对审计机构行为的经济学思考

本文对审计机构理性行为建立了八个基本假设,在此基础上对审计机构与监管机构、审计机构与上市公司、审计机构与投资者及监管机构三方面分别进行了经济学分析,并从法律制度建设层面及具体执行层面,如完善会计制度、理顺各方的利益关系,减少利益冲突以及加大处罚力度,降低审计机构的预期风险收益等方面,提出减少审计机构造假行为的对策与建议。     

Moving from Private to Public Ownership: Selling Out to Public Firms versus Initial Public Offerings

We study two alternative means to move assets from private to public ownership: through the acquisition of private companies by firms that are public (sellouts) or through initial public share offerings (IPOs). We consider firm-specific characteristics for 1,074 IPO and 735 sellout firms to identify differences in growth, capital constraints, and asymmetric information between the two types of transactions. Our results suggest that firms move to public ownership through an IPO when they have greater growth opportunities and face more capital constraints. We provide a better understanding of the firm-specific characteristics that lead firms to go public.     

The Information Economics Approach to Financial Reporting

This paper provides a non-technical overview of the literature on the economics of information and its implications for financial reporting. This paper attempts to spell out the unity of approach which underlies all information economics models and focuses on the main implications of the literature for accounting policy makers. The central section of the paper identifies precise conditions under which the provision of public information can lead to an improvement in social welfare. An understanding of these conditions is essential for policy makers if they are to take into account the economic effects of their decisions. The final section highlights three important unresolved issues and identifies promising directions for further research.     

Benefits Expected by Accounting Firm Partners Selling their Firms to Publicly Listed Companies

In the 1990s and 2000s publicly quoted companies acquired thousands of accounting partnerships in Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). Little is known of why the partners sold. This study examines the benefits expected by partners who sold their practices to two Australian publicly listed accounting companies. The findings suggest that there were many reasons for selling and a range of expected benefits, with some partners seeing the sale as a ‘silver bullet’ solution to all of the challenges of operating a small to medium‐sized accounting practice.     

Valuation of Family Firms: The Limitations of Accounting Information

This conceptual paper explores the extent to which reported accounting information captures unique family firm decision‐making and intangible asset factors that impact financial value. We review the family firm valuation‐relevant literature and identify that this body of research is predicated on the assumption that accounting information reflects the underlying reality of family firms. This research, however, fails to recognise that current accounting technology does not fully recognise the family firm factors in the book value of the firm or the implications for long‐run persistence of earnings. Thus, valuation models underpinning the extant empirical research, which are predicated on reported accounting information, may not fully reflect the intrinsic value of family firms. We present propositions on the interaction between accounting information, family factors and valuation as a road map for future empirical research with a discussion of appropriate methodologies.     

The Impact of Asymmetric Information on Proxy Outcomes: An Empirical Test

If a manager-shareholder is better informed about the true value of a firm's shares than outside shareholders, then the management of an undervalued firm is hypothesized to use its incumbent advantage to win proxy contests to maintain control and to benefit from share revaluations induced by the positive signal value of the contest. Using insider trades as indicators of management's beliefs, this study finds an association between insider beliefs and proxy contest outcomes. In particular, when insider trades over a five-to-six month period preceding the proxy date are net purchases, the odds in favor of management winning are significantly higher.     

会计信息基本质量特征:基于信息经济学的解读——对IASB《财务报告概念框架(征求意见稿)》的一个回应

IASB在《财务报告概念框架(征求意见稿)》中提及的"将相关性和如实反映继续作为财务信息的基本质量特征是否恰当",要从概念框架中相关性和如实反映(可靠性)的源头——Trueblood report——进行深究,并立足"会计是一个经济信息系统"、"会计信息是一种经济信息",从信息经济学角度进行解读和评判。在Trueblood report中,相关性产生于会计的"信息观",而可靠性产生于会计的"计量观",二者是两种不同会计观念混合的结果,是互不相干的。信息经济学认为,经济信息的质量特征决定于经济信息结构的"粒度"和"准确度"。从"会计是一个经济信息系统"、"会计信息是一种经济信息"来看,会计信息的基本质量特征是会计信息结构的"粒度"和"准确度";以此判断,将相关性作为会计信息的质量特征是不恰当的,可靠性(如实反映)部分与准确度质量特征相符,部分涵盖粒度质量特征。提供高质量会计信息,要从会计信息结构的"粒度"和"准确度"着手。     

事务所应用信息化管理系统探讨

我们所从2005年10月底启动实施的内部管理信息化方案,目前系统已进入正常运行并持续改进的阶段。下面结合我们的实践谈谈信息化管理系统在事务所有效应用的问题,与大家一起探讨。一、对事务所内部管理借助信息技术的考虑1.事务所不论大小,管理始终是关乎其能否可持续发展的重要课题。这几年,我们一直在努力摸索与改进内部管理方式方法,以提高管理效率。借助信息化技术实现内部协同管理需要,正是我们经过探索认识到应关注的重点并视之为提升管理层次的所在。近几年我们所发展较快的同时,内部管理问题日渐凸现。如信息传递不及时,沟通难度加大…     

Political Incentives to Suppress Negative Information: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms

This paper tests the proposition that politicians and their affiliated firms (i.e., firms operating in their province) temporarily suppress negative information in response to political incentives. We examine the stock price behavior of Chinese listed firms around two visible political events—meetings of the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and promotions of high‐level provincial politicians—that are expected to asymmetrically increase the costs of releasing bad news. The costs create an incentive for local politicians and their affiliated firms to temporarily restrict the flow of negative information about the companies. The result will be fewer stock price crashes for the affiliated firms during these event windows, followed by an increase in crashes after the event. Consistent with these predictions, we find that the affiliated firms experience a reduction (an increase) in negative stock return skewness before (after) the event. These effects are strongest in the three‐month period directly preceding the event, among firms that are more politically connected, and when the province is dominated by faction politics and cronyism. Additional tests document a significant reduction in published newspaper articles about affected firms in advance of these political events, suggestive of a link between our observed stock price behavior and temporary shifts in the listed firms’ information environment.     

谈谈会计师事务所管理咨询业务的一般流程

会计师事务所从事管理咨询业务,像执行审计业务一样,也具有一套被一般遵守的业务流程。这些业务流程既前后衔接,又相互渗透,组成一个有机的整体。对于从事咨询工作的事务所以及相应的工作团队来说,明确每一个阶段的工作内容及关键问题并按照这一流程开展咨询工作,对于确保咨询工作取得成功,是必不可少的。项目建议书和业务约定书阶段这一阶段的主要工作包括与客户初步接触、拟定项目建议书、明确咨询工作的范围、签订业务约定书。这一个阶段的重点和难点,是确定咨询工作的范围。1.与客户的初步接触。这一过程一般只有事务所的负责人以及咨询…     

风险投资的信息经济学分析

新兴企业的融资市场上由于存在着较为严重的信息不对称现象,使得创业企业特别是高科技企业难以在传统金融市场上获得资金支持.而风险投资以其合理的机制设计较好地解决了资金供求双方的信息不对称,推动了高科技产业的迅猛发展.本文拟从信息经济学角度出发,解释该机制的内在合理性,以期对我国的风险投资的机制设计有所启示.     

The Information Content of Short Selling Around Close Supply Chain Relationships

Close supply chain relationships are sometimes detrimental to the partnering firms, and short sellers recognize this before the rest of the market. Suppliers and customers that are in linked, close supply chain relationships have higher short interest on average. Further, higher short interest increases the likelihood of large, linked customers reporting negative earnings surprises, whereas suppliers with high short interest are more likely to report negative earnings surprises, irrespective of the supply chain structure. Short selling is informative to capital markets because these suboptimal relationships eventually lead to dependent suppliers being delisted from a stock exchange for financial distress reasons.     

The Information Content of Tax Expense for Firms Reporting Losses

We investigate whether management's decision regarding the recognition of the valuation allowance (VA) for deferred tax assets provides incremental information about the persistence of accounting losses. We introduce a classification scheme that assigns loss firm‐years into three categories based on whether management appears to have recognized a material change in the VA, and whether or not the firm has positive taxable income (e.g., a net operating loss). The results of our study show that our tax categories contain information about the persistence of accounting losses over the following three years beyond variables previously identified to predict loss persistence. This incremental information is consistent with management using private information about the firm's future prospects in setting the VA. Finally, we find that investors’ pricing of the VA varies with the saliency of the tax signal and the information environment of the firm.     

Optimal Release of Information By Firms

This paper provides a positive theory of voluntary disclosure by firms. Previous theoretical work on disclosure of new information by firms has demonstrated that releasing public information will often make all shareholders worse off, due to an adverse risk-sharing effect. This paper uses a general equilibrium model with endogenous information collection to demonstrate that there exists a policy of disclosure of information which makes all shareholders better off than a policy of no disclosure. The welfare improvement occurs because of explicit information cost savings and improved risk sharing. This provides a positive theory of precommitment to disclosure, because it will be unanimously voted for by stockholders and will also represent the policy that will maximize value ex ante. In addition, it provides a “missing link” in financial signalling models. Apart from the effects on information production analyzed in this paper, most existing financial signalling models are inconsistent with a firm taking actions which facilitate future signalling because release of the signal makes all investors worse off.     

会计信息披露的经济学思考

股票价格与会计信息披露针对股票市场而言，尽管发行市场存在着较为明确的供求双方，但在交易市场中股票的买方与卖方随股价的波动会不停和随时地互换，从而使供求双方的力量对比无法稳定。对于一般商品，依据供求理论，当供不应求则商品的价格上升，此时价格作为一种信号将促使供给增加，需求减少；当供过于求则反之。一般的商品市场中因为价格的波动使其具有一种自动趋向平衡机制。但在股票市场中，股票投资者或多或少的投机念头使其追涨杀跌以赚取价差收益，致使股票价格至少在短期内不能向投资者很好地传递股票的真实价值。此时，有关股…     

Acquisitions and the Information Environment of Firms

This paper investigates how acquisitions affect analyst following of firms. Analyst following increases as a result of a merger. However, all of that increase can be attributed to the changes in firm-specific characteristics resulting from the merger. Changes in analyst following around mergers are positively related to changes in firm size, expenditures on R&D, and the ratio of book to the market value of equity. Finally, the relatedness of merger appears to be an important determinant of analyst following of firms engaged in acquisitions.     

我国“走出去”企业的最优融资模式选择——基于信息经济学的视角

我国“走出去”企业具有显著的债权融资偏好,过度“杠杆化”运营累积了极高的信用风险。本文建立信息经济学理论模型,分析了企业拥有关于项目风险的私有信息时,能够最大化企业期望利润的均衡债务水平以及能够最大化社会福利的社会最优债务水平,并以此探讨企业过度债务依赖行为的微观机理。研究发现,项目风险越大,或东道国风险越大,或者税率较高,都会导致企业过度债务依赖现象越严重。本文的研究有助于针对“走出去”企业的过度“杠杆化”现象,为我国金融支持“一带一路”企业对外投资的政策体系提出建议。     

Information Production and Capital Allocation: Decentralized versus Hierarchical Firms

This paper asks how well different organizational structures perform in terms of generating information about investment projects and allocating capital to these projects. A decentralized approach—with small, single–manager firms—is most likely to be attractive when information about projects is "soft" and cannot be credibly transmitted. In contrast, large hierarchies perform better when information can be costlessly "hardened" and passed along inside the firm. The model can be used to think about the consequences of consolidation in the banking industry, particularly the documented tendency for mergers to lead to declines in small–business lending.     

The Need to Provide Internationally Comparable Accounting Information and the Application of IFRS: Empirical Evidence from German Private Firms

Abstract

Our study, which is based on a survey carried out among German private firms, aims to ascertain which characteristics determine private firms’ need for providing internationally comparable accounting information and whether or not those firms that perceive such a need actually apply IFRS voluntarily. The relevance of equity from foreign investors and inclusion within an international group are positively associated with this perceived need, whereas international operating activities and a firm’s size are not. Regarding the voluntary adoption of IFRS, both the perceived need and also the interaction between size and need are significant. Our results show that smaller firms, despite perceiving a need for providing their stakeholders with internationally comparable accounting information, often do not apply IFRS.     

Bank Equity Investments: Reducing Agency Costs or Buying Undervalued Firms? The Information Effects

Abstract:   This paper analyses the relevance of two different reasons for banks to acquire firms' stock: the increase of agency costs in the lending relationship (the agency costs hypothesis), and participation in the expected profits of undervalued firms (the information asymmetry hypothesis). Results indicate not only that banks make equity investments for both reasons but also that the market exploits their lending decisions to learn which of the two motivations was in play. Bank equity investments concurrent with reductions in bank debt are consistent with the agency costs hypothesis, whereas bank equity investments concurrent with increases in bank debt are consistent with the information asymmetry hypothesis.