IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jaecon/v72y2021i1s0165410121000173.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Qualitative characteristics of non-GAAP disclosures and non-GAAP earnings quality

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Han-Chung
  • Lee, Yen-Jung
  • Lo, Sheng-Yi
  • Yu, Yong

Abstract

We examine how the qualitative characteristics of a non-GAAP earnings disclosure reveal the quality of the non-GAAP performance metric itself. We measure the qualitative aspects of the non-GAAP disclosure using an index of 12 hand-coded characteristics and presentation choices that provide context to non-GAAP disclosures. We find that more transparent qualitative information in non-GAAP disclosures is associated with more transitory non-GAAP exclusions and a lower likelihood that managers will aggressively exclude expenses in calculating non-GAAP earnings to meet or beat analysts’ forecasts. We also find that the association between non-GAAP exclusions and earnings announcement period returns is less negative for firms with more transparent qualitative information accompanying their non-GAAP disclosures. Overall, these results suggest that qualitative characteristics of non-GAAP disclosures convey useful information about the quality of non-GAAP earnings metrics.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Han-Chung & Lee, Yen-Jung & Lo, Sheng-Yi & Yu, Yong, 2021. "Qualitative characteristics of non-GAAP disclosures and non-GAAP earnings quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaecon:v:72:y:2021:i:1:s0165410121000173
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jacceco.2021.101402
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165410121000173
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jacceco.2021.101402?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. Edward J. Riedl & Suraj Srinivasan, 2010. "Signaling Firm Performance Through Financial Statement Presentation: An Analysis Using Special Items," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 8-8, March.
    2. Doyle, Jeffrey T. & Jennings, Jared N. & Soliman, Mark T., 2013. "Do managers define non-GAAP earnings to meet or beat analyst forecasts?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 40-56.
    3. Jennifer Francis & Dhananjay Nanda & Per Olsson, 2008. "Voluntary Disclosure, Earnings Quality, and Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 53-99, March.
    4. Edward J. Riedl & Suraj Srinivasan, 2010. "Signaling Firm Performance Through Financial Statement Presentation: An Analysis Using Special Items," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 289-332, March.
    5. Allee, Kristian D. & Bhattacharya, Nilabhra & Black, Ervin L. & Christensen, Theodore E., 2007. "Pro forma disclosure and investor sophistication: External validation of experimental evidence using archival data," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 201-222, April.
    6. Dirk E. Black & Theodore E. Christensen, 2009. "US Managers' Use of 'Pro Forma' Adjustments to Meet Strategic Earnings Targets," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3-4), pages 297-326.
    7. Jeremiah W. Bentley & Theodore E. Christensen & Kurt H. Gee & Benjamin C. Whipple, 2018. "Disentangling Managers’ and Analysts’ Non‐GAAP Reporting," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 1039-1081, September.
    8. Dirk E. Black & Theodore E. Christensen & Jack T. Ciesielski & Benjamin C. Whipple, 2018. "Non†GAAP reporting: Evidence from academia and current practice," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3-4), pages 259-294, March.
    9. Li, Feng, 2008. "Annual report readability, current earnings, and earnings persistence," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2-3), pages 221-247, August.
    10. Bradshaw, Mark T. & Christensen, Theodore E. & Gee, Kurt H. & Whipple, Benjamin C., 2018. "Analysts’ GAAP earnings forecasts and their implications for accounting research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 46-66.
    11. Hirst, DE & Hopkins, PE, 1998. "Comprehensive income reporting and analysts' valuation judgments," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36, pages 47-75.
    12. 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.
    13. Bhattacharya, Nilabhra & Black, Ervin L. & Christensen, Theodore E. & Larson, Chad R., 2003. "Assessing the relative informativeness and permanence of pro forma earnings and GAAP operating earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 285-319, December.
    14. Leuz, Christian, 2006. "Cross listing, bonding and firms' reporting incentives: A discussion of Lang, Raedy and Wilson (2006)," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 285-299, October.
    15. Zhang, Huai & Zheng, Liu, 2011. "The valuation impact of reconciling pro forma earnings to GAAP earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 186-202.
    16. Heflin, Frank & Hsu, Charles, 2008. "The impact of the SEC's regulation of non-GAAP disclosures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2-3), pages 349-365, December.
    17. Zhang, Huai & Zheng, Liu, 2011. "The valuation impact of reconciling pro forma earnings to GAAP earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 186-202, February.
    18. Francis, J & Schipper, K, 1999. "Have financial statements lost their relevance?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 319-352.
    19. Kyung, Hangsoo & Lee, Hakyin & Marquardt, Carol, 2019. "The effect of voluntary clawback adoption on non-GAAP reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 175-201.
    20. Mark T. Bradshaw & Richard G. Sloan, 2002. "GAAP versus The Street: An Empirical Assessment of Two Alternative Definitions of Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 41-66, March.
    21. Dirk E. Black & Theodore E. Christensen, 2009. "US Managers' Use of ‘Pro Forma’ Adjustments to Meet Strategic Earnings Targets," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3‐4), pages 297-326, April.
    22. Marques, Ana, 2010. "Disclosure strategies among S&P 500 firms: Evidence on the disclosure of non-GAAP financial measures and financial statements in earnings press releases," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 119-131.
    23. 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.
    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. Miguel Faria-e-Castro & Radhakrishnan Gopalan & Avantika Pal & Juan M. Sanchez & Vijay Yerramilli, 2022. "EBITDA Add-backs in Debt Contracting: A Step Too Far?," Working Papers 2022-029, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    2. Corinne Bessieux-Ollier & Grégoire Davrinche & Guillaume Dumas, 2022. "L'adaptation de la communication financière face à la crise COVID : le cas des résultats non-GAAP," Post-Print hal-03948560, HAL.
    3. Corinne Bessieux-Ollier & Grégoire Davrinche & Guillaume Dumas, 2022. "L'adaptation de la communication financière face à la crise COVID : le cas des résultats non-GAAP," Post-Print hal-03948567, HAL.

    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. Florian Meier, 2020. "The Age of Cheap Money and Passive Investing: Are Pro Forma Earnings Value Relevant?," Journal of Finance and Investment Analysis, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 9(2), pages 1-1.
    2. Claudia Arena & Simona Catuogno & Nicola Moscariello, 2021. "The unusual debate on non-GAAP reporting in the current standard practice. The lens of corporate governance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(3), pages 655-684, September.
    3. Theodore E. Christensen & Enrique Gomez & Matthew Ma & Jing Pan, 2021. "Analysts’ role in shaping non-GAAP reporting: evidence from a natural experiment," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 172-217, March.
    4. Hsu, Charles & Wang, Rencheng & Whipple, Benjamin C., 2022. "Non-GAAP earnings and stock price crash risk," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2).
    5. Edith Leung & David Veenman, 2018. "Non‐GAAP Earnings Disclosure in Loss Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 1083-1137, September.
    6. Bradshaw, Mark T. & Christensen, Theodore E. & Gee, Kurt H. & Whipple, Benjamin C., 2018. "Analysts’ GAAP earnings forecasts and their implications for accounting research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 46-66.
    7. Visani, Franco & Di Lascio, F. Marta L. & Gardini, Silvia, 2020. "The impact of institutional and cultural factors on the use of non-GAAP financial measures. International evidence from the oil and gas industry," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    8. Sascha B. Herr & Peter Lorson & Jochen Pilhofer, 2022. "Alternative Performance Measures: A Structured Literature Review of Research in Academic and Professional Journals," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 389-451, September.
    9. Steven Young, 2014. "The drivers, consequences and policy implications of non-GAAP earnings reporting," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 444-465, August.
    10. Silvia Gardini & F. Marta L. Di Lascio & Franco Visani, 2017. "Opportunism in disclosing pro-forma indicators: rationale and contextual drivers," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS42, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.
    11. Kyung, Hangsoo & Lee, Hakyin & Marquardt, Carol, 2019. "The effect of voluntary clawback adoption on non-GAAP reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 175-201.
    12. Dirk E. Black & Ervin L. Black & Theodore E. Christensen & Kurt H. Gee, 2022. "Comparing Non-GAAP EPS in Earnings Announcements and Proxy Statements," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(2), pages 1353-1377, February.
    13. Black, D.E. & Christensen, T.E., 2018. "Policy implications of research on non-GAAP reporting," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-7.
    14. Theodore E. Christensen & Hang Pei & Spencer R. Pierce & Liang Tan, 2019. "Non-GAAP reporting following debt covenant violations," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 629-664, June.
    15. Yu-An Chen & Ann F. Medinets & Dan Palmon, 2022. "Disclosure regulations work: The case of regulation G," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1037-1062, April.
    16. Aubert, François & Grudnitski, Gary, 2014. "The role of reconciliation quality in limiting mispricing of non-GAAP earnings announcements by EURO STOXX firms," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 154-167.
    17. Ting Zhang & So Yean Kwack & Yi Si & Gaoliang Tian, 2023. "Non‐GAAP earnings reporting following going‐concern opinions," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(3), pages 3217-3252, September.
    18. Thielemann, Felix & Dinh, Tami, 2019. "Non-GAAP earnings disclosures around regulation G – The case of “implicit non-GAAP reporting”," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Novia (Xi) Chen & Peng-Chia Chiu & Terry Shevlin & Jiani Wang, 2023. "Taxes in Non-GAAP Reporting: Evidence of Strategic Behavior in Selecting Tax Rates Applied to Exclusions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(5), pages 3100-3120, May.
    20. Jason V. Chen & Kurt H. Gee & Jed J. Neilson, 2021. "Disclosure Prominence and the Quality of Non‐GAAP Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 163-213, March.

    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:jaecon:v:72:y:2021:i:1:s0165410121000173. 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/jae .

    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.