The effects of the Asian crisis, corporate governance and accounting system on the valuation of book value and earnings

This paper examines the value relevance of earnings and book value in four Asian countries, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, in the period surrounding the Asian financial crisis. Specifically, we examine the impact of the economic environment on the value relevance of book value and earnings. We also examine the effects of corporate-governance mechanisms and the type of accounting system together with the economic environment on the value relevance of accounting numbers. Our results indicate that the value relevance of earnings in Indonesia and Thailand was significantly reduced during the Asian financial crisis while the value relevance of book value increased. In Malaysia, the value relevance of both earnings and book value decreased during the crisis. In Korea, neither book value nor earnings was significantly impacted by the crisis. Our results indicate that the level of corporate-governance mechanisms has an impact on the extent of changes in the value relevance of book values, but not earnings. Specifically, the value relevance of book value declines when corporate governance is weak. Finally, our results indicate that accounting systems (i.e., IAS or tax-based) also affect the extent of changes in the value relevance of book value resulting from the crisis.     

会计稳健性对盈余价值相关性的影响研究——基于公允价值计量的视角

以2001～2008年我国A股上市公司为研究样本,基于公允价值计量全面引入的视角,考察了会计稳健性对盈余价值相关性的影响,实证发现:会计稳健性显著降低了会计盈余的价值相关性,而公允价值计量显著弱化了会计稳健性对于盈余价值相关性的负向影响.研究结果表明,对于我国上市公司而言,稳健的会计政策并不意味着高质量的财务报告信息.公允价值与会计稳健性适度藕合,可以弥补会计稳健性的不足,有利于提高会计信息质量.     

Corporate Life Cycle and Earnings Benchmarks

We examine whether and how corporate life cycle significantly influences meeting or beating earnings benchmarks (MBE). We find that corporate life cycle plays a significant role in a firm's meeting or beating earnings benchmarks behaviour. Developing strategies that fit into the stage of corporate life cycle is crucial for corporate success. MBE is an important financial goal that requires strategies. In this study, we examine whether and how corporate life cycle significantly influences MBE. Specifically, we focus on the incentives of MBE in growth and mature firms. We find that corporate life cycle significantly influences a firm's tendency to meet or beat zero earnings, prior earnings and analysts’ earnings forecasts. Based on logit regressions for the period from 1988 to 2008, the results indicate that growth firms are more likely to meet or beat all three earnings benchmarks. Overall, the results of this study indicate that a firm's MBE behaviour should be examined in the context of its life cycle stage.     

Corporate governance and family firm performance during the Global Financial Crisis

We investigate the impact of corporate governance on accounting and market performance relationships of family firms during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). We expect the monitoring aspects of corporate governance to complement the long-term orientation of family firms, improving the value relevance of accounting and market performance during times of exogenous financial shocks such as the GFC. We find that the family-firm value is more sensitive to book value than earnings changes. We also find better corporate governance, irrespective of whether it is a family firm or non-family firm, is associated with better accounting and market performance during the GFC.     

Corporate philanthropy in the US stock market: Evidence on corporate governance,value relevance and earnings manipulation

This study examines the financial attributes of corporate philanthropy derived from the agency motives for corporate giving. Further, this study assesses the value relevance of corporate giving and investigates the impact of giving on investor perceptions and future profitability and growth. Also, it investigates the association between charitable spending and earnings manipulation. The findings indicate that the adoption of structured philanthropic initiatives and the use of in-kind contributions encourage corporate giving. Monitoring exercised by leverage and corporate governance affects corporate giving downwards. Firms that experience a management change are subject to more public scrutiny and tend to give more. Corporate giving is value relevant and is negatively related to analyst forecast error and positively to analyst coverage. Charitable firms tend to engage less in earnings manipulation. However, firms with significant growth options may direct slack resources to discretionary charitable causes. In-kind contributions are negatively related to managerial opportunism.     

Intangible assets and value relevance: Evidence from the Portuguese stock exchange

We assess the value relevance of the amounts for identifiable intangible assets and goodwill reported in the financial statements of all non-finance companies listed on the main market of the Portuguese Stock Exchange from 1998 to 2008. Additionally, we use panel data to explore the impact on value relevance of Portugal’s formal adoption of International Accounting Standards [IAS] and International Financial Reporting Standards [IFRS] in 2005. A distinctive feature of the accounting by our sample companies is that when they adopted IAS 38 and IFRS 3 in 2005, they were no longer required to recognise some intangible assets (such as start-up costs and research expenditures) and were no longer required to amortise goodwill.We find that net earnings, reported goodwill and other intangible assets are highly significantly associated with stock price. However, whereas earnings are related positively to stock prices when Portuguese Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) were applied prior to 2005, the value relevance of earnings appears to have declined after the adoption of IAS/IFRS in 2005. Although the change to IAS/IFRS had no impact on the value relevance of identifiable intangibles as a whole, the evidence suggests that there was a positive effect on the value relevance of goodwill. When the subclasses of identifiable intangible assets are considered, we found evidence of an increase in value relevance of goodwill, other intangible assets, and research and development expenditures.     

The Value Relevance of Mandatory Non‐GAAP Earnings

This paper examines the value relevance of earnings components where there is a mandatory requirement to report generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings and non‐GAAP earnings, and where the items to be eliminated from GAAP earnings are defined in detail. The setting is different from non‐GAAP earnings disclosures presented in the United States and elsewhere, where managers have discretion over whether to report a non‐GAAP earnings number, and what to exclude from GAAP earnings. Our mandatory setting enables us to report value relevance results that are not confounded by managers' discretionary choices regarding non‐GAAP earnings exclusions. We use price‐level regressions, based on the Ohlson (1995) model, to test for incremental and relative value relevance. The results show that non‐GAAP earnings reported under a mandatory regime have higher value relevance than GAAP earnings. The disaggregation of these items is useful to investors in a setting where managerial motivations are minimized.     

Corporate risk-taking,firm value and high levels of managerial earnings forecasts

We examine the impact of high levels of managerial earnings forecasts, an important form of voluntary disclosure, on corporate risk-taking and firm value. Theory and anecdotal evidence suggest that a policy of high disclosure may reduce managers' willingness to invest in higher-risk, higher-return projects. We first verify, as in prior research, that corporate risk-taking is associated with higher future firm value. We then document a negative relation between firms with high levels of forecasting and corporate risk-taking. Finally, we provide evidence suggesting that high levels of managerial earnings forecasts reduce the positive association between corporate risk-taking and future firm value. Our results are robust to alternative measures of corporate risk-taking and future firm value, and alternative definitions of high levels of managerial earnings forecasts. Our results may be of importance to varying interests as they highlight the potential for high levels of earnings forecasts to inhibit corporate risk-taking and lower firm value.     

Value relevance of disclosed related party transactions

Several recent North American corporate scandals have brought attention to the potential for accounting manipulations associated with related party transactions (RPTs), which have lead to a decline in perceived earnings quality. We examine the value relevance of disclosed RPTs in Chinese corporations. We focus on two types of RPTs: sales of goods and sales of assets. From 1997 to 2000, we find that the reported earnings of firms selling goods or assets to related parties exhibit a lower valuation coefficient than those of firms in China without such transactions. This result is not observed during 2001-2003 after a new fair value measurement rule for RPTs came into effect. Our evidence suggests that the new RPT regulation in China is perceived to be effective at reducing the potential misuse of RPTs for earnings management purposes. Since RPTs have been the subject of numerous scandals in North America, our evidence from the Chinese stock markets suggests that new RPT accounting standards could prove an efficient solution to this issue.     

What is the Relationship Between REIT Governance and Earnings Management?

The empirical corporate finance literature claims that better corporate governance constrains earnings management, while others argue that the unique legal and reporting structure of REITs may reduce the need for such internal corporate governance. Using a sample of publicly traded REITs for the 2004–2008 time period, we examine the relationships amongst corporate governance, accruals earnings management, manipulation of Funds from Operations (FFO), and real earnings management. We find that corporate governance quality is unrelated to accruals earnings management and manipulation of FFO. At first glance, the findings suggest that managers need less internal oversight because of the more transparent reporting structure of REITs. However, we document that REITs engage in significant real activities manipulation for earnings management purposes. Our empirical findings further show that corporate governance characteristics, in particular board size, independence, number of board meetings and audit committee financial expertise, are essential for constraining such activities. Finally, by focusing on a subset of REITs that act in ways which previous research has identified as more susceptible to earnings management activities, we demonstrate that good corporate governance effectively reduces accruals earnings management and manipulation of FFO for these REITs. Overall, our findings indicate that, despite the unique legal and reporting structure, REITs engage in certain forms of earnings management, and that the ability for REITs to manipulate earnings is reduced when corporate governance is more effective.     

Comparing the Value Relevance of Two Operating Income Measures

Prior research has shown that pro-forma (recurring operating) earnings reported by managers and analysts are more value relevant than GAAP net income. Since GAAP net income contains many non-operating items that reduce its value relevance compared to operating earnings, comparing the value relevance of GAAP net income with operating earnings unduly favors operating earnings. We show that operating earnings reported by managers and analysts are more value relevant than a measure of operating earnings derived from firms' financial statements, as reported by Standard and Poor's. Our evidence is important because it indicates that operating earnings reported by managers and analysts contain value relevant information beyond that provided by operating earnings obtained by sophisticated users from firms' financial statements.     

Incentive Contracting and Value Relevance of Earnings and Cash Flows

Accounting performance measures such as earnings and cash flows are useful for both valuation and performance evaluation purposes. However, little evidence exists on whether there is any association between these two roles. In this study, we provide large sample empirical evidence that the value relevance of earnings explains a significant amount of the cross‐sectional variation in the pay‐sensitivity of earnings and the incremental value relevance of cash flows explains variation in the marginal pay‐sensitivity of cash flows. We document that while both value relevance and compensation weight on earnings decline from the subperiod of 1993 to 1997 to the subperiod of 1998 to 2003, both value relevance and compensation weight on cash flows increase from the earlier subperiod to the later subperiod. Overall, our results provide additional evidence that value relevance of a performance measure plays a significant role in its use for performance evaluation.     

An evaluation of the impacts of the adoption of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers

This paper evaluates the impact of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers on the value relevance of financial reports for Australian listed firms. We find that for most firms the impacts of transition were immaterial, however some firms experienced a significant reduction in earnings and/or retained earnings and for these firms the value relevance of earnings was generally lower in the pre-adoption period compared to firms in which there was no material impact. Post adoption, there is little evidence that the standard improved the relevance of earnings generally.     

The effect of earnings quality and country-level institutions on the value relevance of earnings

This study investigates the relationship between the value relevance of earnings and earnings quality across countries. We find that there is a stronger relationship between earnings quality and the value relevance of earnings in countries with high investor protection than in countries with weak investor protection. We also find that the association between the value relevance of earnings and earnings quality is higher when a country’s information environment is less opaque. Overall, our study documents evidence on international differences in the ability of stock prices to capture useful accounting information, consistent with the notion that the returns-earnings association reflects not only the quality of accounting earnings but also the informativeness of stock prices.     

Earnings Conservatism and Value Relevance Across the Business Cycle

Abstract:  Prior research has demonstrated higher value relevance of current earnings during economic expansions relative to contractions. We largely attribute such a result to expected growth prospects being captured in the current earnings coefficient when a direct proxy for expected future earnings is omitted from the returns-earnings model. We demonstrate that the conservatism and value relevance of current earnings is actually higher during economic contractions when including a proxy for future earnings expectations. We further demonstrate that the value-relevance of expected future earnings is higher during expansions, when the association between historical accounting information and future growth opportunities likely weakens.     

Terrorist attacks and company financial numbers: Evidence on earnings management and value relevance from Madrid, London and Istanbul

This study focuses on three major terrorist attacks that took place in Madrid on 11 March 2004, in London on 7 July 2005, and in Istanbul on 27 July 2008. It examines firms that belong to banking, insurance and leisure sectors and assesses the earnings management potential and the value relevance of reported financial numbers before and after the terrorist attack. The study shows that, in general, a terrorist attack is likely to increase the scope for earnings management and reduce the value relevance of reported financial numbers. The terrorist attacks in Madrid and Istanbul have led to higher earnings management potential and less value relevant financial numbers. In contrast, the UK terrorist attack has not increased the potential for earnings management, while the value relevance of reported financial numbers has increased. The findings indicate that the insurance industry and the leisure industry are more inclined to use earnings management after the attacks. Comparing the common-law and code-law countries after the attack, the study shows that the UK displays lower discretionary accruals and higher value relevance of reported financial numbers. It is noteworthy that, after the attacks, the UK exhibits higher profitability, leverage and liquidity compared to Spain and Turkey.     

The Impact of Recession on the Value‐relevance of Accounting Information

The Global Financial Crisis of 2007–2008, and the subsequent global economic downturn, has heightened the need for research on whether the value‐relevance of accounting information is impacted by periods of macroeconomic decline. In this study, we examine whether the occurrence of a recession impacts the value‐relevance of two key accounting constructs: book value of equity and earnings. Consistent with our priors, we find that controlling for recession significantly increases the value‐relevance of both the book value of equity and earnings. Our findings indicate the importance of controlling for recession in value‐relevance studies. Sample periods that include recession events, and that do not incorporate such conditioning, may be mis‐specified, with results difficult, if not impossible, to interpret.     

Earnings quality and corporate cash holdings

Poor earnings quality exacerbates information asymmetry between internal and external stakeholders of a firm. Agency considerations then persuade investors to discount the value of corporate cash holdings out of concern about the inappropriate use of funds. In this study, we show that poor earnings quality has a negative impact on the value of corporate cash holdings and a positive impact on the level of cash reserves. We find that the negative effect of poor earnings quality either neutralizes or more than offsets the positive effect of excess cash on firm value. Our results are robust to several measures of earnings quality and model specifications.     

The value relevance of earnings in a transition economy: The case of Romania

We investigate the value relevance of earnings on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. We find that the association between accounting earnings and stock returns is comparable to the levels reported by studies conducted on more mature markets, and that it is higher for securities issued by small companies. Excluding losses from the analysis increases the value relevance of earnings, which confirms the transitory nature of negative earnings, already documented by prior studies. We also find that the regression coefficient of earnings changes is negative and we provide evidence consistent with the hypothesis that it is a consequence of the relative inefficiency of the market. Finally, the “prices lead earnings” hypothesis formulated for more mature markets is not supported by our results.     

Value relevance of earnings: Evidence from Middle Eastern and North African Countries

Researchers as well as regulators are increasingly more interested in enhancing their understanding of the factors that influence value relevance of reported earnings in financial statements. In the light of globalization and increased exposure to international accounting practices, a better comprehension of factors contributing to or reducing value relevance of earnings is essential. This paper investigates the value relevance of earnings and its components for a number of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. Additionally, the paper examines how differences in levels of mandated disclosures, source of accounting standards, and legal systems moderate the informativeness of earnings to investors. We find that mandated disclosure and source of accounting standard, (especially non-governmental source) are positively associated with earnings informativeness. Additionally, MENA countries with French civil law and systems have lower value relevance relative to countries in our sample with English and related legal codes. Further, the firms that have adopted international financial reporting standards have higher value relevance than firms in MENA countries which adhere to local standards.