Direct Evidence on the Informational Properties of Earnings in Loan Contracts
利用企业披露的用于贷款合同履约测试的实际盈余数据，研究发现业绩契约中的盈余指标比GAAP盈余具有更强的现金流预测能力，且不存在不对称损失及时性，表明契约方为提升“触发线”效率而设计了会计规则。
Using a sample of firms that disclose the realizations of earnings used for determining covenant compliance in loan contracts, we provide direct evidence on the informational properties of earnings used in the performance covenants included in debt contracts. We find that the earnings measure used in performance covenants does not exhibit asymmetric loss timeliness and has significantly greater cash flow predictive ability than GAAP measures of earnings. We suggest that these results reflect the idea that contracting parties design accounting rules for performance covenants to enhance their efficacy as “tripwires.”