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An empirical examination of the usefulness of value-added and cash flow from operations in a South African context

Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Returns and the ability to statistically formulate the association between returns and other
accounting variables have increased in significance to investors. Over the past three decades
substantial effort in the subject-field of accounting research has been devoted to the definition
of this association between earnings and firm values. The fundamental issue is the
information content of earnings and the value thereof to investors. Usefulness, in the
returns/prices context, can be defined as the R2 of the regression of returns/prices on earnings
(Lev, 1989: 156). Empirical evidence consistently shows that earnings are a statistically
significant explanatory variable.
A natural extension aiming at improving the empirical results is to incorporate GAAP-related
alternative information. One approach followed by numerous researchers is to decompose
earnings into components, and show that the components provide more information than
earnings alone. Another approach is to include additional variables such as working capital
from operations and cash flow from operations (eFO) in the regression models. The empirical
results generally showed that earnings components and other GAAP-related variables have
explanatory powers. The improvements in the predictive capability (measured by R2) of these
models were restricted.
Lev (1989: 181 - 182) suggested an intrepid research direction that departs from GAAP by
investigating the alternative definitions of earnings. Limited empirical studies on value-added
to date have shown that it is a useful measure of performance. For example, Bao and Bao
(1989) empirically demonstrated that value-added is positively associated with firm value in
certain industries. The analysis employed, however, was the firm valuation analysis. Recently
developed levels and changes analyses were not used. In 1998 Bao and Bao completed
another study using earnings as a benchmark. Firm valuation analysis, levels analysis and
changes analysis were all performed to evaluate the explanatory power of value-added. The
results show that value-added is a significant explanatory variable and its explanatory power
is higher than that of earnings.
The results obtained in this research project indicate that in the South African context
earnings is statistically the most explanatory variable. This is divergent from the findings
obtained in other research performed in this area, where value-added was indicated as the statistically most significant variable. It does appear that the explanatory power of valueadded
tends to increase over the review period. This can possibly be attributed to the relative
novelty of value-added in South Africa as opposed to Europe and the USA. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Opbrengste en die vermoë om die verhouding tussen aandeelpryse en rekeningkundige
veranderlikes statisties te formuleer, wek toenemende belangstelling by beleggers. Oor die
afgelope drie dekades het daar 'n noemenswaardige skuif in die fokus op die vakgebied van
rekeningkundige navorsing plaasgevind. Aansienlik meer tyd word gespandeer om die
verhouding tussen aandeelpryse en die waarde van firmas te kwantifiseer in statistiese
modelle. Die onderliggende begrip vir die navorsing is die informasie-inhoud en die inherente
waarde wat opbrengste vir beleggers lewer. Waarde, in die opbrengste/pryse konteks, kan as
die R2 van die regressie van aandeelpryse teenoor opbrengste gedefinieer word (Lev, 1989:
156). Empiriese navorsing toon konstant aan dat verdienste 'n statistiese beduinde
veranderlike is.
Die logiese ontwikkeling gerig op die verbetering van die empiriese resultate is om
alternatiewe GAAP veranderlikes te inkorporeer. Een benadering wat deur menige navorsers
gevolg is, is om opbrengste in komponente te onderverdeel en sodoende te bewys dat die
komponente meer informasie-inhoud verskaf as opbrengste in geheel. 'n Alternatiewe
benadering is om addisionele veranderlikes soos bedryfskapitaal en kontantvloei in die
regressie modelle in te sluit. In die algemeen toon die empiriese resultate dat die komponente
van opbrengste en ander GAAP-verwante veranderlikes wel beskrywende moontlikhede het.
Die verbetering in die statistiese vooruitskattings vermoë (gemeet deur R2) van hierdie
modelle was wel beperk.
Lev (1989: 181 - 182) het 'n radikale nuwe navorsings-benadering voorgestel wat afwyk van
GAAP deur alternatiewe definisies van opbrengste te ondersoek. Tot op datum toon die
beperkte hoeveelheid empiriese navorsing op toegevoegde waarde dat dit wel 'n
noemenswaardige mate van opbrengste is. Byvoorbeeld, Bao en Bao (1989) het empiries
bewys dat toegevoegde waarde positief geassosieer is met firma waarde in sekere industrieë.
Slegs die firma valuasiemodel is gebruik om die analise uit te voer en nie die onlangs
ontwikkelde vlakke en veranderingsanalises nie. In 1998 het Bao en Bao nog 'n studie
onderneem met opbrengste as die maatstaf. Firma valuasie, vlakke analise en veranderingsanalise
is alles toegepas om die beskrywende moontlikhede van toegevoegde waarde te
ondersoek. Die resultate toon dat toegevoegde waarde 'n noemenswaardige beskrywende
veranderlike is, meer so as opbrengste. Die resultate van hierdie studie projek toon dat in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks, verdienste die
mees beduidendste statistiese veranderlike is. Dit is teenstrydig met die bevindinge van ander
navorsers, waar toegevoegde waarde statisties meer beduidend is. Dit wil wel voorkom asof
toegevoegde waarde se statistiese informasie-inhoud toegeneem het oor die relevante periode.
Dit kan moontlik toegeskryf word aan die relatiewe onlangse bekendstelling in toegevoegde
waarde in Suid-Afrika in teenstelling met Europa en die VSA.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/70096
Date12 1900
CreatorsYoung, Roland David
ContributorsHamman, W. D., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Graduate School of Business.
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
Detected LanguageUnknown
TypeThesis
Format119 p. : ill.
RightsStellenbosch University

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