IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jocaae/v11y2015i1p1-17.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Determinants and economic consequences of voluntary disclosure of internal control weaknesses in China

Author

Listed:
  • Ji, Xu-dong
  • Lu, Wei
  • Qu, Wen

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants and economic consequences of disclosure of internal control weaknesses (ICWs) by Chinese listed firms under the voluntary disclosure regime over 2010–2011. We find that the probability of firms disclosing ICWs is not only associated with firm characteristics such as profitability, age and business complexity, but is also strongly related to the unique attributes of corporate governance and ownership structure in Chinese listed firms, e.g. the independence of the supervisory board, political connections, concentration of the top 3 shareholders' ownership and tradability of shares.

Suggested Citation

  • Ji, Xu-dong & Lu, Wei & Qu, Wen, 2015. "Determinants and economic consequences of voluntary disclosure of internal control weaknesses in China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jocaae:v:11:y:2015:i:1:p:1-17
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcae.2014.12.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1815566914000381
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcae.2014.12.001?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. Peng, Winnie Qian & Wei, K.C. John & Yang, Zhishu, 2011. "Tunneling or propping: Evidence from connected transactions in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 306-325, April.
    2. Skinner, Dj, 1994. "Why Firms Voluntarily Disclose Bad-News," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 38-60.
    3. Zhang, Yan & Zhou, Jian & Zhou, Nan, 2007. "Audit committee quality, auditor independence, and internal control weaknesses," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 300-327.
    4. Gary K Meek & Clare B Roberts & Sidney J Gray, 1995. "Factors Influencing Voluntary Annual Report Disclosures By U.S., U.K. and Continental European Multinational Corporations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(3), pages 555-572, September.
    5. Bai, Chong-En & Liu, Qiao & Lu, Joe & Song, Frank M. & Zhang, Junxi, 2004. "Corporate governance and market valuation in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 599-616, December.
    6. Hollis Ashbaugh‐Skaife & Daniel W. Collins & William R. Kinney Jr & Ryan Lafond, 2009. "The Effect of SOX Internal Control Deficiencies on Firm Risk and Cost of Equity," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 1-43, March.
    7. Firth, Michael & Fung, Peter M.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2006. "Corporate performance and CEO compensation in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 693-714, September.
    8. Sarah C. Rice & David P. Weber, 2012. "How Effective Is Internal Control Reporting under SOX 404? Determinants of the (Non‐)Disclosure of Existing Material Weaknesses," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 811-843, June.
    9. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    10. Diamond, Douglas W & Verrecchia, Robert E, 1991. "Disclosure, Liquidity, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1325-1359, September.
    11. Hanwen Chen & Jeff Zeyun Chen & Gerald J. Lobo & Yanyan Wang, 2010. "Association Between Borrower and Lender State Ownership and Accounting Conservatism," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5), pages 973-1014, December.
    12. Hai Lu & Gordon Richardson & Steven Salterio, 2011. "Direct and Indirect Effects of Internal Control Weaknesses on Accrual Quality: Evidence from a Unique Canadian Regulatory Setting," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 675-707, June.
    13. Kinney, William Jr. & McDaniel, Linda S., 1989. "Characteristics of firms correcting previously reported quarterly earnings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 71-93, February.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. Chen, Xiao & Lee, Chi-Wen Jevons & Li, Jing, 2008. "Government assisted earnings management in China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 262-274.
    17. Fan, Joseph P. H. & Wong, T. J., 2002. "Corporate ownership structure and the informativeness of accounting earnings in East Asia," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 401-425, August.
    18. Kim Ittonen, 2010. "Investor reactions to disclosures of material internal control weaknesses," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 25(3), pages 259-268, March.
    19. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Kim, Jeong-Bon & Qiu, Annie A., 2010. "Ownership concentration, foreign shareholding, audit quality, and stock price synchronicity: Evidence from China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(3), pages 425-442, March.
    20. Verrecchia, Robert E., 2001. "Essays on disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 97-180, December.
    21. Mirela DOBRE, 2011. "Stock Investors’ Response to Disclosures of Material Weaknesses in Internal Control," Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems, Faculty of Accounting and Management Information Systems, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 10(3), pages 397-423, September.
    22. Kamran Ahmed & Mahmud Hossain & Mike B. Adams, 2006. "The Effects of Board Composition and Board Size on the Informativeness of Annual Accounting Earnings," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(5), pages 418-431, September.
    23. Hou, Wenxuan & Kuo, Jing-Ming & Lee, Edward, 2012. "The impact of state ownership on share price informativeness: The case of the Split Share Structure Reform in China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 248-261.
    24. Xiao, Jason Zezhong & Yang, He & Chow, Chee W., 2004. "The determinants and characteristics of voluntary Internet-based disclosures by listed Chinese companies," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 191-225.
    25. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    26. Firth, Michael & Rui, Oliver M. & Wu, Wenfeng, 2011. "Cooking the books: Recipes and costs of falsified financial statements in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 371-390, April.
    27. Doyle, Jeffrey & Ge, Weili & McVay, Sarah, 2007. "Determinants of weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1-2), pages 193-223, September.
    28. Xu, Xiaonian & Wang, Yan, 1999. "Ownership structure and corporate governance in Chinese stock companies," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 75-98.
    29. Firth, Michael & Fung, Peter M.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2007. "Ownership, two-tier board structure, and the informativeness of earnings - Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 463-496.
    30. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G., 2001. "Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 405-440, September.
    31. Ashbaugh-Skaife, Hollis & Collins, Daniel W. & Kinney Jr., William R., 2007. "The discovery and reporting of internal control deficiencies prior to SOX-mandated audits," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1-2), pages 166-192, September.
    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. Deng, Kebin & Hu, Fang & Tian, Gary Gang & Zhong, Ziying, 2022. "Does the disclosure of internal control deficiency matter for accrual quality? Evidence from China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1).
    2. Chen, Tao, 2023. "Common auditors and internal control similarity: Evidence from China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).
    3. Feng, Yuan & Mao, Yihuan & Cai, Jing & Xu, Nan, 2024. "Can board IT expertise improve corporate internal control?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PA).
    4. Chalmers, Keryn & Hay, David & Khlif, Hichem, 2019. "Internal control in accounting research: A review," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 80-103.
    5. Jiang, Haiyan & Chen, Jun, 2019. "Short selling and financial reporting quality: Evidence from Chinese AH shares," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 118-130.
    6. Li Dang & Qiaoling Fang, 2018. "Does Attestation of the effectiveness of Internal Control over Financial Reporting Discourage Earnings Management? Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 7(4), pages 1-1, November.
    7. Li, Yuanhui & Li, Xiao & Xiang, Erwei & Geri Djajadikerta, Hadrian, 2020. "Financial distress, internal control, and earnings management: Evidence from China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3).
    8. MUNTHER Al-Nimer, 2019. "Effect Of Corporate Governance Rules On Voluntary Disclosure In Jordanian Corporations Listed With The Amman Stock Exchange (Ase): (An Empirical Study)," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 14(1), pages 154-168, April.
    9. Qinglu Jin & Yuchao Jin & Gary Gang Tian & Yang Xuan, 2021. "Does Internal Corporate Governance Complement or Substitute for External Auditing? Evidence from China's Anti‐corruption Campaign," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 57(1), pages 153-182, March.
    10. Mohammed S. Albarrak & Ngan Duong Cao & Aly Salama & Abdullah A. Aljughaiman, 2023. "Twitter carbon information and cost of equity: the moderating role of environmental performance," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(3), pages 693-718, September.
    11. Han Li, 2015. "Managerial Ability and Internal Control Quality: Evidence from China," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 6(2), pages 54-66, April.
    12. Imran Abbas Jadoon & Umara Noreen & Usman Ayub & Muhammad Tahir & Naima Shahzadi, 2021. "The Impact of Family Ownership on Quality and Disclosure of Internal Control in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    13. Nooraisah Katmon & Zam Zuriyati Mohamad & Norlia Mat Norwani & Omar Al Farooque, 2019. "Comprehensive Board Diversity and Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Evidence from an Emerging Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 447-481, June.
    14. Ji, Xudong & Kaplan, Steven E. & Lu, Wei & Qu, Wen, 2020. "The role of voluntary internal control reporting in earnings quality: Evidence from China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2).

    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. Ji, Xu-dong & Lu, Wei & Qu, Wen, 2017. "Voluntary Disclosure of Internal Control Weakness and Earnings Quality: Evidence From China," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 27-44.
    2. Mukesh Garg, 2017. "Value relevance of voluntary internal control certification: An information asymmetry perspective," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 42(4), pages 527-559, November.
    3. Habib, Ahsan & Jiang, Haiyan, 2015. "Corporate governance and financial reporting quality in China: A survey of recent evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 29-45.
    4. Ji, Xudong & Kaplan, Steven E. & Lu, Wei & Qu, Wen, 2020. "The role of voluntary internal control reporting in earnings quality: Evidence from China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2).
    5. Robert Fraunhoffer & Ho Young Kim & Dirk Schiereck, 2018. "Value Creation in M&A Transactions, Conference Calls, and Shareholder Protection," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Deng, Kebin & Hu, Fang & Tian, Gary Gang & Zhong, Ziying, 2022. "Does the disclosure of internal control deficiency matter for accrual quality? Evidence from China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1).
    7. DeFond, Mark & Zhang, Jieying, 2014. "A review of archival auditing research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 275-326.
    8. de La Bruslerie, Hubert & Gabteni, Heger, 2014. "Voluntary disclosure of financial information by French firms: Does the introduction of IFRS matter?," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 367-380.
    9. Wolfgang Drobetz & Dimitrios Gounopoulos & Anna Merika & Andreas Merikas, 2017. "Determinants of Management Earnings Forecasts: The Case of Global Shipping IPOs," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 23(5), pages 975-1015, October.
    10. Ji, Xu-dong & Lu, Wei & Qu, Wen, 2018. "Internal control risk and audit fees: Evidence from China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 266-287.
    11. Kuo, Jing-Ming & Ning, Lutao & Song, Xiaoqi, 2014. "The Real and Accrual-based Earnings Management Behaviors: Evidence from the Split Share Structure Reform in China," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 101-136.
    12. Shu-Miao Lai & Chih-Liang Liu & Taychang Wang, 2014. "Increased disclosure and investment efficiency," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 308-327, September.
    13. 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.
    14. Imhof, Michael J & Seavey, Scott E., 2018. "How investors value cash and cash flows when managers commit to providing earnings forecasts," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 74-87.
    15. 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.
    16. Luis Gomez-Mejia & Cristina Cruz & Claudia Imperatore, 2014. "Financial Reporting and the Protection of Socioemotional Wealth in Family-Controlled Firms," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 387-402, September.
    17. Lee, Hua & Lee, Hsien-Li & Wang, Chen-Chin, 2017. "Engagement partner specialization and corporate disclosure transparency," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 354-369.
    18. Elsayed, Mohamed & Elshandidy, Tamer, 2021. "Internal control effectiveness, textual risk disclosure, and their usefulness: U.S. evidence," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    19. Sheng-Syan Chen & Chia-Wei Huang & Chuan-Yang Hwang & Yanzhi Wang, 2022. "Voluntary disclosure and corporate innovation," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1081-1115, April.
    20. Terry Shevlin, 2013. "Some personal observations on the debate on the link between financial reporting quality and the cost of equity capital," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 38(3), pages 447-473, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internal control weakness (ICW); China; Voluntary disclosure; Corporate governance; Ownership structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:jocaae:v:11:y:2015:i:1:p:1-17. 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/journal-of-contemporary-accounting-and-economics .

    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.