The impact of CSR performance and CSR disclosure readability on investors’ earnings estimates

We investigate how the valence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and the readability of CSR disclosure impact investors’ earnings estimates. Ninety-seven part-time MBA students participate in an experiment, in which we manipulate the valence of CSR performance (positive versus neutral) and the readability of CSR reports (high versus low), while holding financial information constant. Our findings reveal that investors make more positive earnings estimates when CSR performance is positive. The readability level of CSR reports also influences investors’ decision-making process. Moreover, by using an eye-tracking device, we are able to observe investors’ different reading behaviours upon the different levels of readability.     

Cross-country diversity and non-IFRS financial performance measures

We investigate the disclosure of non-IFRS performance measures by 400 companies from eight countries using IFRS Standards (Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom) in the years 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2013 (1595 company-years). The incidence of disclosure is higher in UK and France but lower in Hong Kong, Germany and Singapore. Exclusions relating to impairment, tax, and mergers and acquisitions are frequent. Firms making non-IFRS disclosures are more likely to be larger, have higher leverage, and exhibit greater volatility in their reported income. Additional tests show national reporting traditions and practices affect non-IFRS disclosures.     

Non-GAAP earnings reporting following going-concern opinions

We examine non-GAAP earnings reporting following a going-concern audit opinion (GCO). Using a propensity score-matched sample, matching first-time going-concern issuing companies with firms in financial distress that did not receive a going-concern report, we find that the likelihood and frequency of non-GAAP earnings reporting are lower following GCOs. In additional analyses, we find the negative association between the announcement of GCOs and the likelihood and frequency of non-GAAP earnings reporting stronger when GCOs are issued by industry-specialist auditors and when GCOs are unexpected, but do not find litigation risk or managers' ability to affect the association. These results are consistent with a decrease in investor demand for non-GAAP earnings disclosures following GCOs.     

How important are semi-annual earnings announcements? An information event perspective

Using a method that avoids the need to specify earnings expectations, we demonstrate that the period surrounding the semi-annual announcement of Australian firms' earnings is, on average, an important source of information. Although there is substantial year-to-year variation, we observe no evidence of any significant time trend, and also conclude that a shift from Australian domestic generally accepted accounting principle to International Financial Reporting Standards did not impact the association between earnings announcement windows and stock returns. We also find no evidence that the informativeness of earnings announcements varies systematically with firm size, analyst following or economic news (i.e., positive vs. negative stock returns, profits vs. losses), although we do observe significant variation across industries. Our conclusion is further supported by contrasting the earnings release date with the days immediately prior to release, or high information days other than earnings announcement windows. Using a more precise event window relative to prior studies (i.e., 3 h vs. 3 days), we confirm that earnings announcements contain significant new information about fundamentals.     

企业社会责任对盈利质量的影响机理——媒体治理的调节作用

国民经济高质量发展需要高质量企业的助推,高质量的盈利是企业健康发展的基石。企业作为利益相关者资本投入的共生系统,其高质量的盈利依赖于企业对利益相关者的责任履行。现有研究中,关于企业对利益相关者的责任履行能否为自身带来经济回报的问题仍没有得出一致结论,且仅关注盈利数量,缺乏企业社会责任（CSR）对盈利质量的影响研究。针对这两个问题,细分CSR维度、区分企业异质性,研究CSR对盈利质量的影响关系及媒体治理在二者间的调节作用。研究结果表明：（1）对于样本总体,CSR对盈利质量具有显著的正向影响,并且媒体治理在二者间的影响关系中具有显著的正向调节作用,细分到对员工、供应商和消费者、环境的CSR维度,结论依然成立。（2）异质性检验发现：与国有企业相比,非国企CSR总体对盈利质量的正向影响更强,主要体现于对员工、供应商和消费者、环境的CSR维度。与非重污染行业相比,重污染行业CSR总体对盈利质量的正向影响更强,主要体现于对股东、供应商和消费者、社会的CSR维度。该研究结论可为企业的CSR战略决策过程提供理论依据和实践指导。     

上市公司盈余管理动机的研究分析

近年来,上市公司管理层通过盈余管理粉饰公司业绩,误导投资者决策的行为受到社会广泛的关注。通过对盈余管理动机的深层研究。对于上市公司盈余管理行为的监管与控制应该双管齐下。既要通过完善相关会计法规减少上市公司盈余管理可以选择的手段,又要完善中国上市公司的公司治理结构,增强对少数股东的利益保护机静】,从根本上抑制上市公司盈余管理的动机,使得公司的财务报告反映公司的真实业绩,促进中国资本市场的繁荣发展。     

Mean reversion in annual earnings and its implications for security valuation

This article documents the long-horizon mean reverting character of annual earnings and tests the implications of such mean reversion for security valuation. First, both theory-based and nonparametric measures of earnings persistence decrease as the estimation order increases, revealing 40 percent less long-horizon persistence than expected under the commonly used random walk model. Second, the return responses to the earnings shocks are more closely related across firms to the higher-order measures of persistence that reflect significant long-horizon mean reversion. Third, the persistence measure derived from classical valuation theory outperforms the generic measure in explaining the return responses. Taken as a whole, these results provide evidence for significant mean reversion in the higher-order properties of earnings and for the stock market incorporating these properties in a manner consistent with classical valuation theory.     

公允价值计量对盈余管理的影响

公允价值仅仅是为了提高会计信息质量相关性而引入的一个计量属性,公允价值计量与盈余管理之间并无必然联系。但是,由于现阶段我国资本市场发展还不完善以及公允价值理论本身在运行中的一些缺陷,公允价值的引入很可能会成为上市公司进行盈余管理的工具。     

盈余管理、关联交易与审计师特征

上市公司利用关联交易进行盈余管理必须得到会计师事务所的"配合"才有可能顺利实施,而与之"配合"的审计师因承担更高的审计风险,必以收取更高的审计费用作为补偿.实证研究表明,关联交易是上市公司盈余管理的重要手段,上市公司关联交易量越大,会计师事务所的品牌、规模越有利于抑制公司盈余管理行为,审计任期过长不利于抑制公司盈余管理行为.上市公司关联交易量越大,就越倾向于选择非国际"四大"和国内非"十大"会计师事务所,即小规模会计师事务所是上市公司的选择目标,因盈余管理进行关联交易的上市公司支付了更高水平的审计费用.     

Institutional stakeholdings and better-informed traders at earnings announcements

Utama and Cready [Utama, S., Cready, W.M., 1997. Institutional ownership, differential predisclosure precision and trading volume at announcement dates. Journal of Accounting and Economics 24, 129–150] use total institutional ownership to proxy for the proportion of better-informed traders, an important determinant of trading around earnings announcements. We argue that institutions holding small stakes cannot justify the fixed cost of developing private predisclosure information. Also, institutions with large stakes generally do not trade around earnings announcements since they are dedicated investors or face regulations that make informed trading difficult. However, institutions holding medium stakes have incentives to develop private predisclosure information and trade on it; we show that their ownership is a finer proxy for the proportion of better-informed traders at earnings announcements.