Do goodwill impairments affect audit opinions? Evidence from China

There has been a steady growth of goodwill impairments in the Chinese stock market since the adoption of the impairment approach in accounting. The influence of goodwill impairments on a firm’s financial position and profitability give reason to doubt its current and future performance. We examine whether auditors, as a crucial external monitor, identify the information risks of goodwill impairments and express their concerns about financial reporting quality in their audit opinions. Using a sample of firms listed on China’s A-share market from 2007 to 2017, we test the association between goodwill impairments and the type of audit opinion received in the same financial period. Our findings are as follows. First, the probability of receiving a modified opinion increases with the amount of goodwill impairments. Second, the positive association between goodwill impairments and modified audit opinions is driven primarily by earnings management risks. Third, this positive association is more salient when auditors are industry experts and there is no auditor–client mismatch. Fourth, auditors are more sensitive to the amount of goodwill impairments than to their mere existence. Overall, we document that auditors perceive goodwill impairments as a signal of information risks and communicate their concerns to investors to avoid litigation.     

国有风险资本与企业融资约束: 如愿以偿还是事与愿违?

我国国有风险资本是否实现了设立之初的目标,即是否纾解了企业融资困难呢?文章基于上市企业微观数据和手动采集的国有风险资本数据对此进行了系统研究.实证结果稳健地显示,国有风险资本可有效缓解企业后续融资约束,我国政府参与风险投资活动是有效的.进一步地,高持股比例、多联合投资、高政治层级的国有风险资本对受资助企业融资约束的缓解作用更强;且国有风险资本对经济欠发达、低制度质量环境下的企业、面临高环境不确定性和高竞争程度企业、民营企业、成长期与动荡期企业能产生更大的影响.机制检验表明,国有风险资本既能通过认证作用显著降低企业信息不对称程度,又能发挥政治关联的资源效应,包括显著促进银企关系和企业的商业信贷获取能力,并提升企业获得政府补贴的水平,从而减轻企业资金负担,缓解其融资约束.经济后果分析表明,国有风险资本能显著降低企业外部融资的股权资金成本和债务资金成本,帮助改善企业融资贵的难题,而且国有风险资本有助于企业在创新和经营方面的良性发展.但国有风险资本并未起到有效监督作用,不能缓解企业代理问题,尤其是会导致第一类代理成本的明显提高,而高管薪酬提升是其中的重要原因.据此,文章认为在未来的国有风险资本发展中,要把握"政府角色"介入的尺度,完善国有风险资本对企业的监督管理机制.同时适当兼顾各地区发展不平衡的情况,对中西部地区的国有风险资本发展提供适当且必要的帮助,以促进国有风险资本在新时期的长足发展.     

跨越竞争丛林与范式重构：全球治理改革进程中的疫苗产业创新治理

疫苗作为新冠疫情防控的最关键手段之一，已在各国抗疫中发挥积极影响。疫苗研发、生产、注射意愿以及全球分配的公平性与可及性等一系列问题日益受到世界关注。分析全球治理改革中，疫苗作为一种全球公共产品的创新治理问题，讨论疫苗产业发展特征与创新规律演化，剖析西方国家疫苗产业创新治理困境以及“竞争丛林”逻辑，阐释中国行动方案及对全球治理改革的贡献。最终提出疫苗产业创新治理机制对推动全球治理改革的政策含义。     

When Do Qualitative Risk Disclosures Backfire? The Effects of a Mismatch in Hedge Disclosure Formats on Investors' Judgments

Disclosure standards mandate the quantitative disclosure of hedging‐instrument‐related risks but not the disclosure of hedged‐item‐related risks. We examine how a match (mismatch) in formats, caused by making quantitative (qualitative) hedged item disclosures alongside quantitative hedging instrument disclosures, affects investors' integration of information from these two related disclosures. Our first experiment varies the hedged item disclosure format (quantitative or qualitative) and the portion of risk hedged (small or large). We find that when disclosure formats are mismatched, the less comparable nature of the two disclosures caused investors to neglect the offsetting relationship when assessing net risks. As a result, risk and investment judgments were influenced by the more prominent quantitative hedging instrument disclosures. Our second experiment finds that the use of a qualitative debiaser that clarifies the relationship between the two disclosures led to the integration of information and mitigated this effect.     

The Short-Selling Hypothesis of Weekend Effect and T + 1 Trading Mechanism

Asia-Pacific Financial Markets - Utilizing a difference-in-difference regression model, we conduct cross-sectional and time-series analysis to explore effect of short sales on the weekend effect in...     

论中小企业对管理胜任力的基本要求和培育途径

文章指出,管理胜任力是企业核心竞争能力的一个重要方面,中小企业的健康成长取决于其竞争能力的提高,竞争能力的关键是提高企业的管理胜任力,文章还分析了中小企业对管理胜任力要求的主要方面。     

食用菌无公害、经济型保鲜技术研究进展

该文从食用菌保鲜的机理出发,对各种保鲜技术从有无公害、是否经济有效的角度进行了对比研究,以求得到既经济有效又无残留的食用菌保鲜技术,并对无公害食用菌发展的前景进行了分析。     

“三国演义”，麈战纺织

9月5日中国与欧盟经过长达48小时的唇枪舌战，终于达成协议，圆满解决了中欧纺织品贸易的滞港争端。9月1日紧急进行的中美纺织品第四轮磋商依然未果，“拉锯战”被拖至9月下旬，而且前途未卜，恰似给美国造成巨大损失的“卡特里娜”飓风，近期内依然“挥之不去”，令业内人士揪心。     

中国要向日本学习什么?--谈"节约型经济"与"中国世纪"

“中国世纪”的挑战先说中国目前面临的挑战。现在国际国内都有许多人正在谈论“中国世纪”。其实,中国的世纪仍然是一种想象。中国正在崛起,但世界上从来没有任何一个国家像崛起的中国那样感受到资源困窘的压力。如果中国不能克服前进道路上的矛盾,不能转变增长方式,就谈不上会有真正的“中国的世纪”。对于中国资源的困窘可从供需两方面来看。在供应方面,中国并非地大物博,中国的人均资源相当稀缺;而在需求方面,中国经济高速发展,国民对能源、水、土地等自然资源的需求正急剧增长,并将持续增长。众所周知,就大部分重要资源的人均占有水平…     

对陕西省农村社会养老保险供求主体的分析与政府作用研究

陕西是西部的农业大省,农村社会养老保险制度发展缓慢,农村养老保险市场需要寻找供需双方的均衡点,政府作为制度的提供者和政策的制定者,必须在农村社会养老保险制度建立和运营中明确思路,发挥主导作用,以保证陕西省农村养老保险健康、有序地发展。