Earnings Management of Firms Selected as Preliminary Unicorn

예비유니콘 선정기업의 이익조정에 대한 연구

  • Received : 2023.01.12
  • Accepted : 2023.02.21
  • Published : 2023.02.28

Abstract

This paper analyzed the Earnings management of firms selected as preliminary Unicorn. If a manager is selected as a preliminary unicorn firm, he can receive financial support of up to 20 billion won, creating a factor in managing the manager's earnings. The motive for management's earnings management is related to the capital market. Accounting information is used by investors and financial analysts, and corporate profits affect corporate value. Therefore, if the accounting earning is adjusted upward, the corporate value will be raised and investment conditions will be favorable. In this paper, earnings quality was measured by the modified Jones model of Dechow et al.(1995) by the ROA control model of Kothari et al.(2005) among the discretionary accruals estimated using an alternative accrual prediction model. Competing similar companies in the same market as the selected companies were formed, and the discretionary accruals were mutually compared to verify the research hypotheses, and only the selected companies were analyzed for the audit year and after the audit year. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the companies selected as preliminary unicorns had higher earnings management compared to the corresponding companies in question, which had a negative impact on the quality of accounting profits. It was found that the companies selected as preliminary unicorns continued to receive incentives for management's earnings management even after being selected. These results indicate that the companies selected as prospective unicorns are recognized for their value in the market through external growth rather than internal growth, and thus, incentives for management's earnings management to attract investment from external investors under favorable conditions are continuing. In the future preliminary unicorn selection evaluation, it was possible to present what needs to be reviewed on the quality of accounting earning. The implication of this paper is that the factors of management's earnings management eventually hinder investors and creditors from judging the reliability of accounting information. It was suggested that a policy alternative for the K-Unicorn Project, which enhances reliability were presented by reflecting the evaluation of earnings quality through discretionary accruals.

본 연구는 예비유니콘 선정기업을 대상으로 선정시점에 대한 이익조정을 분석하였다. 경영자는 예비 유니콘기업에 선정되면 최대 200억원에 달하는 금융지원을 받을 수 있어 이익조정의 유인이 생긴다. 경영자에게 이익조정의 동기에는 자본시장과 관련된 동기가 있는데 회계정보는 투자자와 재무분석가에게 이용이 되고 기업의 이익은 기업가치에 영향을 주고 있다. 따라서 회계 이익을 상향으로 조정하면 기업가치가 상향되어 투자조건이 유리하게 된다. 본 연구에서는 이익의 질은 대체적인 발생액 예측모형을 이용하여 추정된 재량적 발생액 중에서 Dechow et al.(1995)에 의한 수정 Jones모형 및 Kothari et al.(2005)에 의한 성과대응모형으로 측정하였다. 선정기업과 동일시장에서 경쟁할 것을 예상되는 유사한 대응기업을 구성하여 재량적발생액을 상호 비교하여 연구가설을 검증하고 선정기업만을 대상으로 심사년도와 심사년도 이후를 분석하였다. 분석 결과 예비유니콘 선정기업이 대응기업과 비교하여 이익조정이 높은 것으로 나타나서 회계 이익의 질에 부정적인 영향을 주는 것을 알 수 있었다. 그리고 선행연구에서와 다르게 선정후에도 이익의 질이 낮은 것으로 나타나서 예비유니콘 선정기업은 선정 후에도 경영자의 이익조정의 유인이 계속 지속되는 것을 알 수 있었다. 본 연구를 통해 예비유니콘 선정기업은 기업의 내부 성장보다는 기업의 외형 성장을 통해 시장에서의 가치를 인정받아서 외부 투자자로부터 유리한 조건의 투자를 유치하기 위한 경영자에게 이익조정의 유인이 지속되고 있는 것으로 분석되었으며 향후 예비유니콘 선정평가에서 회계 이익의 질에 대한 검토가 필요한 것을 제시할 수 있었다. 본 연구의 시사점은 경영자의 이익조정 유인이 결국 투자자나 채권자로 하여금 회계정보의 신뢰성을 판단하는데 저해가 되고 있어 이러한 경영자의 이익조정에 대한 것을 감안하여 예비유니콘기업 선정평가에 있어서 회계정보의 투명성과 신뢰성을 높이는 K-유니콘 프로젝트의 정책대안으로 재량적발생액을 통한 이익의 질에 대한 평가를 반영하여 이익조정을 예방할 것을 시사하고 있다.

Keywords

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