IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aosoci/v46y2015icp23-38.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Disclosure transparency about activity in valuation allowance and reserve accounts and accruals-based earnings management

Author

Listed:
  • Cassell, Cory A.
  • Myers, Linda A.
  • Seidel, Timothy A.

Abstract

We examine the relation between the transparency of disclosures about activity in valuation allowance and reserve accounts and accruals-based earnings management. We classify disclosures as being transparent if they provide detailed information about activity in the allowance and reserve accounts during the fiscal period. We find strong evidence that the extent of accruals-based earnings management is lower among companies with transparent disclosures than among companies without transparent disclosures. We also investigate whether the extent of accruals-based earnings management is lower for companies that provide transparent disclosures in one comprehensive schedule (i.e., the Schedule II) relative to those that provide transparent disclosures spread throughout the notes to the financial statements. Although regulators have expressed concern that the omission of a Schedule II could indicate a greater likelihood of earnings management, our results indicate that it is the omission of transparent disclosures rather than the omission of a comprehensive schedule outlining activity in the allowance and reserve accounts that affects earnings management. Our findings suggest that regulators, auditors, and investors should consider subjecting companies that fail to provide transparent disclosures to additional scrutiny.

Suggested Citation

  • Cassell, Cory A. & Myers, Linda A. & Seidel, Timothy A., 2015. "Disclosure transparency about activity in valuation allowance and reserve accounts and accruals-based earnings management," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 23-38.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:46:y:2015:i:c:p:23-38
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2015.03.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361368215000367
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.aos.2015.03.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Skinner, Dj, 1994. "Why Firms Voluntarily Disclose Bad-News," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 38-60.
    2. Frank D. Hodge & Patrick E. Hopkins & David A. Wood, 2010. "The Effects of Financial Statement Information Proximity and Feedback on Cash Flow Forecasts," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 3-3, March.
    3. Hirshleifer, David & Teoh, Siew Hong, 2003. "Limited attention, information disclosure, and financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 337-386, December.
    4. Jones, Jj, 1991. "Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 193-228.
    5. Skinner, Douglas J., 1997. "Earnings disclosures and stockholder lawsuits," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 249-282, November.
    6. Hirst, DE & Hopkins, PE, 1998. "Comprehensive income reporting and analysts' valuation judgments," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36, pages 47-75.
    7. Peecher, Mark E. & Schwartz, Rachel & Solomon, Ira, 2007. "It's all about audit quality: Perspectives on strategic-systems auditing," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 463-485.
    8. J. Richard Dietrich & Steven J. Kachelmeier & Don N. Kleinmuntz & Thomas J. Linsmeier, 2001. "Market Efficiency, Bounded Rationality, and Supplemental Business Reporting Disclosures," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(2), pages 243-268, September.
    9. Carol A. Marquardt & Christine I. Wiedman, 2004. "How Are Earnings Managed? An Examination of Specific Accruals," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(2), pages 461-491, June.
    10. Bushee, BJ & Noe, CF, 2000. "Corporate disclosure practices, institutional investors, and stock return volatility," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38, pages 171-202.
    11. Ali R. Almutairi & Kimberly A. Dunn & Terrance Skantz, 2009. "Auditor tenure, auditor specialization, and information asymmetry," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 24(7), pages 600-623, July.
    12. Field, Laura & Lowry, Michelle & Shu, Susan, 2005. "Does disclosure deter or trigger litigation?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 487-507, September.
    13. Reynolds, J. Kenneth & Francis, Jere R., 2000. "Does size matter? The influence of large clients on office-level auditor reporting decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 375-400, December.
    14. Francis, Jennifer & LaFond, Ryan & Olsson, Per & Schipper, Katherine, 2005. "The market pricing of accruals quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 295-327, June.
    15. Robert M. Bushman & Joseph D. Piotroski & Abbie J. Smith, 2004. "What Determines Corporate Transparency?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 207-252, May.
    16. Eng, L. L. & Mak, Y. T., 2003. "Corporate governance and voluntary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 325-345.
    17. Frankel, R & Johnson, M & Skinner, DJ, 1999. "An empirical examination of conference calls as a voluntary disclosure medium," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 133-150.
    18. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    19. DeFond, Mark L. & Subramanyam, K. R., 1998. "Auditor changes and discretionary accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 35-67, February.
    20. Ray Ball & Lakshmanan Shivakumar, 2006. "The Role of Accruals in Asymmetrically Timely Gain and Loss Recognition," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 207-242, May.
    21. Frank D. Hodge & Patrick E. Hopkins & David A. Wood, 2010. "The Effects of Financial Statement Information Proximity and Feedback on Cash Flow Forecasts," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 101-133, March.
    22. Feng Gu & John Q. Li, 2007. "The Credibility of Voluntary Disclosure and Insider Stock Transactions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(4), pages 771-810, September.
    23. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    24. Robert Libby & Scott A. Emett, 2014. "Earnings presentation effects on manager reporting choices and investor decisions," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 410-438, August.
    25. Klein, April, 2002. "Audit committee, board of director characteristics, and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 375-400, August.
    26. Lang, M, 1991. "Time-Varying Stock-Price Response To Earnings Induced By Uncertainty About The Time-Series Process Of Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 229-257.
    27. Scott B. Jackson & Xiaotao (Kelvin) Liu, 2010. "The Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts, Conservatism, and Earnings Management," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 565-601, June.
    28. Chung, Richard & Firth, Michael & Kim, Jeong-Bon, 2002. "Institutional monitoring and opportunistic earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 29-48, January.
    29. Peecher, Mark E. & Solomon, Ira & Trotman, Ken T., 2013. "An accountability framework for financial statement auditors and related research questions," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 596-620.
    30. DeFond, Mark L. & Jiambalvo, James, 1994. "Debt covenant violation and manipulation of accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1-2), pages 145-176, January.
    31. Shaw, Kenneth W., 2003. "Corporate disclosure quality, earnings smoothing, and earnings' timeliness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(12), pages 1043-1050, December.
    32. Lang, M & Lundholm, R, 1993. "Cross-Sectional Determinants Of Analyst Ratings Of Corporate Disclosures," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 246-271.
    33. Kenneth J. Reichelt & Dechun Wang, 2010. "National and Office‐Specific Measures of Auditor Industry Expertise and Effects on Audit Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 647-686, June.
    34. Anthony, Joseph H. & Ramesh, K., 1992. "Association between accounting performance measures and stock prices : A test of the life cycle hypothesis," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2-3), pages 203-227, August.
    35. Yu, Fang (Frank), 2008. "Analyst coverage and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 245-271, May.
    36. Yen†Jung Lee & Kathy R. Petroni & Min Shen, 2006. "Cherry Picking, Disclosure Quality, and Comprehensive Income Reporting Choices: The Case of Property†Liability Insurers," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(3), pages 655-692, September.
    37. Richardson, Vernon J, 2000. "Information Asymmetry and Earnings Management: Some Evidence," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 325-347, December.
    38. Hopkins, PE, 1996. "The effect of financial statement classification of hybrid financial instruments on financial analysts' stock price judgments," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34, pages 33-50.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Giuseppe Di Martino & Grazia Dicuonzo & Graziana Galeone & Vittorio Dell’Atti, 2017. "Does the New European Banking Regulation discourage Earnings Management?," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(10), pages 45-56, October.
    2. Anna Görlitz & Michael Dobler, 2023. "Financial accounting for deferred taxes: a systematic review of empirical evidence," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 113-165, February.
    3. Wil Martens & Prem W. S. Yapa & Maryam Safari, 2020. "The Impact of Financial Statement Comparability on Earnings Management: Evidence from Frontier Markets," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Jannik Gerwanski & Othar Kordsachia & Patrick Velte, 2019. "Determinants of materiality disclosure quality in integrated reporting: Empirical evidence from an international setting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 750-770, July.
    5. Mao-Chang Wang & Meng-Han Lee & Jia-Jiann Chuang, 2016. "Relations among audit committee establishment, information transparency and earnings quality: evidence from simultaneous equation models," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 2417-2431, November.
    6. Tucker, Jennifer Wu, 2015. "The relation between disclosure quality and reporting quality: A discussion of Cassell, Myers, and Seidel (2015)," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 39-43.
    7. Christina M. Lewellen, 2023. "Tax haven incorporation and financial reporting transparency," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 1811-1855, September.
    8. Viana, Jr., Dante Baiardo C. & Lourenço, Isabel & Black, Ervin L. & Martins, Orleans Silva, 2023. "Macroeconomic instability, institutions, and earnings management: An analysis in developed and emerging market countries," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    9. Mismiwati Mismiwati & Haryadi Haryadi & Enggar Diah Puspa Arum & Tona Auora Lubis, 2022. "The role of profit management in mediation of financial performance and transparency towards profit distribution management in sharia commercial banks," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(1), pages 138-151, January.
    10. Iatridis, George Emmanuel & Pappas, Kostas & Walker, Martin, 2022. "Narrative disclosure quality and the timeliness of goodwill impairments," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2).
    11. Joseph F. Brazel & Lorenzo Lucianetti & Tammie J. Schaefer, 2021. "Reporting Concerns About Earnings Quality: An Examination of Corporate Managers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(3), pages 435-457, July.
    12. Pantic, B., 2016. "Comparability of financial reports: A literature review of most recent studies," Working Papers 6451, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University.
    13. Oveis Madadian & Walter Aerts & Tom Van Caneghem, 2018. "Social comparison of cost behaviour and financial analysts," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(7), pages 805-839, November.
    14. Philip Beaulieu & Louise Hayes & Lev M. Timoshenko, 2023. "Changes in accounting estimates: An update of priors or an earnings management strategy of “last resort”?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3-4), pages 622-659, March.
    15. Kang, Helen & Gray, Sidney J., 2019. "Country-specific risks and geographic disclosure aggregation: Voluntary disclosure behaviour by British multinationals," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 259-276.
    16. Qiang Ye & Jie Gao & Weiguang Zheng, 2018. "Accounting Standards, Earnings Transparency and Audit Fees: Convergence with IFRS in China," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(4), pages 525-537, December.
    17. Timothy A. Seidel & Chad A. Simon & Nathaniel M. Stephens, 2020. "Management bias across multiple accounting estimates," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 1-53, March.
    18. Platt, William, 2015. "A practitioners perspective: 2014 AOS Conference on Accounting Estimates," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 5-7.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Timothy A. Seidel & Chad A. Simon & Nathaniel M. Stephens, 2020. "Management bias across multiple accounting estimates," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 1-53, March.
    2. Tsipouridou, Maria & Spathis, Charalambos, 2014. "Audit opinion and earnings management: Evidence from Greece," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 38-54.
    3. Beyer, Anne & Cohen, Daniel A. & Lys, Thomas Z. & Walther, Beverly R., 2010. "The financial reporting environment: Review of the recent literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 296-343, December.
    4. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    5. Abdullah Alsaadi, 2021. "Can Inclusion in Religious Index Membership Mitigate Earnings Management?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(2), pages 333-354, March.
    6. Dimitropoulos, Panagiotis E. & Asteriou, Dimitrios, 2010. "The effect of board composition on the informativeness and quality of annual earnings: Empirical evidence from Greece," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 190-205, June.
    7. Carcello, Joseph V. & Hollingsworth, Carl & Mastrolia, Stacy A., 2011. "The effect of PCAOB inspections on Big 4 audit quality," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 85-96.
    8. Blankespoor, Elizabeth & deHaan, Ed & Marinovic, Iván, 2020. "Disclosure processing costs, investors’ information choice, and equity market outcomes: A review," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2).
    9. Fargher, Neil & Wee, Marvin, 2019. "The impact of Ball and Brown (1968) on generations of research," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 55-72.
    10. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Fung, Simon Yu Kit & Jaggi, Bikki, 2009. "Earnings quality: Some evidence on the role of auditor tenure and auditors' industry expertise," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 265-287, June.
    11. Johnson, Elizabeth & Reichelt, Kenneth J. & Soileau, Jared S., 2018. "No news is bad news: Do PCAOB part II reports have an effect on annually inspected firms’ audit fees and audit quality?," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 106-126.
    12. Dauth, Tobias & Pronobis, Paul & Schmid, Stefan, 2017. "Exploring the link between internationalization of top management and accounting quality: The CFO’s international experience matters," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 71-88.
    13. Du, Xingqiang & Jian, Wei & Lai, Shaojuan, 2017. "Do Foreign Directors Mitigate Earnings Management? Evidence From China," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 142-177.
    14. Bradley, Daniel & Gokkaya, Sinan & Liu, Xi & Xie, Fei, 2017. "Are all analysts created equal? Industry expertise and monitoring effectiveness of financial analysts," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 179-206.
    15. Christian Leuz & Peter D. Wysocki, 2016. "The Economics of Disclosure and Financial Reporting Regulation: Evidence and Suggestions for Future Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 525-622, May.
    16. Hsu, Audrey Wen-hsin & Liu, Sophia Hsin-Tsai, 2016. "Organizational structure, agency costs, and accrual quality," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 35-60.
    17. Theodore E. Christensen & Adrienna Huffman & Melissa F. Lewis‐Western & Rachel Scott, 2022. "Accruals earnings management proxies: Prudent business decisions or earnings manipulation?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3-4), pages 536-587, March.
    18. Justin Y. Jin, 2013. "Investor Attention and Earnings Management around the World," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(2), pages 165-187, June.
    19. Chad R. Larson & Richard Sloan & Jenny Zha Giedt, 2018. "Defining, measuring, and modeling accruals: a guide for researchers," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 827-871, September.
    20. Alexandre Garel & Jose Martin-Flores & Arthur Petit-Romec & Ayesha Scott, 2021. "Institutional investor distraction and earnings management," Post-Print hal-03096196, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:46:y:2015:i:c:p:23-38. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/aos .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.