本文精选了会计学领域国际顶刊《The Accounting Review》近期发表的论文，提供会计学领域最新的学术动态。

The Effect of Financial Statement Incomparability on Investment Decisions

原刊和作者：

The Accounting Review Volume 98 Issue 3

Spencer B. Anderson （University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign）

Abstract

I use standard setters’ description of comparability to conceptualize two forms of incomparability in financial reporting. Using a laboratory experiment, I construct states of both comparability and incomparability and investigate investors’ capital allocation decisions under each. Benchmarking against states of comparable reporting, I find that incomparable reporting making different economics look alike results in lower-quality investment decisions, relative to incomparable reporting making similar economics look different. My evidence suggests the difference in investment quality is due to the reduced ability of supplemental disclosures to compensate for one type of incomparability relative to the other type. The study uses a setting holding other reporting characteristics, such as faithful representation, constant, and results are robust to alternative configurations of incomparability. Collectively, my results suggest that the type of incomparability has differential effects on the quality of investment decisions. My findings should inform standard setters aiming to help users allocate capital.

Link: https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-2019-0638

The Effect of Telecommuting on Information Acquisition: Evidence from the U.S. Patent Office

原刊和作者：

The Accounting Review Volume 98 Issue 3

In Gyun Baek （National University of Singapore）

Abstract

I examine whether telecommuting, a work arrangement in which employees do not travel to a workplace, affects the acquisition of new information in an environment where thorough search and acquisition of information are essential. On the one hand, telecommuting may impede information acquisition due to reduced communication with colleagues. On the other hand, telecommuting may facilitate information acquisition due to relaxed time pressure (via not having to commute) and increased attentional resources (via quieter and uninterrupted working environments). I find employees' acquisition of new information increases following telecommuting. Further, I find that this effect is greater for employees under greater time pressure and employees experiencing greater distractions at the workplace before telecommuting and find that telecommuting causes adverse consequences for employees least responsive to organizations' incentive systems. Finally, I find that work quality improves following telecommuting. My results suggest telecommuting benefits employees performing knowledge-intensive tasks by facilitating employees' information acquisition.

Link: https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-2020-0153

Formalizing the Informal: Adopting a Formal Culture-Fit Measurement System in the Employee-Selection Process

原刊和作者：

The Accounting Review Volume 98 Issue 3

Wei Cai （Columbia University）

Abstract

Many organizations rely on formal management control systems that align employee values with organizational values (i.e., culture fit) to shape organizational culture. Using proprietary data from a highly decentralized organization, I examine employee-performance consequences of adopting a formal culture-fit measurement system in employee selection. I exploit the staggered feature of the adoption of the system and find that employees selected with the system perform significantly better than those without the system. However, the performance consequences of adopting the culture-fit measurement system exhibit significant variation, depending on (1) alignment of existing local culture and organizational values and (2) noise in the measurement of culture fit due to applicants’ gaming behavior. Taken together, this study implies that the adoption of a formal culture-fit measurement system can potentially alleviate difficulties in instilling organizational values and highlights the conditions under which such a system can be more effective in facilitating the diffusion of organizational culture.

Link: https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-2020-0753

Do Firms Respond to Peer Disclosures? Evidence from Disclosures of Clinical Trial Results

原刊和作者：

The Accounting Review Volume 98 Issue 3

Vedran Capkun （HEC Paris）

Yun Lou （Singapore Management University）

Clemens A. Otto （Singapore Management University）

Yin Wang （Singapore Management University）

Abstract

Using data on the registration of clinical trials and the disclosure of trial results, we examine how firms respond to peer disclosures. We find that firms are less likely to disclose their own trial results if the results of a larger number of closely related trials are disclosed by their peers. This relation is stronger if the firms face higher competition (as measured by the number of competing trials). It is weaker if the firms are further along in their research than the peers (as measured by the trials’ phase) and if the peers’ disclosures convey more negative news (as measured by the firms’ stock price reaction). We also find that firms are more likely to abandon ongoing trials if a larger number of peers disclose the results of closely related trials. Additional tests suggest that this real effects channel does not drive the impact on the firms’ disclosure decisions.

Link: https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-2019-0137

Accounting for Leases and Corporate Investment

The Accounting Review Volume 98 Issue 3

Ciao-Wei Chen （University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign）

Maria Correia （The London School of Economics and Political Science）

Oktay Urcan （University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign）

Abstract

We examine the real effects of lease-capitalization rules (i.e., standards that require firms to capitalize finance leases) on corporate investment. We show that the introduction of these rules leads to a decrease in investment, which is more pronounced for firms with high reliance on leases. We posit and find that lease capitalization affects investment via a learning channel and a contracting channel. Regarding the first channel, we argue that managers identify areas of overinvestment and activities that should be discontinued or downsized because of the information they collect and analyze to comply with lease-capitalization rules. Accordingly, we find that the effect of lease capitalization is stronger when learning opportunities are higher. Regarding the second channel, we argue that lease capitalization affects investment via its effect on contracts. Accordingly, we document an increase in the likelihood of covenant breaches and a stronger decline in investment for financially constrained firms.

Link: https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-2018-0406