Earnings quality and firm valuation: international evidence*

This study uses a sample of over 7000 firms in 38 countries to investigate the relation between firm valuation and earnings quality. We find a positive and significant relation between firm valuation and an aggregate earnings quality measure based on seven earnings attributes (accruals quality, persistence, predictability, smoothness, value relevance, timeliness, and conservatism). This relation is particularly strong for firms with greater investment opportunities and more need for external finance, and for firms in low investor protection countries. Thus, firms are able to compensate for a weak legal environment by adopting higher earnings quality standards, particularly when they need to gain access to global capital markets. Overall, our findings suggest that firms with higher earnings quality are valued more highly in stock markets, supporting the idea that investors require a premium for the information risk associated with lower‐quality earnings.     

The relevance of earnings and cash flows in a heavily regulated industry: Evidence from the Greek banking sector

This study examines the informational quality of annual accounting earnings within Greek banking institutions taking into consideration the most significant risks facing by such firms and specifically interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk and solvency risk, alongside with the persistence of earnings and bank size as significant determinants of ERCs. Data analysis over a period of ten years (1995-2004) revealed that earnings have higher incremental importance in explaining stock return movements compared to cash flows since earnings change has been found to affect stock returns positively. Additionally, interest rate risk has a positive but not significant impact on the return-earnings relation but on the contrary solvency risk, credit risk and liquidity risk proved to have a negative impact on the valuation process for both small and big-sized banks. Finally, tests on the incremental informativeness of cash flows when earnings are transitory provide significant results suggesting that investors seek for alternative measures of banks' performance when earnings are characterized by increased extremity but inversely cash flows and earnings seem to be equally value relevant when investors evaluate big-sized banking institutions. The results are generally robust to the specification of the empirical models and the research design employed in our study.     

Market valuation of greenhouse gas emissions under a mandatory reporting regime: Evidence from the UK

This study provides evidence on the potential benefits of mandatory environmental reporting for listed firms’ market valuation. It takes advantage of recent regulation that requires all listed firms in the UK to report their annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their annual reports and shows that the magnitude of the negative association between GHG emissions and the market value of listed firms decreased after the introduction of the reporting regulation. This decline is attributed to regulation forestalling shareholders’ negative reflexive reaction toward firms’ carbon disclosures, as proposed by the theoretical work of Unerman and O’Dwyer (2007).     

Earnings quality: Some evidence on the role of auditor tenure and auditors’ industry expertise

Prior studies suggest that auditors with short tenure are associated with lower earnings quality because of the lack of client-specific knowledge and/or low balling. In this study, we examine whether industry specialization of auditors and low balling affect the association between auditor tenure and earnings quality. We find that the association between shorter auditor tenure and lower earnings quality is weaker for firms audited by industry specialists compared to non-specialists. In addition, we do not find results consistent with the low balling explanation.     

The association between management earnings forecasts, earnings management, and stock market valuation: Evidence from French IPOs

This study investigates managers' motivations to engage in earnings management through purposeful interventions in the setting of discretionary accruals, in the context of initial public offerings (IPOs) in France. Firms issuing forecasts in their prospectuses are expected to differ from nonforecasters in the level of earnings management during the year following the public offering. Within the context of contracting theory, four research questions are addressed. First, are IPO firms issuing forecasts more inclined to manage earnings 1 year after an IPO compared to nonforecasting firms? Second, is a forecasting firm's level of earnings management conditioned by earnings-forecast deviation? Third, is earnings management by IPO forecasting firms affected by contractual and governance environments? Fourth, how do investors see through earnings management following IPO earnings forecasts, i.e., how do stock market participants value earnings components (i.e., nondiscretionary and discretionary accruals)? Our findings document that in the year following an IPO, the magnitude of earnings management is much higher for forecasters than for nonforecasters. Results also show that a firm's accrual behavior is affected by earnings-forecast deviation, but the relationship is moderated by contractual and governance constraints. Finally, it would appear that French investors do not adequately readjust the relationship between reported earnings and a firm's market value for the year in which earnings are subject to manipulations.     

Non-audit services, auditor quality and the value relevance of earnings

This paper tests the hypothesis that there is an inverse relation between non‐audit services (NAS) provided by a firm auditor and the value relevance of earnings (measured as the earnings response coefficient) and that this relation is weaker for firms with Big 6 auditors. The hypothesis is based on anecdotal evidence and previous research that suggests that the provision of NAS by the external auditor is likely to adversely affect investors’ perceptions of the credibility of financial reports, and that Big 6 auditors, because of reputational capital and litigation costs, are likely to mitigate the adverse effects of NAS. Results using 840 firm‐year observations of Australian companies document a statistically significant inverse relationship between NAS and the value relevance of earnings, and this inverse relationship is weaker for Big 6 auditors, therefore supporting the hypothesis.     

Oil prices and accounting profits of oil and gas companies

This paper investigates the relationship between commodity prices of crude oil, capital structure, firm size and accounting measures of firm performance using a sample of oil and gas firms from 1990 to 2008. We employ estimates based on panel least squares, a fixed effects model and a random effects model. We also use generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators by Arellano and Bond (1991) and Blundell and Bond (1998, 2000). Our findings show that crude oil prices positively and significantly impact the performance of oil and gas firms in North America using accounting measures of performance. The recent financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 negatively influenced oil prices and the financial performance of oil and gas firms. On the other hand, the earlier global crises (Asian financial crisis and 9/11) did not have a significant impact on the return on equity of oil and gas companies. Our primary contribution to the literature is a comprehensive and econometric analysis of the relation between commodity prices and accounting measures of performance oil and gas companies.     

Executive compensation and earnings management: Empirical evidence from Japan

This study investigates the relation between discretionary accounting choices and executive compensation in Japanese firms. The results show that the use of discretionary accruals increases executive compensation. The analyses also show that firm managers receiving no bonus adopt income-decreasing accruals and extraordinary items. In particular, evidence shows that negative extraordinary items are strongly associated with no bonus payment. Finally, the research indicates that the association between discretionary accruals and executive bonus varies depending upon the circumstances of the firm. This study contributes to the literature on earnings management from an international comparative perspective since most previous studies on earnings management and executive compensation have focused on U.S. firms.     

Extreme events: a study of small oil and gas firms

The oil and gas industry is subject to different types of risks, many of which have the potential to generate extreme results. Classifying extreme events as global, industry specific and firm specific, we use a Bayesian probability model and the Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (EGARCH) model to evaluate the impact of disclosure of extreme events on returns and return volatilities. The results suggest political events have more of a pronounced effect compared to those classified as economic events. The overall effects are more pronounced at the global and firm‐level classifications. At the firm level, extreme economic events have a more significant impact than political extreme events.     

Corporate governance,earnings management,and IFRS: Empirical evidence from Chinese domestically listed companies

This research used 1,329 Chinese publicly listed companies’ data from 1998 to 2009 to investigate how IFRS, state ownership, and board of directors (BOD) influence earnings management. We conclude that state-ownership to an extent discourages earnings management in the current environment of China. However, IFRS implementation does not seem to deter earnings management. When state-ownership is not the case, increasing the number of independent BOD seems to be a good practice to discourage earnings management, although non-independent BOD does not make any difference.     

Earnings conservatism: panel data evidence from the European Union and the United States

This paper focuses on earnings conservatism, and provides new evidence based on procedures that account for variability at the firm level, drawing a comparison between the European Union and the United States. A key finding is that the estimated responsiveness of earnings to bad news is substantially higher when unobserved firm-specific effects are modelled. Furthermore, it is shown that accounting has become more conservative not only in the U.S. but also in the EU when taken as a whole, and there is little evidence of marked differences in the asymmetric timeliness of earnings between the two. Indeed, any changes in this property of earnings are likely to be attributable to a common factor that influences firms similarly in both locations, and not necessarily to the process of economic convergence that has taken place in the EU.     

Relative Value Relevance of the Successful Efforts and Full Cost Accounting Methods in the Oil and Gas Industry

This paper examines the value relevance of two alternative accounting methods for exploration and development (E&D) expenditures for oil and gas firms. I find that full cost (FC) accounting data is more value-relevant than successful efforts (SE) accounting data. Further analysis reveals that the smooth earnings provided by the FC method contributes to the higher value relevance of the FC method. This study concludes that a policy of full capitalization of expenditures with uncertain future economic benefits better summarizes information relevant to investors relative to a policy of partial capitalization.     

Disclosure of provisions for decommissioning costs in annual reports of oil and gas companies: A content analysis and stakeholder views

This study examines the extent of compliance with accounting disclosure requirements relating to provisions for decommissioning costs by oil and gas companies. We also investigate the views of stakeholders on the reporting practices of these companies. Using a content analysis approach, our findings reveal that compliance is substantially high, but companies tend to take a tick-box approach providing only minimum disclosure requirements. In semi-structured interviews, we find that disclosure decisions were driven by concerns about the credibility of information due to complexities in the accounting processes, regulatory requirements, lack of information demand and proprietary costs. These findings have policy implications.     

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 impact of revenue diversification on bank profitability and risk: evidence from MENA banking industry

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of revenue diversification on bank performance while shedding light on the impact of the shift towards non-interest income sources. To this end, we use a sample of 275 banks from fourteen MENA countries over 1990–2011. The model estimation using the GMM system reveals that diversification, when taken as a whole, improves bank profitability. We also split the non-interest income and we find that trading-generating business lines contribute the most to boosting profitability and stability. Engaging in non-interest-related activities worsens the benefit-cost trade-off of diversification, induced by the increased insolvency risk.     

International equity valuation: the relative importance of country and industry factors versus company‐specific financial reporting information

The relative importance of country‐ and industry‐specified factors vis‐à‐vis company‐specific financial statement–based information in explaining equity valuation multiples in an international setting is examined. Both country‐specific effects via previously identified variables and an indicator variable approach are analysed. While company‐specific factors are predominant in explaining cross‐sectional differences in valuation, country and industry factors have sizable incremental explanatory power over them; the latter are not independent, so their relative importance is influenced by how we adjust for this commonality. Using country indicators provides larger incremental explanatory power than using country‐specific factors, suggesting that previously identified factors may be measured with sizeable error or omitted factors are important.     

An Empirical Examination of the Pricing of Seasoned Equity Offerings: A Test of the Signaling Hypothesis

This paper tests the predictions made by Signaling Theory against the competing Price–Irrelevance Hypothesis (Eckbo and Masulis, 1992). Signaling Theory suggests that the issue price of a security provides a signal of quality of the issuing firm. In contrast, the Price–Irrelevance Hypothesis suggests that equity pricing does not possess information content. This paper investigates the pricing of seasoned equity offerings by examining the role of firm quality and relative firm valuation on issue price discounts. Additionally, this paper investigates the relationship between the issue price discount and the market reaction at the issuance of seasoned equity offerings. The results indicate that firm quality does not have a significant impact on the degree of price discounting by the issuing firm. Relative firm market valuation does appear to be a determinant of the magnitude of discounting in setting the issue price. This paper also provides evidence that seasoned equity offerings firms that provide a lower issue-price discount experience a lower stock-price decline following the issuance as compared to firms offering a higher price discount.     

Differential levels of disclosure and the earnings-return association: evidence from foreign registrants in the United States

Foreign companies listing on U.S. exchanges are required to report financial information under U.S. GAAP on form 20-F using either Item 17 or Item 18 disclosure rules. These two disclosure rules differ in that Item 17 allows many exemptions from U.S. GAAP, while Item 18 requires disclosure of all financial information in accordance with U.S. GAAP. This study examines the differential earnings-return association between Item 17 and Item 18 filers.We find significantly higher earnings-return associations for Item 18 filers than for Item 17 filers. While the earnings-return association of Item 18 foreign firms is not different from that of matched U.S. firms (which fundamentally use Item 18 rules), the earnings-return association of Item 17 foreign firms is significantly lower than that of matched U.S. firms. Overall, the results are consistent with the idea that higher levels of disclosure may be related to lower discount rates and higher earnings response coefficients (ERCs).     

委托代理及其对网络型产业并购绩效的影响——基于信息技术业的实证证据

本文以信息技术业为例,对网络型产业并购的市场预期绩效和经营绩效进行实证考察。研究表明,并购事件公布所引致的市场异常收益说明中国证券市场属于非半强式有效;委托代理问题的存在使得并购方和目标方的累积异常收益率都会上升;在个人理性和兼容性约束的共同作用下,目标方经营绩效会得到提高,但并购方却出现降低。因此,完善证券市场信息披露制度、建立具有竞争机制的职业经理人市场及引入现代企业制度和公司治理机制,对提高网络型产业并购绩效具有重要意义。     

Data preprocessing and data parsimony in corporate failure forecast models: evidence from Australian materials industry

The present study, based on data for delisted and active corporations in the Australian materials industry, is an attempt to develop a systematic way of selecting corporate failure‐related features. We empirically tested the proposed procedure using three datasets. The first dataset contains 82 financial economic factors from the corporation's financial statement. The second dataset comprises 73 relevant financial ratios, which either directly or indirectly measure a corporation's propensity to fail, and are conciliated from the first dataset. The third dataset is a parsimonious dataset obtained from the application of combining a filter and a wrapper to preprocess the first dataset. The robustness of this preprocessed dataset is tested by comparing its performance with the first and second datasets in two statistical (logistic regression and naïve‐Bayes) and two machine learning (decision tree, neural network) classes of prediction models. Tests for prediction accuracies and reliabilities, using the computational (ROC curve, AUC) and the statistical (Cochran's Q statistic) criteria show that the third dataset outperforms the other two datasets in all four predicting models, achieving various accuracies ranges from 81 per cent to 84 per cent.