Topic: ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT: EVIDENCE FROM AN EMERGING MARKET
Presenter：Dr. Yan Xiong， associate professor， College of Business， California State University |
Time: June 4, 2008（Wednesday）7：00—8：30 PM
Venue: Room 513, Jiageng Bld 2
Chair：Hanwen Chen, professor in accounting, Xiamen University
Abstract：
In this paper we investigate whether firms adopting international accounting standards (formerly, IAS, now known as IFAR) have higher earnings quality in an emerging market (China). The literature proposes that, compared to non-adopting firms, firms adopting IAS are less likely to smooth earnings, less likely to engage in earnings management as a means to avoid reporting a loss, and more likely to recognize loss in a timely manner. However, critics also argue that IAS provides more opportunities for managers to use accruals to manipulate earnings in China, where a rule-based accounting system had been used before the introduction of accounting standards. We compare the characteristics of accounting data for firms adopting IAS with those from non-adopting firms. We find that adopting firms are less likely to smooth earnings in the post-adoption period. We, however, did not find that adopting firms have any lower tolerance for reporting loss or engage in more timely loss recognition. Overall, our results suggest some improvement in the quality of accounting information associated with the adoption of IAS. Our results also suggest that providing managers more opportunities for earnings manipulation under IAS may neutralize its otherwise positive effect on earnings quality. Because of the relatively newer regulatory environment in China, our findings may point to the need for a stricter enforcement mechanism of accounting standards in emerging markets.
Presenter Introduction：
Dr. Yan Xiong is an associate professor in the College of Business at California State University, Sacramento. She obtained her Ph.D. in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Accounting Information Systems from Washington State University. Dr. Xiong’s academic research has appeared as referral articles in such journals as Journal of Economics and Finance, Journal of Forensic Accounting, Journal of Theoretical Accounting Research, Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, International Journal of Electronic Finance, Review of Business Research and Review of Business Information Systems. Dr. Xiong’s primary teaching interests are financial accounting, cost accounting and accounting information systems. She has taught both in undergraduate and graduate levels.