Accounting Information Quality in Latin and North American Public Firms

Paulo, Edilson; Martins, Eliseu; Girão, Luiz Felipe de Araújo Pontes (2014). Accounting Information Quality in Latin- and North-American Public Firms, in Cláudio De Araujo Wanderley , Fábio Frezatti (ed.) Accounting in Latin America (Research in Accounting in Emerging Economies, Volume 14) Emerald G

43 Pages Posted: 17 Sep 2015

See all articles by Edilson Paulo

Edilson Paulo

Federal University of Santa Catarina

Eliseu Martins

University of São Paulo (USP)

Felipe Pontes

L4 Capital; Azure Investments; Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB)

Date Written: June 14, 2014

Abstract

Purpose: We analyze the quality of accounting information reported by public firms in Latin-America and United States of America.

Methodology/approach: To reach our objective, an exploratory and descriptive research was developed. To analyze the dimensions of accounting information quality, the operational model present in literature were applied which assess the persistence in earnings (Dechow and Schrand, 2004), the level of conservatism (Ball and Shivakumar, 2005), accounting earnings management (Pae, 2005) and accruals quality measurement (Dechow and Dichev, 2002), in a sample composed of publicly traded companies in the markets of Latin America and the North America (represented by USA), totaling 2,526 companies, from 2005 to 2011.

Findings: Our results evidenced that financial reporting of Latin-American companies are less conservative (except for Brazilian companies) and has similar level of earnings management in comparison to the North-American ones. Concerning to the quality of accruals it was observed that there are significant differences especially related to accruals of Brazilian companies.

Practical Implications: Our results suggest differences in the quality of accounting information, originated by the economic environment where the company is inserted. So, investors must be careful when they are comparing firms between these markets, because the results were different for some cases, which may lead the investors to make misallocation of his resources.

Originality/Value of paper: We expanded previous literature by the use of various proxies for accounting quality, comparing firms on emerging markets with the major capital market (USA), and the crises period of time.

Keywords: quality of accounting information, persistence, conservatism, earnings management, accrual quality

JEL Classification: G1, G14, G15, G38, M40

Suggested Citation

Paulo, Edilson and Martins, Eliseu and Pontes Girão, Luiz Felipe de Araújo, Accounting Information Quality in Latin and North American Public Firms (June 14, 2014). Paulo, Edilson; Martins, Eliseu; Girão, Luiz Felipe de Araújo Pontes (2014). Accounting Information Quality in Latin- and North-American Public Firms, in Cláudio De Araujo Wanderley , Fábio Frezatti (ed.) Accounting in Latin America (Research in Accounting in Emerging Economies, Volume 14) Emerald G, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2660134

Edilson Paulo

Federal University of Santa Catarina ( email )

Florianopolis, Santa Catarina 88040-970
Brazil

Eliseu Martins

University of São Paulo (USP) ( email )

Rua Luciano Gualberto, 315
São Paulo, São Paulo 14800-901
Brazil

Luiz Felipe de Araújo Pontes Girão (Contact Author)

L4 Capital ( email )

R. Hungria, 664 - Jardim Europa
12th floor
São Paulo, São Paulo 01455-904
Brazil

HOME PAGE: http://www.l4capital.com.br

Azure Investments ( email )

João Pessoa
Brazil

Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB) ( email )

Cidade Universitária
s/n - Castelo Branco III
João Pessoa, Paraiba 58297-000
Brazil

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