AASB 1028 And Choice Of Discount Rate: Gross Or Net Of Taxation Effects?

This paper discusses the issues arising from the choice of discount rate to be included in the present-value calculation required for the measurement of liabilities relating to employee entitlements in company accounts. We look at the implications of AASB 1028, as it concerns the choice of a discount rate before or after an allowance for taxation. AASB 1028 relates to most employee entitlements including long-service leave, accumulated annual leave and workers' compensation, where the accounting entity self-insures.     

Owner liability and financial reporting information as predictors of firm default in bank loans

We examine the effects of owner liability and non-accounting and financial accounting information on the probability of default as defined in Basel II in bank loan contracted by non listed firms. We model default as a function of owner liability and accounting and non-accounting information of non-listed firms, drawing on 43,117 annual accounts of 16,029 firms over a 7-year period. Our estimations based on mixed logistic regressions with random parameters show that the predicted default probability of full-liability firms is 0.72 times that of limited liability firms. The likelihood ratio test for omitted variables confirms the additional predictive ability of liability status over and above other non-accounting and financial accounting information. A Heckman self-selection model does not indicate sampling bias. The particular definition of default used in the study enables the findings to be generalizable across other institutional contexts.     

会计师事务所侵权责任抗辩事由研究

抗辩既包括程序法意义上的抗辩,也包括实体法意义上的抗辩,抗辩事由属于实体法上的抗辩。根据侵权责任的三层结构,会计师事务所侵权责任抗辩事由可按照客观构成要件阻却事由(不存在侵权行为、损害事实和因果关系)——违法性构成要件阻却事由(过失相抵、受害人故意和第三人过错)——主观构成要件阻却事由(不存在过错)三个层次,依次展开。在前一抗辩事由成立时,会计师事务所即无侵权责任,不必考虑后一抗辩事由;只有在前一抗辩事由不成立时,才须考虑后一抗辩事由。     

The Influence of Elections on the Accounting Choices of Governmental Entities

This paper investigates whether gubernatorial elections affect state governments’ accounting choices. We identify two accounts, the compensated absence liability account and the unfunded pension liability account, which provide incumbent gubernatorial candidates with flexibility for manipulation. We find that, in an election year, the liability associated with compensated absences and unfunded pension liabilities are both systematically lower. We also find that the variation in these employment‐related liabilities is correlated with proxies for the incumbent's incentives and ability to manipulate their accounting reports. Jointly, these results suggest that state governments manipulate accounting numbers to present a healthier financial picture in an election year.     

新会计准则下寿险公司资产负债管理研究

资产负债管理是影响寿险公司经营成败的重要因素,其长期目标是经济价值最大化.在信息不对称的情况下,会计报表成为寿险公司实施资产负债管理的重要依据和管理内容.我国保险业实施新会计准则后,寿险公司资产与负债的计量方式发生重大变化,会计报表的波动性显著增加,对资产负债管理提出了严峻的挑战.本文研究了新会计准则对传统险、分红险和...     

Accounting measures of unfunded pension liabilities and the expected present value of future pension cash flows

The associations between three alternative measures of the unfunded pension obligation discussed in the accounting literature and a measure that reflects the present value of expected cash flows (economic liability) are examined in this study using simulated data. The sensitivity of the correlations to funding methods, growth rates of the plan population, interest rates, plan initiation dates, and extent of sweetening are also studied. It is shown that all the accounting measures of the pension obligation are highly correlated with the total economic liability when funding is excluded, but the correlations decrease significantly when the net (unfunded) liability is examined. Furthermore, it is shown analytically that one cannot predict ex ante which measure of the unfunded liability will be most highly correlated with the economic liability. The implication for accounting standard-setting bodies is that both the pension plan assets and pension obligations should be disclosed to facilitate users in making predictions about changes in the economic liability. A recent official pronouncement, SFAS 87, provides for such disclosure in most circumstances.     

新所得税准则对上市公司盈利能力影响分析

新所得税准则要求企业运用资产负债表债务法进行所得税核算。资产负债表债务法通过比较资产负债的计税基础计算出应纳税暂时性差异和可抵扣暂时性差异,进而确认当期递延所得税,调整当期的所得税费用,所得税费用的调整会影响企业当期的净利润,进而影响股东的每股收益。因此,暂时性差异会影响企业的盈利能力。本文采用统计分析方法,分析新所得税准则对上市公司盈利能力的影响。     

会计师事务所虚假陈述行政法律责任研究

会计师事务所被誉为证券市场的“经济警察”,其对被审单位审计报告关系到投资者的切身利益。会计师事务所在证券市场的虚假陈述行为不仅破坏了金融市场秩序同时还会引起投资者合法权益的损害,因此《证券法》规定了会计师事务所及注册会计师虚假陈述时因承担的民事责任和行政责任。然而,在现行法?律框架之下行政责任的认定往往是民事责任的前提,就我国目前实践而言,行政责任的认定存在诸多不足,注册会计师基于其专业性及公众的合理信赖而对审计业务负有合理的注意义务,法律要求注册会计师在从事审计义务时要勤勉尽责,故细化勤勉尽责义务、完善行政责任构成要件是研究会计师事务所虚假陈述法律责任的重点。     

Financial fairness and conditional indexation

Collective pension contracts can generate advantages for their participants by implementing forms of risk sharing. To ensure the continuity of a collective scheme, it has to be monitored whether the contracts offered to participants are financially fair in terms of their market value. When risk sharing is implemented by means of optionalities such as conditional indexation, the analysis of financial fairness is not straightforward. In this paper, we use a stylised overlapping generations model to study financial fairness for a conditional indexation scheme. We find that financial fairness for all participants at all times is not feasible within a scheme of this type, unless the nature of indexation is such that the scheme is reduced to DC. However, financial fairness for incoming generations at the moment of entry can be realised. We show how to compute the fair contribution rate as a function of the current nominal asset/liability ratio for a given level of nominal entitlements. At low levels of the ratio, the fair contribution for incoming generations is also relatively low; nevertheless, the joining of a new generation still has a positive effect on the asset/liability ratio.     

Has the new world order taught the big four to manage client portfolio risk? Examining extreme loss occurrences before and after Sarbanes Oxley

This paper analyzes ongoing efforts by the large public accounting firms to manage their legal liability. For this purpose, the paper focuses on extreme financial losses from the audits of U.S. publicly traded clients incurred by Big Four firms. The possibility that this form of legal liability has changed as a result of the new world order brought to the accounting profession by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is the paper's main premise. This paper finds a major decline in the severity of these cases. However, the results show that firms have not necessarily improved the management of this risk. The drivers of extreme legal liability continue to be client continuance decisions and larger clients.     

所得税会计处理:新准则与旧规范的比较分析

财政部新发布的《企业会计准则第18号——所得税》，摒弃了旧规范中所得税会计处理的应付税款法和纳税影响会计法，规定采用资产负债表债务法进行所得税的会计核算，从而导致新准则与旧规范在会计与税法的差异定义、收益确定、所得税费用计算、亏损会计处理等方面存在着很大的差异。新准则基本实现了与国际会计准则的趋同。     

Managerial legal liability coverage and earnings conservatism

This paper examines the effect of managerial legal liability coverage on earnings conservatism. Using directors’ and officers’ (D&O) liability insurance coverage and cash for indemnification as a proxy for managerial legal liability coverage, we find that the higher the managerial liability coverage, which reduces the expected legal liability of managers, the less conservative the firm's earnings. We also find that managerial legal liability coverage has a stronger influence on earnings conservatism in a legal regime with higher litigation risk. Our results are consistent with the threat of litigation conditioning managers to practice conservative accounting.     

The influence of judges' attitudes on liability assessments related to failed audits exhibiting significant audit team over-time or significant use of off-shore auditors

This study provides evidence on how audit firms' decisions to use offshore (outsourced) auditors or to assign on-site (local) auditors extensive overtime affect judges' evaluation of auditor legal liability I conduct a behavioral experiment in which actual judges responded to a hypothetical audit lawsuit. The results suggest auditors may be penalized during the litigation process depending on the extent of overtime or off-shoring and judges' attitude toward the public accounting profession. Judges with a positive attitude toward public accounting assessed more liability for an audit firm that used offshore (outsourced) auditors than for the use of extensive overtime for on-site auditors or a control condition. However, judges with a negative attitude toward the auditing profession assessed higher liability for auditors except when on-site auditors bore significant overtime in the final weeks of the audit.     

事务所所有权规模对审计收费的影响及检验

根据中国2007~2011年全部A股上市公司的年报数据,从理论上分析了会计师事务所所有权规模对审计收费的影响并进行了实证检验。研究发现有限责任会计师事务所所有权规模与审计收费显著正相关,即随着事务所所有权规模的增大,审计收费也增大。研究同时发现,相对于私有产权上市公司,事务所对国有产权上市公司的盈余管理收取了更高的审计费用。     

Which approach to accounting for employee stock options best reflects market pricing?

We use a residual income valuation framework to compare equity valuation implications of four approaches to employee stock options (ESOs) accounting: APB 25 “recognize nothing”, SFAS 123 (revised) “recognize ESO expense”, FASB Exposure Draft “recognize and expense ESO asset” and “recognize ESO asset and liability”. Theoretical analysis shows only grant date recognition of an asset and liability, and subsequent marking-to-market of the liability, results in accounting numbers that capture the dilution effects of ESOs on current shareholder value. Out-of-sample equity market value prediction tests and in-sample comparisons of model explanatory power also support the “recognize ESO asset and liability” method.     

The threat of litigation and voluntary partner/manager turnover in big six firms

In debates over tort reform, various sources (e.g., Berton 1991, p. A1, 1994, p. A1; Dalton et al. 1994, p. 56) have asserted that the threat of litigation contributes to the voluntary departure of partners and managers from the Big Six public accounting firms, possibly detracting from their auditing capabilities. Others have countered that increased legal liability would improve audit quality by encouraging greater care in the conduct of audits (e.g., Kothari et al. 1988, p. 322). Both arguments seem plausible, but there is little systematic evidence to support a link between litigation and turnover. Our study attempts to help fill this void. We report the results of an empirical analysis of unique questionnaire data obtained from former partners and managers who left Big Six firms during the period 1990–1992. A substantial portion of the respondents indicated that the threat of litigation influenced their turnover decisions. Having made personal payment because of litigation was significant in explaining the importance of the threat of litigation in turnover decisions. Further, path analysis revealed evidence of indirect effects of the threat of litigation on work/non-work commitments and control/supervision, which in turn affected turnover. Both the act of having made personal payment as a result of litigation and the prospect of doing so in the future were significant in explaining respondents' decisions to leave public accounting altogether. Our findings support the public accounting profession's arguments of linkages between turnover and the threat of litigation.     

构建注册会计师执业责任保险体系的探讨

本文从会计师事务所及注册会计师层面和保险公司层面分别论述了推行注册会计师执业责任保险的必要性和可行性,分析了注册会计师执业责任保险实施难的问题及成因。借鉴国外先进经验,初步探讨了包括立法、运行及监管和保障机制在内的注册会计师执业责任保险体系的构建。     

Auditor liability: A comparison of judge and juror verdicts

This research examines differences between judges and jurors in rendering liability judgments in auditor litigation cases. While any number of case contexts would allow us to contrast and compare judges and jurors, we chose one that we believed would also address a second timely issue, auditor reliance or non-reliance upon the work of others. Within the general context of litigation of an alleged audit failure, we manipulated, between-participants, external auditor reliance on the work of others (relied on outsourced work, relied on in-house internal auditors’ work or did not rely). Our results show differences in the liability assessments of judges and jurors. Judges assign more liability to auditors that rely on the work of in-house internal auditors, less liability to auditors that rely on outsourced internal auditors and the least liability to auditors that choose not to rely on the work of internal auditors (but re-perform the work themselves) while jurors assess higher liability regardless of the work done by the auditors. Mediation analyses suggests the differences found in the overall liability assessments of jurors and judges are partially driven by their divergent attitudes towards the public accounting profession with jurors’ unfavorable attitudes leading to them assign liability regardless of the work performed. Further analysis suggests juror insensitivity to our reliance manipulations may reflect a strict liability perspective (consistent with prior work by Charron and Lowe (2008)); while judges consider other factors when making liability assessments.     

AUDITOR PREFERENCES FOR LIABILITY LIMITATION

Debate over statutorily limiting auditor civil liability has implicitly assumed auditors are homogeneous in their preferences for capping liability. This study examines the preferences of auditors for limiting auditor liability and investigates reasons for the preferences. The study uses an Australian setting in which there has been a persistent debate for a decade or more over regulatory intervention in this area. The study provides a background to the debate over this issue and addresses the effects of two factors suggested by the extant literature, namely auditor size and the business risk of an auditor's client portfolio. These factors are argued to affect the expected costs of litigation facing auditors and therefore their preferences on capping liability. Using the submissions by audit firms on an Australian Companies and Securities Law Review Committee Discussion Paper on limiting auditor liability, the study finds larger audit firms that have greater capacities to lobby and greater expected costs of litigation from unlimited liability than smaller firms, dominate the respondents on the Paper and tend to be more supportive of liability limitation than smaller audit firms. Within the array of possible methods of capping liability canvassed by the Discussion Paper, the study documents evidence of diversity in preferences among audit firms. Larger audit firm size is associated with a preference for a group of methods that provides such firms with opportunities to benefit from the capping at the expense of the smaller audit firms. The method most preferred by the larger audit firms is the multiple of fee with a prescribed minimum. Perhaps not surprisingly, this is also the preferred method of the professional accounting bodies in Australia. As to the effect of the riskiness of the client portfolio on preferences for methods of limiting liability, the study finds that higher business risk in an auditor's portfolio is associated with a preference for methods that give greater control over their liability exposure. The study has implications for the impact of regulation of capping liability on competition in the audit services market.     

Incentives for Managing Accounting Information: Property-Liability Insurer Stock-Charter Conversions

Incentives to manage accounting information are examined within 63 property‐liability insurance company conversions from mutual ownership to common stock charter. In the conversion process, policyholders' embedded equity claims must be valued. Since mutuals have no separately traded equity, accounting numbers are a critical input in this valuation. Incentives for surplus management vary across firms; the strongest evidence of surplus management is observed among firms where the mutual's executives become the firm's principal stockholders following conversion. The evidence suggests that converting firms manage accounting information primarily by adjusting liabilities and selectively establishing investment losses—not by altering claims settlement policy.