{"title":"Geographic distance and tax fundamentals: An empirical analysis of location choice of Japanese firms’ outbound mergers and acquisitions","authors":"Yanwen Jiang","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22649","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jcaf.22649","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The deterrent effect of geographic distance on international expansion has been extensively examined in extant literature; however, little is known about whether tax-related firm-level characteristics could moderate the deterrent effect although both merger and acquisition (M&A) location decisions and tax-related decisions involve considerable managerial judgments. Results using data on Japanese firms’ outbound M&A from 2010 to 2020 after Japan shifted from a worldwide tax system to a territorial tax system show that the deterrent effect of geographic distance is moderated by high tax avoidance, use of a tax consolidation regime, and a high level of deferred tax asset (DTA) balance. Additionally, we find that the 2017 Tax Reform on Japanese controlled foreign company (CFC) rules reduced the moderating effect of use of a consolidation regime, whereas it enhanced the moderating effect of a high level of DTA balance. These results call for a radical change in further research on various distances to incorporate insight from a tax perspective.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"35 1","pages":"11-37"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133767610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corporate teamwork culture and management earnings forecast quality","authors":"Wenye Tang, Chunhao Xu, Lili Gai","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22646","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22646","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We examine the relationship between corporate teamwork culture and firms’ voluntary disclosure, specifically management earnings forecast quality. A new measure of corporate teamwork culture is used, which was calculated using a machine learning approach to analyze earnings call transcripts through a novel word embedding model. We find that firms with stronger corporate teamwork culture are more likely to issue earnings forecasts and file 8-K forms. Further analysis reveals that the corporate teamwork culture score is positively associated with the quality of management earnings forecast. It implies that firms with a stronger teamwork culture issue more accurate earnings forecasts as human harmony cooperation and strong employee responsibility help reduce errors in earnings forecasts. Our new empirical results contribute to the voluntary disclosure and corporate culture literature.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"34 4","pages":"237-243"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50133875","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impacts of business ethics and diversity on ESG disclosure: Evidence from Hong Kong","authors":"Kwok Yip Cheung, Chung Yee Lai","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22644","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22644","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper investigates the effects of board cultural diversity, audit committee experience diversity as well as business ethics on the effectiveness of oversight quality on ESG performance. Using Generalized Moments of Methods (GMM), we examine the ESG performance of the firms listed in the Hong Kong Hang Seng Composite Index between 2010 and 2015. We find that board cultural diversity and business ethics have positive correlations with ESG performance while audit committee experience diversity has a negative correlation with ESG performance. In our additional analysis, we observe that board cultural diversity is critical for improving social performance and business ethics is essential for improving environmental and social performance. However, audit committee experience diversity limits firm performance in three areas (environmental, social, and governance) of ESG performance. This is the first study that provides insights to both policymakers and practitioners by highlighting the importance of optimizing the levels of diversity and mandating the improvement of business ethics.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"34 4","pages":"208-221"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50124358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhammad Shaheer Nuhu, Zauwiyah Ahmad, Lim Ying Zhee
{"title":"Investigating earnings management practices and the role of the board and committees in emerging markets: Evidence from Malaysian public companies","authors":"Muhammad Shaheer Nuhu, Zauwiyah Ahmad, Lim Ying Zhee","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22642","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study was aims to examine the significant elements of the audit and board committee in predicting earnings management (EM) for the period of 2010–2021. The study population comprised total number of 775 listed firms on Bursa Malaysia's main market. The annual audited financial statements and reports of the listed firms, firm's websites, Bloomberg and the Bursa Malaysia website were used as method of data collection. The analytical method used in the current study was descriptive statistic and GLS methods of panel regression. The findings of this study suggested that firms with effective CG mechanisms such as, audit committee size (AUDSIZ), audit committee financial expertise (AUDFEXPT), remuneration and nomination committee (R&NC), supervisory board size (SBS), mitigates accrual, and REM. However, the findings also indicated that gender composition (CGEND) were found to be ineffective in predicting EM.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"34 4","pages":"174-192"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50121780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"IFRS diffusion and earnings quality: Moderating role of firm size and IFRS specialists","authors":"Manish Bansal","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22643","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22643","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The study investigates the learning curve impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on earnings quality. In other words, the study investigates how IFRS affects the quality of earnings over time. The study also examines the moderating role of firm size and IFRS specialists/experts on the issue. We use firm-level data of Bombay Stock Exchange listed firms and analyze it through the “Difference in Difference” technique. We find that the association between IFRS and earnings quality changes favorably as the introduction grows longer. In particular, we find that earnings quality is lower during the initial years of IFRS adoption, however, it improves in the later years of adoption, consistent with the notion of diffusion and learning curve theory. Our subsequent tests suggest that small firms are taking more time to percolate through the IFRS system, however, it does not hold when small firms hire IFRS specialists/experts to migrate their older accounts to IFRS, consistent with the notion of resource dependency theory of innovation. Overall, IFRS is found to be a continuous improvement process in emerging nations whose benefit can be derived in the initial years by providing sufficient infrastructural and institutional support, particularly to small firms. Our findings are robust to the problem of endogeneity and offer real-world ramifications for regulatory authorities, accounting-standard setters, and investors.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"34 4","pages":"222-236"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50121398","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of director blockholders on abnormal accruals and inventory","authors":"Eric Valenzuela, Ying Chen","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22641","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22641","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper empirically analyzes the impact that director blockholders have on earnings management. We argue that having a blockholder serve on the board of directors will improve a firm's corporate governance due to having both the ability and incentive to correct problems in a firm. We provide evidence that the presence of blockholders on the board of directors lowers the amount of abnormal working capital accruals caused by CEO incentives. We show that this is primarily done by reducing abnormal increases in inventory. This finding is most robust among busy boards, providing evidence that director blockholders can provide strong corporate governance in the absence of an attentive board of directors. Our findings suggest that director blockholders can provide an important role for firms and may prevent managers from taking value-destroying actions.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"34 4","pages":"193-207"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50144837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of risk on capital structure adjustments: Evidence from the African markets","authors":"Lydie Myriam Marcelle Amelot, Ushad Subadar Agathee, Boopendrah Seetanah","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22634","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22634","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Employing panel data analysis, the study investigated the impact of risk on speed and costs of adjustments on target leverage on listed firms from the African markets—a panel data set of 2790 observations for 12 years spanning from 2008 to 2019. Based on the results of the Unit root test and Granger causality test, there are bidirectional relationships between risk and capital structure and vice versa. Additionally, Panel DOLS and System GMM were applied for regression and comparison analysis between the African markets and South Africa. The estimates disclose that when companies experience lower risk, the costs of adjustment toward the target are higher. Hence, companies can re-adjust their capital structure more easily by issuing external capital over periods of stable economic environments, thereby improving their market value. Considering the case of South Africa, the first DOLS results outlined similar estimates compared to the African market. Conversely, when measured with System GMM, the estimates imply that firms incur difficulties in adjusting costs, thus reducing leverage due to unfavorable macroeconomic indicators in line with the pecking order theory stating that in African economies, companies spend more on expenses and adjust their capital structure slowly to reach their optimal target position.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"34 4","pages":"122-142"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50147436","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dividend smoothing and ownership concentration: Evidence from Latin America","authors":"Tamara Tigero, Rodrigo Saens, Augusto Castillo","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22639","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We evaluate the impact of ownership concentration on dividend smoothing for six Latin American economies characterized by both a low level of investor protection and high ownership concentration. Using a panel data set, we find that firms with higher ownership concentration tend to engage more in dividend smoothing, which is more evident for firms with high growth opportunities and greater financial constraints. Our results also show that companies with a mandatory minimum dividend rule (Brazil and Chile) do not engage in dividend smoothing as much as companies without this regulation (Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru). These results are consistent with the idea that in countries where the legal system does not protect minority shareholders, firms would smooth dividends to build a reputation for moderation in expropriating shareholders. According to our results, this need for reputation would be more important for firms with high ownership concentration, more growth opportunities, and greater financial constraints.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"34 4","pages":"108-121"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50126691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The generalist CEO pay premium and CEO risk aversion","authors":"Leila Zbib, Kwadwo Asare","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22638","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22638","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We investigate whether and how managerial risk aversion influences the structuring of the generalist pay premium. We use three candidate variables for managerial risk aversion: the CEO's equity portfolio vega, decision horizon, and wealth. We find that equity-based pay differs between generalist CEOs (who have broader experience spanning several industries) and non-generalist CEOs (who tend to have narrower, specialized industry-specific experience) based on their risk appetite. Further, how the generalist pay premium is structured depends on the risk aversion measure. Because generalist CEOs tend to be better paid than their counterparts, understanding their risk aversion level will help companies improve the structure of these CEOs’ compensation packages, and ultimately those of all CEOs. When vega is the risk aversion measure, CEOs get compensated for bearing risk. However, generalist CEOs with high vegas suffer a “risk discount” in their compensation. These generalist CEOs are associated with lower cash, equity, and total pay. CEOs with longer decision horizons get more equity and less cash, but this structuring does not extend to the generalist CEOs. Finally, wealthier CEOs get more cash and total pay. However, generalist CEOs who are wealthier get less cash pay.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"34 4","pages":"89-107"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50120799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Shareholder activism: Further evidence on the relationship between activists’ demands and shareholder value creation","authors":"Niklas Hoss, Korbinian Eichner","doi":"10.1002/jcaf.22635","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22635","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This research article analyses activist hedge fund campaigns and studies both shareholder value effects around the announcement of a campaign and the value creation over the entire campaign period. Further, we analyze observable returns by campaign objectives. We examine a sample of 197 international activism campaigns, initiated between 2014 and 2019. Significant Cumulative Average Abnormal Returns (CAARs) can be observed in both the short-term and the entire engagement period event windows. The results from activism differ by an activist investor's objectives and demands. CAARs related to elimination of a general undervaluation, a maximization of shareholder value, and an adjustment of a target firm's capital structure are the highest in our sample. We do not find empirical evidence that board representation or proxy fights increase the CAARs of activist investors’ campaigns. Our study adds to the existing literature by analyzing abnormal returns not only around the announcement of the campaign but also over the entire campaign. We are of the opinion that relying exclusively on short-term returns poses significant limitations to inferences on shareholder value from activism and therefore applying a longer-term observation period is warranted.</p>","PeriodicalId":44561,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance","volume":"34 4","pages":"157-173"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50120798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}