Banks’ Financial Reporting and Financial System Stability

The use of accounting measures and disclosures in banks’ contracts and regulation suggests that the quality of banks’ financial reporting is central to the efficacy of market discipline and nonmarket mechanisms in limiting banks’ development of debt and risk overhangs in economic good times and in mitigating the adverse consequences of those overhangs for the stability of the financial system in downturns. This essay examines how research on banks’ financial reporting, informed by the financial economics literature on banking, can generate insights about how to enhance the stability of the financial system. We begin with a foundational discussion of how aspects of banks’ accounting and disclosures may affect stability. We then evaluate representative papers in the empirical literature on banks’ financial reporting and stability, pointing out the research design issues that empirical accounting researchers need to confront to develop well‐specified tests able to generate reliably interpretable findings. To this end, we provide examples of settings amenable to addressing these issues. We conclude with considerations for accounting standard setters and financial system policy makers.     

基子征信视角的金融机构借款人管理模式初探

本文拟以征信建设为切入点,对金融机构以借款人身份发生的信贷业务从风险量化管理到动态监测提出全新的管理思路,以期从征信视角对金融机构的借款人管理模式进行初步的探索及研究.     

公共财务管理与政府财务报告改革

本文根据政府财务报告主要反映政府财务受托责任和财务受托业绩 ,并为上级政府、政府主要官员、审计机关、监督机构提供政府财务信息 ,以及近年来公共部门存在一系列财务管理问题的客观现实 ,拟从报告主体内部管理的需要出发 ,阐述公共 (部门 )财务管理对政府财务信息的需求 ,提出改革政府财务报告的基本思路 ,以促进公共 (部门 )财务管理水平的提高 ,并推动政府对外财务报告的改进     

Unravelling the Rhetoric About the Financial Reporting of Public Collections as Assets

The accounting treatment of publiclyowned cultural, heritage and scientific collections has been the subject of international debate, including a number of articles in recent issues of Australian Accounting Review. Here, the debate continues with a rejoinder to a view published in the May 1997 issue of the journal.     

Financial Reporting Quality and Wage Differentials: Evidence from Worker-Level Data

We examine whether financial reporting quality affects worker wages using employer-employee matched data in the United States. We find that low financial reporting quality is associated with a compensating wage differential—that is, a risk premium—using three distinct approaches while controlling for worker characteristics by (1) regressing wages on firm-year–level and firm-level reporting quality, (2) documenting wage changes when workers switch firms, and (3) estimating a structural approach that separates reporting quality from performance-related volatility. We find evidence consistent with two channels: performance pay and turnover risk, where workers bear risks from noise in performance measurement and unemployment, respectively. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, we show that—after the accounting scandals in 2002 and after the announcements of an internal control weakness (ICW)—former Arthur Andersen clients and ICW firms pay wage premiums to employees, with magnitudes between 0.9% and 2.8% of annual wages.     

Integrated Reporting,Quality of Management,and Financial Performance

Interest in integrated reporting continues to grow as its proponents cite a number of significant benefits to both companies and investors. But given the still‐early stages of development of this new management practice and the relative paucity of data, establishing empirical confirmation of these claims is difficult. Using RobecomSAM's proprietary database of over 2,000 companies surveyed during its annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), the authors discuss the extent and recent growth of integrated reporting, and its likely effects on important indicators of both ESG quality of management and financial performance. The authors begin by reporting that although only 12% of the companies in the survey dataset practiced some form of integrated reporting in 2012, that number represented a 50% increase from 2011. The authors also report a strong relationship between integrated reporting and ESG quality of management, which some studies suggest has become a useful indicator of the overall effectiveness of management in creating value over the long term. This relationship is particularly strong in certain sectors, notably healthcare. At the same time, the authors find a relationship between integrated reporting and financial performance for two sectors—healthcare and information technology—though not for the population as a whole. The authors suggest that this apparent lack of effect may be attributable to a time lag between integrated reporting's contribution to better ESG quality of management, and the eventual reflection of such management in financial performance.     

金融机构基于洗钱风险的客户分类管理分析

金融机构基于洗钱风险的客户分类管理是指金融机构按照客户涉嫌洗钱风险因素或涉嫌恐怖融资活动特征,通过识别、分析、判断等方式,将客户划分为不同的风险等级,针对不同风险等级制订和采取相关风险控制措施的行为。本文在对金融机构的洗钱风险及其基于洗钱风险的客户分类管理进行分析的基础上,研究了金融机构基于洗钱风险的客户分类管理的原则、标准和措施．提出了运用其在反洗钱工作和风险管理的建议。     

The Relation Between Voluntary Disclosure and Financial Reporting: Evidence from Synthetic Leases

I investigate how the use and voluntary disclosure of synthetic leases is affected by incentives to defer cash outflows and manage the financial statements by keeping debt off the balance sheet. I find that managers of cash‐constrained firms with incentives to defer cash payments are more likely to finance asset purchases with synthetic leases. The mandated reporting for synthetic leases allows managers to avoid disclosing the financial consequences of these transactions. Managers of firms with incentives to use off‐balance‐sheet financing do not provide transparent disclosure about their synthetic leases. However, managers of cash‐constrained firms, which are less likely to use synthetic leases for financial reporting reasons, do voluntarily disclose the existence and financial consequences of these contracts. Alternative tests around FIN 46 adoption corroborate these findings.     

Consequences and Institutional Determinants of Unregulated Corporate Financial Statements: Evidence from Embedded Value Reporting

I analyze Embedded Value (EV) reporting by firms with life insurance operations to assess the impact of unregulated financial reporting on transparency and to examine the institutional characteristics that promote unregulated reporting. Under EV accounting, the present value of future cash flows from in‐force contracts is included in shareholders’ equity, and profit is calculated as the change in equity between two periods. In contrast to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), this approach produces higher shareholder's equity and recognizes income at contract inception. I find firms that adopt EV reporting exhibit a decline in information asymmetry, with the decline increasing as EV reporting evolves to address methodological deficiencies and to permit more comparability across firms. The decrease in information asymmetry is contingent on providing an audit certification, and larger for firms that commit to providing EV reports. Moreover, I document that EV reporting is more widespread in countries with more hostile takeovers, managers that do not avoid volatile income measures, regulators that are less likely to intervene in the product market, and analysts that believe EV disclosure increases the value of their information intermediation function.     

Financial Crisis And Earnings Management: The European Evidence

We examine the impact of the 2008–2009 financial crisis on the earnings management behavior of European-listed firms. We find that earnings management has significantly decreased in the crisis years. This trend is confirmed in most of the 16 countries under review. We also report a link between the level of earnings management and the economic growth rate and provide evidence suggesting that national characteristics and market forces affect the propensity of income smoothing but not accruals quality.     

The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research

This paper discusses the empirical literature on the economic consequences of disclosure and financial reporting regulation, drawing on U.S. and international evidence. Given the policy relevance of research on regulation, we highlight the challenges with (1) quantifying regulatory costs and benefits, (2) measuring disclosure and reporting outcomes, and (3) drawing causal inferences from regulatory studies. Next, we discuss empirical studies that link disclosure and reporting activities to firm‐specific and market‐wide economic outcomes. Understanding these links is important when evaluating regulation. We then synthesize the empirical evidence on the economic effects of disclosure regulation and reporting standards, including the evidence on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption. Several important conclusions emerge. We generally lack evidence on market‐wide effects and externalities from regulation, yet such evidence is central to the economic justification of regulation. Moreover, evidence on causal effects of disclosure and reporting regulation is still relatively rare. We also lack evidence on the real effects of such regulation. These limitations provide many research opportunities. We conclude with several specific suggestions for future research.     

集团财务管理信息化建议

介绍了如何对大、中型集团财务管理信息化,并对如何实施集团财务管理信息系统时应该考虑的问题和建议进行了探讨。     

关于绿色财务管理理念的探讨

随着社会经济可持续发展战略的提出和进一步深化,财务管理作为企业管理的核心,完全有必要引入"绿色"观念,树立可持续发展观念和内含社会责任风险和环境风险价值观念以及多元化目标观念等绿色财务管理思想.     

The Value Relevance of International Financial Reporting Standards: Empirical Evidence in an Emerging Market

This study examines the value relevance of accounting information under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX, henceforth). Based on models developed by Easton and Harris (1991), and Ohlson (1995) and using monthly market data from 2000 to 2006, this paper investigates the value relevance of accounting information of firms traded on the ADX. Our overall results show that earnings scaled by beginning of period price are positively and significantly related to cumulative returns and that earnings per share and book value per share are positively and significantly related to price per share. We also find that value relevance of accounting information has changed since the market inception in 2000. The results documented herein extend the literature on value relevance accounting information in an emerging market that requires the use of IFRS. The study therefore contributes to the debate over the mandatory adoption of IFRS and the value relevance of accounting information reported under IFRS.     

Financial Reporting Quality,Debt Maturity,and the Cost of Debt: Evidence from China

This paper investigates the influence of different financing channels—bond issuance or bank loans—as well as debt maturity and the quality of financial reporting on the cost of debt in China. The authors find that conservative accounting is an important characteristic of high-quality financial reporting that can reduce the cost of longer maturity debt such as bank loans and bonds. Even state-owned enterprises, which have fewer financial constraints than non-state-owned enterprises, benefit from accounting conservatism's ability to reduce financial costs. Moreover, the findings indicate that bond investors are concerned about the issuer's fundamentals, while banks are more likely to focus on the operation and bankruptcy risk of borrowers.     

Consequences of Financial Reporting Failure for Outside Directors: Evidence from Accounting Restatements and Audit Committee Members

I use a sample of 409 companies that restated their earnings from 1997 to 2001 to examine penalties for outside directors, particularly audit committee members, when their companies experience accounting restatements. Penalties from lawsuits and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) actions are limited. However, directors experience significant labor market penalties. In the three years after the restatement, director turnover is 48% for firms that restate earnings downward, 33% for a performance‐matched sample, 28% for firms that restate upward, and only 18% for technical restatement firms. For firms that overstate earnings, the likelihood of director departure increases in restatement severity, particularly for audit committee directors. In addition, directors of these firms are no longer present in 25% of their positions on other boards. This loss is greater for audit committee members and for more severe restatements. A matched‐sample analysis confirms this result. Overall, the evidence is consistent with outside directors, especially audit committee members, bearing reputational costs for financial reporting failure.     

Debt Financing and Voluntary Adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards: Evidence from Korean Unlisted Firms

We investigate the effect of debt financing on the voluntary adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by unlisted firms and such adoption’s effect on bond credit rating. We find that unlisted firms with public debts are more likely to voluntarily adopt IFRS. Subsequent to the voluntary application of IFRS, the unlisted firms exhibit, on average, enhanced credit ratings. These findings suggest that the public debt market’s demand for high-quality financial reporting may drive those unlisted firms to voluntarily adopt IFRS. Furthermore, rating agencies seem to reward such firms by elevating their bond credit ratings.