The Effect of Intangible Asset Classification on Professional Financial Statement Users' Assessments

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Anderson, Spencer B.; Mendoza, Kim I.; Mongold, Cassie
• 署名单位: Indiana University System; Indiana University Bloomington; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0021-8456
• DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12604
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 1107-1143
• 关键词: extensions; expertise

摘要

Classification of financial statement elements into categories is an inherent, integral part of the financial reporting system. Although prior research documents that categories influence users' perceptions of included items, we explore the reverse effect-how classifying items in a category can impact perceptions of the category itself and its other members. Using categorization theory from psychology and accounting literature and exploiting the classification challenges inherent to the crypto asset setting, we predict and find that classifying individual items into a category can impact equity analysts' perceptions of the category itself and perceptions of the category's other members. We also explore the boundaries of this effect and find that categories like intangibles, with fewer common prototypical features, are more susceptible to these classification effects. Our results show several ways in which balance sheet classification could lead to unintended consequences for users.