IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/rqfnac/v44y2015i1p113-138.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate governance and default risk of firms cited in the SEC’s Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases

Author

Listed:
  • Zhiyan Cao
  • Fei Leng
  • Ehsan Feroz
  • Sergio Davalos

Abstract

We examine the relationship between corporate governance and default risk for a sample of firms cited in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAERs). Using hazard analysis of actual default incidence and OLS regressions of a continuous variable capturing a firm’s “closeness to default,” we document changes in the relationships between various governance characteristics and default risk from the pre-AAER period to the post-AAER period. Specifically, smaller board size, greater board independence, greater gender diversity of the board, and lower concentration of institutional ownership are all shown to have a more favorable effect on lowering default risk in the post-AAER period relative to the pre-AAER period. Our comparative analysis of a group of firms with accounting restatements (but not cited in the AAERs) does not show similar changes in the relationships between the various corporate governance characteristics and default risk from the pre-restatement to the post-restatement period. This suggests that the regulatory sanctions experienced by AAER firms may have prompted creditor reevaluation of the firms’ information environment and the perceived efficacy of various corporate governance mechanisms in mitigating default risk. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Zhiyan Cao & Fei Leng & Ehsan Feroz & Sergio Davalos, 2015. "Corporate governance and default risk of firms cited in the SEC’s Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 113-138, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:44:y:2015:i:1:p:113-138
    DOI: 10.1007/s11156-013-0401-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11156-013-0401-9
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11156-013-0401-9?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. Duffie, Darrell & Saita, Leandro & Wang, Ke, 2007. "Multi-period corporate default prediction with stochastic covariates," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 635-665, March.
    2. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    3. Hsin-Hung Chen, 2008. "The Timescale Effects of Corporate Governance Measure on Predicting Financial Distress," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(01), pages 35-46.
    4. Campbell, John Y, 1996. "Understanding Risk and Return," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(2), pages 298-345, April.
    5. John Y. Campbell & Jens Hilscher & Jan Szilagyi, 2008. "In Search of Distress Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(6), pages 2899-2939, December.
    6. Lawrence Brown & Marcus Caylor, 2009. "Corporate governance and firm operating performance," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 129-144, February.
    7. Yawen Jiao & Pengfei Ye, 2013. "Public pension fund ownership and firm performance," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 571-590, April.
    8. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    9. Merton, Robert C, 1974. "On the Pricing of Corporate Debt: The Risk Structure of Interest Rates," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 29(2), pages 449-470, May.
    10. Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 1991. "The Effects of Board Composition and Direct Incentives on Firm Performance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 20(4), Winter.
    11. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    12. Suraj Srinivasan, 2005. "Consequences of Financial Reporting Failure for Outside Directors: Evidence from Accounting Restatements and Audit Committee Members," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 291-334, May.
    13. Lin Guo & Liang Tang & Shiawee Yang, 2013. "Corporate governance and market segmentation: evidence from the price difference between Chinese A and H shares," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 385-416, August.
    14. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    15. Agrawal, Anup & Jaffe, Jeffrey F & Karpoff, Jonathan M, 1999. "Management Turnover and Governance Changes following the Revelation of Fraud," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(1), pages 309-342, April.
    16. Boone, Audra L. & Casares Field, Laura & Karpoff, Jonathan M. & Raheja, Charu G., 2007. "The determinants of corporate board size and composition: An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 66-101, July.
    17. Linck, James S. & Netter, Jeffry M. & Yang, Tina, 2008. "The determinants of board structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 308-328, February.
    18. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:2:p:831-868 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Sanjeev Bhojraj & Partha Sengupta, 2003. "Effect of Corporate Governance on Bond Ratings and Yields: The Role of Institutional Investors and Outside Directors," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(3), pages 455-476, July.
    20. Patricia M. Dechow & Weili Ge & Chad R. Larson & Richard G. Sloan, 2011. "Predicting Material Accounting Misstatements," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 17-82, March.
    21. Barclay, Michael J & Holderness, Clifford G, 1992. "The Law and Large-Block Trades," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(2), pages 265-294, October.
    22. 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.
    23. Joseph V. Carcello & Terry L. Neal & Zoe†Vonna Palmrose & Susan Scholz, 2011. "CEO Involvement in Selecting Board Members, Audit Committee Effectiveness, and Restatements," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 396-430, June.
    24. Sudheer Chava & Robert A. Jarrow, 2008. "Bankruptcy Prediction with Industry Effects," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Financial Derivatives Pricing Selected Works of Robert Jarrow, chapter 21, pages 517-549, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    25. Yermack, David, 1996. "Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 185-211, February.
    26. Patricia M. Dechow & Richard G. Sloan & Amy P. Sweeney, 1996. "Causes and Consequences of Earnings Manipulation: An Analysis of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions by the SEC," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 1-36, March.
    27. Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2003. "Boards of directors as an endogenously determined institution: a survey of the economic literature," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 9(Apr), pages 7-26.
    28. Romano, Roberta, 1996. "Corporate Law and Corporate Governance," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 5(2), pages 277-339.
    29. Eliezer Fich & Steve Slezak, 2008. "Can corporate governance save distressed firms from bankruptcy? An empirical analysis," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 225-251, February.
    30. Brickley, James A. & Zimmerman, Jerold L., 2010. "Corporate governance myths: Comments on Armstrong, Guay, and Weber," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 235-245, December.
    31. Shumway, Tyler, 2001. "Forecasting Bankruptcy More Accurately: A Simple Hazard Model," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74(1), pages 101-124, January.
    32. Feroz, Eh & Park, K & Pastena, Vs, 1991. "The Financial And Market Effects Of The Secs Accounting And Auditing Enforcement Releases," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29, pages 107-142.
    33. Agrawal, Anup & Chadha, Sahiba, 2005. "Corporate Governance and Accounting Scandals," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 371-406, October.
    34. Brown, Lawrence D. & Caylor, Marcus L., 2006. "Corporate governance and firm valuation," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 409-434.
    35. Ashbaugh-Skaife, Hollis & Collins, Daniel W. & LaFond, Ryan, 2006. "The effects of corporate governance on firms' credit ratings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 203-243, October.
    36. Sreedhar T. Bharath & Tyler Shumway, 2008. "Forecasting Default with the Merton Distance to Default Model," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(3), pages 1339-1369, May.
    37. 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.
    38. Tsun‐Siou Lee & Yin‐Hua Yeh, 2004. "Corporate Governance and Financial Distress: evidence from Taiwan," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 378-388, July.
    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. Luminita Enache & Antonio Parbonetti & Anup Srivastava, 2020. "Are all outside directors created equal with respect to firm disclosure policy?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 541-577, August.
    2. Daniella Juric & Brendan O’Connell & Michaela Rankin & Jacqueline Birt, 2018. "Determinants of the Severity of Legal and Employment Consequences for CPAs Named in SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 545-563, February.
    3. Yin Liu & Huiqi Gan & Khondkar Karim, 2020. "Corporate risk-taking after adoption of compensation clawback provisions," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 617-649, February.
    4. Kabir, Md Nurul & Miah, Mohammad Dulal & Ali, Searat & Sharma, Parmendra, 2020. "Institutional and foreign ownership vis-à-vis default risk: Evidence from Japanese firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 469-493.
    5. Meng, Qingbin & Huang, Haozheng & Li, Xinyu & Wang, Song, 2023. "Short-selling and corporate default risk: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 398-417.
    6. Ulf Mohrmann & Jan Riepe, 2019. "The link between the share of banks’ Level 3 assets and their default risk and default costs," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1163-1189, May.
    7. Jim-Yuh Huang & Kao-Yi Shen & Joseph C.P. Shieh & Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng, 2019. "Strengthen Financial Holding Companies’ Business Sustainability by Using a Hybrid Corporate Governance Evaluation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-27, January.
    8. Nicola Giuseppe Castellano & Roy Cerqueti & Bruno Maria Franceschetti, 2021. "Evaluating risks-based communities of Mafia companies: a complex networks perspective," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1463-1486, November.
    9. Emma L. Schultz & David T. Tan & Kathleen D. Walsh, 2017. "Corporate governance and the probability of default," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57, pages 235-253, April.
    10. Florian Maier & B. Burcin Yurtoglu, 2022. "Board Characteristics and the Insolvency Risk of Non-Financial Firms," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, July.
    11. Chunlai Ye & Lin-Hui Yu, 2018. "The effect of restatements on trading volume reactions to earnings announcements," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 129-180, January.
    12. Abinzano, Isabel & Martinez, Beatriz & Poletti-Hughes, Jannine, 2023. "Women in power with power: The influence of meaningful board representation on default risk," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    13. Lagasio, Valentina & Brogi, Marina & Gallucci, Carmen & Santulli, Rosalia, 2023. "May board committees reduce the probability of financial distress? A survival analysis on Italian listed companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

    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. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, December.
    2. Benjamin S. Kay & Cindy M. Vojtech, 2015. "Corporate Governance Responses to Director Rule Changes," Staff Discussion Papers 15-02, Office of Financial Research, US Department of the Treasury.
    3. Almaskati, Nawaf & Bird, Ron & Yeung, Danny & Lu, Yue, 2021. "A horse race of models and estimation methods for predicting bankruptcy," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    4. Ahsan Habib & Mabel D' Costa & Hedy Jiaying Huang & Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan & Li Sun, 2020. "Determinants and consequences of financial distress: review of the empirical literature," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(S1), pages 1023-1075, April.
    5. Masulis, Ronald W. & Wang, Cong & Xie, Fei, 2012. "Globalizing the boardroom—The effects of foreign directors on corporate governance and firm performance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 527-554.
    6. 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.
    7. Rihab Grassa, 2016. "Corporate governance and credit rating in Islamic banks: Does Shariah governance matters?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 875-906, December.
    8. Sugato Chakravarty & Chiraphol N. Chiyachantana & Christine Jiang, 2011. "THE CHOICE OF TRADING VENUE AND RELATIVE PRICE IMPACT OF INSTITUTIONAL TRADING: ADRs VERSUS THE UNDERLYING SECURITIES IN THEIR LOCAL MARKETS," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 34(4), pages 537-567, December.
    9. Emma L. Schultz & David T. Tan & Kathleen D. Walsh, 2017. "Corporate governance and the probability of default," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57, pages 235-253, April.
    10. repec:csr:wpaper:1014 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Anginer, Deniz & Mansi, Sattar & Warburton, A. Joseph & Yildizhan, Celim, 2011. "Firm Reputation and Cost of Debt Capital," MPRA Paper 64965, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Jun 2015.
    12. Huang, Kershen & Petkevich, Alex, 2016. "Corporate bond pricing and ownership heterogeneity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 54-74.
    13. Chia-Jane Wang, 2012. "Board size and firm risk-taking," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 519-542, May.
    14. Adams, Mike & Jiang, Wei, 2016. "Do outside directors influence the financial performance of risk-trading firms? Evidence from the United Kingdom (UK) insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 36-51.
    15. Andreou, Panayiotis C. & Louca, Christodoulos & Panayides, Photis M., 2014. "Corporate governance, financial management decisions and firm performance: Evidence from the maritime industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 59-78.
    16. Yanmin Gao & Jeong-Bon Kim & Desmond Tsang & Haibin Wu, 2017. "Go before the whistle blows: an empirical analysis of director turnover and financial fraud," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 320-360, March.
    17. Vafeas, Nikos & Vlittis, Adamos, 2019. "Board executive committees, board decisions, and firm value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 43-63.
    18. Renee B. Adams & Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2010. "The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework and Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 58-107, March.
    19. Lee, Shih-Cheng & Lin, Chien-Ting, 2010. "An accounting-based valuation approach to valuing corporate governance in Taiwan," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 47-60.
    20. Lee, Shih-Cheng & Lin, Chien-Ting & Chang, Pei-Ting, 2011. "An Ohlson valuation framework for valuing corporate governance: The case of Taiwan," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 420-434, September.
    21. Dan Amiram & Zahn Bozanic & James D. Cox & Quentin Dupont & Jonathan M. Karpoff & Richard Sloan, 2018. "Financial reporting fraud and other forms of misconduct: a multidisciplinary review of the literature," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 732-783, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate governance; Default risk; Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases; Information asymmetry; G33; G34; M41; D82;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

    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:kap:rqfnac:v:44:y:2015:i:1:p:113-138. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://springer.com .

    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.