중소기업 여부와 회계 보수주의 간의 관련성

Abstract

[Purpose]The demand for accounting conservatism may vary depending on whether a firm is SME or not. Previous studies have focused on the accounting conservatism to be affected by the firm’s characteristics including a status of listing. However, the relationship between the firm’s SME status (SME vs. non－SME) and accounting conservatism has not yet been addressed yet. This study analyzes whether there is a difference in accounting conservatism between SMEs and non－SMEs in Korean stock exchanges(i.e. KOSPI, KOSDAQ).
 [Methodology]SMEs in the test sample were identified under the Basic Law on Small and Medium Businesses and the Enforcement Decree, and accounting conservatism was measured by the methods of Basu (1997) and Ball and Shivakumar (2005). The test period is from 2011 to 2020, and the test sample is companies listed on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets.
 [Findings]As a result of the analysis, even after using control variables, accounting conservatism was greater in SMEs compared to non－SMEs in Korean stock market. These results were more pronounced when the auditors were large and the market was KOSPI. The similar test results were obtained even after controlling for firm’s discretionary accrual and financial reporting opacity.
 [Implications]In the context from prior literature arguing that the demand for accounting conservatism is greater when information asymmetry and agency costs are large, this study’s results provide additional empirical evidence that even a listed company may show differences in accounting conservatism depending on the SME status.