Earnings Conservatism and Value Relevance Across the Business Cycle

Abstract:  Prior research has demonstrated higher value relevance of current earnings during economic expansions relative to contractions. We largely attribute such a result to expected growth prospects being captured in the current earnings coefficient when a direct proxy for expected future earnings is omitted from the returns-earnings model. We demonstrate that the conservatism and value relevance of current earnings is actually higher during economic contractions when including a proxy for future earnings expectations. We further demonstrate that the value-relevance of expected future earnings is higher during expansions, when the association between historical accounting information and future growth opportunities likely weakens.     

Estimation procedures for a family of density functions representing various life-testing models

A family of density functions is considered which contains several life-testing models as specific cases. Uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimators are obtained for the positive and negative powers of the parameter, moments and reliability function. These general results provide the estimators for the specific models.     

Introducción. Trabajo,empleo y sociedad: ¿Qué esperar del futuro?

En la presente introducción se destacan los principales aspectos extraídos de los artículos de este número especial que cabría considerar en las investigaciones sobre el futuro del trabajo. Se presentan los cambios acelerados que afectan al mundo del trabajo como una oportunidad de orientarse hacia un crecimiento proclive a la igualdad, pero también se advierte de los peligros que plantea una mala gestión del cambio tecnológico, de las desigualdades –haciendo hincapié en el carácter persistente y transversal de la desigualdad de género–, de las cadenas mundiales de suministro y de las oportunidades de diálogo social. En vista de ello, se proponen también recomendaciones de política en las que se presta especial atención al fortalecimiento de la protección de los trabajadores y de las instituciones representativas, el replanteamiento de los marcos normativos y de los sistemas fiscales, y el logro de transiciones justas.     

Applying Case-Based Reasoning to the Accounting Domain

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) is rapidly emerging as a rich and powerful artificial intelligence approach that can overcome some inherent weaknesses of traditional expert system technology. Several successful CBR systems have been developed in a variety of fields and CBR applications are beginning to emerge in accounting research and practice as well. As sophisticated and user-friendly CBR shells emerge, CBR is more likely to be used to solve complex, real-world problems. This paper provides a broad overview of case-based systems and the principles on which the field is founded. Accounting applications of case-based reasoning and future research issues are identified.     

Does auditor tenure influence the reporting of conservative earnings?

In this study, we examine the relation between auditor tenure and the reporting of conservative earnings. Using several measures of conservatism, we document a positive association between the conservatism in reported earnings and the length of the auditor–client relationship. We further document an increase in conservatism between short and medium tenure that does not deteriorate over long tenure. Collectively, the results imply lower conservatism for short auditor tenure, which suggests that mandating auditor rotation may have an adverse affect on the conservatism in reported earnings.     

Development of technological capability by Cuban hospitality organizations

This study investigates the key elements that affect the ability of hospitality organizations to cultivate technological capability through innovation. The focus of analysis is not on the institutional context, but on the hotel and tourist companies. A theoretical framework that links the type of innovation undertaken by the firm, the firm's managerial capabilities, learning culture, organizational structure, systems and procedures, technological absorptive capacity and level of government support with the level of technological capability is presented and tested empirically based on the data on innovation projects from 62 Cuban hospitality companies. Analysis of the data confirmed hypotheses that group management skills, project management skills, learning culture, and government support are significantly related to the development of technological capability in these companies.