Reporting misstatements as revisions: An evaluation of managers' use of materiality discretion

IF 3.2 3区 管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE
Rachel A. Thompson
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

In recent years, firms reporting revisions of prior financial statements outnumber those reporting restatements. Misstatements that are material to prior periods are required to be reported as restatements, whereas immaterial errors can be reported as revisions. Based on SEC guidance and widely used materiality benchmarks, I find a significant percentage (29%) of revisions are suspect in that they meet at least one materiality criterion. These suspect revisions are 15% to 29% more likely to be reported when managers have a strong incentive to avoid restatements—when they face the threat of a compensation clawback for reporting a restatement. This result is especially salient when the clawback policy does not require misconduct for recoupment and when the error correction significantly reduces prior period net income. Overall, this evidence suggests that some managers use materiality discretion opportunistically to report misstatements as revisions instead of restatements.

作为修订报告错报:对管理人员使用重大裁量权的评价
近年来,报告修订先前财务报表的公司数量超过了报告重述的公司数量。对前期重大的错报应当以重述形式报告,而不重大的错报可以以修订形式报告。根据美国证券交易委员会的指导和广泛使用的重要性基准,我发现相当大比例(29%)的修订是可疑的,因为它们至少满足一个重要性标准。当管理者有强烈的动机避免重述时,当他们面临因报告重述而获得补偿的威胁时,这些可疑的修改被报告的可能性会增加15%到29%。当收回政策不要求不当行为进行补偿,当错误纠正大大减少前期净收入时,这一结果尤其突出。总的来说,这一证据表明,一些管理人员利用重要性酌情权机会性地将错报报告为修订而不是重述。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
6.20
自引率
11.10%
发文量
97
期刊介绍: Contemporary Accounting Research (CAR) is the premiere research journal of the Canadian Academic Accounting Association, which publishes leading- edge research that contributes to our understanding of all aspects of accounting"s role within organizations, markets or society. Canadian based, increasingly global in scope, CAR seeks to reflect the geographical and intellectual diversity in accounting research. To accomplish this, CAR will continue to publish in its traditional areas of excellence, while seeking to more fully represent other research streams in its pages, so as to continue and expand its tradition of excellence.
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