Financial Accounting Research Research Articles

Conceptual formation and explanation in IFRS-based financial accounting research

This article provides a comprehensive review of the conceptual formation and explanation within International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)-based financial accounting research. The mandatory...

Supply and Demand of Information for Firm Valuation

Abstract: The concept that accounting represents the information economics of the firm is a premise for the allocation of scarce resources. The analysis starts with a clean surplus model as a basis for the conceptual framework. Then, theoretical firm information economic supply-and-demand features are incorporated within a path diagram. This framework is investigated empirically with simultaneous regression equations and a structural equation model (SEM). Equations have explanatory power irrespective of the statistical methodology. And, a latent variable measure of internally generated intangible assets positively and significantly affects net income. Sensitivity subsamples investigate size and risk factors for robustness. Thus, the study expands the research frontier for SEM financial accounting research.

Challenges in Experimental Accounting Research, and the Role of Online Platforms

We survey experienced experimental researchers to understand their beliefs about the biggest challenges facing audit JDM research. By far, the biggest challenge identified by respondents is access to experienced participants. This creates a major problem as examining important research questions often requires hard-to-access professionals and the availability of these participants has decreased over time. Other important challenges to audit JDM research include the publication process (including demands for multiple experiments in a single study involving experienced participants) and demonstrating practical contributions. We also compare responses about the challenges facing financial and managerial accounting researchers, in order to better understand the problems that are unique to audit researchers. We discuss how the challenges identified might be either mitigated or exacerbated by the use of various online platforms. We discuss data quality issues and potential solutions, provide suggestions on potential new sources of participants and possible ways forward for audit JDM research.

Disappearing Working Capital: Implications for Accounting Research

This paper examines the implications of technological advances on the net working capital balance of U.S. firms over the past five decades. I find that the annual mean value of the net working capital balance of U.S. firms has sharply declined, from 28.9% of average total assets in the 1970s to 6.5% in the 2010s. I also show that an increase in IT spending is associated with a reduction in net working capital balance, after controlling for alternative explanations. This real (vis-a-vis accounting) change in net working capital balance has significant implications for practical financial management and accounting research. On one hand, companies have become more efficient in managing their working capital and thus in conserving cash. On the other, the declining working capital balance has reduced accounting current accruals from 18.8% to 5.4% of earnings, which, in turn, has reduced the explanatory power of the Jones (1991) model from 23.7% to 3.7% and increased the correlation between earnings and cash flows from 0.689 to 0.947 over time. Such a structural change is worth noting for accounting research addressing the relationship between accruals, cash flows, and earnings.

Investors' Processing of Financial Communications: A Persuasion Perspective

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we provide a comprehensive summary of persuasion theories from a variety of fields (e.g., psychology, marketing, and economics) and describe how these theories can enhance our understanding of how investors process and respond to financial communications (e.g., firm disclosures and analyst research reports). We draw on dual-process theories of persuasion to describe the circumstances under which an investor's response to a financial disclosure is likely to represent the investor's intuition or reflect more deliberate and analytical processing of financial information. Examples from the financial accounting literature are used to illustrate how dual-process thinking and reasoning operate within a financial reporting domain. In addition, we offer broad suggestions on how financial accounting researchers can use the psychology of persuasion to understand and form empirical predictions about investor processing of and reaction to managers' and analysts' financial disclosures.

REFLECTION OF PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS IN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING RESEARCH

Current financial accounting research has paid little attention to the philosophical aspects that underlie the research, Hence, the existing results provide a little contribution towards the development of accounting theory and concepts. This article aims to describe the philosophical basis in financial accounting research, which consists of ontology, epistemology and axiology. The ontology and epistemology assumptions determine research paradigm, which are functionalist, interpretive and critical (radical humanist and radical structuralist). The ontology and epistemology assumptions also define the research methodology. This article outlines the taxonomy of financial accounting research formulated by Hopper and Powel (1985) and Laughlin (1995) which can be used as a guide in conducting financial accounting research. Understanding of philosophical aspects will result in high quality financial accounting research.

Internal Intangible Asset Effect on Firm Valuation

The concept that accounting represents the economics of the firm is a premise for the allocation of scarce resources. In recent years, firm intangible assets seem to have become an increasingly important driver of firm economic value, and yet they are difficult to measure. This study conducts an exploratory data analysis into currently unrecorded firm internal intangible value and then employs the insight to create system equations. Initially, a structural equation model (SEM) is utilized that employs a latent variable for the internally generated intangible value. The SEM analysis starts with a clean surplus model as a basis for the conceptual framework. The current study finds that a measure of internally generated intangible assets affects firm value. Then, this information is incorporated in a two equation simultaneous regression of firm value and net income. Both equations have explanatory power and the internally generated asset factors are significant. In the process, this study opens a new research frontier for SEM financial accounting research and internally-generated intangible asset valuation analyses.

A Review of the Classification of Enterprise Life Cycle

Due to the different life cycles of companies, there are significant differences in company size, growth, financing constraints, financing channels, growth, investment opportunities, competitive environment, and operational and financial risks. The company’s life cycle can be studied by micro-enterprises. Scholars in the fields of behavior, financial accounting, management accounting, and capital markets provide a dynamic perspective. Therefore, how to divide and measure the life cycle of a company is particularly important. This paper gives a detailed analysis of the division of the life cycle of domestic and foreign companies and their measurement methods. It has a certain guiding significance for interdisciplinary research in financial accounting, management accounting, and capital markets based on the enterprise life cycle theory.

Examining the economic consequences of concise integrated reports: a pitch

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion of the application of the Faff (2015) pitch template to a financial accounting research topic.Design/methodology/approachThe author recounts her personal experience with completing the template for a pitch that examines reporting conciseness in the context of integrated reporting.FindingsThe template was found useful in refining a research idea in a structured manner.Originality/valueThe letter also demonstrates how the template was used as a research collaboration tool when engaging with collaborators on research projects.

Output-based measurement of accounting comparability: A survey of empirical proxies

Accounting comparability has been the subject of significant interest in empirical financial accounting research. Recent literature, particularly that following De Franco et al.’s (2011) influential study, has focused on utilizing the output of the financial reporting process to measure accounting comparability. In this paper, we conduct an early survey of studies using output-based measures of comparability. We provide two distinct contributions to the literature. First, we describe and comment on four important measurement concepts as well as the studies that introduced them. With this methodological contribution, we aim to facilitate the measurement choice for empirical accounting researchers engaged in comparability research. Second, we classify the sub-streams of literature and related studies. In providing this content-related contribution, we sum up what has already been achieved in output-based accounting comparability research and highlight potential areas for prospective research. As a whole, our study attempts to guide empirical researchers who (plan to) undertake studies on accounting comparability in selecting relevant topics and choosing adequate approaches to measurement.

Corporate boards, monitoring and securities class actions: a pitch

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to apply Faff’s (2015) pitch template to a regulatory financial accounting research topic. The author describes her personal reflections on completing the pitch template for this project by investigating corporate boards, monitoring and securities class actions (SCAs) in Australia. The author builds on prior research in this area (Chapple et al., 2014). This study is set within prior literature examining capital markets, corporate governance, continuous disclosure regime and regulatory changes. The market reaction to corporate board changes pre- and post-SCAs is the focus of the examination within the pitch template. The pitch letter contributes to prior literature, as it demonstrates a team with established researchers using the pitch template, while prior papers have documented PhD student usage of the pitch template.Design/methodology/approachThe author uses the Faff (2015) pitch template to focus the research team’s ideas into a concisely focused research idea. An earlier version of this pitch was presented at the Centre for International Finance and Regulation Pitching Research Symposium on 29 May 2015 in Sydney to a panel of distinguished professors and participants from market regulators including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the financial sector including Colonial First State.FindingsIt was found that there are benefits to using the pitch template for both established and emerging researchers. Prior pitch papers have primarily been authored by PhD students. This paper’s aim was to provide evidence that established as well as emerging scholars can benefit from completing the Faff pitch template.Originality/valueThis pitch letter contributes to the research community, as it shows the process and personal reflections on undertaking the pitch exercise by a team including established and emerging researchers. Within this pitch letter there is a documentation of how the research team for the underlying project was formed and the prior experiences of the team.

Some notes about financial accounting research: Research methodology, epistemological approaches and practical implications

In this paper, we discuss three issues of current debate about financial accounting research. Firstly, we discuss the popularity of quantitative methods in financial accounting and the research limitations related to this dominance. As second issue, we critically discuss the epistemological approach underlying research methodologies. Finally, we discuss the practical implications of current financial accounting research and the need to search for a real impact factor besides the academic contribution.

Are costs really sticky and biased? Evidence from manufacturing listed companies in China

ABSTRACTRecent studies on cost behaviour have proved that cost increase caused by business expansion is larger than cost decrease caused by business downsizing. This cost stickiness behaviour contradicts the traditional theoretic assumption that cost level and business size change in a linear way. This article investigates the existence or non-existence of cost stickiness using a sample of China’s manufacturing listed companies during the period 2010–2014. First, our findings show that cost stickiness is a pervasive phenomenon and overestimated in the manufacturing industry. Second, we find that cost stickiness varies greatly across industries and in different regions. Finally, we find that cost stickiness is affected by the economic growth. Specifically, cost stickiness increases with the macroeconomic growth. Our results from China’s manufacturing listed companies provide evidence on asymmetric cost behaviour and contain important implications for both cost accounting research and financial accounting research.

Saying more with less? Disclosure conciseness, completeness and balance in Integrated Reports

The Integrated Reporting Framework of 2013 represents the latest international attempt to connect a firm’s financial and sustainability (i.e., environmental, social and governance) performance in one company report. An Integrated Report (IR) should communicate “concisely” about how a firm’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects, in the context of its external environment, lead to the creation of sustainable value. At the same time, an IR needs to be “complete and balanced”, i.e., broadly including all material matters, both positive and negative, in a balanced way. Drawing on impression management studies, we examine a selection of performance determinants to gain insights into the factors associated with conciseness, completeness and balance in IR. The results from a sample of IR early adopters show that in the presence of a firm’s weak financial performance, the IR tends to be significantly longer and less readable (i.e., less concise), and more optimistic (i.e., less balanced). We additionally find that firms with worse social performance provide reports that are foggier (i.e., less concise) and with less information on their sustainability performance (i.e., less complete). Our evidence implies that IR early adopters employ quantity and syntactical reading ease manipulation as well as thematic content and verbal tone manipulation as impression management strategies. The results also suggest that such strategies depend not only on the level of firms’ performance but also on the type of performance (financial versus nonfinancial/sustainability). This paper adds to the limited literature on IR in sustainability accounting as well as to the research in mainstream financial accounting that examines disclosure quality using textual analysis.

Discrete choice experiments: a research agenda for experimental accounting

PurposeThis paper aims to introduce and illustrate how discrete choice experiments (DCEs) can be used by accounting researchers and present an agenda of accounting-related research topics that might usefully benefit from the adoption of DCEs.Design/methodology/approachEach major phase involved in conducting a DCE is illustrated using a capital budgeting case study. The research agenda is based on a review of experimental research in financial accounting, management accounting and auditing.FindingsDCEs can overcome some of the problems associated with asking decision-makers to rank or rate alternatives. Instead, they ask decision-makers to choose an alternative from a set. DCEs arguably better reflect the realities of real-world decision-making because decision-makers need to make trade-offs between all of the alternatives relevant to a decision. An important advantage that DCEs offer is their ability to calculate willingness-to-pay estimates, which can enable the valuation of non-market goods. Several streams of experimental accounting research would appear well-suited to investigation with DCEs.Research limitations/implicationsWhile every effort has been made to ensure that this illustration is as generic to as the many potential studies as possible, it may be that researchers seeking to utilise a DCE need to refer to additional literary sources. This study, however, should serve as a useful starting point.Practical implicationsAccounting researchers are expected to benefit from reading this article by being: made aware of the DCE method and its advantages; shown how to conduct a DCE; and provided with an agenda of accounting-related research topics that might usefully benefit from application of the DCE methodology.Originality/valueIt is the authors’ understanding that this is the first article directed to accounting academics regarding the conduct of DCEs for accounting research. It is hoped that this study can provide a useful platform for accounting academics to launch further research adopting DCEs.

The Review of Literature on the Role of Earnings, Cash Flows and Accruals in Predicting of Future Cash Flow

AbstractResearch on the relative ability of accounting information aims in examining the ability of accounting information to predict future cash flow and earnings, based on the assertion given by Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) which states that the earnings and its components have a better predictive power than cash flow itself (FASB,1978 para 44). Many studies have been conducted by various researchers but only few of these studies succeed to match with this assertion. This study aims to provide review on the study related to ability of earnings, cash flows from operations and accruals to predict future cash flows where methodology used in this line of research and presentation of empirical results are discussed. The review provides in depth discussion for the purpose of assisting the researchers to get familiarity with line of financial accounting research investigated capital market based accounting research and also as guidance for future researchers.Keywords: Cash flow from operations, Earnings, Accruals, Prediction, Capital Market Based Accounting Research.

New Pragmatism and Accountants’ Truth

This paper offers a rigorous philosophical defence for the approaches and methods of classical financial accounting research, drawn from New Pragmatism and, in particular, the ideas of Huw Price and Michael Lynch’s functional theory of truth. Such an underpinning is important because classical approaches and methods are often characterised as unscientific and lacking theoretical support. It can justify the resumption of scholarly efforts to employ classical approaches and methods to contribute to the development and refinement of accounting practice, including, and especially, accounting’s conceptual framework, as part of the mainstream of the academy’s work. In addition, giving explicit attention to aspects of the functional theory of truth in the design of accounting research may improve its rigour and coherence.

Saying More with Less? Disclosure Conciseness and Completeness in Integrated Reports

The Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework of 2013 represents the latest international attempt to connect in one company report a firm’s financial and sustainability (i.e. environmental, social and governance) performance. An IR should communicate “concisely” about how a firm’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects, in the context of its external environment, lead to the creation of sustainable value. At the same time, an IR needs to be “complete”, i.e., broadly including all material matters, both positive and negative. Drawing on impression management studies, we examine a selection of performance determinants to gain insights into the factors associated with conciseness and completeness in IR. The results from a sample of IR early adopters show that in the presence of a firm’s weak financial performance, the IR tends to be significantly longer and less readable (i.e., less concise), and more optimistic (i.e., less complete). We additionally find that firms with worse social performance provide reports that are foggier (i.e., less concise) and with less information on their sustainability performance (i.e., are less complete). Our evidence implies that IR early adopters employ quantity and syntactical reading ease manipulation as well as thematic content and verbal tone manipulation as impression management strategies. The results also suggest that such strategies not only depend on the level of firms’ performance, but also on the type of performance (financial versus non-financial/sustainability). This paper adds to the limited literature on IR in sustainability accounting, as well as to research in mainstream financial accounting that examines disclosure quality using textual analysis.

What is better: to be roughly right or exactly wrong? The role of quantitative methods in financial accounting

The aim of this commentary is to discuss whether quantitative techniques are relevant for the development of financial accounting practice. We focus on the use of quantitative techniques in financial accounting practice rather than financial accounting research because since Ball and Brown (1968) and Beaver (1968), the association with academic research has already received considerable attention and produced a broad range of manuscripts. Our focal point is particularly within the rules of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), which allow or request the fair value measurement. Therefore, we aim to bridge this concept with quantitative techniques. We conclude that the use of quantitative methods in financial accounting is closely related to the development and use of fair value measurement in financial reports. Last but not least, some examples are given of how quantitative methods can improve the success of financial reports in the future.

What is better: to be roughly right or exactly wrong? The role of quantitative methods in financial accounting

The aim of this commentary is to discuss whether quantitative techniques are relevant for the development of financial accounting practice. We focus on the use of quantitative techniques in financial accounting practice rather than financial accounting research because since Ball and Brown (1968) and Beaver (1968), the association with academic research has already received considerable attention and produced a broad range of manuscripts. Our focal point is particularly within the rules of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), which allow or request the fair value measurement. Therefore, we aim to bridge this concept with quantitative techniques. We conclude that the use of quantitative methods in financial accounting is closely related to the development and use of fair value measurement in financial reports. Last but not least, some examples are given of how quantitative methods can improve the success of financial reports in the future.