Corporate non-financial misconduct and accounting conservatism

Abstract

This study shows that shareholders demand a higher level of conservatism when the firm commits non-financial misconduct. This positive relationship between corporate non-financial misconduct and accounting conservatism is more pronounced for firms with higher information asymmetry, worse financial conditions and greater monitoring by shareholders. Further analyses reveal that corporate non-financial misconduct is associated with less efficient managerial control over operations, lower employee satisfaction, worse performance and higher information uncertainties in the future. These results are robust to alternative measures, endogeneity concerns and controls for the potential influence arising from financial misconduct and internal control weakness.