IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v37y2005i1p1-21.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

To match or not to match?

Author

Listed:
  • Su, Steve Yu Shuo

Abstract

This paper analyses the income smoothing effect of the matching principle in accounting. Income smoothing, under Gibbins and Willett [Gibbins, M., Willett, R., 1997. New light on accrual, aggregation and allocation, using an axiomatic analysis of accounting numbers' fundamental and statistical character. Abacus 33(2), 137–167], is the variance reduction of periodic accounting earnings to make these closer to the long-term profit per period. A conjecture made in Gibbins and Willett was that the accountant's technique of matching revenues and expenses will always smooth accounting earnings. This paper examines this conjecture and shows that, on average, matching smooths earnings if the firm is in profit, but does not always smooth earnings when the firm is making a loss. It seems that the accountant's ‘conservative’ practice of recognising losses when these are foreseeable, rather than when just realised, is consistent with profit smoothing. The paper concludes that matching and conservatism are not merely ad hoc or traditional rules, which accountants arbitrarily apply, but have a rational basis in the sense that they can allow better estimation of the long-term profitability of the firm.

Suggested Citation

  • Su, Steve Yu Shuo, 2005. "To match or not to match?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 1-21.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:37:y:2005:i:1:p:1-21
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2004.08.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838904000708
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2004.08.001?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. Dechow, Patricia M., 1994. "Accounting earnings and cash flows as measures of firm performance : The role of accounting accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 3-42, July.
    2. John Lane & Roger Willett, 1997. "Depreciation Need Not Be Arbitrary," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 356-356.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Bradley Blaylock & Bradley P. Lawson & Michael A. Mayberry, 2020. "Taxable income, future profitability, and stock returns," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 858-881, July.
    2. Deshuai Hou & Luhan Shi & Hong He & Jian Xiong, 2023. "Research on the Deviation of Corporate Green Behaviour under Economic Policy Uncertainty Based on the Perspective of Green Technology Innovation in Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-27, May.
    3. Manganaris, Panayotis & Beccalli, Elena & Dimitropoulos, Panagiotis, 2017. "Bank transparency and the crisis," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 121-137.
    4. Pavol Durana & Lucia Michalkova & Andrej Privara & Josef Marousek & Milos Tumpach, 2021. "Does the life cycle affect earnings management and bankruptcy?," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 12(2), pages 425-461, June.
    5. Garcia-Blandon, Josep & Argiles-Bosch, Josep Maria & Castillo-Merino, David & Martinez-Blasco, Monica, 2017. "An Assessment of the Provisions of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 on Non-audit Services and Audit Firm Tenure: Evidence from Spain," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 251-261.
    6. Karel Janda, 2019. "Earnings Stability and Peer Company Selection for Multiple Based Indirect Valuation," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 69(1), pages 37-75, February.
    7. Eleftherios Kourtis & Georgios Kourtis & Panayiotis Curtis, 2019. "Αn Integrated Financial Ratio Analysis as a Navigation Compass through the Fraudulent Reporting Conundrum: Α Case Study," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 9(1-2), pages 3-20.
    8. J. Sarmiento-Sabogal & M. Sadeghi, 2015. "Estimating the cost of equity for private firms using accounting fundamentals," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(3), pages 288-301, January.
    9. Hui, Kai Wai & Nelson, Karen K. & Yeung, P. Eric, 2016. "On the persistence and pricing of industry-wide and firm-specific earnings, cash flows, and accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 185-202.
    10. Holthausen, Robert W. & Larcker, David F. & Sloan, Richard G., 1995. "Annual bonus schemes and the manipulation of earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 29-74, February.
    11. Philip G. Berger & Rebecca Hann, 2003. "The Impact of SFAS No. 131 on Information and Monitoring," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 163-223, May.
    12. Luo, Yan & Wang, Xiaohuan & Zhang, Chenyang & Huang, Wei, 2021. "Accounting-based downside risk and expected stock returns: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    13. Ari Hyytinen & Mika Pajarinen, 2007. "Is The Cost Of Debt Capital Higher For Younger Firms?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 54(1), pages 55-71, February.
    14. Singh, Abhijeet & Singh, Harjinder & Sultana, Nigar & Evans, John, 2019. "Independent and joint effects of audit partner tenure and non-audit fees on audit quality," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 186-205.
    15. Brian M. Burnett & Gregory W. Martin & David A. Reppenhagen, 2021. "Managerial discretion in revenue recognition amidst financial restatements and implications for GAAP compliance," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5-6), pages 869-894, May.
    16. R. Abdul Rahman & R.J. Limmack, 2004. "Corporate Acquisitions and the Operating Performance of Malaysian Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3‐4), pages 359-400, April.
    17. Carlos J.O. Trejo-Pech & Richard N. Weldon & Michael A. Gunderson, 2016. "Earnings Management through Specific Accruals and Discretionary Expenses: Evidence from U.S. Agribusiness Firms," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 64(1), pages 89-118, March.
    18. Joy Begley & Sandra L. Chamberlain & Yinghua Li, 2006. "Modeling Goodwill for Banks: A Residual Income Approach with Empirical Tests," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(1), pages 31-68, March.
    19. Jincheol Bae & Jaehong Lee & Eunsoo Kim, 2019. "Does Fixed Asset Revaluation Build Trust between Management and Investors?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-22, July.
    20. Cheng, Che-Hui & Wu, Po-Chin, 2013. "Nonlinear earnings persistence," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 156-168.

    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:bracre:v:37:y:2005:i:1:p:1-21. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    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.