Firms' compliance with the disclosure requirements of IFRS for goodwill impairment testing

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Khokan Bepari ◽  
Sheikh F. Rahman ◽  
Abu Taher Mollik

Purpose – This study aims to examine the impact of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis (GFC) on Australian firms' compliance with IFRS 36/AASB 136 for goodwill impairment testing. It also examines the factors associated with the cross-sectional variations in the compliance levels. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a survey of disclosure notes in companies' annual reports, firm-level compliance scores were developed and further analysed applying quantitative statistical methods. Findings – The findings suggest that firms' compliance has increased during the GFC compared to the PCP. There was no significant intra-period change in the compliance levels during the PCP. Firms belonging to goodwill intensive industries show greater compliance levels than firms in other industries. Audit quality is also a significant determinant of firms' compliance with IFRS for goodwill impairment testing. Goodwill intensity is a significant determinant of firms' compliance level during the GFC but not during the PCP. Firm size is associated with the compliance levels when the industry effects are not controlled for. When the industry effects are controlled for, the effect of size on firms' compliance levels disappears. Profitability is also associated with firms' compliance with IFRS for goodwill impairment testing. However, firms' leverage ratio is not significantly associated with compliance levels. Originality/value – This is the first known study to examine the issue of compliance with IFRS for goodwill impairment testing in the context of the GFC and the PCP.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Vadasi ◽  
Michalis Bekiaris ◽  
Andreas G. Koutoupis

Purpose This paper aims to provide empirical evidence of the association between audit committee characteristics and internal audit quality through internal audit professionalization. Design/methodology/approach The investigation of the research question was based on 45 usable responses that were received from a survey of chief audit executives from firms listed on the Athens Stock Exchange and combined with publicly available information from annual reports. Findings The results indicate that audit committee characteristics (independence, diligence through frequent meetings and interaction with internal audit through valuation) influence internal audit professionalization. In addition, they demonstrate that internal audit professionalization is also influenced by CEO duality and firm’s external auditor. Practical implications The findings of this study have implications for audit committees wishing to improve their overall effectiveness, by identifying areas with substantial impact on internal audit quality. Moreover, regulators of corporate governance bodies can also benefit from the results to strengthen audit committee’s efficiency regarding internal audit function oversight. Originality/value The results add to the literature on the discussion of internal audit professionalization and complement the work of other researchers in the field of audit committee’s impact on internal audit quality/effectiveness. This study attempts to fill a gap in the literature on the effect of audit committee characteristics on internal audit professionalization, an element introduced from an institutional theory perspective.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria I. Kyriakou

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of the recent financial crisis on audit quality by analysing discretionary accruals. Design/methodology/approach This study considers a sample of German, French, Italian and Spanish non-financial firms from 2005 to 2013 to investigate the auditor’s independence. It uses a cross-sectional and time-series ordinary least squares regression model to control for other predictors of the auditor’s independence when the financial crisis produces a decrease in audit quality. Findings The proportion of the non-financial firms having lower audit quality was higher during the financial crisis. In addition, during the crisis auditors were less likely to provide a higher audit quality for these non-financial firms. The level of audit quality returned to normal levels during the post-crisis years when the crisis had ceased. Originality/value These findings contribute to the literature on the impact of economic and financial changes on audit quality. In addition, this research finds that the Big Four accounting firms provide a higher audit quality in different circumstances from non-Big Four accounting firms, and that audit quality decreased during the crisis and returned to normal in the post-crisis period.


Author(s):  
Li Sun ◽  
Joseph H. Zhang

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of goodwill impairment losses on bond credit ratings. Design/methodology/approach The authors use regression analysis to examine the relationship between goodwill impairment losses and bond credit ratings. Findings The empirical results show a negative relationship between the amount of goodwill impairment losses and bond credit ratings, suggesting that firms with goodwill impairment losses receive lower credit ratings. The authors perform various additional tests, including subsamples in good or bad market time, changes analysis, first time goodwill impairment firms vs subsequent impairment and the two-stage least squares regression analysis to address potential endogeneity issues. The main results persist. Originality/value This paper links and contributes to two streams of literature: goodwill impairment in accounting literature and bond credit ratings in finance literature. Whether a firm’s goodwill impairment losses affect the firm’s bond credit rating remains an interesting question that has not been examined previously. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that directly examines the relationship between goodwill impairment losses and bond ratings at the firm level.


Author(s):  
Ahmad Hammami ◽  
Mohammad Hendijani Zadeh

Purpose The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to introduce two determinants of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure transparency, namely, audit quality and public media exposure; and second, to investigate the impact of ESG transparency on firm-level investment efficiency. Design/methodology/approach Ordinary least square (OLS) regressions are applied to explore the relationship between the two variables of interest (audit quality and public media exposure) and ESG transparency on a sample of publicly listed Canadian firms during the period 2008 to 2017. Then, an econometric model is used to investigate the association between ESG transparency and investment efficiency under two identified scenarios, under-investment and over-investment. Findings Results show that audit quality and public media exposure are two main drivers of ESG transparency, hence, commitment to high-quality audits and exposure to high public media coverage drive firms to disclose more extensive and transparent ESG information. The authors also find a negative association between ESG transparency and firm-level investment inefficiency. Thus, ESG transparency generates influential incremental information that helps mitigate the information asymmetry between firms and stakeholders while fostering better resource allocation through investment efficiency. Originality/value This study contributes to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG literature by identifying audit quality and public media exposure as two determinants of ESG transparency; and by noting that higher ESG transparency has a significant economic effect on capital investment decisions through higher firm-level investment efficiency.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-421
Author(s):  
Jurema Tomelin ◽  
Mohamed Amal ◽  
Nelson Hein ◽  
Andreia Carpes Dani

Purpose This study aims to identify to what extent the economic factor effect is more salient in shaping inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) than are institutional factors in G-20 inflow patterns. Design/methodology/approach Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was applied using the World Bank Governance and Development Indicators, followed by a panel data technique over the period 2005-2015 to estimate the connections between the different dimensions of economics, institutions and IFDI in the G-20. Findings Results showed that countries with better economic performance contrasting with the governance indicators are more effective at attracting IFDI. However, the correlation between FDI intensity and governance indicators has been found relatively weak, which may suggest a more controversial role of institutions as determinants of IFDI. Research limitations/implications This quantitative approach uses a country-level set of variables; therefore, the authors suggest the development of more firm-level analysis of the impact of institutions. Also, the limitation of the TOPSIS method itself is based on heuristic assumptions. Practical implications The main findings point to a relatively low impact of institutions on IFDI. The authors suggest that the global financial crisis has changed the rationale of decision-making by multinational companies. Originality/value The originality of the present study was to apply a multi criteria decision-making technique on FDI’s analysis combined with institutional data.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 592-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed M. Elgammal ◽  
Khaled Hussainey ◽  
Fatma Ahmed

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of corporate governance on risk and forward-looking disclosures in Qatar.Design/methodology/approachThe authors automatically measure levels of risk and forward-looking disclosures in the annual reports of Qatari firms for the period 2008–2014. The authors also use two ways clustered error pooled panel regressions to examine the determinants of these disclosures.FindingsThe authors find that firms with a higher percentage of foreign ownership disclose more forward-looking information; conversely, board size has a negative impact on the forward-looking disclosure. Financial firms tend to disclose less forward-looking information, however, they tend to disclose more forward-looking information after the 2008 global financial crisis. The authors also find negative relationships between the risk disclosure and both the number of non-executive members of the board of directors and duality role of the CEO.Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses the quantity of disclosure as a proxy for the quality of disclosure.Practical implicationsThe findings should help the users of corporate annual reports in Qatar to understand managerial incentives for reporting risk and forward-looking information. This should help regulators to set a proper set of disclosure rules. Moreover, this study increases our understanding of the behavior of international investors and the board characteristics (i.e. board size) in motivating risk and forward-looking disclosures in Qatari firms.Originality/valueThe authors provide the original empirical evidence on the impact of corporate ownership and board characteristics on risk and forward-looking disclosures for Qatari firms using two ways clustered error pooled panel regressions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ameeta Jain ◽  
Monica Keneley ◽  
Dianne Thomson

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in six large banks each from Japan, China, Australia and India over the period of 2005-2011. Design/methodology/approach – CSR and banks’ annual reports and websites were analysed using a comprehensive disclosure framework to evaluate the themes of ethical standards, extent of CSR reporting, environment, products, community, employees, supply chain management and benchmarking. Findings – Over the seven years, bank CSR disclosure improved in all four countries. Australian banks were found to have the best scores and Indian banks demonstrated maximum improvement. Despite the absence of legislative requirements or standards for CSR, this paper finds that CSR reporting continued to improve in quality and quantity in the region on a purely voluntary basis. Research limitations/implications – This study indicates that financial institutions have a commitment to CSR activities. The comparison between financial institutions in developed and developing economies suggests that the motivation for such activities is complex. A review of the studied banks suggests that strategic rather than economic drivers are an important influence. Practical implications – Asia-Pacific Governments need not mandate bank CSR reporting standards as the banks improved their CSR reporting consistently over the seven years despite the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Originality/value – A disclosure framework index is used to assess the comprehensiveness of bank practice in relation to CSR reporting. This approach enables cross-sectional and cross-country comparisons over time and the ability to replicate and apply to other industries or sectors.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-79
Author(s):  
Gianluca Mattarocci ◽  
Georgios Siligardos

Purpose – The overall performance of real estate funds can be ascribed to capital appreciation and/or income return. The Italian property funds market has grown significantly over the past few years; however, little is known about the key drivers of property fund performance. The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of two sources of funds’ performance and identify their relevance during the financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers the Italian market in the last decade and analyses the annual reports of public real estate funds, separating appraisal returns from income returns. By considering a wide time horizon, it evaluates if the roles of income returns and capital gains with respect to overall performance are more or less influenced by fund characteristics, such as asset diversification, concentration, and leverage. Findings – The contribution of income return and capital growth are not strictly related to the overall performance of Italian real estate funds, with a significantly lower correlation during the global financial crisis. Furthermore, the main drivers of the two income sources are not strictly comparable. Originality/value – The paper presents the first analysis on the source of income return for the Italian real estate funds and it represents one of the few studies that considers the effect of the financial crisis on European indirect real estate investments, capital appreciation and income return.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjörn Tagesson ◽  
Peter Öhman

Purpose – This paper aims to chart Swedish auditors’ likelihood of issuing going concern warnings (GCWs), and to investigate the relationship between formal auditor competence, audit fees and audit firm, respectively, and the likelihood of issuing GCWs. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data are based on annual reports and audit reports for 2,547 limited companies that went bankrupt in 2010 in the wake of the financial crisis and had filed a financial statement in the year before the bankruptcy. Findings – The findings indicate that Swedish auditors seldom issue GCWs. Moreover, there is a positive relationship between audit fee level and the likelihood of issuing GCWs, and Big 4 auditors being more likely to issue such warnings than other auditors. However, the analyses identify differences between audit firms (within the group of Big 4 firms and within the group of other audit firms) in terms of their predictions of client bankruptcies. This suggests a need for further investigation of firm-specific differences. Contrary to what was predicted, authorized auditors are not more likely to issue GCWs than approved auditors. Research limitations/implications – This paper did not investigate the impact of audit experience and tenure or the possibility that auditors may signal survival problems by resigning. Practical implications – Levying appropriate audit fees creates opportunities for thorough audits, but auditors’ formal competence based on training and qualification is not a factor that enforces audit quality. Based on the findings, the authors also suggest some clarifications of existing standards to reduce ambiguity regarding the reporting of survival problems. Originality/value – The Swedish setting is a context in which most companies are small, creditor interest in accounting and auditing is strong and auditors must issue a modified audit opinion if half of the shareholders’ equity is spent. This setting offers a unique research opportunity because the formal competence differs between Sweden’s two categories of certified auditors, and it allows exploration beyond the dichotomy of Big 4 versus other audit firms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 696-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurlan Orazalin ◽  
Rassul Akhmetzhanov

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of earnings management and audit quality on cost of debt of listed companies in Kazakhstan. The study also investigates the effects of audit quality on earnings management and whether the relationship between earnings management and cost of debt is affected by audit quality in the context of a given emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach The study sample consists of public companies listed in the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) from 2011 to 2016, and all data were obtained from audited financial statements and annual reports downloaded from the webpage of KASE. The study uses the cross-sectional ordinary least squares technique to test the impact of audit quality and earnings management on cost of debt. Findings The collected empirical evidence shows that earnings management is negatively related to cost of debt. The findings also indicate that higher audit quality leads to a lower cost of debt. However, the results suggest that audit quality has no impact on earnings management and that the effect of earnings management on cost of debt is not different for the companies audited by the Big Four and for the companies audited by other audit firms. Practical implications The findings of the study can be of interest to policy-makers, regulators, investors and practitioners in emerging markets with an institutional environment similar to that of Kazakhstan. Originality/value The study throws more light on the impact of earnings management and audit quality on cost of debt in Kazakhstan, representing the Central Asian region. This study also extends the current literature by providing empirical evidence that the relationship between earnings management and cost of debt is not affected by audit quality.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document