的影响。     

风险投资“逐名”动机与上市公司盈余管理

本文考察了风险投资的"逐名"动机对上市公司会计信息质量、IPO后长期业绩的影响。研究发现:第一,风险投资支持的公司在IPO时的盈余管理程度要高于无风投支持的公司,考虑锁定期的可能影响后这一结果仍然显著,并且风投的持股比例、派出董事情况、声誉以及政治联系都与盈余管理程度正相关;第二,风险投资支持的公司在IPO后的盈余管理程度要显著高于无风投支持的公司,配合减持需要、创造有利退出条件是重要原因;第三,风险投资支持的公司其IPO后长期市场业绩要低于无风投支持的公司,并且IPO时盈余管理程度越大、IPO后的长期业绩也越差。研究从会计信息角度系统考察了风险投资的可能负面作用。即为了顺利上市和退出,风投支持公司的盈余管理程度要高于无风投支持的公司,但这在一定程度上也造成了风投支持公司上市后的长期业绩走低。     

The Effect of Earnings Management on the Asymmetric Timeliness of Earnings

Abstract:   Is earnings management affecting (driving) the measures of earnings conservatism? Ball et al. (2000) point out that the asymmetry in the recognition of good and bad news in earnings (faster recognition of bad news: earnings conservatism) is more pronounced in common‐law than in code‐law based accounting regimes. However, comparative studies on earnings conservatism in Europe have failed to identify significant differences between common‐law and code‐law based countries. We argue that in code‐law based countries managers have incentives to reduce earnings consistently. This enhances the association between earnings and returns in bad news periods. We find that after controlling for discretionary accruals, the differential earnings response to bad news in Germany and France decreases significantly.     

我国保险业风险管理现状及对策

论述了我国保险业风险管理水平较低,重视不够,只重视内生风险不重视外生风险等问题的现状。探讨了以上不足对我国保险业存在的影响及其形成的原因,指出我国保险业如何应对这些问题的方法和策略。     

从香港保联运作看国内保险行业协会建设

随着保险业的迅猛发展和保险竞争主体的不断增加,保险行业协会重要性日益显现。对香港保联与国内保险行业协会运作特点进行比较,找出国内保险行业协会存在的不足及原因,有利于提高国内保险行业协会的公信度,加强市场化运作,充分发挥其独特功能,强化自我约束机制的若干建设性建议。     

The Effects of Uncertainty on the Informativeness of Earnings: Evidence from the Insurance Industry in the Wake of Catastrophic Events

This study examines the effects of uncertainty associated with large-scale catastrophes on the informativeness of earnings announcements by property and casualty insurers. It contributes to the literature on the effects of uncertainty on the informativeness of earnings announcements by distinguishing between: (1) uncertainty due to exogenous events that obscure the firm's future prospects, and (2) uncertainty due to noise in earnings. Results suggest that heightened uncertainty associated with exposure to catastrophe losses is significantly positively associated with the market's response to earnings reports, even after controlling for uncertainty due to noise in earnings. This implies that during periods of high uncertainty, investors find earnings information more useful in assessing the future prospects of the firm.     

盈余管理真相

盈余管理是公司管理层实施战略管理的重要工具之一,合格的CF0并不一定必须去做盈余管理,但盈余管理却是CFO工作的重要组成部分。如果把盈余管理当作粉饰报表的工具,那就危险了。     

公司治理结构与盈余管理模式的互动分析

公司治理结构影响会计信息质量,会计信息质量的高低对公司治理结构的完善起到关键作用.盈余管理通过会计政策的选择与公司治理结构产生关系,公司治理结构对盈余管理模式具有重要影响,这种影响体现在内部治理和外部治理两个方面.同时,不同的盈余管理模式对公司治理结构的完善起着不同的作用.     

保险业参与农村社会管理创新初探

改革开放以来,农村经济社会发生了深刻变化,农村各种社会问题逐步凸显。如何加强和创新农村社会管理,是建设和谐农村和推动中国现代化进程中一个重大课题。保险作为市场化的风险转移机制、社会互助机制和社会管理机制,在提高公共服务供给能力、提升公共服务资源配置效能和社会管理效率上具有独特的优势。因此,保险业参与农村社会管理创新,建设社会主义和谐农村,就必须高度关注农业生产安全保障、多层次农村社会保障体系建设、农村各项社会事业的推动、农村社会治安管理以及农村减灾和灾害救助体系建设等与农村民生密切相关的领域。     

The Linkages between Dividends and Earnings

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the linkages between dividends and earnings. Using the Granger test of statistical causality, it is found that some firms use dividends for signaling, some follow a residual policy, and some firms simultaneously signal and follow a residual policy. Segmenting firms according to dividend policy, the results indicate that firms that follow a residual or signaling dividend policy tend to have a higher growth in asset turnover, but a lower growth in revenues. Signaling firms also tend to be smaller, have higher variability in revenues, and use less debt throught time.     

中国保险业发展与经济增长关系的灰色关联分析

本文运用灰色关联分析方法,对中国保险业与经济增长关系进行了实证分析.从全国范围来看,保险业发展与经济增长之间具有密切关系.从三大地区来看,保险业发展与经济增长之间既存在密切相关,又有明显地区差异.中国在未来需要制定更为完备的政策发展保险业,为经济长远发展奠定条件.     

2002年以来全球保险业的发展与风险管理

2000年以来,全球经济、政治状况和自然环境都发生了未曾预料的重大变化,如新经济泡沫破灭、信用风险接连暴露、巨灾损失逐年增大、局部战争连续升级、恐怖主义新的威胁等,给全球保险业造成了重大损失,彻底打破了保险业原有的发展规律、运行轨迹和运作模式,给保险业带来了全新的经营风险,使保险业面临前所未有的风险管理挑战.