• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.33-42
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• 2019

Purpose - We investigate whether a firm's engagement in socially responsible activity affects the quality of financial reporting within the retail industry of Korean market. Recent studies argue that more socially responsible firms tend to show a better quality of financial reporting. Research design, data, and methodology - We use a variety of proxy variables related to the use of discretionary accruals and real activity manipulation to measure the quality of financial reporting. The total of environmental, social and governance score is used to represent the degree of socially responsible activity in the retail industry. We use regression models to examine whether more socially responsible firms show a higher quality of financial reporting. The sample of publicly traded Korea retail firms is analyzed from 2011 to 2016. Results - Our analysis finds supporting evidence for limited earning management via the use of discretionary accruals. We find, however, no significant relationship between the degree of social responsibility and the quality of financial reporting within chaebol affiliates unlike non-chaebol affiliates. Conclusions - Our results weakly support a better quality of financial reporting for more socially responsible firms. The results highlight the importance of firm characteristics in deciding the effect of socially responsible activity on corporate policies.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.11-19
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• 2024

This study aims to discuss the appropriateness of domestic industrial classification by analyzing whether companies are grouped into similar categories within the domestic industry classification system. The industry classification was limited to the manufacturing industry and the professional, scientific, and technical services industry, and a homogeneity test was conducted on companies belonging to these two industries. A homogeneity test was performed using companies' accounting information, selecting total accruals, the difference between sales and accounts receivable increments, and tangible assets, which are critical components of the accrual model, to represent the role of industry classification. The analysis results confirmed that the homogeneity of companies in the manufacturing industry is relatively higher than that of companies in the professional, scientific, and technical services industry. The findings of this study suggest that while the industry classification is a highly useful system that enhances the understanding of companies by enabling analysis at both the company level and the industry level to which the company belongs, it has limitations as it assumes the homogeneity of companies within an industry. Therefore, the impact of industry classification should be considered according to the research objectives.

• The Journal of Small Business Innovation
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.59-84
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• 2016

Using an international setting, this study investigates the relation between cash holdings and financial reporting quality, measured by accruals quality. Empirical results show that the balance of cash holdings is positively related to the opacity of financial reporting in non-U.S. international markets. The relation becomes stronger as the strength of investor protection increases, implying that precautionary motives, instead of agency motives, drive the increase of cash holdings of opaque firms. In addition, the positive relation is stronger for discretionary accruals quality. The decomposition of the aspects of investor protection shows that public enforcement through regulation authorities is the main driver of the positive relation between cash holdings and the opacity of financial reporting.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.477-488
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• 2015

This study investigates the association between non-audit services and audit quality, using a sample of firms in which audit services and non-audit services are provided by a same audit firm. This study extends previous studies by separating auditors into Big4 and Non-Big4 audit firms as each group may have different incentives to impair their independence. According to the empirical results, audit quality, proxied by absolute value of discretionary accruals has significant negative association with non-audit service fee for Non-Big4 audit firms, but not for Big4 audit firms, suggesting that Non-Big4 audit firms may impair their independence with increased non-audit service fees. Non-Big4 audit firms are known to be relatively small and local firms that might be highly economically dependent upon a specific client firm whereas Big4 audit firms are not. This results may be of interest to regulators and capital market investors and standard setters who concern a recent trend of increasing non-audit services that are provided by an audit firm which also provides audit service at the same time.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.5-11
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• 2013

Purpose - The main question in this study is whether there is any relationship between corporate governance variables and earnings quality. The size of the board and audit committee, the number of stockholding managers and non-executive directors, and management quality are considered as independent corporate governance variables in the hypotheses. Research design, data, and methodology - Earnings quality is used as the dependent variable. Input from the abovementioned variables are drawn from 94 listed companies in the Tehran Stock Exchange for the period between 2006 and 2010. Results - This study examines corporate governance aspects such as the size of the board of directors, the number of shares held by the board, the board's independence, and the percentage of non-executive directors. The results show that establishing an audit committee has a significant role in ensuring higher quality reported earnings. Conclusions - The regression statistics output reveals a meaningful relationship between earnings quality and the size of the board of directors, the number of non-executive directors, and the size of the audit committee. This result indicates that improving earnings quality requires that the size of the board of directors be taken into account.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.7-19
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• 2021

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate (1) whether the interviewed auditors conduct higher quality audit than the non-interviewed auditors and (2) whether the frequency of audit engagement interviews has an impact on audit quality. Research design, data, and methodology: Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms between 2011 and 2019, this paper empirically tests the effect of audit engagement interviews on auditor's behavior. We collect the data of audit engagement interviews on the CICPA's website. We use OLS regression, fixed-effect model and random-effect model to examine the association between audit engagement interviews and audit quality. Results: Findings indicate that the audit quality of the interviewed auditors is significantly greater than that of the non-interviewed auditors. The frequency of the audit engagement interviews is positively associated with audit quality. The interviewed auditors spend significantly more time on the audit. Furthermore, the positive association between audit engagement interviews and audit quality only exists in non-Big 4 auditors. Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of audit regulation enforcement. The results suggest that in an emerging market with weak legal systems, preventive regulations such as audit interviews have a deterrent effect and are necessary in alleviating information asymmetry and improving information environment.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.75-80
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• 2016

Purpose - A growing demand for sustainability reporting has placed pressure on firms with non-financial information that affects firm valuation, growth, and development. In particular, a number of researchers have investigated various topics in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), non-financial information. Prior studies suggest that CSR may affect corporate outcomes like corporate reporting, financial performance, and disclosures. However, the results from prior studies are not clear whether CSR affects corporate outcomes. This is partially due to the measurement issues with CSR. In this study, we examine whether CSR affects the quality of corporate reporting, one of the popular measures in corporate outcomes. We find an evidence that CSR positively affects the quality of corporate reporting. Research design, data, and methodology - In this study, we collected a unique dataset of CSR from MSCI. Total 169 firms listed in the Korean Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2014 were collected and analysed with the detailed CSR reports. Using a correlation test, we found a weak association between CSR and the quality of corporate reporting. However, the regression tests provided a strong relationship between CSR and the quality of corporate reporting after controlling for other variables that may affect the quality of corporate reporting. Additionally, we calculated the t-statistics based on heteroskedaticity-consistent standard errors (White, 1980). Results - Before we run the regression test, we sort the measures of the two dependent variables into each rating of CSR (from AAA to CCC). The results indicate that the quality of corporate reporting measured by discretionary accruals and performance-matched discretionary accruals monotonically decrease as the CSR ratings increase. This supports our hypothesis. In the regression tests, the coefficient on MJDA (PMDA) is -0.183 (-0.173) and significant at the 5% level. We can interpret the results as CSR affecting the quality of corporate reporting in positive ways. Other coefficients on control variables are consistent with prior studies. For example, the coefficients on both LOSS and LEV are positive and significant at conventional level, meaning that firms with financial difficulty may harm their quality of corporate reporting. Conclusion - We found an evidence that CSR is positively associated with the quality of corporate reporting. This study contributes to the literature in various ways. First, this study extends the line of CSR research by providing additional evidence in the setting of ethical behaviors by managements. This is consistent with the hypothesis and supports the results of prior studies. Second, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first study using the MSCI CSR ratings. In contrast with prior studies using different measures of CSR, the MSCI CSR ratings allow us to provide in-depth analysis. Third, the additional measure of dependent variable (PMDA) allows us to improve the robustness of our results. Overall, the results provided this study to extend the findings in prior studies by providing incremental evidence.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.173-180
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• 2021

Although accounting is one of the core fields of corporate management, few studies have reported accounting phenomena involving shipping companies. In addition, although financial reporting is very important to shipping companies that use several financial tools such as ship finance and financial lease, it is difficult to identify studies investigating shipping companies' financial reporting, especially their earnings management. The purpose of this study is to analyze accrual earnings management behavior of shipping companies. Companies with high debt ratios and net losses are known to have incentives for earnings management. Due to the nature of the industry, shipping companies have a high debt ratio and often report net losses. Accordingly, shipping companies are expected to engage in substantial earnings management. Based on the analysis of KOSP I companies listed on the Korea Exchange from 2001 to 2020, it was found that shipping companies are engaged in higher levels of earnings management than non-shipping companies. Discretionary accrual was used as a proxy variable for earnings management. Discretionary accrual was measured using the modified Jones model of Dechow et al. (1995) and the performance matched model of Kothari et al.(2005). In this study, significant results were derived by comparatively analyzing the earnings management practices, which is one of the major accounting behaviors of shipping and non-shipping companies. Stakeholders such as external auditors, investors, financial institutions, analysts, and government authorities need to be aware of the earnings management behavior of listed shipping companies during their external audit, financial analysis, and supervision. Finally, listed shipping companies must conduct stricter accounting based on accounting principles.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.679-688
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• 2021

This study aims to verify family ownership's effect on earnings management by using corporate governance as the moderation variable. This study uses data panel regression with the period of 2011-2017. Corporate governance consisted of three dimensions, namely the board of commissioners, share ownership and transparency, and disclosure and auditing. Discretionary accruals measure earnings management with a model that controls company performance. Samples are manufacturing companies listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange. Observations were conducted on 198 firms throughout the year. The results indicated that corporate governance significantly affected earnings management. However, it declined the significance of family ownership toward earnings management. Hence, corporate governance can reduce earnings management. Furthermore, of the three components of corporate governance: the board of commissioners, shareholding, and transparency, the term shareholding precisely encouraged managers to conduct earnings management. Besides, the three core bodies of corporate governance lowered the significance of shareholding toward earnings management. This study's findings suggest that in family firms in Indonesia, earnings management is becoming more intensive than in non-family firms. Additional tests show that there is an entrenchment effect on family firms in Indonesia. Furthermore, corporate governance leads to earnings management.

• The Journal of Small Business Innovation
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2017

There is a serious information asymmetry between internal managers and outside investors in the process during IPOs. One mechanism that mitigates this information asymmetry is a high quality auditor. Since prior research document auditors' effect on newly listed firms at the IPO year, what has not yet been revealed in previous studies is the behavior of firms and auditors after listing. In this study, we investigate (i) the firms tendency of contracting with Big N auditors, and (ii) the effect of Big N auditors on accounting quality after the years of IPOs. Using a sample of 7,678 (1,892 firm-years of after IPOs, and 5,786 control firm-years) KOSDAQ observations between 2002 and 2012, we find that the likelihood of contracting with Big N auditor lasts only for two years after IPO compare to that of non-IPO control years. Secondly, we find that the effect of Big N auditors on clients' earnings management lasts for a very short period after IPO. These findings suggest that although prior literature argue that Big N auditors reduce earnings management of their clients, at least the period right after IPO, it is not consistent. Our study contributes to the existing literature in several ways. First, we provide new evidences of firms' auditor selection decisions by investigating years after the listing. In second, as an evidence of accruals reversal, we document decrease in discretionary accruals after IPOs. Third, we find that there is not always a positive relation between Big N auditor and accounting quality by showing the insignificant Big N auditor effect after IPOs. Our results also suggest several implications to IPO related stakeholders. First, to IPO firms, we provide evidences that decisions of hiring auditors affect firms earnings. Also, lead IPO underwriters may consider how these decisions influence future performance. Second, investors may want to use information not only in the preofferings but also after public offerings. Our study insists that auditor hiring decisions affects their own welfare. Finally, accounting standard setters may find these results useful for evaluating how much discretion they should allow corporate managers to hire auditors. In addition, our result casts doubt on auditor designation.