Advances in Accounting最新文献

In this paper, we examine the relation between client importance to Big 4 audit firm local offices and unconditional conservatism in complex accounting estimates; specifically, stock option volatility, pension expected asset rates of return, and pension discount rates. Changes in these estimates, which can appear small, can have material financial statement effects, have been used in earnings management schemes, and pose greater audit risk. We find that more important audit clients are associated with the use of more unconditionally conservative accounting estimates. These results are consistent with auditor reputation protection rather than important client economic dependence, and suggest client importance does not impair auditor independence with respect to complex accounting estimates.

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This paper investigates the level of paradigm development for estimation procedures used in identifying value relevance of loan loss provision components. The multiplicity of loan loss provision models poses a challenge to the researcher to select a specification while understanding the capital market impact of the discretionary and nondiscretionary components. We examine the differences that can emerge in understanding the value relevance of the components of the loan loss provision by use of different loan loss provision estimation models, market valuation models, scale-related deflators, and regression techniques. We develop estimates of the discretionary and non-discretionary components of the loan loss provision using nine different specifications and two scale-related deflators. We test the value relevance of these estimates on the market capitalization using two different valuation models and different regression approaches. Using a sample of banks in India, our empirical results show that the value relevance of the components of loan loss provision is conditioned on the choice of loan loss provision specification, the valuation model, and the regression approach.

We examine variation in accrual-based and real earnings management in U.S. hospitals by ownership type, using a stable comprehensive sample of hospitals from 2011 through 2016. We expect managers' reporting incentives to differ between ownership type (for-profit versus non-profit), resulting in differing uses of accrual and real earnings manipulations. First, we document that non-profit hospitals exhibit lower levels of both income-increasing and income-decreasing earnings manipulations than for-profit hospitals do. Second, we find that compared to non-profit hospitals, for-profit hospital managers use discretionary accruals (in particular) to create larger reserves when pre-managed earnings are high and to increase reported earnings more when pre-managed earnings are low. Together, these findings suggest that, relative to non-profit hospital managers, for-profit hospital managers have incentives to report higher and more consistent earnings.

While the regulatory push towards principles-based standards in the United States and elsewhere is based on the notion that principles-based standards are more informative to capital market participants relative to rules-based standards, we do not know how principles-based standards impact accounting conservatism for U.S. firms. Using a measure of a firm's reliance on principles-based versus rules-based standards, we contribute to the literature by empirically examining the relation between conditional accounting conservatism and use of principles-based standards for U.S. firms. We find that conditional accounting conservatism is lower for firms relying more on principles-based standards, and this association is more pronounced for firms with greater earnings management incentives. However, the negative relation between conditional conservatism and use of principles-based standards is mitigated when there are contracting or litigation concerns. Additional analysis shows that reliance on principles-based standards also reduces unconditional accounting conservatism. Our findings are robust to using alternative measures of accounting conservatism, firm fixed effects, and a difference-in-difference model. Our evidence informs the FASB and the SEC that adoption of principles-based standards comes at a cost and has implications for regulators, auditors, analysts, investors, and others.

Using a sample of 3678 firm-year observations with discontinued operations from 1992 to 2019, and a matched sample of 3678 observations without discontinued operations, we find a significant positive relationship between CEO power and discontinued operations, measured as the likelihood and magnitude of discontinued operations. Our results suggest that more powerful CEOs are more likely to discontinue business operations and report a larger magnitude of discontinued operations than less powerful CEOs.

This paper examines how financial statement comparability varies between firms in the mature stage of their life cycle and firms in other life cycle stages. We hypothesize that mature firms are inclined to produce financial statements that are comparable among their industry peers. Using a sample of U.S. listed companies from 1987 to 2019, we find evidence to support our hypothesis. We also find that this association between life cycle and comparability is moderated by information asymmetry. A battery of robustness tests validates our initial findings. We extend the financial statement comparability literature by providing evidence on a determinant of comparability. Our study provides insights to policymakers regarding the necessity to consider firm life cycle when designing financial accounting standards.

Prior research documents jurors do not always respond consistently, or favorably, to auditors' quality-intended efforts. Counterintuitively, in some instances, doing more has led to greater liability, not less (Reffett, 2010). We hypothesize (and find) that proactive engagement of the corporate audit committee will reduce counterfactual thinking, and the proactive use of a forensic specialist at the audit planning stage will reduce negative intention-attributions. We further hypothesize these interventions, in turn, will reduce negative affect toward the auditor and negligence judgments. Our research leverages counterfactual thinking, attribution, and blame theories, and the use of affect as information. Additionally, we build on recent research that finds proactive preventive actions and the presence of a strong, active audit committee can reduce auditor liability judgments (Alderman & Jollineau, 2020; Frank, Grenier, & Pyzoha, 2021). Unlike Reffett (2010), we find that auditor's incremental efforts can reduce, rather than increase, negligence judgments. Our scenarios differ from those of Reffett in the timing and nature of auditor interventions and the root causes of the audit failure. We contribute to ongoing research examining the effects of auditor choices on jurors' judgments.

Auditor rotation is believed to affect financial reporting quality partly because of the fresh views brought by new auditors. However, fresh views are generally unobservable and are often presumed. This study examines fresh views as evidenced by changes in key audit matters (KAMs) following auditor rotation. Using data from Taiwan, we find that different KAM disclosures are more likely to be observed when there is a change in audit partner(s) than when there is none. The identification of different KAMs provides evidence of the fresh perspective of the new auditors. We also examine the association between financial reporting quality and auditor rotation based on whether there is a change in KAM disclosures. We find that auditor rotation is not significantly associated with accruals quality when there is no change in KAMs after the rotation. Auditor rotation tends to affect accruals quality only when different KAMs are provided by the succeeding audit partners. This finding suggests that auditor rotation influences financial reporting quality under circumstances when auditors change their assessments of significant risk, as this can affect the audit plan and process, and accordingly affect the audit results.

This study examines the effect of audit committee characteristics (size, independence, and expertise) on compliance with the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI's) Financial Accounting Standards (FASs). Our sample consists of 372 bank-year observations from 2009 to 2015. Using panel regressions, our results provide evidence that compliance with AAOIFI's FASs is positively influenced by audit committee size. However, audit committee independence does not affect the compliance level. With respect to audit committee expertise, we find a positive and significant association between compliance with AAOIFI's FASs and accounting financial expertise. Moreover, our results reveal that audit committee members with accounting financial and culture expertise are positively and significantly associated with the level of compliance with AAOIFI's FASs. Interestingly, our finding suggests that an audit committee member with a combination of culture expertise (expertise in Islamic banking) and accounting financial expertise better improves the compliance level than an audit committee member with only accounting financial expertise.

Canada adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 2011. We investigate the impact of this mandatory change by examining whether value relevance and non-market-based accounting information changed for a comprehensive set of Canadian companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Our findings reveal the effects of IFRS adoption are not consistent across all firms as demonstrated by a minimal change in value relevance for large firms, but a significant increase for small firms. These differences are primarily attributed to the weakening (strengthening) relationship of book value to stock price for large (small) firms and a strengthening (weakening) relationship of earnings to stock price for large (small) firms. This suggests the goal of IFRS in providing improvement to the balance sheet is only achieved for small firms in Canada. For the non-market-based accounting quality measures of earnings persistence, earnings smoothing, earnings discretion, and the frequency of small profits to losses, the findings are mixed for large firms, but improve for small firms after IFRS adoption.