Previous research related to board gender diversity typically focuses on international settings outside of the U.S. In this study, we examine the influence of boards, executives, and other stakeholders in appointing a female director candidate to a U.S. board, which is a voluntary regime dominated by male candidates. Following institutional theory, social identity theory, and resource dependence theory, we find that boards, executives, and institutional investors play persistent roles across various time periods, company sizes, and levels of CEO power. Workforce and customer stakeholders have become significant influencers only in more recent years and in smaller firms. Understanding factors that allow firms to successfully attract female board members in a voluntary regime should be of interest to board members and regulators worldwide. Our findings should also be of interest to accounting academics examining the role of board gender diversity in the oversight of audit, financial reporting, and tax policies. Data Availability: All data are publicly available from the cited sources. JEL Classifications: G34; M48.
{"title":"Attracting Female Directors in the United States: The Roles of Boards, Executives, and Other Stakeholders","authors":"Lauren M. Cunningham, Laurie E. Ereddia","doi":"10.2308/jiar-2021-096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-2021-096","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Previous research related to board gender diversity typically focuses on international settings outside of the U.S. In this study, we examine the influence of boards, executives, and other stakeholders in appointing a female director candidate to a U.S. board, which is a voluntary regime dominated by male candidates. Following institutional theory, social identity theory, and resource dependence theory, we find that boards, executives, and institutional investors play persistent roles across various time periods, company sizes, and levels of CEO power. Workforce and customer stakeholders have become significant influencers only in more recent years and in smaller firms. Understanding factors that allow firms to successfully attract female board members in a voluntary regime should be of interest to board members and regulators worldwide. Our findings should also be of interest to accounting academics examining the role of board gender diversity in the oversight of audit, financial reporting, and tax policies.\u0000 Data Availability: All data are publicly available from the cited sources.\u0000 JEL Classifications: G34; M48.","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43993799","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}
This study examines the influence of in-group identity between supervisors and subordinates and the clarity of the bonus determination criteria on supervisors’ discretionary adjustments of subordinates’ bonus compensation through the lens of social identity theory. Using field data from a multinational manufacturing company’s subsidiary in China, we find that in-group sales agents receive higher bonus awards and that this effect is more pronounced when there is high clarity of the bonus determination criteria. Additional analysis shows that these effects hold for higher-tenured sales agents and in regions characterized by lower sales agent turnover. Finally, we find that higher bonus awards are positively (negatively) associated with in-group sales agents’ future performance when there is low (high) clarity of the bonus determination criteria. Our findings hold potential implications for management practices in corporations operating in countries that have strong relationship-based cultures. Data Availability: Data used in this study are provided by a proprietary source.
{"title":"The Effects of In-Group Identity and Clarity of the Bonus Determination Criteria on Supervisors’ Discretionary Bonus Adjustments: Field Evidence from China","authors":"Joanna L. Y. Ho, Cody Lu, A. Wu","doi":"10.2308/jiar-2022-013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-2022-013","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This study examines the influence of in-group identity between supervisors and subordinates and the clarity of the bonus determination criteria on supervisors’ discretionary adjustments of subordinates’ bonus compensation through the lens of social identity theory. Using field data from a multinational manufacturing company’s subsidiary in China, we find that in-group sales agents receive higher bonus awards and that this effect is more pronounced when there is high clarity of the bonus determination criteria. Additional analysis shows that these effects hold for higher-tenured sales agents and in regions characterized by lower sales agent turnover. Finally, we find that higher bonus awards are positively (negatively) associated with in-group sales agents’ future performance when there is low (high) clarity of the bonus determination criteria. Our findings hold potential implications for management practices in corporations operating in countries that have strong relationship-based cultures.\u0000 Data Availability: Data used in this study are provided by a proprietary source.","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49488810","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 : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2308/1542-6297-22.1.i
{"title":"Covers and Front Matter","authors":"","doi":"10.2308/1542-6297-22.1.i","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/1542-6297-22.1.i","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":"201 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134950112","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}
This paper investigates how communications between regulators and firms through comment letters affect the outcomes of large mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in China. Unlike the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which uses comment letters to improve the accuracy of the measurement of deals, Chinese regulators worry about controlling shareholders' self-dealing and use real-time comment letters to expose suspicious deal specifics and to create pressure for controlling shareholders to back down. I find that the Chinese stock exchanges issue more severe comment letters on deal filings that indicate controlling shareholders’ expropriation of minority shareholders. More severe comment letters are associated with a lower market response to the receipt of letters, predict a higher probability of voluntary deal cancellation by management, and indirectly increase the probability of deal withdrawal and lengthen the processing time for equity-funded deals by affecting the approving body’s scrutiny level.
{"title":"Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant: Real-Time Comment Letters and Large M&As in China","authors":"Shuo Yang","doi":"10.2308/jiar-2021-064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-2021-064","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper investigates how communications between regulators and firms through comment letters affect the outcomes of large mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in China. Unlike the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which uses comment letters to improve the accuracy of the measurement of deals, Chinese regulators worry about controlling shareholders' self-dealing and use real-time comment letters to expose suspicious deal specifics and to create pressure for controlling shareholders to back down. I find that the Chinese stock exchanges issue more severe comment letters on deal filings that indicate controlling shareholders’ expropriation of minority shareholders. More severe comment letters are associated with a lower market response to the receipt of letters, predict a higher probability of voluntary deal cancellation by management, and indirectly increase the probability of deal withdrawal and lengthen the processing time for equity-funded deals by affecting the approving body’s scrutiny level.","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42615931","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}
This study examines the interaction effect of foreign language and obedience pressure from superiors on the ethical judgment in an auditing context. We conducted a 2 × 2 between-participants experiment with language and obedience pressure as independent variables. Participants are accounting students from eight leading universities in Japan to proxy entry-level auditing professionals. They were asked to provide their judgments based on a consolidation reporting scenario. We found that, under obedience pressure, foreign language use makes one’s judgment less aligned with the superior’s preference (less compliant) than the use of the native language. These results provide new insights regarding the potential boundary of the foreign language effect in auditing issues.
{"title":"Interaction Effect of Foreign Language and Obedience Pressure on Ethical Judgment in Accounting: Evidence from Japan","authors":"S. Sugahara, Noriyuki Tsunogaya, Jong-Hoon Kim","doi":"10.2308/jiar-2020-057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-2020-057","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This study examines the interaction effect of foreign language and obedience pressure from superiors on the ethical judgment in an auditing context. We conducted a 2 × 2 between-participants experiment with language and obedience pressure as independent variables. Participants are accounting students from eight leading universities in Japan to proxy entry-level auditing professionals. They were asked to provide their judgments based on a consolidation reporting scenario. We found that, under obedience pressure, foreign language use makes one’s judgment less aligned with the superior’s preference (less compliant) than the use of the native language. These results provide new insights regarding the potential boundary of the foreign language effect in auditing issues.","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44163627","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}
This structured literature review analyzes 179 African accounting research articles in 38 major accounting journals published from 2000 to 2019 (inclusive) to assess trends of publications in these journals, topics covered or neglected, research methods employed, the main contributing authors, their research impact, opportunities for future research, and challenges confronting this field. It found that, despite the increase in research publications on Africa, they were almost absent in the top 6 accounting journals and had little presence in the remaining 32. The analysis of research methods, contributing authors, and research impact found that much African research has adopted a qualitative approach, unlike the U.S. tradition employing mostly quantitative and economics-based methods, and most top-contributing authors either originated from Africa or were affiliated with an African university. There was a regional imbalance of African accounting research, which covered only 19 of the 54 countries. These were larger, richer, and had stock markets.
{"title":"Two Decades of African Accounting Research 2000–2019: Synthesis, Reflection, Gaps, and Future Directions","authors":"N. Waweru, Songlan Peng, T. Hopper","doi":"10.2308/jiar-2021-078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-2021-078","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This structured literature review analyzes 179 African accounting research articles in 38 major accounting journals published from 2000 to 2019 (inclusive) to assess trends of publications in these journals, topics covered or neglected, research methods employed, the main contributing authors, their research impact, opportunities for future research, and challenges confronting this field. It found that, despite the increase in research publications on Africa, they were almost absent in the top 6 accounting journals and had little presence in the remaining 32. The analysis of research methods, contributing authors, and research impact found that much African research has adopted a qualitative approach, unlike the U.S. tradition employing mostly quantitative and economics-based methods, and most top-contributing authors either originated from Africa or were affiliated with an African university. There was a regional imbalance of African accounting research, which covered only 19 of the 54 countries. These were larger, richer, and had stock markets.","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49038463","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 : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2308/1542-6297-22.1.e
{"title":"Editorial Policy","authors":"","doi":"10.2308/1542-6297-22.1.e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/1542-6297-22.1.e","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":"247 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134950113","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}
This paper investigates whether the U.S. market rewards cross-listed foreign firms and domestic firms differently when they meet or beat earnings expectations (MBE). Using 1,800 matched pairs of foreign firms and domestic firms from year 2005 to 2014, we find that (1) the MBE premium is discounted for foreign firms compared to U.S. domestic firms, (2) although the reward for MBE is discounted for foreign firms, they suffer a similar penalty as domestic firms when they miss expectations, (3) foreign firms from countries with strong legal enforcement and full or substantial IFRS adoption enjoy an MBE premium similar to that of domestic firms, while foreign firms from countries with weak legal enforcement and without full or substantial IFRS adoption experience a discounted MBE premium, and (4) both language difference and culture distance appear to account for the differential MBE premium between foreign firms and domestic firms as well.
{"title":"Does the U.S. Market Reward Foreign Firms and Domestic Firms Differently? Evidence from Meeting-or-Beating Earnings Expectations","authors":"J. Bannister, L. Ho, Xiaoxiao Song","doi":"10.2308/jiar-2021-108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-2021-108","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper investigates whether the U.S. market rewards cross-listed foreign firms and domestic firms differently when they meet or beat earnings expectations (MBE). Using 1,800 matched pairs of foreign firms and domestic firms from year 2005 to 2014, we find that (1) the MBE premium is discounted for foreign firms compared to U.S. domestic firms, (2) although the reward for MBE is discounted for foreign firms, they suffer a similar penalty as domestic firms when they miss expectations, (3) foreign firms from countries with strong legal enforcement and full or substantial IFRS adoption enjoy an MBE premium similar to that of domestic firms, while foreign firms from countries with weak legal enforcement and without full or substantial IFRS adoption experience a discounted MBE premium, and (4) both language difference and culture distance appear to account for the differential MBE premium between foreign firms and domestic firms as well.","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44209535","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}
The standard principal-agent model predicts that, ceteris paribus, a negative relation exists between firm risk and CEO incentives or pay-performance sensitivity. We examine how a CEO’s risk tolerance (captured by national culture) affects pay-performance sensitivity using international data from 29 countries. We find that CEOs from countries with high (low) risk tolerance are associated with high (low) pay-performance sensitivity, suggesting that they require a low (high) risk premium. We contribute to the CEO compensation literature by introducing CEO risk tolerance, an overlooked factor, into CEO compensation contracts.
{"title":"How Does Risk Tolerance Reflected in National Culture Affect Pay-Performance Sensitivity?","authors":"Michael D. Free, P. Kent, Xin Qu, D. Yao","doi":"10.2308/jiar-2021-039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-2021-039","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The standard principal-agent model predicts that, ceteris paribus, a negative relation exists between firm risk and CEO incentives or pay-performance sensitivity. We examine how a CEO’s risk tolerance (captured by national culture) affects pay-performance sensitivity using international data from 29 countries. We find that CEOs from countries with high (low) risk tolerance are associated with high (low) pay-performance sensitivity, suggesting that they require a low (high) risk premium. We contribute to the CEO compensation literature by introducing CEO risk tolerance, an overlooked factor, into CEO compensation contracts.","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47379067","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}
Christian Friedrich, Nicolas Pappert, Reiner Quick
ABSTRACT Researchers and regulators regularly debate whether mandatory audit firm rotation affects audit quality. Theoretically, rotation might improve auditor independence but impair competence. In 2014, the European Commission mandated audit firm rotation for public-interest entities, starting from 2020 for nonfinancial firms. However, any auditor change in the transition period could already be interpreted in light of the upcoming mandatory rotation regime, consistent with anecdotal evidence on such interpretations. These changes provide a unique setting because auditors have strong incentives to build a reputation for high-quality audits when choosing to participate in the market for rotations during the transition period. Using a balanced panel of 287 German firms and data from 2014 through 2019, we hypothesize and find lower discretionary accruals, abnormal working capital accruals, and total accruals in the first year after rotation. This effect is restricted to smaller public companies. Data Availability: The data are from public sources and are available from the third author upon written request. JEL Classifications: M42; M48.
{"title":"The Anticipation of Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation and Audit Quality","authors":"Christian Friedrich, Nicolas Pappert, Reiner Quick","doi":"10.2308/jiar-2021-095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2308/jiar-2021-095","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Researchers and regulators regularly debate whether mandatory audit firm rotation affects audit quality. Theoretically, rotation might improve auditor independence but impair competence. In 2014, the European Commission mandated audit firm rotation for public-interest entities, starting from 2020 for nonfinancial firms. However, any auditor change in the transition period could already be interpreted in light of the upcoming mandatory rotation regime, consistent with anecdotal evidence on such interpretations. These changes provide a unique setting because auditors have strong incentives to build a reputation for high-quality audits when choosing to participate in the market for rotations during the transition period. Using a balanced panel of 287 German firms and data from 2014 through 2019, we hypothesize and find lower discretionary accruals, abnormal working capital accruals, and total accruals in the first year after rotation. This effect is restricted to smaller public companies. Data Availability: The data are from public sources and are available from the third author upon written request. JEL Classifications: M42; M48.","PeriodicalId":45457,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Accounting Research","volume":"201 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134950118","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}