Financial Reporting Quality and Uncertainty about Credit Risk among Ratings Agencies

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Akins, Brian
• 署名单位: Rice University
• 刊物名称: ACCOUNTING REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4826
• DOI: 10.2308/accr-51944
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 1-22
• 关键词: sfas no. 131; loan syndicate structure; debt-contracting value; earnings management; accounting conservatism; CORPORATE DISCLOSURE; asymmetric timeliness; information asymmetry; MARKETS; IMPACT

摘要

This study finds that better reporting quality is associated with less uncertainty about credit risk as captured by disagreement among the credit rating agencies. The results also show that reporting quality is more important in reducing uncertainty when debt market participants have less access to private information. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, I use the quasi-natural experiment induced by a change in accounting standards that improved reporting quality. Implementation of the standard led to less disagreement among the rating agencies. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on the impact of reporting quality on debt markets and intermediaries.