The Effect of Revenue Recognition Standards on the Association between Accruals and Cash Flows

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noel D. Addy ◽  
Charles R. Pryor
2005 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Altamuro ◽  
Anne L. Beatty ◽  
Joseph Weber

The SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 101 to address its concern that firms were masking true performance by managing earnings using accelerated revenue recognition. Critics of this Accounting Bulletin stated that it would eliminate industry-accepted revenue recognition practices and reduce the quality of reported earnings. The FASB's revenue recognition discussions echo these concerns stating that revenues recorded prior to the completion of the earnings process contain value-relevant information about future performance. This paper investigates these two hypotheses using a sample of firms that accelerated revenue recognition prior to SAB No. 101 adoption (SAB 101 firms) and a matched set of firms that were unaffected by this regulation (unaffected firms). Our earnings distribution tests indicate that SAB 101 firms are more likely to meet earnings benchmarks. Specifically, we find that, in the pre-adoption period, SAB 101 firms report fewer small negative and more small positive earnings than they do in the post-adoption period and than do unaffected firms in the pre-adoption period; SAB 101 firms report fewer small negative and more small positive earnings changes in the pre-adoption period compared to the post-adoption period. We also document that SAB 101 firms are more likely to have weaker corporate governance and more likely to have financial covenants, providing them with greater incentives to manage earnings. However, we find that the association between earnings and future cash flows and between unexpected earnings and earnings announcement period returns were higher for SAB 101 firms than for unaffected firms in the preadoption period, indicating higher earnings informativeness for SAB 101 firms. These associations declined for SAB 101 firms in the post-adoption period, suggesting that SAB No. 101 caused a decline in earnings informativeness. Overall, our results suggest that, although the revenue recognition practices targeted by SAB No. 101 have been used by some firms to manage earnings, the regulation's prohibition of revenue recognition prior to completion of the earnings process, on average, results in less informative earnings since these unearned revenues provide value-relevant information.


2015 ◽  
pp. 23-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Avallone ◽  
Claudia Gabbioneta ◽  
Paola Ramassa ◽  
Marco Sorrentino

Increased comparability of financial statements across adopting countries is one of the main objectives of IFRS adoption. The level of achievement of this objective, however, is still debatable. While some studies have documented that crosscountry comparability of financial statements has increased after IFRS adoption, other studies have found that comparability has actually decreased since 2005. We contribute to this debate by studying whether the motivations for goodwill writeoff are the same or vary across countries with different accounting systems. Although a good deal of research has investigated the motivations for goodwill writeoff, our study is the first to analyze whether these motivations vary across countries with different accounting systems. We find that firms that expect low cash flows in the future are more likely to report goodwill write-offs if they are located in countries with an Anglo-Saxon accounting system than if they are located in countries with a Continental accounting system. These results suggest that IFRS are "interpreted" differently in different countries and that harmonization of financial statements has not been fully achieved yet.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-238
Author(s):  
Sungho Choi ◽  
Haewon Moon ◽  
Kwan Choi
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1101-1120
Author(s):  
O.V. Shimko

Subject. The article investigates key figures disclosed in consolidated cash flow statements of 25 leading publicly traded oil and gas companies from 2006 to 2018. Objectives. The focus is on determining the current level of values of the main components of consolidated statement of cash flows prepared by leading publicly traded oil and gas companies, identifying key trends within the studied period and factors that led to any transformation. Methods. The study draws on methods of comparative and financial-economic analysis, as well as generalization of materials of consolidated cash flow statements. Results. The comprehensive analysis of annual reports of 25 oil and gas companies enabled to determine changes in the key figures and their relation in the structure of consolidated cash flow statements in the public sector of the industry. It also established main factors that contributed to the changes. Conclusions. In the period under study, I revealed an increase in cash from operating activities; established that capital expenditures in the public sector of the industry show an overall upward trend and depend on the level of oil prices. The analysis demonstrated that even integrated companies’ upstream segment prevail in the capital expenditures structure. The study also unveiled an increase in dividend payments, which, most of the time, exceeded free cash flows thus increasing the debt burden.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1476-1496
Author(s):  
V.V. Smirnov

Subject. The article discusses Russia’s economy and analyzes its effectiveness. Objectives. The study attempts to determine to what extent Russia’s economy is effective. Methods. The study is based on the systems approach and the statistical analysis. Results. I discovered significant fluctuations of the structural balance due to changing growth rates of the total gross national debt denominated in the national currency, and the stability of growth rates of governmental revenue. Changes in the RUB exchange rate and an additional growth in GDP are the main stabilizers of the structural balance, as they depend on hydrocarbon export. As a result of the analysis of cash flows, I found that the exports slowed down. Financial resources are strongly centralized, since Moscow and the Moscow Oblast are incrementing their share in the export of mineral resources, oil and refining products and import of electrical machines and equipment. Conclusions and Relevance. The fact that the Russian economy has been effectively organized is proved with the centralization of the economic power and the limits through the cross-regional corporation, such as Moscow and the Moscow Oblast, which is resilient to any regional difficulties ensuring the economic growth and sustainable development. The findings would be valuable for the political and economic community to outline and substantiate actions to keep rates of the economic growth and sustainable development of the Russian economy.


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