{"title":"Coping strategy of independent directors for job-fulfillment risk under different ownership types and enforced legal environments","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100392","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100392","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ownership type, legal system evolution and their interaction significantly affect the incentives and behaviors of independent directors. We use the 2019 <em>Securities Law</em> revision as an exogenous shock to examine how state-owned enterprises (SOEs) versus non-SOEs and their independent directors respond to variations in regulatory compliance risk. Following the revision, SOEs are more likely to purchase directors’ and officers’ liability insurance to provide job security for independent directors. Non-SOEs are more likely to compensate for independent directors’ fulfillment risk by increasing salaries and their independent directors are more likely to resign to avoid litigation risk. The coping strategies for SOEs, non-SOEs and independent directors are dynamic under different compliance risk stages and are affected by firm-level and director-level characteristics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142532909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How does digital transformation affect corporate accounting employees?","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100391","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100391","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid pace of digitalization has given rise to concerns about its influence on job roles. Our findings reveal a substitution effect on accounting employees. This effect is more evident in private firms, firms with higher levels of digital transformation in their accounting departments, firms in the information technology industry, firms with overconfident managers and firms with a higher-level network infrastructure. Digitalization also has a positive effect on technically skilled and highly educated employees, leading to a decline in the proportion of entry-level employees. We also document that digitalization contributes to more efficient labor investment. Our study therefore offers insights into how digital transformation can change the labor market for accounting employees.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142532910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"ESG performance and cost of debt","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100390","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100390","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We analyze China Securities Index Co., Ltd. (CSI) environmental, social and governance (ESG) scoring data, which incorporate Chinese characteristics, to assess the impact of ESG performance on corporate debt financing costs. Our findings indicate that better CSI ESG scores are correlated with lower debt financing costs. Additionally, improvements in local environmental execution enhance the effect of CSI ESG scores on debt financing costs. However, this effect diminishes with increased internal control quality and marketization. Governance has the greatest impact on reducing debt financing costs, followed by social and environmental factors. Superior CSI ESG scores reduce corporate debt financing costs by enhancing debt repayment capacity and reducing information asymmetry. Economic consequence analysis confirms that lower financing costs, driven by improved ESG performance, significantly enhance total factor productivity and firm value. CSI ESG scores also significantly impact bank loans but not corporate bond financing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142532814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Personal data security and stock crash risk: Evidence from China’s Cybersecurity Law","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100393","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100393","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Using China’s Cybersecurity Law (CSL) as an exogenous shock, I examine how personal data security affects stock crash risk. I find that the stock crash risk of treatment firms (which collect personal data) significantly decreases after the CSL, and such decrease is larger when firms face greater personal data breach risk and have less transparent information environments before the CSL. Furthermore, treatment firms increase their investment in personal data protection after the CSL. Finally, enhanced personal data security increases firm value and promotes firms’ social responsibility to stakeholders. Overall, I provide evidence of the importance of data security for the digital economy from the perspective of capital market stability, which may present implications for data security policy worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142532905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Economic policy uncertainty and firms’ investments in venture capital funds: Evidence from China","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100389","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100389","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The latest business practice in the Chinese venture capital (VC) market involves the active participation of non-financial firms, as limited partners, in VC funds. Exploiting a unique hand-collected dataset from China, we find that economic policy uncertainty is positively related to the propensity of firms to participate in VC funds. Cross-sectional tests show that the positive effect of policy uncertainty on the likelihood of participating in VC funds is enhanced by industrial growth opportunities. Furthermore, economic consequence tests show that participating in VC funds is conducive to improving investment efficiency, increasing innovation performance and promoting product diversification. This study advances our understanding of firms’ investment decisions and the VC industry development amid economic policy uncertainty.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142532815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Industrial internet technology, resource reallocation and corporate risk-taking capacity: Evidence from the strategic management perspective","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100387","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100387","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>By employing machine learning techniques and the Word2Vec model, we quantify the micro-level implementation of Industrial Internet technology in Chinese manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2022. This provides empirical evidence for understanding how the Industrial Internet technology enhances corporate risk-taking capability. Our study shows that adopting this technology increases risk-taking capacity, mainly through resource reallocation. The information layer empowers improvements in organizational structure, the platform layer optimizes labor resources, and the edge/software layers facilitate the integration of supply chain resources. The effect is more pronounced in firms that are technology- and labor-intensive, particularly in environments of high economic policy uncertainty. In conclusion, the Industrial Internet boosts total factor productivity by fostering increased risk-taking.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142532908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Voluntary resignation of independent directors and auditor responses: Empirical evidence from Chinese A-share listed firms","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100386","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100386","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine auditor responses to the voluntary resignation of independent directors. We show that auditors respond by increasing audit fees or rescinding engagement with their clients, but not by increasing their audit effort. Mechanism tests reveal that independent directors’ voluntary resignation leads to increased regulatory sanctions and negative media coverage, these relationships are more pronounced after the New Securities Law. Auditor response strategies follow an order of priority: at an acceptable level of perceived risk, auditors increase audit fees; when perceived risk exceeds this level, auditors will discontinue the client relationship. Auditors associate greater risk with firms that have (vs. have not) experienced consecutive voluntary resignations by independent directors. Mandatory resignation has no such effect.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142532907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Overseas operations and corporate financial asset allocation","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100388","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100388","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Using data on Chinese listed companies for 2008–2018, we find that firms participating in overseas operations, proxied by overseas subsidiaries, generally have higher financial asset allocations than other firms. At the micro level, the effects are more pronounced when the parent company faces serious financing constraints, has no overseas returned executives, has a business that is inconsistent with that of its overseas subsidiaries and has overseas subsidiaries that experience losses. At the macro level, the effects are more pronounced when overseas operations are in OECD and Belt and Road countries, or in areas with higher economic or political risks and greater investment opportunities. Financial asset allocation helps mitigate cash flow fluctuations and operational risks for multinational firms. This study advances research on the determinants of financial asset allocation and has implications relevant to the Chinese government’s “Go Global” and Belt and Road strategies and its efforts to realize a developed financial sector to service the Chinese economy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142532906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Media coverage and price reactions to earnings news","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100379","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100379","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, we find that relative to firms with less media coverage, stock price sensitivity to positive (negative) earnings surprises in earnings announcements of firms with greater media coverage is stronger (weaker). This asymmetry in the effect of media coverage on stock price sensitivity to positive versus negative earnings surprises suggests that greater media coverage of earnings announcements intensifies stock price reactions to positive earnings surprises but attenuates reactions to negative earnings surprises. Moreover, we find that negative earnings news is less persistent for firms with greater media coverage. Overall, our findings support the conjecture that greater media coverage increases managers’ incentive to avoid future negative news, thereby reducing the persistence of poor financial performance and weakening price reactions to negative earnings news.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309124000376/pdfft?md5=10a1b02fe2d111744a248d7f94e26ae3&pid=1-s2.0-S1755309124000376-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141846580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of big data tax administration on corporate ESG—A quasi-natural experiment based on Golden Tax Project III","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100378","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2024.100378","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices are pivotal to global sustainability yet face challenges. Based on the implementation of Golden Tax Project III, we find that big data tax administration decreases corporate ESG performance. Mechanism tests indicate that Golden Tax Project III can reduce tax avoidance, cash flow and green innovation, thereby inhibiting ESG through the “taxation effect.” Conversely, the project can reduce agency costs and improve information transparency, thus promoting ESG performance through the “governance effect.” Overall, however, the project inhibits corporate ESG performance. According to further analysis, the negative effect on ESG performance mainly impacts the environmental responsibility (<em>E</em>) element. This paper provides insights relevant to advancing China’s “dual carbon” policy and formulating a “Chinese approach” to global sustainable development.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309124000364/pdfft?md5=40793af6a2fd79fcf9a7c0c9a60e1699&pid=1-s2.0-S1755309124000364-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141694590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}