Principles-Based Standards and Earnings Attributes
研究了原则导向准则对盈余属性的影响，发现平均而言原则导向准则使盈余更具信息性和持续性，但经理人在特定情况下会利用其灵活性进行盈余管理。
This study examines the relation between principles-based standards and earnings attributes. We create a firm-year-specific variable that measures the extent to which firms’ financial reporting is affected by principles-based standards. We find that firms’ earnings are more informative and persistent and have a larger positive association with future cash flows, on average, when firms’ standards are more principles based. We also find evidence that managers use the added discretion provided by principles-based standards to manage earnings when firms are near bankruptcy, issuing equity, or experiencing high growth, and if earnings are near prominent earnings benchmarks. Overall, our evidence is consistent with managers using the discretion provided by principles-based standards to communicate better the economic substance of transactions, on average, but also with some managers using the added discretion strategically when managerial incentives exist to increase reported earnings. Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2016.2465 . This paper was accepted by Mary Barth, accounting.