A review of research on regulation changes in the Asia‐Pacific region

In this study, we review the financial research on regulation in the Asia‐Pacific region. We do this by analysing six leading regional accounting and finance journals – Abacus, Accounting & Finance, Australian Accounting Review, Australian Journal of Management, International Review of Finance and the Pacific‐Basin Finance Journal. We identify five main themes of regulation research relating to: (i) banking and financial institutions, (ii) markets and trading, (iii) corporate governance, (iv) disclosure and (v) accounting standard setting. Our paper synthesises the regional literature in these areas and provide some suggestions for future directions.     

The first WFSF Asia—Pacific course: the futures of development

Is development theory dead? It seems to be, if the thinking of some young people at a futures course in Bangkok is any indication. The course, ‘The futures of development: historical roots, present trends and alternative futures’, was held in Bangkok 23–30 August 1992 by the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF), with sponsorship from UNESCO and the Communication Centre of the Queensland University of Technology, Australia.     

The Influence of Country‐ and Firm‐level Governance on Financial Reporting Quality: Revisiting the Evidence

This paper examines how firm‐level governance and country‐level governance interplay in shaping financial reporting quality. Using IFRS adoption as a source of variation in firms’ reporting discretion, and a large sample of European firms that mandatorily switch to the new set of standards, we find that in countries with low enforcement and weak oversight over financial reporting, only firms with strong board‐level corporate governance mechanisms experience an increase in financial reporting quality, consistent with firm‐ and country‐level governance mechanisms being substitutes. However, in countries with high enforcement and strict oversight over financial reporting, firms with either strong or weak board‐level governance mechanisms experience an increase in financial reporting quality, even if the increase is larger for the former group. Overall, our findings indicate that in the debate about the effects of governance on the quality of financial reporting, it is important to consider both country‐ and firm‐level corporate governance mechanisms.     

The Emergence of Second‐Tier Auditors in the US: Evidence from Investor Perceptions of Financial Reporting Credibility

We examine changes in the association between auditor type (Big 4, Second‐Tier, and Other non‐Big 4) and perceived financial reporting credibility in the wake of events (e.g., Andersen's failure, the implementation of SOX, creation of the PCAOB, etc.) which led to significant growth in Second‐Tier client portfolios and increased scrutiny of Second‐Tier audit practices. Our results reveal that financial reporting credibility of Second‐Tier clients was lower than that of Big 4 clients and was indistinguishable from that of Other non‐Big 4 clients pre‐Andersen. However, post‐Andersen, we find that financial reporting credibility of Second‐Tier clients is higher than that of Other non‐Big 4 clients and is indistinguishable from that of Big 4 clients. We expect that our results will be of interest to regulators, both in the United States and in the European Union, who have expressed concerns about the current state of competition in the audit market, management and boards of directors that are contemplating switching to a Second‐Tier audit firm, and academics investigating quality differences among audit firm types.     

Users' Perceptions of the Auditing Responsibilities for the Prevention, Detection and Reporting of Fraud, Other Illegal Acts and Error

This paper reports the results of a questionnaire administered to ascertain financial report users' perceptions of auditor's responsibilities for the prevention, detection and reporting of fraud and other irregularities, including other illegal acts and error. It appears that users may have "unreasonable" expectations of auditors' responsibilities for irregularities, particularly in relation to the prevention of fraud and the detection of illegal acts, and that a "deficient standards" gap may exist in relation to immaterial fraud. Users who had considerable business experience, were familiar with financial reports, had investment experience or had undertaken an auditing subject as part of their tertiary studies had more moderate expectations of auditors' responsibilities in relation to irregularities, and their perceptions were closer to those of the auditing profession than users who did not have these characteristics.     

论不确定性与审计信息质量

由于不确定性在审计中的存在,降低了审计信息的质量,继而影响了整个会计信息资料的利用,所以审计人员对被审计单位会计报表“三性”特征所作的审计结论只是一定程度的合理保证而非绝对保证。因此,社会各界应该正确地理解审计的性质并对它寄予合理的期望而不是过高的期望,以便合理地利用和依赖审计信息。     

Non‐Audit Service Fees and Financial Reporting Quality: A Meta‐Analysis

Auditing as a corporate governance mechanism has attracted considerable research attention. Because of the information asymmetry between corporate managers and outside shareholders, auditors are hired to provide independent assurance that financial statements are prepared following generally accepted accounting principles. The credibility of such assurance depends on the independence, both in fact and in appearance, of the auditor. Over the years, however, the independence of auditors has come under increased scrutiny because of their joint provision of both audit and non‐audit services. A sizable literature on the impact of non‐audit fees on financial reporting quality has developed. The evidence from this literature, however, remains inconclusive. This paper provides a meta‐analysis of the available literature by assessing (a) the net effect of non‐audit fees on financial reporting quality, and (b) whether there is homogeneity in the financial reporting quality proxies used in the extant literature. Findings suggest that the level of client‐specific non‐audit fees is associated with reduced financial reporting quality. However, the underlying studies used to conduct this meta‐analysis are not homogenous.     

Buyout Transactions in the German‐speaking Region: Determinants of Abnormal Performance and Unlevered Returns

This is one of the first comprehensive studies of drivers of private equity performance in the German‐speaking region known as the DACH, made up of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It contributes three things to private equity research: First, it explains how operational value drivers affect operational performance (operational alpha) and unlevered rates of return. Second, it whether the same relationships hold across different kinds of private equity business models (those with either organic or inorganic growth strategies; or whether PE investments are small‐cap or mid‐to‐large‐cap). Third, it distinguished between the periods before and after the global financial crisis of 2008. The authors found that (1) annualised benchmark‐adjusted EBITDA margin growth (i.e. improvement in EBITDA margin) is the most significant determinant in abnormal operational performance and unlevered returns, regardless of the business model; (2) private equity firms executing a buy‐and‐build strategy generate lower unlevered returns than those executing an organic growth strategy when the benchmark company is clearly outperformed, most likely because of limited PE managerial resources; (3) mid‐to‐large‐cap private equity firms generate higher unlevered returns and operational alphas than small‐cap private equity firms when the benchmark company is clearly outperformed, because, we believe, larger companies have a higher fixed cost leverage than smaller ones; and we have found that (4) buyout transactions exited during or after the financial crisis yield higher operational alphas but lower unlevered returns compared to buyout transactions exited before the crisis, when the portfolio company underperforms its benchmark company.     

公司财务报告质量的决定因素—来自我国深沪上市公司的经验证据

结合我国新兴加转轨的制度背景,运用Lang&Lundbolm(1993)分析框架探讨了影响我国上市公司财务报告质量的因素;以未来现金流量的可预测性定义财务报告质量;运用我国上市公司数据实证发现,资产负债率越低,资本密度越高,成长性越低,股权结构越分散,亏损概率越高,未来现金流量可预测性越强,公司财务报告质量相应越高.     

XBRL财务报告审计模型及实现机制:一种框架研究

本文探讨了可扩展商业报告语言(eXtensible Business Reporting Language,以下简称XBRL)财务报告和传统财务报告并存环境下和XBRL财务报告替代传统报告环境下的审计框架模型以及应对机制。本文认为在二者并存环境下,审计人员的基本职责是确定被审计单位管理层对XBRL财务报告中商业事实、元素映射和元素拓展三个层次的认定是否恰当;在替代环境下,创建审计信息分类标准是XBRL财务报告审计得以高效率、低风险实施的保证机制;审计工作底稿将审计目标、审计程序和审计认定三位一体地结合起来,以审计人员熟悉的审计工作底稿来组织和构造审计分类标准更可行、更易用。     

解析我国独立审计报告准则的变迁

我国独立审计报告准则经历了三次变迁,1996年1月1日第7号审计具体准则《审计报告》开始施行;2003年4月财政部修订了《审计报告》准则,修订后的《审计报告》准则和指南《中国注册会计师执业规范指南第5号—审计报告(试行)》在2003     

The Distributional Implications of Income Under‐Reporting in Hungary*

The ability and inclination of specific social groups to evade tax vary widely, and this leads to considerable variation in the actual tax burden on individuals with similar levels of income. Thus, ignoring tax evasion can be seriously misleading in terms of the distributive and fiscal effects of the tax system. This paper estimates the distributional implications of income tax evasion in Hungary, based on a random sample of the administrative tax records of nearly 230,000 individuals. Gross incomes declared in the administrative tax returns are compared with incomes stated in a nationally representative household budget survey. Our estimates show that the average rate of underreporting is 9–13 per cent, though this conceals a big difference between the self‐employed (who hide the greater part of their income) and employees. The estimates are likely to be lower bounds. These rates are used in a tax– benefit microsimulation model to calculate the fiscal and distributional implications of under‐reporting. Tax evasion reduces households' personal income tax payments by about 16–20 per cent. While the poverty rate increases only slightly, income inequality rises significantly, suggesting that high‐income households tend to evade tax proportionately more. Finally, we find that tax evasion largely reduces the progressivity of the tax system.     

我国审计市场制度安排与审计质量需求——中天勤客户流向的案例分析

本文分析了中天勤会计师事务所原来的63家客户的走向。作者的主要发现是:上市公司在选择会计师事务所时,对地域因素考虑较多,同时,经办的注册会计师与上市公司选择同一家事务所的比例相对比较高。这些现象都与高质量审计市场的特征存在一定的差异。此外,作者还发现国际五大在承接原中天勤客户的行为上,存在一些值得关注的现象。     

Comparing the Strength of Auditing and Reporting Standards and Investigating their Predictors in Europe and Asia

The World Economic Forum conducted an opinion survey to determine the strength of auditing and reporting standards (SARS) in 133 countries. It then assigned a score for SARS to each country as one of its global competitive indices. This is a unique dataset on SARS at country level. Using this dataset, this paper compares SARS scores for 72 countries (41 European and 31 Asian). A multi‐phase regression analysis is employed to empirically investigate the predictors of SARS using five sub‐models. Findings from the study support existing theory and add new findings to the auditing and reporting literature at a regional level. It suggests that there are nine predictors of SARS which are similar for both Europe and Asia but with different magnitude. In Asia the efficiency of the legal framework and the size of the foreign export market are also significant predictors of SARS compared to Europe.     

The Need for Sector‐Specific Materiality and Sustainability Reporting Standards

The market continues to show growing interest in how well companies are performing across a broad range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions. Partly as a result, the companies themselves are paying more attention to these performance dimensions, how they contribute to financial performance, and how to evaluate tradeoffs that arise. One of the greatest challenges facing both investors and companies in using ESG performance information is the absence of standards. Another challenge is knowing which of the many ESG dimensions are most material for a company in terms of creating value for shareholders and stakeholders over the long term. The authors argue that materiality and reporting standards must be developed on a sector‐by‐sector basis, and that failure to do so will result in inconsistent and even misleading disclosures. The authors illustrate this with the case of climate change. The SEC has already issued interpretive guidance on climate change disclosures, making it quite clear that existing regulations require companies to report on material effects of climate change, from both an upside and downside perspective. Based on an analysis of 10K filings in six industries, the authors show that, even within a given industry, there is substantial variation in reporting among companies that ranges from no disclosure, to boilerplate disclosure, industry‐specific interpretation, and the use of quantitative metrics. After providing further detail on this by looking at the airline and utilities industries, the authors conclude by offering a methodology for defining material ESG issues on a sector‐by‐sector basis that could provide the basis for developing key performance indicators.     

The Supply‐Side Determinants of Loan Contract Strictness

Using a measure of contract strictness based on the probability of a covenant violation, I investigate how lender‐specific shocks impact the strictness of the loan contract that a borrower receives. Banks write tighter contracts than their peers after suffering payment defaults to their own loan portfolios, even when defaulting borrowers are in different industries and geographic regions from the current borrower. The effects persist after controlling for bank capitalization, although bank equity compression is also associated with tighter contracts. The evidence suggests that recent defaults inform the lender's perception of its own screening ability, thereby impacting its contracting behavior.     

The Determinants of Long‐Term Corporate Debt Issuances

A significant proportion of the debt issued by investment‐grade firms has maturities greater than 20 years. In this paper we provide evidence that gap‐filling behavior is an important determinant of these very long‐term issues. Using data on individual corporate debt issues between 1987 and 2009, we find that gap‐filling behavior is more prominent in the very long end of the maturity spectrum where the required risk capital makes arbitrage costly. In addition, changes in the supply of long‐term government bonds affect not just the choice of maturity but also the overall level of corporate borrowing.