Accounting Perspectives最新文献

This paper reviews the literature pertaining to the effects of the characteristics of top executives on firms' decisions and outcomes. We focus particularly on research related to executives' individual characteristics, including their demographic, psychological, and other characteristics. Thereafter, we discuss the literature related to the relationship among executives, particularly the CEO and the CFO, which may affect corporate performance and accounting outcomes. Finally, we identify the gaps in the literature and provide directions for future research.

In this study, we review the extant literature on factors affecting the level and structure of executive compensation, with a specific focus on the power dynamic between firms and their executives. In doing so, we explore the competing effects of corporate tax planning and managerial power on executive compensation structure. We consider the theoretical underpinnings and related empirical findings regarding executive compensation structure and propose new avenues for future research that may deepen our understanding of factors influencing executive compensation structure.

This research aims to advance the literature by identifying the association between four advertising media vehicles (Internet, press, outdoor, television) and contemporaneous sales. Previous research highlights the influence of advertising on firm value but does not delve into the effects of advertising media vehicles. Employing primary data, which detail the advertising expenditures of 88 publicly traded companies over 11 years, we empirically show a positive association between television and outdoor advertising expenditures and contemporaneous sales. However, we do not find any significant results for press and Internet advertising. We investigate the moderating effect of the growth opportunities, industry sectors, and firm size. Our study offers important evidence that the contemporaneous relationship between sales and advertising expenditures varies by media vehicle. We discuss the implications of our findings for the matching principle, a principal concept in accrual accounting.

We highlight how complying with detailed professional accounting rules can lead to lies and undermine the overall objectives of financial reporting. We do so by conducting a retrospective analysis (using the argumentation concepts of premise, qualifier, data, and conclusions) of the reasoning of the two expert accounting witnesses in the criminal trial in 2006 of Enron's president (Lay) and CEO (Skilling). We make two recommendations that are intended to elevate financial reporting beyond a mere compliance instrument and to help it conform better with the idea of fair presentation. First, we call for the objectives of financial reporting to be installed as the overarching premise in a conceptual framework (CF) for GAAP-based financial reporting. The remainder of the CF should provide essential guidance to meet those objectives. Second, we recommend that the needs of users of financial reports should be prioritized by developing ethical forecasting principles and better ways of assessing and reporting the accounting estimation uncertainties that are identified in the IASB's (2018) revised CF. We contend that a CF with the more detailed standards should guide professional judgment on the concept of accounting risk and provide guidance on an acceptable level of this risk for various line items on the financial statements. Ideally, accounting risk should be less than 0.50 so that the probability that the reported number is materially accurate is at least 0.50. This requirement is necessary for the various types of accounting estimates to be sufficiently truthful for ethical financial reporting. This will render GAAP and financial reporting more reliant on cogent reasoning and argumentation.

The value relevance research in accounting offers robust analyses about how the market views accounting information. Although significant work has been done to date in this mature research area, the literature does not fully explain or agree upon the changes in value relevance over time, and the impact of economic conditions on the value relevance of accounting information is a relatively understudied research stream. We review three streams of the value relevance literature: (i) the value relevance of earnings and book values, (ii) the value relevance of other accounting information, and (iii) the role of economic conditions on the value relevance of accounting information. Further, we review the various explanations put forth in the literature to try to explain the variation in value relevance over time. Finally, we provide a limited baseline for the current state of scholarly work and offer insight for future value relevance research.

This study is a literature review on corporate governance. Its objective is to consolidate our knowledge in this field, examine its evolution, and propose avenues for future research. In our review of the past and present literature on various governance measures and their effect on firm performance, we find that the empirical results are mixed for many of the governance mechanisms studied. We propose that these mixed results may be due to applying a “one size fits all” set of governance measures, which is not effective for all types of firms due to the complexity of organizations and the differences in ownership structures. We therefore explore more technologically advanced methodologies, including machine learning. We believe that this line of research could not only improve and refine existing governance measures but also allow us to better target which set of mechanisms might be appropriate for a firm based on its particular characteristics. We encourage future researchers in corporate governance to consider this approach in order to shed light on and fill the gaps in this area of research.

This paper assesses the current state of scholarly work on risk factor disclosures (RFDs) with the goal of synthesizing existing literature and stimulating further research in this area. To a large extent, prior research studies have examined different aspects of the disclosure of corporate risk information in annual reports. Beginning in 2005, the US SEC proposed changes to the disclosure of risk information in annual 10-K reports. The changes mandated large firms in the United States to disclose risk factors in Item 1A of their 10-Ks. While research studies on the impact of the changes are still ongoing, there are concerns among stakeholders that RFDs are vague, repetitive, and boilerplate. As a result, the SEC called on firms to ensure that they clearly disclose all the risks they faced. The SEC's call resulted in the release of an amendment that provides directions to further improve firms' RFDs. Using a systematic literature review method, this paper classifies the RFD literature into five research themes: (i) contents, (ii) informativeness, (iii) determinants, (iv) quality, and (v) effects on firm performance. The paper also reviews theories that have been dominantly applied in RFD studies and provides suggestions for future research.