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Fair value accounting and corporate debt structure

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  • Wang, Haiping
  • Zhang, Jing

Abstract

In this study, we examine the impact of fair value accounting on corporate debt structures, i.e., debt conversion privilege and maturity term. We argue that fair value accounting affects agency conflicts between debtholders and shareholders via its impact on financial reporting quality. Consequently, it should affect corporate decisions on the debt structure. Our empirical results show that ceteris paribus, more use of fair value measures in financial statements are associated with a greater demand for convertible debt and debt with short maturity, and the results are mainly driven by Level 2 and Level 3 fair value measures. These findings suggest that it is the lack of reliability of fair value measures that gives rise to more demand for debt structure tools that mitigate debtholder-shareholder agency conflicts. In addition, we find that the negative association between the use of Level 3 fair value measures and the debt conversion privilege or debt maturity term is more pronounced for high-performance firms, suggesting that high-performance firms benefit more by issuing convertible debt or shortening debt maturity. This study provides novel insights regarding the impact of fair value accounting on corporate debt structure. It also provides regulatory implications, calling for better measurement guidance on fair value inputs.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Haiping & Zhang, Jing, 2017. "Fair value accounting and corporate debt structure," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 46-57.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:advacc:v:37:y:2017:i:c:p:46-57
    DOI: 10.1016/j.adiac.2017.02.002
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    2. Faiza Sajjad & Muhammad Zakaria, 2018. "Credit Ratings and Liquidity Risk for the Optimization of Debt Maturity Structure," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Adamu Pantamee Abdurrahman & Shafi Mohamad & Ooi Chee Keong & Syed Ehsanullah, 2020. "Debt Covenants and Accounting Conservatism," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 11(4), pages 537-545, July.
    4. Volkova, O., 2018. "Fair Value in Finance: Fifty Shades of Fairness," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 39(3), pages 85-109.
    5. Wu, Julia Yonghua & Opare, Solomon & Bhuiyan, Md. Borhan Uddin & Habib, Ahsan, 2022. "Determinants and consequences of debt maturity structure: A systematic review of the international literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Galya Taseva, 2020. "Determinants of Short-term Liabilities of Financially Distressed SME-s," Business Management, D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics, Svishtov, Bulgaria, issue 1 Year 20, pages 5-24.
    7. Deanna Burgess & Adrian Valencia & Ara Volkan, 2019. "Accounting For Convertible Bonds: Current Practices And Proposed Changes," Accounting & Taxation, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 11(1), pages 21-34.

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