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Measuring the market response to going concern modifications: the importance of disclosure timing

Author

Listed:
  • Linda A. Myers

    (University of Tennessee)

  • Jonathan E. Shipman

    (University of Arkansas)

  • Quinn T. Swanquist

    (University of Alabama)

  • Robert L. Whited

    (North Carolina State University)

Abstract

Auditor going concern modifications (GCMs) are intended to provide market participants with information related to financial distress, and prior research suggests that the disclosure of a GCM elicits a substantial negative market reaction from investors. In this study, we investigate the market reaction to GCMs in a contemporary disclosure regime and consider whether the observed market reaction is confounded by other material disclosures. We find that the majority of GCMs are issued concurrently with earnings announcements (EAs) and that EAs in the year of new GCMs elicit large negative cumulative abnormal returns (CARs). We also find that CARs surrounding GCMs are significantly more negative when GCMs are disclosed with EAs versus following EAs. We then evaluate whether GCMs convey distress that is incremental to EA disclosures by measuring i) the market reaction to GCMs disclosed following EAs, and ii) whether EA CARs are substantially more negative for companies disclosing GCMs with EAs as opposed to after EAs. In both cases, we find that the incremental market response to GCMs is statistically weak and much smaller in economic magnitude than is suggested by prior research. Finally, we find that management disclosures in EAs, rather than the presence of a GCM, appear to convey information that investors use to anticipate bankruptcy. Taken together, these findings suggest that GCMs are confounded by other significant disclosures and that the informational benefits of GCM reporting are significantly smaller than previously thought.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda A. Myers & Jonathan E. Shipman & Quinn T. Swanquist & Robert L. Whited, 2018. "Measuring the market response to going concern modifications: the importance of disclosure timing," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1512-1542, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reaccs:v:23:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s11142-018-9459-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11142-018-9459-x
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    2. Ohlrogge, Fynn & Hardies, Kris & Claeys, An-Sofie, 2024. "Investor reactions to apologies for financial misconduct," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    3. Feng Guo & Chenxi Lin & Adi Masli & Michael S. Wilkins, 2021. "Auditor Responses to Shareholder Activism," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 63-95, March.
    4. Kathleen Bakarich & Jiaxin Liu & Joseph Weintrop, 2021. "At what life-cycle stage does the auditors’ going concern report add value?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1129-1157, April.
    5. Elizabeth Gutierrez & Jake Krupa & Miguel Minutti-Meza & Maria Vulcheva, 2020. "Do going concern opinions provide incremental information to predict corporate defaults?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 1344-1381, December.
    6. 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.
    7. Dan Dacian Cuzdriorean, 2018. "Auditing Research: A Review Of Recent Research Advances," Eurasian Journal of Economics and Finance, Eurasian Publications, vol. 6(4), pages 14-26.
    8. Keval Amin & John Daniel Eshleman & Peng Guo, 2021. "Investor Sentiment, Misstatements, and Auditor Behavior," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 483-517, March.
    9. Marcus M. Doxey & James G. Lawson & Thomas J. Lopez & Quinn T. Swanquist, 2021. "Do Investors Care Who Did the Audit? Evidence from Form AP," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(5), pages 1741-1782, December.
    10. Thomas Bourveau & Janja Brendel & Jordan Schoenfeld, 2024. "Decentralized Finance (DeFi) assurance: early evidence," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 2209-2253, September.
    11. Sandro Brunelli & Francesco Venuti & Thomas Niederkofler & Camilla Falivena, 2024. "Financial distress, auditors’ going concern modification (GCM) and investors’ reaction in a concentrated ownership environment: new evidence from the Italian stock market," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(2), pages 313-339, June.

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