IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v64y2024ics1544612324004896.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Capital market liberalization and accounting quality: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Yifu

Abstract

Introducing the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connects (the Connects) as an exogenous shock, we find that capital market liberalization significantly reduces real earnings management, accrual earnings management, earnings smoothing, and promotes information disclosure evaluation grades for A-share companies. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this favorable impact is more significant for companies with poorer information environments, higher auditor reputation risks, higher corporate governance quality, and stronger executive compensation incentives. This study further contributes to the literature on the impacts of capital market liberalization on accounting quality by providing new empirical evidence from China.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Yifu, 2024. "Capital market liberalization and accounting quality: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:64:y:2024:i:c:s1544612324004896
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2024.105459
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612324004896
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105459?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. Dye, Ra, 1988. "Earnings Management In An Overlapping Generations Model," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 195-235.
    2. Stijn Claessens & Simeon Djankov & Joseph P. H. Fan & Larry H. P. Lang, 2002. "Disentangling the Incentive and Entrenchment Effects of Large Shareholdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2741-2771, December.
    3. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    4. Bassett, Michael & Koh, Ping-Sheng & Tutticci, Irene, 2007. "The association between employee stock option disclosures and corporate governance: Evidence from an enhanced disclosure regime," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 303-322.
    5. Yeung, Wing Him & Lento, Camillo, 2018. "Ownership structure, audit quality, board structure, and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-24.
    6. Attig, Najah & Fong, Wai-Ming & Gadhoum, Yoser & Lang, Larry H.P., 2006. "Effects of large shareholding on information asymmetry and stock liquidity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 2875-2892, October.
    7. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    8. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    9. Clive S. Lennox, 1999. "Audit Quality and Auditor Size: An Evaluation of Reputation and Deep Pockets Hypotheses," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7&8), pages 779-805.
    10. Limei Che & Ole-Kristian Hope & John Christian Langli, 2020. "How Big-4 Firms Improve Audit Quality," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(10), pages 4552-4572, October.
    11. Li, Shuangyan & Fu, Huan & Wen, Jun & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2020. "Separation of ownership and control for Chinese listed firms: Effect on the cost of debt and the moderating role of bank competition," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    12. Alex Edmans, 2009. "Blockholder Trading, Market Efficiency, and Managerial Myopia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(6), pages 2481-2513, December.
    13. DeAngelo, Linda Elizabeth, 1981. "Auditor size and audit quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-199, December.
    14. Garner, Jacqueline L. & Kim, Won Yong, 2013. "Are foreign investors really beneficial? Evidence from South Korea," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 62-84.
    15. Agnes Cheng, C.S. & He Huang, Henry & Li, Yinghua & Lobo, Gerald, 2010. "Institutional monitoring through shareholder litigation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(3), pages 356-383, March.
    16. Bae, Kee-Hong & Ozoguz, Arzu & Tan, Hongping & Wirjanto, Tony S., 2012. "Do foreigners facilitate information transmission in emerging markets?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(1), pages 209-227.
    17. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov, 2010. "Big Bad Banks? The Winners and Losers from Bank Deregulation in the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1637-1667, October.
    18. Bae, Kee-Hong & Goyal, Vidhan K., 2010. "Equity market liberalization and corporate governance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 609-621, December.
    19. Song Zhu & Haijie Huang & William Bradford, 2022. "The governance role of institutional investors in management compensation: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1015-1063, April.
    20. Bhattacharya, Utpal & Daouk, Hazem & Welker, Michael, 2003. "The World Price of Earnings Opacity," Working Papers 127185, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    21. Chune Young Chung & Hyeyoen Kim & Doojin Ryu, 2017. "Foreign investor trading and information asymmetry: evidence from a leading emerging market," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(8), pages 540-544, May.
    22. Dechow, Patricia M. & Kothari, S. P. & L. Watts, Ross, 1998. "The relation between earnings and cash flows," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 133-168, May.
    23. Aggarwal, Reena & Erel, Isil & Ferreira, Miguel & Matos, Pedro, 2011. "Does governance travel around the world? Evidence from institutional investors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 154-181, April.
    24. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    25. Yingwen Deng & Ole‐Kristian Hope & Cyndia Wang & Min Zhang, 2022. "Capital market liberalization and auditors' accounting adjustments: Evidence from a quasi‐experiment," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1-2), pages 215-248, January.
    26. Dhouha Bouaziz & Bassem Salhi & Anis Jarboui, 2020. "CEO characteristics and earnings management: empirical evidence from France," Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 18(1), pages 77-110, January.
    27. Xi Zhang & Simon Gao & Yi Zeng, 2019. "An empirical study of the relationship between accounting conservatism and executive compensation-performance sensitivity," International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(1), pages 130-150, March.
    28. Grinblatt, Mark & Keloharju, Matti, 2000. "The investment behavior and performance of various investor types: a study of Finland's unique data set," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 43-67, January.
    29. Clive S. Lennox, 1999. "Audit Quality and Auditor Size: An Evaluation of Reputation and Deep Pockets Hypotheses," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7‐8), pages 779-805, September.
    30. Abbas Ali Daryaei & Yasin Fattahi & Davood Askarany & Saeed Askary & Mahdad Mollazamani, 2022. "Accounting Comparability, Conservatism, Executive Compensation-Performance, and Information Quality," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-28, October.
    31. repec:eme:mfppss:v:36:y:2010:i:5:p:452-467 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Neupane, Biwesh & Thapa, Chandra & Marshall, Andrew & Neupane, Suman & Shrestha, Chaman, 2024. "Do foreign institutional investors improve board monitoring?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Lin, Z. Jun & Liu, Ming, 2009. "The impact of corporate governance on auditor choice: Evidence from China," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 44-59.
    3. repec:cup:cbooks:9781108492195 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Yan Meng & Lingyun Xiong & Lijuan Xiao & Min Bai, 2023. "The effect of overseas investors on local market efficiency: evidence from the Shanghai/Shenzhen–Hong Kong Stock Connect," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-32, December.
    5. Zhang, Liguang & Li, Zhuohao & Liao, Yunxiang & Wang, Yunchen & Hu, Ning, 2023. "Foreign investment and information quality – A quasi-experiment from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Mohamed Khalil & Sandy Harianto & Yilmaz Guney, 2022. "Do political connections reduce earnings management?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 273-310, July.
    7. Li, Ting & Zaiats, Nataliya, 2017. "Information environment and earnings management of dual class firms around the world," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1-23.
    8. Khushboo Gulati & Seema Gupta & C. P. Gupta, 2020. "The Transformation of Governance System: A Decade Long Experience of Corporate Governance Using Meta-analysis," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 21(3), pages 233-262, September.
    9. Espahbodi, Reza & Liu, Nan & Weigand, Robert A., 2022. "Opportunistic earnings management or performance-related effects? Evidence from dividend-paying firms," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    10. Zeineb Barka & Taher Hamza, 2020. "The effect of large controlling shareholders on equity prices in France: monitoring or entrenchment?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 24(3), pages 769-798, September.
    11. Sanggyu Kang & Chune Young Chung & Amirhossein Fard, 2024. "Does geographic or market proximity matter? Evidence from institutional investor monitoring on earnings attributes in US cross‐listed stocks," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(2), pages 443-469, April.
    12. Sabri Boubaker & Hind Sami, 2011. "Multiple large shareholders and earnings informativeness," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(3), pages 246-266, August.
    13. Liu, Xiaojun & Wang, Li & Dai, Yunhao, 2023. "Capital market liberalization and opportunistic insider sales: Evidence from China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    14. Razzaque, Rushdi Md. Rezaur & Ali, Muhammad Jahangir & Mather, Paul R., 2016. "Real earnings management in family firms: Evidence from an emerging economy," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 237-250.
    15. Nitai Chandra Debnath & Suman Paul Chowdhury & Safaeduzzaman Khan, 2022. "The impact of audit quality on real earnings management: evidence from Bangladesh," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(2), pages 218-231, June.
    16. Casey, Ryan J. & Kaplan, Steven E. & Pinello, Arianna Spina, 2015. "Do auditors constrain benchmark beating behavior to a greater extent in the fourth versus interim quarters?," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-10.
    17. Comprix, Joseph & Huang, Huichi, 2015. "Does auditor size matter? Evidence from small audit firms," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 11-20.
    18. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Guay, Wayne R. & Weber, Joseph P., 2010. "The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance and debt contracting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 179-234, December.
    19. Attig, Najah & Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck & Pittman, Jeffrey, 2020. "Are insiders equal? Evidence from earnings management in closely held East Asian firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    20. Agarwal, Anushka & Chaudhry, Neeru, 2022. "Foreign controlling shareholders and corporate investment," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    21. Hu, Shing-yang & Lin, Yueh-Hsiang & Lai, Christine W., 2016. "The effect of overvaluation on investment and accruals: The role of information," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(PA), pages 181-201.

    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:finlet:v:64:y:2024:i:c:s1544612324004896. 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/frl .

    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.