Business Commons^™

Internal Controls And Conditional Conservatism, Beng Wee Goh, Dan Li

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This study examines the relation between internal controls and conditional conservatism (“conservatism”), also referred to as timely loss recognition. Using a sample of firms that disclose material weaknesses (MWs) in internal controls under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), we find a positive relation between internal control quality and conservatism. Specifically, firms with MWs exhibit lower conservatism than firms without such weaknesses. Further, firms that disclose MWs and subsequently remediate these weaknesses exhibit greater conservatism than firms that continue to have MWs. Overall, these results are consistent with strong internal controls acting as a mechanism that facilitates conservatism. Our study contributes to …

The Effect Of Ownership Concentration, Board Of Directors, Audit Committee And Ethnicity On Conservative Accounting : Malaysian Evidence, Rahimah Mohamed Yunos

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines whether ownership concentration, board of directors, audit
committee and ethnicity of directors affect conservative accounting. Additionally,
this thesis examines whether the impact of firms’ governance on conservatism is
moderated by ownership concentration. Previous evidence has suggested that
conservative accounting controls the agency problem, but so far, there is no
evidence that it is applicable in Malaysian firms, as firms are closely held by the
controlling shareholders.

This thesis employs panel data on Malaysian listed companies observed over
seven years from 2001 to 2007. Malaysian firms are chosen as the sample
because they provide a useful setting for …