This dissertation is concerned with the relationship between accounting earnings and stock prices. It consists of three empirical papers, all using a sample of firms listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (1990-2008). The first paper documents the existence of a drift in stock prices subsequent to quarterly earnings announcements. Two interesting empirical observations are that the drift is only significant for longer holding periods and that the drift on the short position, i.e. after bad earnings news, is negligible. The lack of downward drift on the short position is interpreted as an indication of the post-earnings announcement drift, at least partly, being explained by investors demanding a compensation for a risk factor that is omitted in the test design. The second paper illustrates under what conditions information risk in the earnings signal might explain a low announcement reaction and a price drift in the post-announcement period. It is hypothesized that two earnings signals – based either on GAAP earnings or core earnings – have different levels of information uncertainty with respect to how they depict the value creation of the firm. In the empirical sections, it is concluded that the low immediate announcement reaction and high post-announcement drift for the GAAP earnings signal is due to this signal being perceived by investors as containing more uncertainty than the core earnings signal. It is argued that this uncertainty might be due to GAAP earnings encompassing items that prior research has shown more likely to be manipulated and/or to contain estimation error. The positive association between information risk and expected return is further investigated in the third paper, where information risk is measured by earnings quality metrics. Using a new approach to estimate the implied cost of capital, it is found that Swedish investors demand a higher expected return for firms with poor earnings quality, i.e. firms associated with higher information risk. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2011

Since 2005, publicly traded European companies are required to prepare their consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This is the result of the so-called “IAS-Regulation” of the European Parliament and of the European Council (Regulation (EC) No. 1606/2002) which formulates two objectives directly related to financial reporting: (higher) comparability and transparency of financial statements. With regard to transparency, researchers often rely on proxies to measure the quality of financial statements. In this dissertation, I follow this approach and examine the quality of IFRS financial statements relying on different proxies, such as value relevance, the degree of earnings management, and disclosure quality. The four papers in this dissertation cover research questions related to the determinants and consequences of managerial discretion in the three most important components of financial statements: the balance sheet, the income statement, and the notes. In summary, this dissertation answers important questions concerning the quality of accounting under IFRS which have remained unanswered – and in some cases even unasked – until now. Therefore, this dissertation has a material impact on the understanding of accounting quality under IFRS.

Denna studie undersöker om periodiseringskvalitet är en prissatt riskfaktor för nordiska företag som är noterade på en reglerad marknad under perioden 2010–2019. Tidigare studier menar att periodiseringskvalitet utgör en proxy för informationsrisk, men olika författare framställer olika slutsatser i frågan huruvida periodiserings­kvalitet är en prissatt riskfaktor eller inte. Med den av McNichols (2002) modifierade Dechow & Dichev modellen (2002) mäter vi periodiseringskvalitet som standard­avvikelsen av residualer från regressioner som kopplar periodiseringar till kassaflöden. Vi mäter riskpremien genom att dela in företagen i kvintiler baserad på periodiseringskvalitet och tillämpar en likaviktad portfölj som säljer företagen i de två kvintilerna med högst periodiseringskvalitet och köper företagen i kvintilerna med lägst periodiseringskvalitet. Vi finner en signifikant negativ koefficient i en två-stegs tvärsnittsregressionen som visar att periodiseringskvalitet inte utgör en prissatt riskfaktor för nordiska företag. / This study investigates if accruals quality is a priced risk factor for Nordic countries being traded on a regulated market in the Nordic countries during 2010–2019. Earlier studies argue that accruals quality is a proxy for information risk, but different authors find different results regarding whether accruals quality is a priced risk factor or not. By using the Dechow & Dichev model (2002), modified by McNichols (2002), we measure accruals quality as the standard deviation of regressions that match accruals to cash flow. We measure the risk premium by dividing the entities into quintiles and use an equal-weighted portfolio that sells the stocks in the two quintiles with the highest accruals quality and buys the two quintiles with the lowest accruals quality. We find a significant negative coefficient in a two-stage cross-sectional regression which shows that accruals quality is not a priced risk factor in the Nordic countries.

Since 2005, publicly traded European companies are required to prepare their consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This is the result of the so-called “IAS-Regulation” of the European Parliament and of the European Council (Regulation (EC) No. 1606/2002) which formulates two objectives directly related to financial reporting: (higher) comparability and transparency of financial statements. With regard to transparency, researchers often rely on proxies to measure the quality of financial statements. In this dissertation, I follow this approach and examine the quality of IFRS financial statements relying on different proxies, such as value relevance, the degree of earnings management, and disclosure quality. The four papers in this dissertation cover research questions related to the determinants and consequences of managerial discretion in the three most important components of financial statements: the balance sheet, the income statement, and the notes. In summary, this dissertation answers important questions concerning the quality of accounting under IFRS which have remained unanswered – and in some cases even unasked – until now. Therefore, this dissertation has a material impact on the understanding of accounting quality under IFRS.:1 Accounting Quality under IFRS – Essays on Value Relevance, Earnings Management and Disclosure Quality: An Overview … 1 1.1 Introduction … 2 1.2 Overview of the Manuscripts … 4 1.3 Principal Research Contributions … 13 References … 16 2 Discretion in the Accounting for Defined Benefit Obligations - An Empirical Analysis of German IFRS Statements … 19 2.1 Introduction … 21 2.2 Literature Review … 25 2.3 Research Approach … 29 2.4 Results … 38 2.5 Conclusion … 45 References … 54 3 The Association between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Earnings Quality - Evidence from European Blue Chips … 59 3.1 Introduction … 61 3.2 Literature Review and Hypothesis Development … 63 3.3 Research Design … 70 3.4 Results … 79 3.5 Conclusion … 88 References … 101 4 Reexamining OCI Pricing - Empirical Analysis of Reporting Location Changes due to IAS 1 (rev. 2007) … 105 4.1 Introduction and Background … 107 4.2 Literature Review … 111 4.3 Research Approach and Hypotheses Development ...114 4.4 Results … 121 4.5 Conclusion … 130 References … 150 5 Short-term and Long-term Effects of IFRS Adoption on Disclosure Quality and Earnings Management … 155 5.1 Introduction … 157 5.2 Institutional Background: The Development of the German Accounting Environment … 161 5.3 Related Literature and Hypotheses Development … 164 5.4 Research Design … 175 5.5 Results … 186 5.6 Conclusion … 195 References … 209

Resultatjustering är ett hot mot trovärdigheten i den finansiella rapporteringen, och är ett ämne som erhållit mycket uppmärksamhet i tidigare forskning. Dock domineras den tidigare forskningen av studier på publika bolag, trots att det givits indikationer på att resultatjustering förekommer mer i en privat kontext. Under senare år har det dessutom framkommit att redovisningsval kan förklaras utifrån ledande befattningshavares individuella karaktärsdrag, förenligt med upper echelons theory. En förutsättning för resultatjustering är således att upprättaren av redovisningen är benägen till det. Förekommandet av resultatjustering i de finansiella rapporterna är utöver en benägenhet från upprättaren även beroende av revisorns förmåga att förhindra det. Eftersom forskning saknas i en svensk privat kontext, finns ett behov av en ökad förståelse om situationer utsatta för resultatjustering både från upprättarens och revisorns perspektiv. Studiens resultat indikerar att resultatjustering förekommer mindre i de svenska privata bolag som drivs av en gift VD. Därtill antyder resultatet att resultatjustering förekommer mindre i de svenska privata bolag som revideras av en kvinnlig revisor, samt i de svenska privata bolag som betalar ett högre revisionsarvode. / Earnings management is a reliability threat in financial reporting, and is a subject which has gained considerable attention in previous research. However, most previous research has focused on public companies, even though indications has been given that earnings management is more prominent in private companies. In recent studies, choices of accounting methods have also showed to be explained by characteristics of the top management, consistent with upper echelons theory. Hence, a precondition for earnings management to occur is a willingness by the accountor to implement it. Besides this willingness, earnings management is affected by the auditor’s ability to prevent it. Due to the empirical gap in a Swedish private context, there is a need for increased understanding of conditions where earnings management tends to occur, both from the perspective of the accountor and the auditor. The study ́s result indicates that earnings management is less present in Swedish private companies with a married CEO. The result further suggests that earnings management is less present in Swedish private companies audited by a female auditor, and in Swedish private companies paying a higher audit fee.

Structural changes in the knowledge economy have greatly affected the way business is conducted and the processes firms create value. The financial reporting system is inadequate as a result of such changes, and disclosure of intellectual capital (IC) information has gained importance for communicating with capital markets. Empirical research documents corporate governance (CG) factors influencing IC disclosure practices, as well as demonstrates the value-relevance and predictive power of IC information. The disclosure of IC information by listed firms is a topic that has attracted considerable attention from contemporary researchers, but scant empirical evidence exists. Much of the researchers has examined CG as a key determinant of IC (and nonfinancial) disclosure; in contrast, few provides evidence for explaining their controversial findings of board independence on disclosure. In addition, a lack of studies confirms the literature about the use of IC information by capital market participants. Therefore, this thesis aims to examine disclosure of IC information in relation to outside directors, auditors, and sell-side analysts respectively. The specific objectives of this thesis are to examine whether outside directors’ expertise is a determinant of IC disclosure; and the extent to which the disclosure of IC information impacts on audit effort and analysts’ forecasts. In order to address these research objectives, a content analysis of IC disclosure (a self-constructed index of 64 coded items) in strategic reports released by FTST 350 companies is used. The content analysis captures and measures IC disclosure by category (i.e., human, structural & relational capital), notion (i.e., static vs. dynamic), and connection (i.e., across categories vs. with strategies). Using multivariate regression models that were primarily developed upon information asymmetry arguments and agency theory, the specific objectives of this thesis are addressed in three empirical chapters. The findings in Chapter 3 showed that proportion of outside directors (NEDs) with cross-directorship, nonaccounting and academia expertise has a positive association with IC disclosures, whereas board independence itself has no effect on the disclosures. The findings indicates that the monitoring role of NEDs alone is inadequate in promoting IC disclosure. Rather, it supports the importance of the dual role (i.e., monitor and advisory) of a supervisory board. The results also respond to the UK CG Code in their recommendation that the combination of skills, experience and knowledge guarantees a sound information environment to the market. Nonetheless, findings raised a further concern about the quantity of IC disclosures when companies have more NEDs with accounting expertise. On whether and how disclosure of IC information impacts on audit effort, Chapter 4 found that firms with high levels of IC disclosure in the previous year pay more audit fees (proxied for audit effort) in the current year regardless of their earnings quality conditions. It was also found that firms greatly disclosing dynamic IC information are charged more than those of focusing on static IC disclosure. In addition, findings in Chapter 5 revealed that there is a negative relation between IC disclosure and analyst forecast errors, indicating that UK sell-side analysts appreciate the disclosure of IC information and thus confirming that IC information has predictive ability of explaining a firm’s future value. It was further identified that disclosed IC information absorbs the negative effect of concentrated executive ownership and opaque financial environment. Overall, the results of this thesis suggest that IC reporting process could be improved by having sufficient outside directors with certain types of expertise on the board. In doing so, improved IC disclosure helps to reduce information asymmetry (proxied by analyst forecast accuracy) between firms and outside investors, albeit firms bear a significant increase in audit fees. This study calls for guidelines for IC disclosure in the UK and the support of assurance services to enhance credibility of firm-provided IC information in a bid to promote the communication of IC information with the capital market.

Diese kumulative Dissertation besteht aus drei eigenständigen Arbeiten aus dem Bereich der Rechnungslegungsforschung. Die erste Arbeit ist eine Befragungsstudie von 137 internationalen Rechnungslegungsforschern über die Fair-Value-Orientierung von 28 lokalen Rechnungslegungssystemen. Anhand der Umfrageergebnisse war es möglich, einen internationalen Fair-Value Score zu bilden. Dieser zeigt, dass das portugiesische, slowenische und das russische Rechnungslegungssystem am meisten und das österreichische, deutsche und italienische Rechnungslegungssystem am wenigsten Fair-Value orientiert ist. Die zweite Arbeit untersucht die Determinanten der Wahl von Rechnungslegungssystemen mittels eines Prinzipal-Agenten-Models. In dem Model kann ein risikoneutraler Entrepreneur (Prinzipal) mit einem Anreiz zur Konsumglättung zwischen zwei Rechnungslegungssystemen wählen. Das Rechnungslegungssystem wird genutzt, um eine effiziente vertragstheoretische Lösung mit dem Manager herbeizuführen und um Informationen über das Unternehmen für Kapitalmarktteilnehmer bereitzustellen. Die Modellergebnisse zeigen, dass der Entrepreneur eher gewillt ist das Fair-Value-orientierte Rechnungslegungssystem zu wählen, wenn die Bedeutung von Eigenkapitalmärkten steigt, die Opportunitätskosten des Managements steigen, die Produktivität des Managements sinkt und die Qualität des Enforcements von Rechnungslegungsregeln abnimmt. Die empirischen Ergebnisse bestätigen größtenteils die theoretischen Erwartungen. Die dritte Arbeit untersucht, ob die verpflichtende Einführung der IFRS bei gleichzeitiger Anpassung des Enforcements zu einer Verbesserung der Ergebnisqualität geführt hat. Die empirischen Ergebnisse sind uneinheitlich und können daher den vermuteten Effekt nicht bestätigen. / This cumulative PhD-thesis consists of three papers within the field of empirical accounting research. The first paper provides descriptive evidence on the fair value orientation of existing local GAAP systems by surveying the perception of 137 international accounting academics about the fair value orientation of 28 local GAAP systems. The survey results enable us to rank countries’ local GAAP systems by their fair value orientation. The score ranking shows that Portuguese, Slovenian and Russian GAAP are the top three and Austrian, German and Italian GAAP are the bottom three of the fair value orientation. Furthermore, we are able to show that the fair value orientation of IFRS is higher than any of the 28 local GAAP systems. The second paper investigates the determinants of financial accounting regime choice in a principal agent setting. The model considers a risk-neutral entrepreneur who needs financial accounting information for contracting with a managerial agent and for communicating the firm value to a risk-averse secondary capital market. The comparative static results indicate that the preference of the entrepreneur for a fair value accounting regime increases with the relative importance of the secondary capital market and the opportunity costs of the managerial agent, while it decreases with the overall quality of the accounting signal, the effectiveness of the enforcement process and managerial productivity. Empirical evidence, which is based on country-year and country-level and US time series analysis, provides support for most of the theoretical predictions. The third paper investigates whether earnings quality effects are more pronounced post mandatory IFRS adoption in countries that substantially changed their enforcement system of accounting standards in comparison to countries that already had a strict enforcement system in place. The empirical analysis gives inconclusive results for the earnings quality measures.

本研究主要探討審計品質與盈餘反應係數之關係，擬回達下列之研究問題：接受高品質會計師事務所查核之公司，其盈餘反應係數是否較接受低品質會計師事務所查核之公司為高。 　　本論文以台灣股票市場民國70年至82年之更換會計師公司為樣本，首先採用未預期盈餘(UE)與股票市場累積異常報酬(CAR)的簡單迴歸分析，嘗試驗證盈餘資訊與股票報酬間之關係；採用盈餘反應係數決定因素的複迴歸分析探討審計品質是否會影響盈餘反應係數。實證結果顯示： 　　一、如以曾經由六大會計師事務所查核財務報表更換為非六大會計師事務所之上市公司，或曾經由非六大會計師事務所更換為六大會計師事務所查核簽證財務報表之上市公司為樣本公司，台灣股票市場之未預期盈餘與異常報酬間方向是一致的，但並不具統計顯著性。 　　二、審計品質是否會影響盈餘反應係數之實證結果：六大會計師事務所客戶之盈餘反應係數是大於非六大的客戶，但亦並不具顯著性。 　　換言之，以國內會計師事務所與美國六大結盟作為衡量高品質的審計品質，其與盈餘反應係數之關係並未如預期呈顯著的正相關。

本研究針對2007年至2011年的非金融產業之上市櫃公司，分析股權結構、公司特性是否為公司內部監察人設置比率及是否設置外部監察人之影響因素，並進一步探討公司監察人內部化比率與外部監察人之存在對公司之經營績效、盈餘品質及財務報導強制重編次數的影響。 實證結果顯示，若公司型態為電子公司、家族企業或集團企業、公司之企業規模、內部人持股比率越大，則該公司內部監察人席次比率越高，且不傾向設置外部監察人。而就公司監察人內部化對公司之經營績效及財務報導品質的影響，實證結果顯示，監察人內部化比率越高之公司，其公司經營績效越差，且被要求強制重編財務報表的次數也較多。但只要存在一位外部監察人，即有助於改善公司之經營績效並降低公司被要求強制重編財務報表的可能性。惟本研究並未發現監察人內部化比率或外部監察人之存在與公司盈餘品質間存在顯著關係。 整體而言，本研究之實證結果顯示公司監察人內部化將使法制上監察人制度所應有之公司治理機能無法發揮，無法提升公司經營績效及財務報導品質。故為讓公司監察人能發揮其制度上應有之功能，公司之監察人，宜由外部人擔任。 / Based on a sample of listed non-financial companies over the period of 2007 to 2011 in Taiwan, this study first investigates the impact of ownership structure and firm characteristics on the internalization of supervisors. A step further, this study examines the effect of internalization of supervisors on firm performance, earnings quality and the frequency of restatement of financial reports. The empirical evidence shows that firms operate in electronic industries, or belong to business groups or owned by families, or with greater shares held by insiders or with larger firm size, are significantly and positively (negatively) associated with the internalization of supervisors (the presence of outside supervisors). The study also finds that firms with higher degree of internalization of supervisors are associated with poorer performance and higher frequency of restating their financial reports. On contrary, we find that firms with at least one outside supervisor are associated with better performance and lower frequency of restating financial reports. However, this study fails to report any association between the internalization of supervisors (or the presence of outside supervisors) and earnings quality measured by accruals. Based on the findings, this study therefore suggests that firms should appoint outsiders to be supervisors in order to better serve the function of the institution of supervisors.

本文以三篇論文討論三個與財務報表向下重編盈餘公司有關的議題：（1）宣告財務報表重編後的長期股票績效；（2）重編公司內部人交易行為；（3）重編公司如何操弄盈餘以及操弄動機為何？ 本文樣本是從1984年1月至2000年12月，557家因為財務報表違法、舞弊或錯誤而宣告需要重編以前財務報表的公司。 第一篇論文討論公司宣告重編後三年長期股票績效。在不同配對組合下，實證結果顯示，三年長期持有異常報酬（buy-and-hold abnormal return）達-34％。文中也討論公司宣告重編時以及後續分析師預測行為。結果發現，分析師對於重編資訊有反應不足的現象，而且三年的盈餘預測修正與長期異常報酬有顯著正相關。 第二篇論文探討盈餘品質與內部人交易行為。本文假設內部人擁有重編公司盈餘品質不良的私有資訊，內部人會利用此私有資訊從事異常交易。實證結果顯示，內部人早在重編前兩年就已經開始異常出售持股，但是為了避免被發現，愈接近重編期間則交易量愈少，而且內部人異常交易與重編金額成正相關。 第三篇論文採取應計項目分項的方法（disaggregate approach）探討重編項目與特定應計項目的關連性以及重編公司違反一般公認會計原則的動機。實證結果顯示，特定重編項目公司的總應計項目比特定應計項目更顯著。很可能是管理當局為了避免操弄特定項目以致於被發現，所以操弄各種應計項目以達到總金額的目標。尤其在不同盈餘管理動機的成本效益的考量下，如果操弄主要應計項目的效益大於成本，管理當局還是會操弄特定應計項目以達到操弄的目的。因此，應計項目分項的方法可以作為進一步探討盈餘管理的方法。 / This dissertation examines three different aspects of downward earnings restatements in three essays: (1) the long-run stock performance of restatement firms following the announcements of restatements; (2) insider trading activities of earnings restatement firms; and (3) how earnings manipulations of restatement firms are effected and what are the incentives for earnings manipulations? Using extensive keyword (i.e., “restatements,” “restate,” “restated,” “restates,” and “restating”) searches over the period from January 1, 1984 through December 31, 2000, 557 firms are identified as having restated their previously published or filed financial statements due to accounting irregularities, fraud, or errors. The first essay examines the post earnings restatement announcement of long-term stock performance. Using various benchmark portfolio formulation strategies, I document an average buy-and-hold abnormal return of -34% over the 36-month horizon. I then investigate analysts’ forecast behavior around and after the restatement announcements. I find that market underreactions are associated with a sluggish forecast revisions by financial analysts. This study sheds light on how restatement information is transmitted to the capital markets and provides evidence that the market under reacts to externally initiated corporate events. The second essay examines the relationship between earnings quality and insider trading. Using downward earnings restatement firms to identify low-quality earnings, I find that insiders outsell non-earnings restatement firms of their holdings over the period from two years before to one year before the beginning of the restatement period. In addition, the amounts of restatement are positively associated with the excess insider selling. I also provide evidence that excess insider selling predicts excessive earnings manipulations that eventually lead to GAAP violation. In the third essay, I take advantage of the disclosed manipulation of items and approach the earnings manipulation issue by a disaggregate approach. Given that management considers cost/benefits of specific accruals to be manipulated, I examine whether management chooses different items to manipulate under different goals. Overall, the empirical results support the equity offering hypothesis and weakly support the meeting earnings threshold hypothesis. However, the results fail to support the avoidance of debt covenant violation hypothesis, indicating that manipulation under certain monitoring conditions can be conducted in a very subtle manner.