Accounting Commons^™

The Equity-Financing Channel, The Catering Channel, And Corporate Investment: International Evidence, Yuanto Kusnadi, K.C. John Wei

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine how stock market mispricing affectscorporate investment in an international setting. We find that investment ismore sensitive to stock prices for equity-dependent firms than for non-equity-dependentfirms in our international sample. Investment is also more sensitive to stockprices for firms located in countries with more developed capital markets (i.e.,lower costs of raising capital), higher share turnover (i.e., shortershareholder horizons), and higher R&D intensity (i.e., more opaque assets). More importantly, the positive relation between equitydependence and the sensitivity of investment to stock prices is more pronouncedfor firms located in these same countries. These findings are consistent withthe equity-financing hypothesis and the …

Helping Hands, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow, Clarence Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Disruptors have found new ways of transforming various industries with intelligent technologies which have put significant pressure on enterprises in Singapore and around the world. With a good education and training system, and a cohesive relationship among the Government, businesses and people, Singapore is well placed to respond to such digital disruptions. Nevertheless, Singapore companies must strive for quality growth based on innovation, expand beyond Singapore and create an environment that enables innovation, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Labour chief Chan Chun Sing. No two industries are disrupted in the same way. With help from the Economic …

Insider Versus Outsider Ceos, Executive Compensation, And Accounting Manipulation, Prasart Jongjaroenkamol, Volker Laux

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This paper examines the role of the financial reporting environment in selecting a new CEO from within versus outside the organization. Weak reporting controls allow the CEO to misreport performance information, which reduces the board's ability to detect and replace poorly-performing CEOs as well as aggravates incentive contracting. We show that these adverse effects are stronger when the CEO is an outsider rather than an insider. Our model predicts that boards are more likely to recruit a CEO from the outside when the performance measures with which the new hire is assessed are harder to manipulate.

Insights From Educator, Smu's Views, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow, Kwong Sin Leong, Clarence Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Forces such as globalisation and digitalisation have led to profound changes in the business environment. Apart from technical accounting knowledge, accountants now also need to equip themselves with a range of other skills that will allow them to thrive in the economy of tomorrow. In this respect, tertiary education has a big role to play in preparing students for their first jobs.At Singapore Management University (SMU), we ensure that our Bachelor of Accountancy programme provides a holistic education emphasising real-world readiness. Centred on a strong accounting core, the curriculum is broad-based, covering business, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership skills, communications, ethics and …

Riding The Waves Of Disruption, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow, Clarence Goh, Melvin Yong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

For organisations, the need to respond to disruption, digital or otherwise, has never been greater – from re-defining the way they interact with customers to delivering services and products. While disruption presents significant opportunities for businesses, the biggest risk is not taking any action at all. A radical industry shift might be required in some cases and spending time thinking about this is critical. Organisations and individuals can shield themselves from disruption by building the skills and agility to move and adapt quickly, protecting their future in the short and long term. Against this backdrop, CPA Australia and Singapore Management …

Our Future Together Industry Perspectives: Future Of Professional Learning And Entrepreneurship, Poh Sun Seow, Pan, Gary, Clarence Goh, Kwong Sin Leong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This report 2017 marks the second collaboration between ISCA and ICAEW after the successful launch of “Our Future Together” report in 2016 to inspire professional accountants to critically think about what the future holds for Singapore and the accountancy profession. How should accountants embrace transformation in the digital age? How should learning be redefined for the accountancy profession? How can organisational culture encourage innovation and an enterprising spirit in accountants? This report aims to shape the discussion on how education, training and professional learning should be redefined to develop professional accountants who are future-ready, so that they can continue to …

Do Politically Connected Directors Affect Accounting Quality? Evidence From China's Anti-Corruption Campaign (Rule 18), Ole-Kristian Hope, Heng Yue, Qinlin Zhong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We examine the impact of politically connected directors on accounting quality using a quasi experiment in China. In October 2013, “Rule 18” was issued to prohibit government and party officials, who were concurrently holding public offices or had recently retired from such positions within the last three years, from serving as directors for publicly listed firms. The regulation is part of China’s anti-corruption campaign, and it has led to a large number of politically connected directors resigning from their roles as directors involuntarily. As such, Rule 18 has effectively weakened, if not fully discontinued, the political connections of the firms …

Regulatory Pressure And Income Smoothing By Banks In Response To Anticipated Changes To The Basel Ii Accord, Chu Yeong Lim, Kevin Ow Yong

Research Collection School of Accountancy

We examine the effects of the revised Basel II rules on bank managers’ discretionary behavior, specifically income smoothing and loan loss provisioning. As the revised rules exert greater regulatory pressure on corporate than retail banking, we predict corporate bank managers to reduce risk-taking activities or increase income smoothing. Analysis of segmental reports reveals greater (less) income smoothing in the corporate banking segments of low-capital (high-capital) banks during the Basel II period, with their managers recognizing loan loss provisions in a less timely fashion. We find no such effects for retail banking. Although we document an initially negative market reaction to …

Voluntary Fair Value Disclosures Beyond Sfas 157’S Three-Level Estimates, Sung Gon Chung, Beng Wee Goh, Jeffrey Ng, Kevin Ow Yong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Some firms voluntarily make disclosures about the controls and processes in place to ensure the reliability of fair value estimates. Consistent with these disclosures being driven by management’s concerns about the reliability of their SFAS 157 estimates, we find that firms with more opaque estimates are more likely to provide such disclosures. We then examine whether these disclosures increase the reliability of fair value estimates. We find that they are associated with higher market pricing and lower information risk for Level 3 estimates. Further analyses of the contents of the reliability disclosures reveal that the following are particularly important to …

Continuous Auditing: A New Instrument In The Cfo’S Toolbox, Clarence Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

In the past decade, rapid technological developments have led to the widespread adoption of enterprise resource planning systems. These ERP platforms not only allow different functional areas of a business to share data, but also enable businesses to generate financial information in real time.Such developments have fundamentally altered how businesses operate, and present both challenges and opportunities for CFOs and auditors.That’s because traditional audit methods have, to a significant extent, not kept up with these developments. Many audit procedures that are used today remain manual in nature, and are often costly in terms of both time and money. To a …

Related Parties As Used In Transfer Pricing, Jow Lee Ying, Yong Sing Yuan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The paper examines the scope of related party transactions falling under the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (TPG) and the transfer pricing regimes of selected tax jurisdictions. The OECD TPG does not deal with the concept of associated enterprises as used in Article 9 of the OECD Multilateral Tax Convention (MTC), while Article 9 of the OECD MTC does not define the terms used to describe associated enterprises. This gives rise to the question of what exactly was intended for under the scope of Article 9 and its consequent applicability. At the same time, many jurisdictions define related party transactions for …

Conditional Conservatism And Debt Versus Equity Financing, Beng Wee Goh, Chee Yeow Lim, Gerald J. Lobo, Yen H. Tong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Extant research suggests that conditional conservatism reduces information asymmetry between a firm and its shareholders as well as its debtholders. However, there is little evidence on whether conditional conservatism reduces information asymmetry differentially for shareholders and debtholders. We use the setting of a firm's choice between equity versus debt when it seeks a significant amount of external financing to examine this research question. We find that when firms raise a significant amount of external financing, the use of equity (versus debt) increases with the level of conservatism. We also find that the reduction in cost of equity associated with conservatism …

Are You Ready? Data Analytics Is Reshaping The Work Of Accountants, Clarence Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

According to the 2016 State of Analytics and Data Science reportpublished by data analytics firm Mu Sigma, 65% of senior business leaderssurveyed in the United States believe that data analytics has influenced theirbusiness in a positive way.

Are You Ready? Data Analytics Is Reshaping The Work Of Accountants, Clarence Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

According to the 2016 State of Analytics and Data Science reportpublished by data analytics firm Mu Sigma, 65% of senior business leaderssurveyed in the United States believe that data analytics has influenced theirbusiness in a positive way.

A Dominant Logic View Of Managing It Innovation, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

With rapid technological advances and increased competition, managing innovation has become increasingly challenging. There are two possible causes for the innovation project failure. First, owing to incomplete market information, poor product management decision is made that may result in delayed market entry. Second, challenging project management activities such as inefficient communication among project teammates and mishandling complex stakeholder relationships. To gain insight into successful IT innovation project management, a theoretical lens that is able to facilitate the understanding of issues arising from these two causes is necessary. Dominant logic, which can be viewed as both an information filter and routine, …

Industry-University Partnership Through Experiential Project-Based Learning: A Singapore Case Study, Gary Pan, Gan Hup Tan, Yvonne Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

A radical approach to preparing university students with future work skills, by combining academic with experiential learning through real projects faced by client partners. Learn how a university can create opportunities for collaborative learning and a tripartite learning relationship for academia, students and industry. Outcomes and impact of the case Post-module feedback surveys conducted over AY2015/16 showed that over 80% of the students who took an SMU-X module reported enhanced problem-solving, analytical, reasoning and communication skills, all of which were skills highly valued by employers. These results also dovetailed with SMU-X’s learning outcomes. More than 85% felt that the SMU-X …

Unveiling Informal Business Networks, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

Research by Professor Zang Yoonseok is uncovering the implications of informal business networks between top executives and their independent auditors.

See the papers:

• Client conservatism and auditor-client contracting
• The downside of the network ties between CEO/CFOs and auditors through external directorships

The Importance Of Being An Ethical Company, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

Firms must fine-tune their corporate governance mechanisms to prevent unethical behaviour and take quick action once they are found, says Professor Cheng Qiang.

See the papers:

• Is the decline in the information content of earnings following restatements short-lived?
• CEO contractual protection and managerial short-termism

Encouraging Corporate Fair Play In Family-Run Businesses, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

Professor Chen Xia studies corporate governance and financial management of family firms.

See her paper: Family ownership and CEO turnovers

Who’S Watching The Auditors?, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

Professor Lim Chee Yeow is studying whether the provision of non-audit services affects the independence of auditors and the quality of their audit work.

See the papers:

• Non-audit service fees and audit quality: The impact of auditor specialization
• Effects of national culture on earnings quality of banks
• The price contagion effects of financial reporting fraud and reputational losses: Evidence from the individual audit partner level

The Importance Of Internal Controls, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

Professor Goh Beng Wee investigates the benefits and consequences of internal controls to corporate organisations.

See the papers:

• Internal controls and conditional conservatism
• Internal control and operational efficiency

The Paradoxes Of Risk Management In The Banking Sector, Chu Yeong Lim, Margaret Woods, Christopher Humphrey, Jean Lin Seow

Research Collection School of Accountancy

This paper uses empirical evidence to examine the operational dynamics and paradoxical nature of risk management systems in the banking sector. It demonstrates how a core paradox of market versus regulatory demands and an accompanying variety of performance, learning and belonging paradoxes underlie evident tensions in the interaction between front and back office staff in banks. Organisational responses to such paradoxes are found to range from passive to proactive, reflecting differing organisational, departmental and individual risk culture(s), and performance management systems. Nonetheless, a common feature of regulatory initiatives designed to secure a more structurally independent risk management function is that …

Ownership And Identities Of The Largest Shareholders And Dividend Policy: Evidence From Vietnam, Trien Vinh Le, Trang Huyen Le

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This study investigates the relationship between the level of shareholdings and identities of the largest shareholders, and cash dividend policy. The study is conducted with a sample of 180 firms listed on Vietnam stock exchange markets from 2009 to 2013. The fixed effect model is employed to analyze the balanced panel data. The results show that the higher the level of holdings by the largest shareholders, the lower the dividend payout. Moreover, companies with the State and Foreign investors as the largest shareholders have higher dividend payout ratio than companies with local investors and managers as the largest shareholders. The …

Using An Online Learning Tutorial To Teach Rea Data Modelling In Accounting Information Systems Courses, Poh Sun Seow, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Online learning has been gaining widespread adoption due to its success in enhancing student-learning outcomes and improving student academic performance. This paper describes an online tutorial to teach resource-event-agent (REA) data modeling in an undergraduate accounting information systems course. The REA online tutorial reflects a self-study application designed to help students improve their understanding of the REA data model. As such, the tutorial acts as a supplement to lectures by reinforcing the concepts and incorporating practices to assess student understanding. Instructors can access the REA online tutorial at http://smu.sg/rea. An independent survey by the University's Centre for Teaching Excellence found …

Differences In The Reliability Of Fair Value Hierarchy Measurements: A Cross Country Study, Chu Yeong Lim, Tee Yong Jeffrey Ng, Keng Kevin Ow Yong, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Prior research suggests that there are significant differences in how investors perceive the reliability of fair values across the fair value hierarchy. An unaddressed question in this stream of research is whether cross-country differences in institutional factors are able to mediate differences in reliability for the fair value hierarchy measurements. Based on an international sample of banks across 20 different countries, we find that the probability of crash risk is lower among countries with better financial development infrastructure, greater level of trust, tighter security regulations and higher level of disclosure requirements. These results apply to Level 1 assets but not …

Customer-Supplier Relationships And Corporate Tax Avoidance, Ling Cen, Edward L. Maydew, Liandong Zhang, Luo Zuo

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We investigate whether firms in close customer-supplier relationships are better able to identify and implement tax avoidance strategies via supply chains. Consistent with our prediction, we find that both principal customers and their dependent suppliers avoid more taxes than other firms. Further analysis suggests that principal customers and dependent suppliers likely engage in tax strategies involving shifting profits to tax haven subsidiaries. Moreover, tax benefits appear to explain both principal customer firms’ and dependent supplier firms’ organizational decisions. Overall, our study provides evidence of the importance of tax avoidance as a source of gains from these relationships.

Is The Us Unique? International Evidence On The Aggregate Earnings-Returns Association, Lindsey Gallo, Rebecca Hann, Congcong Li, Viktoriya Zotova

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We exploit differences in institutional and macroeconomic environments to shed light on what drives variation in the aggregate earnings-returns relation over time within the U.S. and across countries. We find that both intertemporal and cross-country variation in the aggregate earnings-returns association are driven primarily by two factors, namely, the monetary policy news conveyed in aggregate earnings and the market reaction to that news, which suggest that the strength of the discount rate news channel plays an important role in explaining the aggregate earnings-returns relation both within and outside of the U.S. We further find that institutional characteristics have a significant …

Designing An Accounting Analytics Course Using Experiential Learning Approach, Gary Pan, Venky Shankararaman, Poh Sun Seow, Gan Hup Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This paper describes an undergraduate accounting analytics course which was delivered based on an experiential learning approach. This accounting analytics course is timely as, with the proliferation of Big Data, several accounting professional bodies have highlighted the importance of developing analytical skills among accounting graduates. The experiential learning approach was adopted because there is a need to equip students with future work skills so as to tackle increasingly complex problems. The professors collaborate with external partners to design a course which combines theory with experiential learning through heavy use of projects involving real world problems. Students rated the course favourably. …

Accounting Flexibility And Managers' Forecast Behavior Prior To Seasoned Equity Offerings, Jae Bum Kim

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This study examines the effect of accounting flexibility on managers’ forecasting behavior prior to seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). Although SEO firms have a strong incentive to convey optimistic information to boost the pre-SEO stock price, they also face enhanced litigation risk arising from SEO-related regulations. Thus, I hypothesize that managers will release positive news through their forecasts (relative to the prevailing analyst consensus) prior to an SEO only if they have the accounting flexibility to manage subsequent reported earnings to meet or exceed their forecasts. I find that managers with greater accounting flexibility are more likely to issue a forecast …

The Benefits Of Specific Risk-Factor Disclosures, Ole-Kristian Hope, Danqi Hu, Hai Lu

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Practitioners have long criticized risk-factor disclosures in the 10-K as generic and boilerplate. In response, regulators emphasize the importance of being specific. By using a computing algorithm, this paper establishes a new measure (Specificity) to quantify the level of specificity of firms’ qualitative risk-factor disclosures. We first examine determinants of variations in Specificity, and document that firms with high proprietary costs provide less specific risk-factor disclosures. More importantly, we find that, controlling for numerous determinants, the market reaction to the 10-K filing is positively and significantly associated with Specificity. In addition, our results suggest that analysts are better able to …