Did FIN 48 Limit the Use of Tax Reserves as a Tool for Earnings Management?

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Cazier ◽  
Sonja O. Rego ◽  
Xiaoli (Shaolee) Tian ◽  
Ryan J. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Fin 48 ◽  
Tax Reserves

scholarly journals Earnings Management through Tax Reserves and Auditor-Provided Tax Services

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Chunlai Ye
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Income Smoothing ◽  
Earnings Forecast ◽  
Large Firms ◽  
Fin 48 ◽  
Management Incentives ◽  
Consensus Forecasts ◽  
Earnings Smoothing ◽  
Tax Reserves

This study investigates whether firms continue to use tax reserves to achieve financial reporting objectives in the post-FIN 48 period and the effect of auditor-provided tax services on earnings management through tax reserves. Three types of earnings management incentives are considered in this study: meeting or beating the consensus forecasts, income smoothing, and taking an “earnings bath.” The analyses yield evidence that only non-large firms manipulate tax reserves to meet/beat earnings forecast in the post-FIN 48 period; however, tax reserves are still utilized by both large and non-large firms to smooth earnings. Moreover, evidence is provided that the auditor who provides more tax services facilitates large firms’ earnings smoothing in the post-FIN 48 period, implying independence impairment. But this behavior does not exist within non-large firms, arguably because the auditor does not compromise independence for less important clients.

Do Firms Use Tax Reserves to Meet Analysts’ Forecasts? Evidence from the Pre- and Post-FIN 48 Periods

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 1044-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Gupta ◽  
Rick C. Laux ◽  
Daniel P. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Fin 48 ◽  
Use Tax ◽  
Tax Reserves

scholarly journals Auditor-Provided Tax Services and Accounting for Tax Uncertainty

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (03) ◽  
pp. 1950011
Author(s):  
Christoph Watrin ◽  
Stephan Burggraef ◽  
Falko Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Tax Planning ◽  
Conservative Approach ◽  
Positive Relation ◽  
Fin 48 ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards

This paper investigates the associations of auditor-provided tax services (APTS) with tax planning and audit quality using a German sample. Our findings differ from those of previous U.S. studies, which we attribute to the fact that prior to 2015, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) did not contain a clear regulation similar to FIN 48, which requires firms to reserve for tax uncertainties. We find for our IFRS sample a negative association between APTS and tax avoidance, which suggests that auditors are aware that firms might not reserve for tax uncertainties and may advise more conservative tax strategies. Additionally, we find a positive relation between the level of APTS and the sustainability of tax strategies in client firms, consistent with this conservative approach. Furthermore, our results show that APTS are positively related to audit quality for our sample. This finding suggests that auditors, being aware of remaining tax uncertainties that are not reserved for, are more reluctant to accept earnings management, which would further increase the risk of restatement. Taken together, the results of our study suggest the importance of accounting standards regarding tax uncertainties for the implications of APTS.

Tax Uncertainty and Voluntary Real-Time Tax Audits

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 867-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Beck ◽  
Petro Lisowsky
Keyword(s):  
Sample Selection ◽  
Empirical Relation ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Internal Revenue ◽  
Fin 48 ◽  
Research Division ◽  
Assurance Process ◽  
Tax Reserves ◽  
Tax Uncertainty

ABSTRACT This study examines the empirical relation between voluntary participation in the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Compliance Assurance Process (CAP) audit program, and tax uncertainty disclosed in financial statements pursuant to Financial Interpretation No. 48 (FIN 48). Based on the findings of prior analytical and empirical research, we formulate and test hypotheses about the likelihood of voluntary CAP participation and the resulting effect on FIN 48 tax reserves. We find that firms with moderate-sized FIN 48 reserves are more likely to participate in CAP than firms with either small or large reserves, indicating an inverted U-shaped relation between CAP participation rates and firms' tax reserves. After controlling for non-random sample selection, we find that CAP firms significantly reduce their FIN 48 reserves by about 16.5 percent relative to non-CAP firms. However, this reduction is concentrated among firms with moderate-sized FIN 48 reserves. These cross-sectional differences are consistent with FIN 48 reserves reflecting both tax uncertainty and tax aggressiveness. JEL Classifications: M41; M42; M48; H25. Data Availability: FIN 48 data and confidential tax data on CAP participants are obtained from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business & International (LB&I), Planning, Analysis, Inventory, and Research Division (PAIR). The CAP data are not publicly available; the FIN 48 data were compiled and validated by the IRS and made available to one of the authors. All other data are available from public sources identified in this treatise. Because tax data are confidential and protected by data nondisclosure agreements under the Internal Revenue Code, all statistics are presented in the aggregate; no statistics with three or fewer observations are disclosed. Any opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IRS.

Does FIN 48 Improve Firms' Estimates of Tax Reserves?

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 1395-1429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristi A. Gleason ◽  
Lillian F. Mills ◽  
Michelle L. Nessa
Keyword(s):  
Fin 48 ◽  
Tax Reserves

Pengaruh Hubungan Politik Terhadap Manajemen Laba Pada Perusahaan Sektor Jasa Dengan Variabel Kontrol Ukuran Perusahaan Dan Kualitas Audit

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Dwikky Darmawan ◽  
Weny Putri
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Significant Influence ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Political Connection ◽  
Discretionary Accrual

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of political connection toward the earnings management of service sector companies with control variables firm size and audit quality. Firm�s political connection measured by using dummy variable. Earnings management is proxied by discretionary accrual which is measured by using Modified Jones Model. The research data applied in this study are the secondary data which are taken from the annual reports of service sector companies that listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange of 2016-2017 periods. There are 330 observations fit as sample, which are taken by using purposive sampling method. Data are processed by applying the multiple linear regression test. The result show that the political connection had positive but not significant influence to earnings management. Firm size had negative but not significant influence to earnings management. Whereas the audit quality had a negative and significant influence to earnings management.

The relation between R&D accounting treatment and the risk of the firm: Evidence from the Italian market

2014 ◽  
pp. 33-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Cimini ◽  
Alessandro Gaetano ◽  
Alessandra Pagani
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Capital Assets ◽  
Italian Market ◽  
D Investment ◽  
Firm Evidence

In this paper, we investigate the relation between the different accounting treatments of R&D expenditures and the risk of the entity in order to identify under which treatment insiders are more likely to carry out earnings management. By analysing the R&D investment strategies of a sample of 137 listed Italian entities that complied with the requirements of IAS 38 during fiscal year 2009, following Lantz and Sahut (2005), we calculate several indexes that show the preferences of insiders to account R&D expenditures as costs or capital assets, and we study the relation of such preferences with the risk of the entity, which we measure with the unlevered beta. We hypothesize that the entities, which considered the R&D investments as costs, are the riskiest ones due to the higher probability that insiders carried out earnings management. Our results confirm such hypothesis. This paper could have implications for academics and standard setters that could learn that behind accounting discretion, insiders could opportunistically behave against outsiders.

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