Evidence on the role of accounting conservatism in monitoring managers’ investment decisions

Watts (2003), among others, argues that conservatism helps in corporate governance by mitigating agency problems associated with managers’ investment decisions. We hypothesize that if conservatism reduces managers’ex ante incentives to take on negative net present value projects and improves the ex post monitoring of investments, firms with more conservative accounting ought to have higher future profitability and lower likelihood (and magnitude) of future special items charges. Consistent with this expectation, we find that firms with more conservative accounting have (i) higher future cash flows and gross margins and (ii) lower likelihood and magnitude of special items charges than firms with less conservative accounting.     

Accounting conservatism and corporate social responsibility

We examine the association between accounting conservatism, expressed in the form of asymmetric timeliness of recognition of economic gains and losses, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). We provide evidence that, under unfavorable macroeconomic conditions and financial constraints, as well as increased levels of outside pressure from debtholders and equity holders, catering for capital providers through conservative reporting becomes a managerial priority over engagement in CSR. Our results overall indicate that, for our whole sample period (starting in the early 2000s), higher levels of conservatism are negatively associated with a CSR orientation shown by firms; however, our analysis also indicates a significant reversing trend regarding the effect of conservatism on CSR, coinciding with the post-financial-crisis period. The findings are robust to a number of specifications and tests, including the use of an instrumental variable approach explicitly addressing endogeneity biases related to reverse causality concerns. Our study suggests that, under monitoring pressure from financial stakeholders, firms prioritize commitment to accounting conservatism over the needs of non-financial stakeholders and other interest groups.     

The impact of accounting restatements on corporate innovation strategy

This study examines the effect of accounting restatements on corporate innovation strategy. Using a sample of restating firms and propensity-score-matched non-restating firms from 2000 to 2009, we find that, after restatements, restating firms experience a greater increase in exploratory innovation and a greater reduction in exploitative innovation compared to non-restating firms. These results suggest that restating firms are associated with an increased risk appetite as managers believe the upside potential may yield corporate improvement. The results also differ between fraudulent and non-fraudulent restatements, and among restatements of varying severity. The results of this study shed light on a previously unexplored consequence of accounting restatement and highlight its real impact on corporate business strategy.     

Unconditional conservatism under the Chinese version of IFRS

This study explores the level of unconditional conservatism (UNCC) in accounting after China’s convergence with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Using the intercept of the Basu (1997) model, an overall reduction is found in UNCC under the Chinese version of IFRS. This study is the first attempt to conduct a comprehensive theoretical comparison between old and new Chinese accounting standards (CAS) in terms of UNCC. Additionally, it is the first study on the impact of convergence with IFRS, not the full adoption of IFRS, on UNCC. Finally, the study covers a relatively more extended period than most previous studies, from 1996 to 2017.     

Accounting for government grants: Standard-setting and accounting choice

This paper provides evidence on several matters relating to accounting for government grants under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Focusing on grants related to assets, we trace the development of International Accounting Standard (IAS) 20, outline some of the problems of current accounting practice, and suggest why these have not been addressed by the standard-setter. Then, by hand-collecting data relating to 559 firms from 15 countries, we empirically analyze several issues. We show that asset grants are economically important for some firms and that the frequency of grants is significantly different across the countries. For the non-financial firms in our sample, we identify the grant-related accounting policy choice: a firm can either show the grant as deferred income or net it against the asset. The options are roughly equally popular overall but the firm’s country of domicile is strongly associated with the choice. Further, as a key element of disclosure quality for this topic, we investigate whether or not the balance sheet-related numbers relating to grants are disclosed, finding that many firms do not disclose them. Disclosure quality is better for firms which use the ‘deferred income’ option, and it is also better in countries where a higher proportion of firms has received government grants. International differences and poor disclosure are detrimental to international comparisons, so we conclude that the policy choice should be removed from the accounting standard.     

Accounting policies in the public sector: Characteristics and consequences of accounting for capital assets

We study the evolution of American state and local governments’ capital asset accounting policies from the initial adoption of Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 34 through the fiscal year ending in 2016. We document substantial cross-sectional and time-series variation in capital asset accounting policies, which potentially diminishes the comparability of capital asset accounting information across governments and over time. We also explore the economic implications of those policies in terms of capital investment decisions and capital asset condition ratios, as reported in governments’ annual financial reports. Our findings, which are relevant to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and its constituents, extend prior research examining the adoption and application of generally accepted accounting principles in the public sector.     

Accounting conservatism and the profitability of corporate insiders

We predict that accounting conservatism influences insiders' opportunities to speculate on good and bad news, and thus, insider trading profitability. We find that greater conditional (unconditional) conservatism is associated with lower (higher) insiders' profitability from sales. We find limited evidence that conservatism influences profitability from purchases. These findings are consistent with our hypotheses on the different informational roles of conditional and unconditional conservatism, and on the asymmetric influence of conservatism over the opportunities to speculate on good versus bad news. Our research design takes into consideration the endogenous nature of insiders' trading and conservatism. The results are robust to different measures of conservatism and a number of additional analyses.     

An examination of the effect of international investors on accounting information quality in Russia

This paper investigates the impact of international investors on the quality of financial accounting information in Russia. I hypothesize that international stock ownership leads to enhanced quality and adoptions or intentions to adopt IFRS by Russian firms. Data was gathered through face-to-face interviews with 100 Saint-Petersburg firms randomly selected from the INFOWAVE data base. The results are consistent with the hypotheses.     

The effect of disclosure committees on non-GAAP reporting quality

I examine whether company-implemented disclosure committees help to improve non-GAAP reporting quality. I find that firms with disclosure committees provide higher quality non-GAAP performance metrics and that the exclusions used to calculate their non-GAAP numbers are less persistent for future operating income and operating cash flows. Moreover, I find that firms with disclosure committees are less likely to receive SEC comment letters about non-GAAP disclosure. For firms that receive comment letters about non-GAAP reporting, disclosure committees can help to improve non-GAAP reporting quality. Comparing the influence of audit committees and disclosure committees, I find that audit committee financial experts have stronger monitoring effects than those on disclosure committees. Meanwhile, legal experts on disclosure committees provide similar monitoring compared to audit committees’ financial experts. Finally, the interaction between audit committee financial experts and disclosure committee legal experts produces the strongest effect on non-GAAP reporting quality. In sum, my analyses suggest that disclosure committees can provide important monitoring of non-GAAP reporting.     

Exploring investor views on accounting for R&D costs under IAS 38

Research and development (R&D) is increasingly significant in the global economy and its accounting treatment has always been, and remains, a contentious area. The standard governing its accounting treatment under International Financial Reporting Standards is IAS 38 Intangible Assets. This was issued in 1998 and remains in force today. This study contrasts the thinking of the standard setters in the historical development of the standard with evidence through interviews with contemporary buy-side and sell-side equity investors. Specifically, we examine the decision-usefulness of R&D accounting information to them, and especially that of the capitalisation of development costs. This unique insight reveals that investors find R&D accounting information useful for decision making, are supportive of the principle of the mandatory capitalisation of development costs, subject to meeting specified conditions, and are very much opposed to a US expense all treatment. However, they do not regard such assets as providing an adequate signal of future value creation to them, which was the expectation of the standard setters. This is attributed to the perceived vagueness and subjectivity of the conditions currently in the standard. The theoretical framing of dissonant translation is employed to unpick these tensions. The study makes significant contributions to the standard setting and R&D strands of the financial accounting literature and the findings raise important policy implications.     

Reexamination of earnings management before and after SOX: Evidence from SEC staff accounting bulletins 99-100

A substantial literature suggests that earnings management improved for U.S. firms in the post-2002 time period as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (henceforth, SOX) (Coates and Srinivasan, 2014) which was passed in the latter part of 2002. However, few papers have explored the impact of the Security and Exchange Commission’s Staff Accounting Bulletins (SABs) 99-100 in the year 2000 following their passage in late 1999. As a result, some of the reductions in earnings management that prior research attributes to SOX may have been due to these two SABs. We find that in 2000 there was a significant decline in the zero earnings discontinuity in quarterly earnings considered by prior research to be evidence of earnings management to avoid small losses. Surprisingly, we find only mixed evidence that SOX provided an incremental impact to that of the SABs, which occurs mainly in the quarterly distribution of EPS rather than in scaled quarterly earnings. We also find evidence that the passage of the SABs significantly reduced the practice where firms take write-offs in the fourth quarter that turn a profit for the year into a loss. Overall, our findings suggest that the decline in quarterly earnings management started well before SOX due to the SEC’s initiatives.     

Influences on the supply of accounting graduates in Australia: a focus on international students

This paper examines the influences on the potential supply of accounting graduates in Australia with reference to the personal and social influences on the decision to major in accounting using the Theory of Reasoned Action and focusing on differences between local and international students. Responses from 437 accounting majors’ found that personal attitudes linked to ‘intrinsic interest’ and ‘extrinsic interest’ was influential in choice of major. ‘Reference groups’ were an important social influence for international students. The findings have implications for government policy and the accounting profession in terms of attracting students and particularly international students, who are sufficiently interested in accounting as a career choice to address the skill shortage in Australia.     

The effect of voluntary clawback adoption on non-GAAP reporting

We examine the effect of voluntary adoption of clawback provisions on non-GAAP earnings disclosures. Prior literature documents that voluntary clawback adoption improves financial reporting quality by increasing the costs of misstating GAAP earnings. However, managers may respond to perceptions of reduced discretion over GAAP reporting by increasing their reliance on non-GAAP earnings disclosures. Using a propensity score matched sample, we find that non-GAAP earnings disclosure frequency increases and non-GAAP exclusion quality decreases after clawback adoption, consistent with a more opportunistic use of non-GAAP reporting. Additional cross-sectional tests help support this interpretation.     

The Impact of Information Processing Costs on Firm Disclosure Choice: Evidence from the XBRL Mandate

This paper examines the effect of market participants’ information processing costs on firms’ disclosure choice. Using the recent eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) regulation, I find that firms increase their quantitative footnote disclosures upon implementation of XBRL detailed tagging requirements designed to reduce information users’ processing costs. These results hold in a difference‐in‐difference design using matched nonadopting firms as controls, as well as two additional identification strategies. Examination of the disclosure increase by footnote type suggests that both regulatory and nonregulatory market participants play a role in monitoring firm disclosures. Overall, these findings suggest that the processing costs of market participants can be significant enough to impact firms’ disclosure decisions.     

The curious case of Canadian corporate emissions valuation

This study examines the relevance to investors of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of publicly-traded Canadian firms over 2006–2018. Based on two independent datasets, we document that firm value varies positively in the level of emissions. This result suggests that the Canadian setting differs from those studied previously, notably because of low climate litigation risk and national and subnational expenditure policies to offset climate impacts on the economy. While national and subnational expenditures to mitigate emissions affect firms' on-balance-sheet costs and profits, investors price the future payoffs to these expenditures into firm value. Supporting this view, we find that the positive relation between emissions and firm value in Canada is amplified for high GHG-intensity firms (mainly energy firms in Alberta), whose future payoffs to environmental policies and spending exceed those of low GHG-intensity firms. Our results are consistent with investors’ recognition of the benefits to firm value of national and subnational policies to decarbonize the Canadian economy.     

The effect of board composition on the informativeness and quality of annual earnings: Empirical evidence from Greece

This study examines how the informational quality of annual accounting earnings, varies according to the size and composition of the board of directors of publicly listed firms within the Greek capital market. Data analysis over a period of five years (2000-2004) revealed that the informativeness of annual accounting earnings is positively related to the fraction of outside directors serving on the board, but it is not related to board size. Additionally, firms with a higher proportion of outside board members proved to be more conservative when reporting bad news but on the contrary they do not display greater timeliness on the recognition of good news. Finally, firms with a higher proportion of outside directors report earnings of higher quality compared to firms with a low proportion of outside directors. Our results are robust to several sensitivity tests controlling for endogeneity, firm's fixed effects and alternative models for the estimation of discretionary accruals.     

Early Birds versus Just-in-Timers: The effect of procrastination on academic performance of accounting students

This study investigates the effect of procrastination on academic performance. Prior research has often relied upon self-reported measures of procrastination, which are only weakly correlated with actual procrastination. We use the start and submission of a set of online homework problems as two objective, direct measures of student procrastination and the grade on the assignments as a measure of performance. In our study, there were a number of potential benefits to submitting online assignments ‘just-in-time’. Thus, there was a direct benefit to procrastination, which students had to weigh against potential drawbacks. With a sample size larger than those previously reported in the literature, we find that for both procrastination measures, task procrastination is associated with lower task performance. To ensure that our results are not just an association between performance and student quality, we test for the association between task procrastination and task performance, while controlling for student quality. We find that even after controlling for student quality, task procrastination is associated with lower task performance.     

The effect of conference calls on equity incentives: An empirical investigation

Conference calls have become increasingly common in recent years, yet there is little empirical evidence regarding the effect of conference calls on executive compensation. In this study, we examine the effect of voluntary disclosures on equity incentives. We hypothesize that voluntary disclosures, as measured by conference calls, affect executive compensation contracts. Using a dataset of 6263 firm-year observations from both conference call and non-conference call firms, our results are consistent with the argument that the board of directors substitutes voluntary disclosures for more costly corporate governance mechanisms. Alternatively, in firms where CEOs have less equity incentives, the owners demand more voluntary disclosures. The results of this study should be of great importance to executives and capital market participants internationally, such as investors and analysts, since we provide evidence that conference calls affect incentive based compensation contracts, which were shown in prior studies to be value relevant.     

Thinking of peace when rich: The effect of industry growth on corporate risk-taking

We investigate the unique role and mechanisms of industry growth in firms’ risk-taking policies. We find that industry growth is negatively associated with corporate risk-taking, consistent with the prospect theory that a high-growth industry gives firms a superior external environment, which may cause them to refrain from corporate risk-taking as in the saying “thinking of peace when rich.” This correlation is stronger for product market leaders, industries encouraged by industry policies and industries that receive more government support. Firms reduce risk-taking through various corporate policies, including long-term, high-value investments, operational efficiency and cash holdings in response to high industry growth. Overall, our results are consistent with industry growth negatively affecting corporate risk-taking.     

The Chrysler effect: The impact of government intervention on borrowing costs

This paper studies intercreditor conflict arising from political interference in the bankruptcy process. The U.S. government’s intervention in the 2009 reorganizations of Chrysler and GM purportedly elevated claims of the auto union over those of the automakers’ senior creditors in violation of bankruptcy priority rules. Critics predicted that businesses would experience an increase in their borrowing costs because of the risk that politically-powerful junior claimants might now leap-frog other creditors. We examine the financial market where this effect would be most detectible, the market for bonds of highly unionized companies. We find no evidence that bondholders of unionized firms reacted negatively to the government intervention and reject the claim that investors viewed the reorganizations as establishing a precedent for priority jumping by organized labor.