Pub Date : 2023-05-24DOI: 10.1108/raf-07-2022-0207
Mohammad N. Islam, Shihong Li, Clark M. Wheatley
Purpose The purpose of this study is to present the evidence of the association between financial statement comparability and corporate financial distress. Design/methodology/approach This is an empirical study, and this study uses multiple regression analysis to evaluate hypothesis. Findings The authors find a significant decrease in the probability of financial distress as accounting comparability increases. Findings of this study suggest that distressed firms tend to produce financial statements that compare poorly to those of peer firms; the effectiveness of predicting financial distress with accounting ratios may be conditional on comparability with peers; and financial statement comparability may be predictive of financial distress. Research limitations/implications First, this study only used publicly available financial data, which may not be representative of all countries and could differ because of differences in accounting practices. Second, although this study found a connection between accounting comparability and financial distress, it cannot prove a causal relationship, as other factors that were not controlled for may also have an impact. Third, this study used various measures of financial distress, but other measures could lead to different results. Finally, this study did not include all relevant variables, such as industry-specific factors and macroeconomic conditions, which could influence the relationship between accounting comparability and financial distress. Practical implications For investors and financial analysts, the results imply that accounting comparability can serve as a useful signal for identifying companies that are more likely to remain financially stable in the long run. Thus, they may prefer to invest in or recommend highly comparable firms over their less comparable counterparts. For auditors, this study underscores the importance of promoting and enforcing accounting standards that improve comparability, as this can help mitigate the risk of financial distress among their clients. Regulators may also consider the implications of the study’s findings when designing policies and guidelines related to financial reporting and disclosure. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study investigating the association between financial statement comparability and corporate financial distress of the US firms. This study uses large, comprehensive and multi-year data. Furthermore, this is the only study that presents the evidence of negative association between comparability and firm financial distress.
{"title":"Accounting comparability and financial distress","authors":"Mohammad N. Islam, Shihong Li, Clark M. Wheatley","doi":"10.1108/raf-07-2022-0207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-07-2022-0207","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this study is to present the evidence of the association between financial statement comparability and corporate financial distress.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This is an empirical study, and this study uses multiple regression analysis to evaluate hypothesis.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The authors find a significant decrease in the probability of financial distress as accounting comparability increases. Findings of this study suggest that distressed firms tend to produce financial statements that compare poorly to those of peer firms; the effectiveness of predicting financial distress with accounting ratios may be conditional on comparability with peers; and financial statement comparability may be predictive of financial distress.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000First, this study only used publicly available financial data, which may not be representative of all countries and could differ because of differences in accounting practices. Second, although this study found a connection between accounting comparability and financial distress, it cannot prove a causal relationship, as other factors that were not controlled for may also have an impact. Third, this study used various measures of financial distress, but other measures could lead to different results. Finally, this study did not include all relevant variables, such as industry-specific factors and macroeconomic conditions, which could influence the relationship between accounting comparability and financial distress.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000For investors and financial analysts, the results imply that accounting comparability can serve as a useful signal for identifying companies that are more likely to remain financially stable in the long run. Thus, they may prefer to invest in or recommend highly comparable firms over their less comparable counterparts. For auditors, this study underscores the importance of promoting and enforcing accounting standards that improve comparability, as this can help mitigate the risk of financial distress among their clients. Regulators may also consider the implications of the study’s findings when designing policies and guidelines related to financial reporting and disclosure.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study investigating the association between financial statement comparability and corporate financial distress of the US firms. This study uses large, comprehensive and multi-year data. Furthermore, this is the only study that presents the evidence of negative association between comparability and firm financial distress.\u0000","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44366234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-24DOI: 10.1108/raf-11-2022-0326
Hidaya Al Lawati, K. Hussainey, R. Sagitova
Purpose This study aims to examine whether, and which type of, busy audit committee (AC) directors affect the quality and quantity of forward-looking disclosure (FLD). Design/methodology/approach The authors use content analysis to measure the quality and quantity of FLD. The authors use a sample of Omani financial institutions listed on the Muscat Securities Market for the period 2014–2018. Findings The authors find that overlapped AC chairs and total overlapped AC directors negatively (positively) affect disclosure quantity (quality). The authors also find that overlapped AC directors with financial expertise and those with multiple directorships positively affect disclosure quantity and quality. Originality/value This study offers new insights to policymakers (and managers) as it informs them about the benefits of overlapping AC directorship. It suggests that corporate governance codes should not limit overlapped AC direcotorship.
{"title":"Busy audit committee directors and corporate narrative disclosure in Oman","authors":"Hidaya Al Lawati, K. Hussainey, R. Sagitova","doi":"10.1108/raf-11-2022-0326","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-11-2022-0326","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This study aims to examine whether, and which type of, busy audit committee (AC) directors affect the quality and quantity of forward-looking disclosure (FLD).\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The authors use content analysis to measure the quality and quantity of FLD. The authors use a sample of Omani financial institutions listed on the Muscat Securities Market for the period 2014–2018.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The authors find that overlapped AC chairs and total overlapped AC directors negatively (positively) affect disclosure quantity (quality). The authors also find that overlapped AC directors with financial expertise and those with multiple directorships positively affect disclosure quantity and quality.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This study offers new insights to policymakers (and managers) as it informs them about the benefits of overlapping AC directorship. It suggests that corporate governance codes should not limit overlapped AC direcotorship.\u0000","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46781259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-22DOI: 10.1108/raf-10-2022-0279
C. Kuzey, Ali Uyar, Abdullah S. Karaman
Purpose This study aims to test whether over-investment is associated with environmental, social and governance (ESG) variation (i.e. inequality) across its dimensions, which, if so, would imply the prioritization of the interests of some stakeholders over those of others. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a global sample of 29,428 observations across nine sectors and 41 countries between 2003 and 2019, the authors executed a country-industry-year fixed-effects regression analysis. In the robustness tests, this study also used the entropy balancing and propensity score matching approaches. Findings The authors found that while firm over-investment increases social pillar inequality, it reduces environmental pillar inequality. Further analysis revealed that the over-investment strategy decreases (increases) ESG inequality in low (high) environmental and social performers. This outcome could be of relevance to internal governance mechanisms and policymaking as ESG inequality might raise legitimacy concerns and hamper the long-term sustainability of firms. Practical implications The outcome of the study could be of relevance to internal governance mechanisms as well as policymaking. Considering financial constraints, firms should maintain a balanced strategy between firm investment and addressing stakeholder interests. Otherwise, over-investment might reduce environmental and social engagement in some dimensions, which could prompt criticisms and legitimacy concerns about firms and some stakeholders. Originality/value Past research has intensively focused on whether ESG – rather than ESG inequality – is associated with investment (in)efficiency. In addition, it has mostly formulated the causality running from ESG to firm investment, and hence, the literature lacks heterogeneity in this respect. Nevertheless, the authors believe that the potential effect of firm investment on ESG is of critical importance and has implications for determining whether over-investment causes variations across ESG engagement. Thus, the authors addressed this gap in the literature by investigating the relationship between over-investment and ESG inequality.
{"title":"Over-investment and ESG inequality","authors":"C. Kuzey, Ali Uyar, Abdullah S. Karaman","doi":"10.1108/raf-10-2022-0279","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-10-2022-0279","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This study aims to test whether over-investment is associated with environmental, social and governance (ESG) variation (i.e. inequality) across its dimensions, which, if so, would imply the prioritization of the interests of some stakeholders over those of others.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000Drawing on a global sample of 29,428 observations across nine sectors and 41 countries between 2003 and 2019, the authors executed a country-industry-year fixed-effects regression analysis. In the robustness tests, this study also used the entropy balancing and propensity score matching approaches.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The authors found that while firm over-investment increases social pillar inequality, it reduces environmental pillar inequality. Further analysis revealed that the over-investment strategy decreases (increases) ESG inequality in low (high) environmental and social performers. This outcome could be of relevance to internal governance mechanisms and policymaking as ESG inequality might raise legitimacy concerns and hamper the long-term sustainability of firms.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000The outcome of the study could be of relevance to internal governance mechanisms as well as policymaking. Considering financial constraints, firms should maintain a balanced strategy between firm investment and addressing stakeholder interests. Otherwise, over-investment might reduce environmental and social engagement in some dimensions, which could prompt criticisms and legitimacy concerns about firms and some stakeholders.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000Past research has intensively focused on whether ESG – rather than ESG inequality – is associated with investment (in)efficiency. In addition, it has mostly formulated the causality running from ESG to firm investment, and hence, the literature lacks heterogeneity in this respect. Nevertheless, the authors believe that the potential effect of firm investment on ESG is of critical importance and has implications for determining whether over-investment causes variations across ESG engagement. Thus, the authors addressed this gap in the literature by investigating the relationship between over-investment and ESG inequality.\u0000","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48823037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-05DOI: 10.1108/raf-10-2022-0290
Faten Ben Bouheni, Manish Tewari, Mouwafac Sidaoui, Amir Hasnaoui
Purpose This study aims to develop a unique methodology to construct a bank’s financial technology (Fintech) score, which captures the degree of digitalization of a bank’s operations. Using the Fintech score as the proxy, this study investigates the effect of Fintech on the operating performance of the top largest Islamic bank. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used measures the link between the degree of digitization of a bank and its operational performance. This study applies the three-degree polynomial of regression to the largest Islamic bank in which the explanatory variable is the natural logarithm of Fintech score, and the response variable is common operating performance measure. To check the sensitivity of the estimates to the sample size and assumptions’ violation, this study has applied Bootstrapping and Bayesian processes to the three-degree polynomial regressions. Findings The study estimates from 2007 to 2021 show that the relationship between the operating performance of the Islamic banks and the Fintech is nonlinear and strongly significant: operating returns increase with the increasing level of Fintech, whereas the operating returns decrease with the increasing Fintech variance. At an aggregate level, this study attributes a significant rise in internet coverage to the emergence of Fintech in the Middle East region. Originality/value This study constructs an implicit measure of Fintech that measures the adoption of Fintech by the bank and, consequently, offers the technology to their customers for higher use satisfaction. This study finds that Fintech is linked to the operating performance in a nonlinear fashion, in which Fintech and Fintech variance have the opposite effect on operating performance: Fintech increases the operating profitability, whereas Fintech variance decreases the operating profitability of a bank.
{"title":"An econometric understanding of Fintech and operating performance","authors":"Faten Ben Bouheni, Manish Tewari, Mouwafac Sidaoui, Amir Hasnaoui","doi":"10.1108/raf-10-2022-0290","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-10-2022-0290","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This study aims to develop a unique methodology to construct a bank’s financial technology (Fintech) score, which captures the degree of digitalization of a bank’s operations. Using the Fintech score as the proxy, this study investigates the effect of Fintech on the operating performance of the top largest Islamic bank.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The methodology used measures the link between the degree of digitization of a bank and its operational performance. This study applies the three-degree polynomial of regression to the largest Islamic bank in which the explanatory variable is the natural logarithm of Fintech score, and the response variable is common operating performance measure. To check the sensitivity of the estimates to the sample size and assumptions’ violation, this study has applied Bootstrapping and Bayesian processes to the three-degree polynomial regressions.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The study estimates from 2007 to 2021 show that the relationship between the operating performance of the Islamic banks and the Fintech is nonlinear and strongly significant: operating returns increase with the increasing level of Fintech, whereas the operating returns decrease with the increasing Fintech variance. At an aggregate level, this study attributes a significant rise in internet coverage to the emergence of Fintech in the Middle East region.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This study constructs an implicit measure of Fintech that measures the adoption of Fintech by the bank and, consequently, offers the technology to their customers for higher use satisfaction. This study finds that Fintech is linked to the operating performance in a nonlinear fashion, in which Fintech and Fintech variance have the opposite effect on operating performance: Fintech increases the operating profitability, whereas Fintech variance decreases the operating profitability of a bank.\u0000","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44770495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-18DOI: 10.1108/raf-05-2022-0147
E. Elshafie
Purpose This study aims to address the following four research questions: first, whether auditors report critical audit matters (CAMs) to shield themselves against possible litigation; second, whether reporting quality affects auditors’ propensity to report CAMs; third, whether auditors’ tenure length – reflecting familiarity with clients’ financial reporting – affects their likelihood to report CAMs; and fourth, whether auditors’ conservatism increases the likelihood of CAMs reporting. Design/methodology/approach Data are manually collected from audit reports including CAMs in 10-K, then financial data are collected from the Capital IQ database, and market data are collected from the CRSP database. Using propensity score matching, the initial sample of companies with CAMs is matched with companies without reported CAMs. Performance adjusted discretionary accruals, real earnings management proxy, Khan and Watts’ (2009) C-score, propensity to issue a going concern opinion, Dechow et al.’s (2011) F-Score, Rogers and Stocken’s (2005) model and Houston et al.’s (2010) model are used to measure reporting quality, auditor conservatism, misstatement risk and litigation risk, respectively. Findings The results do not show that auditors report CAMs opportunistically to shield themselves from litigation risk. However, the results do suggest that auditors have a greater tendency to report CAMs when reporting quality is low and when they are more conservative. On the other hand, they have less tendency to report CAMs in their first year of engagement. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study have important implications for the auditor behavior literature as it shows that, when it comes to reporting CAMs, auditors actually behave objectively and do not report in a trite way. This study also provides early archival evidence on a standard that relates to the first major change to the auditor’s report in decades. To the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first to provide evidence on the association between auditor conservatism and auditors tendency to report CAMs and the first to triangulate prior research on auditor litigation risk by providing the first archival evidence on the auditors “litigation-shielding” concern. Practical implications This study examines whether auditors attempt to meet the stated objective of reporting CAMs by signaling information about reporting quality. This study demonstrates that reporting CAMs is not a “boilerplate” communication. This study has implications for standards setters, as it shows that CAMs are reported in a way consistent with the objectives of the new standard, namely, via signaling information in the audit report on the quality of the financial statements. Originality/value In terms of originality, this paper uses a manually collected sample and, to the best of the author’s knowledge, is the first to focus on auditor’s behavior rather than on investors or clients reactions to CA
{"title":"Critical audit matters: litigation, quality and conservatism","authors":"E. Elshafie","doi":"10.1108/raf-05-2022-0147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-05-2022-0147","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This study aims to address the following four research questions: first, whether auditors report critical audit matters (CAMs) to shield themselves against possible litigation; second, whether reporting quality affects auditors’ propensity to report CAMs; third, whether auditors’ tenure length – reflecting familiarity with clients’ financial reporting – affects their likelihood to report CAMs; and fourth, whether auditors’ conservatism increases the likelihood of CAMs reporting.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000Data are manually collected from audit reports including CAMs in 10-K, then financial data are collected from the Capital IQ database, and market data are collected from the CRSP database. Using propensity score matching, the initial sample of companies with CAMs is matched with companies without reported CAMs. Performance adjusted discretionary accruals, real earnings management proxy, Khan and Watts’ (2009) C-score, propensity to issue a going concern opinion, Dechow et al.’s (2011) F-Score, Rogers and Stocken’s (2005) model and Houston et al.’s (2010) model are used to measure reporting quality, auditor conservatism, misstatement risk and litigation risk, respectively.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The results do not show that auditors report CAMs opportunistically to shield themselves from litigation risk. However, the results do suggest that auditors have a greater tendency to report CAMs when reporting quality is low and when they are more conservative. On the other hand, they have less tendency to report CAMs in their first year of engagement.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000The findings of this study have important implications for the auditor behavior literature as it shows that, when it comes to reporting CAMs, auditors actually behave objectively and do not report in a trite way. This study also provides early archival evidence on a standard that relates to the first major change to the auditor’s report in decades. To the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first to provide evidence on the association between auditor conservatism and auditors tendency to report CAMs and the first to triangulate prior research on auditor litigation risk by providing the first archival evidence on the auditors “litigation-shielding” concern.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000This study examines whether auditors attempt to meet the stated objective of reporting CAMs by signaling information about reporting quality. This study demonstrates that reporting CAMs is not a “boilerplate” communication. This study has implications for standards setters, as it shows that CAMs are reported in a way consistent with the objectives of the new standard, namely, via signaling information in the audit report on the quality of the financial statements.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000In terms of originality, this paper uses a manually collected sample and, to the best of the author’s knowledge, is the first to focus on auditor’s behavior rather than on investors or clients reactions to CA","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44951194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-18DOI: 10.1108/raf-01-2023-0001
Amine Ben Amar, Stéphane Goutte, Amir Hasnaoui, Amine Marouane, Héla Mzoughi
Purpose This study aims to investigate the dependence structure and volatility spillovers among two strategic commodities (crude oil and gold) and a set of Islamic and conventional regional stock market indices, while examining the Ramadan effect Design/methodology/approach The empirical strategy consists of two complementary measures of dependence and connectedness. This study first uses copulas to examine the dependency between the markets considered, then spillovers compute the magnitude of the connectedness among them. Findings The copulas analysis shows that Frank’s copula appears to better capture the relationship between most asset returns and highlights the almost absence of extreme dependence and, therefore, the existence of diversification opportunities. Moreover, the connectedness analysis suggests that gold is a net volatility receiver and provides, thereby, greater diversification benefits compared to crude oil. In addition, the high levels of time-varying connectedness support strong integration among the financial markets studied, specifically during the COVID-19 crisis period. Furthermore, the connectedness among the markets studied increases during the Ramdan subperiods, supporting shift contagion among financial markets considered during this religious holiday. Practical implications The results provide investors with a better understanding of the nature as well as the magnitude of the interdependences between commodity markets and a set of Islamic and conventional regional stock markets. Indeed, it is of paramount importance for investors to clearly understand how Islamic and conventional markets are segmented or integrated during stress and stress-free periods, as well as the effect of the month of Ramadan on the interdependence among markets, to better assess risks, diversify portfolios and implement more effective hedging strategies. Originality/value While a considerable body of literature examines financial contagion and volatility transmission between financial markets, there is still much to be said regarding connectedness among commodity and stock markets, particularly when it comes to studying the effects of religious holidays on the interaction between conventional and Islamic assets. This paper fills in this gap by focusing on the dependence structure as well as the connectedness between Islamic stock indices, conventional stock indices, gold and crude oil for six different regions, while examining the Ramadan effect.
{"title":"The Ramadan effect on commodity and stock markets integration","authors":"Amine Ben Amar, Stéphane Goutte, Amir Hasnaoui, Amine Marouane, Héla Mzoughi","doi":"10.1108/raf-01-2023-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-01-2023-0001","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This study aims to investigate the dependence structure and volatility spillovers among two strategic commodities (crude oil and gold) and a set of Islamic and conventional regional stock market indices, while examining the Ramadan effect\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The empirical strategy consists of two complementary measures of dependence and connectedness. This study first uses copulas to examine the dependency between the markets considered, then spillovers compute the magnitude of the connectedness among them.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The copulas analysis shows that Frank’s copula appears to better capture the relationship between most asset returns and highlights the almost absence of extreme dependence and, therefore, the existence of diversification opportunities. Moreover, the connectedness analysis suggests that gold is a net volatility receiver and provides, thereby, greater diversification benefits compared to crude oil. In addition, the high levels of time-varying connectedness support strong integration among the financial markets studied, specifically during the COVID-19 crisis period. Furthermore, the connectedness among the markets studied increases during the Ramdan subperiods, supporting shift contagion among financial markets considered during this religious holiday.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000The results provide investors with a better understanding of the nature as well as the magnitude of the interdependences between commodity markets and a set of Islamic and conventional regional stock markets. Indeed, it is of paramount importance for investors to clearly understand how Islamic and conventional markets are segmented or integrated during stress and stress-free periods, as well as the effect of the month of Ramadan on the interdependence among markets, to better assess risks, diversify portfolios and implement more effective hedging strategies.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000While a considerable body of literature examines financial contagion and volatility transmission between financial markets, there is still much to be said regarding connectedness among commodity and stock markets, particularly when it comes to studying the effects of religious holidays on the interaction between conventional and Islamic assets. This paper fills in this gap by focusing on the dependence structure as well as the connectedness between Islamic stock indices, conventional stock indices, gold and crude oil for six different regions, while examining the Ramadan effect.\u0000","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49580920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-28DOI: 10.1108/raf-10-2022-0298
Juan Chen, Hongling Guo, Zuoping Xiao
Purpose This study aims to investigate how high-speed railway (HSR) development affects urban construction investment (UCI) bond yield spreads based on China’s background. Design/methodology/approach This study constructs a quasi-natural experiment and adopts regression analyses to empirically examine the relation between HSR development and UCI bond yield spreads. The empirical analysis is based on a Chinese sample of 15,109 bond offering observations from 2008 to 2019. Findings The results show that HSR development reduces UCI bond yield spreads. Mechanistic analysis shows that HSR development increases land prices and the level of urbanization, which in turn lowers the UCI bond yield spreads. In addition, the impact of HSR development on UCI bond yield spreads is more significant at higher marketization levels and lower degrees of dependence on land finance cities where UCI corporations are located. Research limitations/implications The results imply that transportation infrastructure improvement, such as HSR development, helps to enhance the credit of local governments and the solvency of UCI corporations and ultimately reduces the financing cost of UCI bonds. Originality/value This paper provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for the impact of transportation infrastructure construction on the implicit debt risks of local governments in China, which enriches the research on the “HSR economy” from a micro perspective and expands the research on the influencing factors of local governments’ debt risk.
{"title":"High-speed railway and urban construction investment bond yield spreads: a quasi-natural experiment","authors":"Juan Chen, Hongling Guo, Zuoping Xiao","doi":"10.1108/raf-10-2022-0298","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-10-2022-0298","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This study aims to investigate how high-speed railway (HSR) development affects urban construction investment (UCI) bond yield spreads based on China’s background.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This study constructs a quasi-natural experiment and adopts regression analyses to empirically examine the relation between HSR development and UCI bond yield spreads. The empirical analysis is based on a Chinese sample of 15,109 bond offering observations from 2008 to 2019.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The results show that HSR development reduces UCI bond yield spreads. Mechanistic analysis shows that HSR development increases land prices and the level of urbanization, which in turn lowers the UCI bond yield spreads. In addition, the impact of HSR development on UCI bond yield spreads is more significant at higher marketization levels and lower degrees of dependence on land finance cities where UCI corporations are located.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000The results imply that transportation infrastructure improvement, such as HSR development, helps to enhance the credit of local governments and the solvency of UCI corporations and ultimately reduces the financing cost of UCI bonds.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This paper provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for the impact of transportation infrastructure construction on the implicit debt risks of local governments in China, which enriches the research on the “HSR economy” from a micro perspective and expands the research on the influencing factors of local governments’ debt risk.\u0000","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41446282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-27DOI: 10.1108/raf-08-2022-0211
Ishwar Khatri
Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether financial markets value a firm’s specific corporate environmental performance (CEP), i.e. its energy efficiency. This study also investigates the mechanism through which energy efficiency is associated with firm value. Design/methodology/approach For the empirical study, a sample of 324 US-listed non-financial firms during the period 2006–2019 was accessed from Thomson Reuters Refinitiv. Using baseline ordinary least squares regression models, this study first estimates the association between energy efficiency and firm value. It then tests the role of analyst coverage (the number of sell-side financial analysts following the firm) in ascertaining the value relevance of energy efficiency. To ensure the robustness of the results, alternative estimations including endogeneity and sample bias correctness tests were performed. Findings The study shows that energy efficiency is associated with firm value, and the role of analyst coverage as an external corporate governance mechanism is positive and significant on the value relevance of energy efficiency. Furthermore, this study documents that the relationship is shaped by sustainability-related internal and external risks, indicating that financial analysts’ role becomes more imperative when firms are subject to high scrutiny. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by examining the intersections of energy efficiency, analyst coverage and firm value. It attempts to demonstrate how and why CEP and financial performance are linked. In the context of growing environmental concerns, the pressure of climate change and achievement of net-zero carbon emissions, this study provides valuable insights into the financial market wherein firms’ environmentally responsible behaviours are value-enhancing, and governance mechanisms are impactful. This study suggests that financial analysts can serve as an effective external corporate governance mechanism.
{"title":"The role of analyst coverage and value-relevance of energy efficiency","authors":"Ishwar Khatri","doi":"10.1108/raf-08-2022-0211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-08-2022-0211","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this study is to examine whether financial markets value a firm’s specific corporate environmental performance (CEP), i.e. its energy efficiency. This study also investigates the mechanism through which energy efficiency is associated with firm value.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000For the empirical study, a sample of 324 US-listed non-financial firms during the period 2006–2019 was accessed from Thomson Reuters Refinitiv. Using baseline ordinary least squares regression models, this study first estimates the association between energy efficiency and firm value. It then tests the role of analyst coverage (the number of sell-side financial analysts following the firm) in ascertaining the value relevance of energy efficiency. To ensure the robustness of the results, alternative estimations including endogeneity and sample bias correctness tests were performed.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The study shows that energy efficiency is associated with firm value, and the role of analyst coverage as an external corporate governance mechanism is positive and significant on the value relevance of energy efficiency. Furthermore, this study documents that the relationship is shaped by sustainability-related internal and external risks, indicating that financial analysts’ role becomes more imperative when firms are subject to high scrutiny.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This study contributes to the literature by examining the intersections of energy efficiency, analyst coverage and firm value. It attempts to demonstrate how and why CEP and financial performance are linked. In the context of growing environmental concerns, the pressure of climate change and achievement of net-zero carbon emissions, this study provides valuable insights into the financial market wherein firms’ environmentally responsible behaviours are value-enhancing, and governance mechanisms are impactful. This study suggests that financial analysts can serve as an effective external corporate governance mechanism.\u0000","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43588757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-02DOI: 10.1108/raf-09-2022-0271
Ayesha Afzal, Nawazish Mirza, S. Firdousi
Purpose Market discipline is an important part of financial regulation, under Basel II and III. This paper aims to provide evidence on market discipline in Pakistan. Specifically, the authors have analyzed the impact of CAMEL variables on costs of funds and deposit switching. Design/methodology/approach This study has used panel data related to different banking and macroeconomic variables. The sample period is 2004–2017 so it has covered the changing regulations that became binding for banks under Basel II and III. Quarterly data has been collected from the financial disclosure of publicly listed banks. The total number of banks in the sample is 26. Among these, 24 are publicly listed. Foreign banks have not been included because their activities in Pakistan are quite limited. Findings It has been found that efficiency, liquidity, asset quality and capital adequacy are negatively related to costs of funds for banks. Capital adequacy, liquidity and profitability are negatively related to deposit switching. Research limitations/implications These results indicate the presence of market discipline and have generated valuable implications for bank managers and regulators. Originality/value In this study, the case of Pakistan is interesting. The country has experienced financial liberalization that sought to avoid government intervention and encourage a more “market-based” approach. This change in the system was made more pronounced by the privatization of nationalized banks, improvement in the market structure, reduction in barriers to entry and consolidation of smaller banks. As a result, the banking system has emerged as an important source of financing and it provides us motivation to look deeper into depositor discipline in banking sector.
{"title":"Do depositors discipline the banking sector? Evidence from an emerging economy","authors":"Ayesha Afzal, Nawazish Mirza, S. Firdousi","doi":"10.1108/raf-09-2022-0271","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-09-2022-0271","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000Market discipline is an important part of financial regulation, under Basel II and III. This paper aims to provide evidence on market discipline in Pakistan. Specifically, the authors have analyzed the impact of CAMEL variables on costs of funds and deposit switching.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This study has used panel data related to different banking and macroeconomic variables. The sample period is 2004–2017 so it has covered the changing regulations that became binding for banks under Basel II and III. Quarterly data has been collected from the financial disclosure of publicly listed banks. The total number of banks in the sample is 26. Among these, 24 are publicly listed. Foreign banks have not been included because their activities in Pakistan are quite limited.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000It has been found that efficiency, liquidity, asset quality and capital adequacy are negatively related to costs of funds for banks. Capital adequacy, liquidity and profitability are negatively related to deposit switching.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000These results indicate the presence of market discipline and have generated valuable implications for bank managers and regulators.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000In this study, the case of Pakistan is interesting. The country has experienced financial liberalization that sought to avoid government intervention and encourage a more “market-based” approach. This change in the system was made more pronounced by the privatization of nationalized banks, improvement in the market structure, reduction in barriers to entry and consolidation of smaller banks. As a result, the banking system has emerged as an important source of financing and it provides us motivation to look deeper into depositor discipline in banking sector.\u0000","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44362255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-27DOI: 10.1108/raf-11-2022-0306
F. Ahmed, K. Hussainey
Purpose This paper aims to present a catalogue of the influential aspects resulting from a bibliometric meta-analysis of political connection literature. Design/methodology/approach This study undertakes a bibliometric meta-analysis review of political connections literature, covering 138 research papers from 2000 to 2020 using the visualization of similarities viewer program. Findings The authors identify six research groups: the value of political connections; political connections and finance; political connections in banks; political connections and debt; management and political connections; and political connections and governance. This study discusses each stream through a cartographic analysis, including co-authorship, countries and time networks. Originality/value This study makes an important and novel contribution to political connection literature. So far, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the only bibliometric study on political connections. This study is the first to use network analysis and community detection to understand social clustering and to identify main research steams in political connection literature.
{"title":"A bibliometric analysis of political connections literature","authors":"F. Ahmed, K. Hussainey","doi":"10.1108/raf-11-2022-0306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/raf-11-2022-0306","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This paper aims to present a catalogue of the influential aspects resulting from a bibliometric meta-analysis of political connection literature.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This study undertakes a bibliometric meta-analysis review of political connections literature, covering 138 research papers from 2000 to 2020 using the visualization of similarities viewer program.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The authors identify six research groups: the value of political connections; political connections and finance; political connections in banks; political connections and debt; management and political connections; and political connections and governance. This study discusses each stream through a cartographic analysis, including co-authorship, countries and time networks.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This study makes an important and novel contribution to political connection literature. So far, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the only bibliometric study on political connections. This study is the first to use network analysis and community detection to understand social clustering and to identify main research steams in political connection literature.\u0000","PeriodicalId":21152,"journal":{"name":"Review of Accounting and Finance","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45423107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}