The Usefulness of Financial Accounting Information: Evidence from the Field
通过面对面访谈和在线实验，研究发现投资专业人士在评估经理业绩时比在估值时认为会计信息更没用，而盈余管理动机不影响其有用性，但糟糕的公司治理会降低有用性。
ABSTRACT We examine how investment professionals assess the usefulness of financial accounting information depending on their information acquisition objectives and preparers' earnings management incentives. We conduct a survey experiment based on face-to-face interviews with investment professionals and document two main results. First, we find that, compared with investment professionals assigned a firm valuation objective, those assigned a managerial performance evaluation objective assess accounting information as significantly less useful. Second, we find no systematic evidence that preparers' earnings management incentives negatively affect investment professionals' assessments of accounting information usefulness. To elucidate this second finding, we conduct a large-scale follow-up online experiment. Our results continue to offer no support for the effect of earnings management incentives on investment professionals' assessments of accounting information usefulness, irrespective of preparers' corporate governance quality. Instead, we find that poor corporate governance, by itself, reduces the usefulness of accounting information to investment professionals. JEL Classifications: G15; G18; G38; M41; M48.