China Journal of Accounting Research (Jun 2008)
Accounting Conservatism: A Study of Market-Level and Firm-Level Explanatory Factors
Abstract
This paper investigates the factors affecting the conservatism of accounting reports at the market-level and firm-level. At the market-level, law and institutional factors explain conservatism, while at the firm-level contracting is the driver. We predict and observe that while both levels jointly affect conservatism, it is firm-level factors that play a dominant role. The conclusion suggests that it is more effective to improve the quality of accounting reports by motivating the firm's own demand rather than through listing in a developed capital market.
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