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Societal Trust And Corporate Tax Avoidance, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald Lobo Dec 2018

Societal Trust And Corporate Tax Avoidance, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald Lobo

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using aninternational sample of firms from 25 countries and a country-level index for societal trust, we document that societal trust is negatively associated with tax avoidance, even after controlling for other institutional determinants, such as home country legal institutions and tax system characteristics.We explore the effects of two country-level institutional characteristics—strength of lega linstitutions and capital market pressure—on the relation between societal trust and tax avoidance. We find that the relation between trust and tax avoidance is less pronounced when legal institutions in a country are stronger and is more pronounced when capital market pressure is stronger. Finally, we examine …


Studying The Relationship Between Performance And Z-Scores For Manufacturing Firms In Singapore, See Liang Foo, Shaakalya Pathak Nov 2018

Studying The Relationship Between Performance And Z-Scores For Manufacturing Firms In Singapore, See Liang Foo, Shaakalya Pathak

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Singapore is a key leading economy in the Asia Pacific region. This study examines the relationship between the financial health, as measured by the Altman Z-Score, and corporate performance, as measured by the Return on Equity (ROE), of listed manufacturing companies in this market. A linear regression has been conducted between these variables to determine the magnitude and direction of their relationships. The trends of Z-Scores over a five-year period have also been analysed.The analysis covers the period from 2013 to 2017 (inclusive) and yields a statistically positive correlation between ROE and the Z-Score for the market. Singapore registered relatively …


Don’S Column: Singapore Corporate Tax Rate: Is It Really A Flat Rate?, Teng Aun Khoo, Clement Tan Kai Guan Oct 2018

Don’S Column: Singapore Corporate Tax Rate: Is It Really A Flat Rate?, Teng Aun Khoo, Clement Tan Kai Guan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

As there is only one corporate tax rate (CTR) in Singapore, it may appear that the Singapore CTR is a single flat rate, currently 17%. However, after taking into account the availability of the partial tax exemption (PTE)scheme, the start-up tax exemption (SUTE) scheme and the corporate income tax rebate (CITR) in Singapore, all of which have an effect of lowering a company’s tax payable, the seemingly flat Singapore CTR is not what it seems to be. Instead, it translates to various progressive tax rates for different tiers of normal chargeable income (NCI).


Zombie Board: Board Tenure And Firm Performance, Sterling Huang, Gilles Hilary Sep 2018

Zombie Board: Board Tenure And Firm Performance, Sterling Huang, Gilles Hilary

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We show that board tenure exhibits an inverted U-shaped relation with firm value and accounting performance. The quality of corporate decisions, such as M&A, financial reporting quality, and CEO compensation, also has a quadratic relation with board tenure. Our results are consistent with the interpretation that directors’ on-the-job learning improves firm value up to a threshold, at which point entrenchment dominates and firm performance suffers. To address endogeneity concerns, we use a sample of firms in which an outside director suffered a sudden death, and find that sudden deaths that move board tenure away from (toward) the empirically observed optimum …


Tax Planning Diffusion, Real Effects, And Sharing Of Benefits, Ling Cen, Edward Maydew, Liandong Zhang, Luo Zuo Aug 2018

Tax Planning Diffusion, Real Effects, And Sharing Of Benefits, Ling Cen, Edward Maydew, Liandong Zhang, Luo Zuo

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We investigate the diffusion of tax planning across firms, and the real effects and sharing of benefits from such diffusion. Using supply chain relationships among firms as a possible diffusion channel, we find that tax planning spreads from principal customers to their dependent suppliers. We find that tax planning diffusion has real effects on product markets and that both parties to the tax planning diffusion share in the benefits. As tax planning diffuses to suppliers, suppliers share the tax savings with their customers by reducing the mark-up on their products. Finally, we show that tax planning diffusion is more pronounced …


Tax Knowledge Diffusion Through Individual Auditor Network Ties: Evidence From China, Chee Yeow Lim, Terry Shevlin, Kun Wang, Yanping Xu Aug 2018

Tax Knowledge Diffusion Through Individual Auditor Network Ties: Evidence From China, Chee Yeow Lim, Terry Shevlin, Kun Wang, Yanping Xu

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This study investigates whether network ties via sharing the same individual auditor influences the diffusion of tax avoidance knowledge. We find that firms with greater connection to low-tax firms through audit partners have lower effective tax rates (ETRs), consistent with tax avoidance knowledge being shared among firms through individual auditor network. The influence of audit network ties on tax avoidance at focal firms is stronger when partners’ tenure in low-tax firms is longer, and when partners have social connection with the top executives of focal firms. In addition, audit fees of focal firms with auditor network ties to low-tax firms …


Why Accountants Should Embrace Machine Learning?, Benjamin Huan Zhou Lee, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow Aug 2018

Why Accountants Should Embrace Machine Learning?, Benjamin Huan Zhou Lee, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

AI and ML are enabling tools that take the tedious gruntwork out of accounting, freeing up professionals to provide valuable insights - as well as professional scepticism - which are sought-after services no machine can replicate.


The Social Capital-Control Nexus: Lessons From Implementation Of Accounting Control Systems In Two Chinese Organizations, Gary Pan Aug 2018

The Social Capital-Control Nexus: Lessons From Implementation Of Accounting Control Systems In Two Chinese Organizations, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

One common theme of Accounting Control System project failure centers on inadequate or inappropriate enactment of effective controls during project implementation. As Accounting Control Systems projects are viewed by many as a social process involving managing relationships among multiple stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and capabilities, there is a growing number of IS researchers that have utilized the social capital theory to examine the enactment of clan control during system implementation. Despite the growing interests, relatively little is known about the relationships between social capital and the formal as well as informal controls. Also, the moderating impact of social capital attributes …


Cross-Country Evidence On The Role Of Independent Media In Constraining Corporate Tax Aggressiveness, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald J. Lobo Jul 2018

Cross-Country Evidence On The Role Of Independent Media In Constraining Corporate Tax Aggressiveness, Kiridaran Kanagaretnam, Jimmy Lee, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald J. Lobo

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using an international sample of firms from 32 countries, we study the relation between media independence and corporate tax aggressiveness. We measure media independence by the extent of private ownership and competition in the media industry. Using an indicator variable for tax aggressiveness when the firm’s corporate tax avoidance measure is within the top quartile of each country-industry combination, we find strong evidence that media independence is associated with a lower likelihood of tax aggressiveness, after controlling for other institutional determinants, including home-country tax system characteristics. We also find that the effect of media independence is more pronounced when the …


Shareholder Litigation And Corporate Disclosure: Evidence From Derivative Lawsuits, Thomas Bourveau, Yun Lou, Rencheng Wang Jun 2018

Shareholder Litigation And Corporate Disclosure: Evidence From Derivative Lawsuits, Thomas Bourveau, Yun Lou, Rencheng Wang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using the staggered adoption of universal demand (UD) laws in the United States, we study the effect of shareholder litigation risk on corporate disclosure. We find that disclosure significantly increases after UD laws make it more difficult to file derivative lawsuits. Specifically, firms issue more earnings forecasts and voluntary 8-K filings, and increase the length of management discussion and analysis (MD&A) in their 10-K filings. We further assess the direct and indirect channels through which UD laws affect firms' disclosure policies. We find that the effect of UD laws on corporate disclosure is driven by firms facing relatively higher ex …


What Does It Take To Become A Partner At A Big 4 Accounting Firm? Insights From Singapore’S Experience, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow, Yang Hoong Pang, Kwong Sin Leong Jun 2018

What Does It Take To Become A Partner At A Big 4 Accounting Firm? Insights From Singapore’S Experience, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow, Yang Hoong Pang, Kwong Sin Leong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Due to the shift in partner’s identity, there have been growing interests in understanding characteristics, skills and behaviours of accounting partners. Given that Big 4 Accounting firms are supposedly international accounting firms that are organized in similar structures, an interesting question of whether the same partner qualities can be applied in the Big 4 accounting firms for a non-western context such as Asia. As far as we know, no such study has been conducted in an Asian context. We argue this could be of great interest to the Big 4 Accounting firms as Asia is one of their fastest growing …


Teaching Internal Control Using A Student-Generated Video Project, Poh Sun Seow, Gary Pan Jun 2018

Teaching Internal Control Using A Student-Generated Video Project, Poh Sun Seow, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Educators consider the video learning approach an effective method to deliver educational content as compared to the traditional method of books and written materials. This paper presents a project that involves student-generated videos to learn internal control in an undergraduate accounting information systems course. We believe that this video learning approach is an engaging way for students to be self-directed learners in learning internal control and complements the written materials in the textbook. The survey results show that most of the respondents viewed the learning experience of the video project positively. The results also indicate that the video project helps …


Individual Lawyers, The Sec Revolving Door, And Comment Letters, Michael Shen, Samuel T. Tan Jun 2018

Individual Lawyers, The Sec Revolving Door, And Comment Letters, Michael Shen, Samuel T. Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Government officials, advocacy groups, and the business press have raised concerns that former SEC employees may continue to influence the SEC after leaving the agency. Using a hand-collected database of individual lawyers that represent firms in responding to SEC comment letters, we examine the impact of individual lawyers, and lawyers formerly employed by the SEC, on the comment letter process. We document significant differences between lawyers and law firms in their clients’ resistance to SEC comment letters, and find that firms that retain former SEC employees are larger, more profitable, and more likely to have received a comment letter raising …


Research Note: Investor Perceptions Of Comparable-To-Industry Versus Higher-Than-Industry Pay Ratio Disclosures, Khim Kelly, Jean Lin Seow Mar 2018

Research Note: Investor Perceptions Of Comparable-To-Industry Versus Higher-Than-Industry Pay Ratio Disclosures, Khim Kelly, Jean Lin Seow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The usefulness of the CEO-to-employee pay ratio disclosure to investors is subject to significant debate. Our experiment examines participant responses to higher-than-industry and comparable-to-industry pay ratio disclosures in a company. A prior experiment by Kelly and Seow (2016) (hereafter KS) found that incrementally disclosing a higher-than-industry pay ratio on top of higher-than-industry CEO pay had indirect negative effects on the company’s perceived investment potential, via negative perceptions about the fairness of the CEO pay and workplace climate. We find that the negative indirect effects of pay ratio disclosures on perceived investment potential in KS are replicable in our study, and …


Financial Reporting Changes And Internal Information Environment: Evidence From Sfas 142, Qiang Cheng, Young Jun Cho, Holly I. Yang Mar 2018

Financial Reporting Changes And Internal Information Environment: Evidence From Sfas 142, Qiang Cheng, Young Jun Cho, Holly I. Yang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Using the adoption of SFAS 142 as an exogenous shock, we examine the effect of changes in financial reporting on firms’ internal information environment. SFAS 142 removed goodwill amortization and required firms to perform a two-step impairment test. We argue that complying with SFAS 142 induces managers to acquire new information and, therefore, improves managers’ information sets. Interviews with executives and auditors confirm this argument. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that firms affected by SFAS 142 (i.e., treatment firms) experience an improvement in management forecast accuracy in the post-SFAS 142 period compared with those not affected. The increase is …


Using Data Analytics To Raise Productivity And Profitability: 4 Key Steps For Smes, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow Mar 2018

Using Data Analytics To Raise Productivity And Profitability: 4 Key Steps For Smes, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

It is widely believed that effective data analysis may create newbusiness opportunities as technological advancement may offercompanies greater ability to predict what their customers want.


How Data Analytics May Turn Smes Into Smart Enterprises, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow Mar 2018

How Data Analytics May Turn Smes Into Smart Enterprises, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

No abstract provided.


Return Predictability And The Real Option Value Of Segments, Pingui Rao, Heng Yue, Xin Zhou Mar 2018

Return Predictability And The Real Option Value Of Segments, Pingui Rao, Heng Yue, Xin Zhou

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Theory suggests that firm value should include the value of real options; that is, firms have the option to expand more profitable businesses and liquidate less profitable businesses. In a diversified firm, each segment has its own real options. Applying real options theory to a diversified firm at the firm level neglects the value of segment-level options. If investors overlook segment-level options, mispricing will occur. Using data from 1981 to 2013, we find that a hedge portfolio buying diversified firms in the highest decile of the estimated real option value of segments (RVS) and selling those in the lowest RVS …


Reframing The Board Diversity Issue: Set 25 By 25 Target, Themin Suwardy, Surianarayanan Surianarayanan Gopalakrishnan Feb 2018

Reframing The Board Diversity Issue: Set 25 By 25 Target, Themin Suwardy, Surianarayanan Surianarayanan Gopalakrishnan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Studies have shown there is clear association between aboard's gender diversity and company performance. Yet Singapore has been softerthan usual in pushing the agenda. In this commentary, the authors discussed theimportance of setting an explicit hard target with a fixed deadline to reframeboard diversity in Singapore.


Bridging Academic And Practice: Benefits, Challenges And Lessons Learnt From Establishing A University Wide Experiential Learning Initiative, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow, Grace Koh Feb 2018

Bridging Academic And Practice: Benefits, Challenges And Lessons Learnt From Establishing A University Wide Experiential Learning Initiative, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow, Grace Koh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The scale and complexity of challenges facing the world today are unprecedented. It is paramount that universities identify and equip students with relevant skills to meet the needs of the changing economy. Recognizing this need, Singapore Management University launched a new initiative, SMUX. In this paper we will describe SMU-X which is a paradigm shift focusing on experiential learning as opposed to teaching, characterized by 4 principles: (i) inter-disciplinary content and activities, (ii) project-based learning via an actual problem/issue faced by an organization, (iii) active student mentoring by faculty and industry, and (iv) creating a tripartite learning loop between faculty, …


Reframing The Board Diversity Issue: Set 25 By 25 Target, Themin Suwardy, Surianarayanan Gopalakrishnan Feb 2018

Reframing The Board Diversity Issue: Set 25 By 25 Target, Themin Suwardy, Surianarayanan Gopalakrishnan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Studies have shown there is clear association between aboard's gender diversity and company performance. Yet Singapore has been softerthan usual in pushing the agenda. In this commentary, the authors discussed theimportance of setting an explicit hard target with a fixed deadline to reframeboard diversity in Singapore.


Short Sellers And Corporate Disclosure, Xia Chen, Qiang Cheng, T. Luo, Heng Yue Jan 2018

Short Sellers And Corporate Disclosure, Xia Chen, Qiang Cheng, T. Luo, Heng Yue

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine how short sellers affect corporate disclosures using a natural experiment. From May2005 to July 2007, the SEC implemented a pilot program by randomly selecting one third ofRussell 3000 stocks and removing the short sale price tests for these stocks (referred to as pilotfirms), leading to lower short-selling constraint, without changing the requirement for other firms(referred to as control firms). We compare the change in corporate disclosures between the pilotfirms and the control firms during this period. We find that compared to the control firms, thepilot firms are more likely to issue good news management forecasts without changing theissuance …


Local Tax Incentives And Behavior Of Foreign Enterprises: Evidence From A Large Developing Country, Jing Xing, Wei Cui, Xi Qi Jan 2018

Local Tax Incentives And Behavior Of Foreign Enterprises: Evidence From A Large Developing Country, Jing Xing, Wei Cui, Xi Qi

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We analyze how profit reporting and investment behavior of foreign enterprises respond to local tax incentives in China, a large developing country. Using firm-level data between 2000 and 2013 from China’s industrial enterprise survey, we first provide strong evidence for tax competition among Chinese cities (especially cities within the same province) over the average effective income tax rate. We then find that, despite stringent capital controls, both reported pre-tax profits and investment of foreign firms respond strongly to local tax incentives, suggesting that subnational tax competition in China is oriented towards both mobile profits and real resources.


China's "Mercantilist" Government Subsidies, The Cost Of Debt And Firm Performance, Chu Yeong Lim, Jiwei Wang, Cheng (Colin) Zeng Jan 2018

China's "Mercantilist" Government Subsidies, The Cost Of Debt And Firm Performance, Chu Yeong Lim, Jiwei Wang, Cheng (Colin) Zeng

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

China has been adopting a “mercantilist” policy by lavishing massive government subsidies on Chinese firms. Using hand-collected subsidy data on Chinese listed companies, we find that firms receiving more subsidies tend to have a lower cost of debt. However, such firms fail to have superior financial performance. Instead, firms with more subsidies tend to be overstaffed, which demonstrates higher social performance. These results are mainly driven by non-tax-based subsidies rather than tax-based subsidies. Overall, our results suggest that the Chinese government uses non-tax-based subsidies to achieve its social policy objectives at the expense of firms’ profitability.