Uniformity versus Flexibility: Evidence from Pricing of the Pension Obligation
基于美国GAAP下养老金假设的自由裁量权，研究其对养老金义务定价的影响，发现自由裁量并未损害价值相关性，反而传递了增量信息。
We functionally derive the discretionary component of the pension obligation (PBO) based on deviation of actuarial assumptions—discount rate and compensation growth rate—from their respective industry medians. We then examine the implications of allowing discretion in the choice of pension assumptions on the pricing of the PBO. We find no evidence that discretion—as currently allowed under U.S. GAAP—impairs the value relevance of the PBO. We also find that the discretionary component is incrementally value-relevant beyond the nondiscretionary component. Additional analyses suggest that these results are unlikely attributable to market fixation on reported PBO or measurement error in our discretionary component. Overall, we find that imposing uniformity in the choice of pension assumptions, on average, prevents communication of value-relevant information through the PBO.