HUBUNGAN ANTARA PERFORMA KOMITE AUDIT DENGAN EARNINGS QUALITY

Dengan berbagai skandal akuntansi terkait pelaporan keuangan, salah satu peran komite audit adalah untuk memastikan kualitas dari laporan keuangan yang diterbitkan perusahaan. Tujuan dari artikel ilmiah ini adalah untuk menguji hubungan antara performa komite audit yang diproksikan dengan 5 karakteristik komite audit (independensi, ukuran, keahlian di bidang finansial, aktivitas dan kepemilikan saham) dnegan earnings quality yang diproksikan dengan terjadinya earnings restatement pada perusahaan. Hasil penelitian ini menemukan bahwa performa komite audit yang dinilai dari sisi independensi memiliki hubungan negatif signifikan dengan terjadinya earnings restatement atau semakin independen komite audit akan semakin menjamin adanya earnings quality yang lebih tinggi. Sementara itu performa komite audit yang dinilai dari 4 karakteristik lainnya tidak ditemukan memiliki hubungan yang signifikan dengan earnings restatement. Studi ini berfokus pada perusahaan sektor jasa yang terdaftar di BEI dengan kode JASICA nomor 61-99 dengan periode penelitian 2008-2010. Hasil dari penelitian ini menyediakan informasi yang berguna untuk profesi akuntansi, regulator, dan untuk keefektifan performa komite audit perusahaan.

Pay performance sensitivity and earnings restatements

We examine whether the board of directors adjusts the sensitivity of CEO compensation to earnings following an earnings restatement. Using a sample of 598 restating firms and 2,065 non-restating firms during the period of 1995-2011, we find that firms decrease the sensitivity of cash compensation to accounting earnings after restatements and that this decrease is more pronounced for firms that appoint new CEOs after restatements than those whose CEOs continue to remain in office after restatements. Furthermore, the results suggest that the decrease in the sensitivity of cash compensation to earnings for restating firms with new CEOs is more pronounced for firms with a higher level of institutional ownership. This highlights the monitoring role of institutional investors in the redesign of compensation contracts following restatements. Overall, our results are consistent with the argument that the board adjusts the sensitivity of cash compensation to earnings downwards following restatements to constrain earnings management and recover public confidence in the firm.

A Probability Model For Earnings Restatement

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Given their prevalence in recent years, earnings management and financial restatements have been at the center of much of the discussion surrounding corporate malfeasance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This study builds a probability model for predicting the likelihood of earnings restatements by analyzing the trends in and the deviations from the industry averages of the return on assets, accounts receivable turnover, net profit margin, and operating cash flow to net income measures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Data are obtained for a sample of 104 firms (restating as well as non-restating) for the 2000 to 2001 period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The results suggest that deviations from the industry average of the accounts receivable turnover and the variability in the cash flow to net income provide good barometers for detecting fraudulent accounting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Potential restating firms have higher accounts receivable turnover rates than their industry counterparts and downward trends in their cash flow to net income, so an increase (decrease) in the accounts receivable turnover (operating cash flow to net income) significantly increases the likelihood of a restatement, at least in the current study.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>

The Financial Expertise of CFOs and Accounting Restatements

We investigate whether the characteristics of chief financial officers (CFOs) are associated with accounting errors (using accounting restatements as a proxy). We investigate several metrics of financial literacy similar to those suggested for members of audit committees by the NYSE-NASD Blue Ribbon Committee. These metrics include years of work as a CFO, experience at another company, advanced degrees (like M.B.A.s), and professional certification (like a CPA). We use a logit model to test whether the likelihood of an earnings restatement is related to the above metrics of financial literacy (measured at the date of the original accounting error). Restating and non-restating companies during the period 1997–2002 were matched on year, industry, and company size. Overall, our results are consistent with restatements being negatively associated with the CFO's financial expertise. Specifically, we find that companies whose CFOs have more work experience as CFOs, M.B.A.s, and/or CPAs are significantly less likely to restate their earnings.