Understanding earnings quality - MIT Sloan School of Management
Understanding earnings quality - MIT Sloan School of Management
Understanding earnings quality - MIT Sloan School of Management
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Figure 1. Summary <strong>of</strong> the investigated determinants <strong>of</strong> <strong>earnings</strong> <strong>quality</strong><br />
Figure 1 summarizes the explanatory variables for (“determinants” <strong>of</strong>) the various <strong>earnings</strong> <strong>quality</strong> proxies. The rows represent the most frequently hypothesized<br />
determinants <strong>of</strong> <strong>earnings</strong> <strong>quality</strong> and correspond to the organization <strong>of</strong> the discussion in Sections 5.1 through 5.6. The columns represent our categories <strong>of</strong><br />
commonly used <strong>earnings</strong> <strong>quality</strong> proxies. A shaded box indicates that researchers have investigated whether the determinant explains variation in the <strong>earnings</strong><br />
<strong>quality</strong> proxy. The first number in a shaded box indicates the number <strong>of</strong> papers in our database that examine the association between a determinant and an EQ<br />
proxy. The second number in a shaded box (if there is one) indicates the number <strong>of</strong> papers that provide negative evidence (inconsistent with the theory).<br />
Determinant<br />
Persistence and<br />
accrual attributes<br />
Abnormal<br />
accruals<br />
165<br />
Earnings <strong>quality</strong> proxy<br />
Properties <strong>of</strong> <strong>earnings</strong> ERCs<br />
Smoothness<br />
Asymmetric<br />
timeliness/<br />
Timely loss<br />
recognition<br />
Benchmarking<br />
(loss avoidance)<br />
Benchmarking<br />
(small positive<br />
<strong>earnings</strong> surprise)<br />
Investor response<br />
coefficients<br />
External indicators <strong>of</strong><br />
financial reporting <strong>quality</strong><br />
Firm<br />
characteristics Firm performance 1 5/2 2/1 1 2 2<br />
Firm growth<br />
Financial statement<br />
6 1 1 1/1 2<br />
components 10 1 3 10 2 1<br />
Firm size 1 1 1 2<br />
Firm debt covenant 2/1 3/2 2<br />
Debt as a call option 3<br />
Financial reporting<br />
practices Accounting methods<br />
Other financial reporting<br />
4 1 6<br />
practices<br />
1 2 2<br />
Principles based versus<br />
rules based methods<br />
1 1 1 1<br />
AAERs<br />
Restatements<br />
Internal control<br />
procedures