Kjell Henry Knivsflå

Earnings Manipulation: Cost of Capital versus Tax

We show that if taxable income were linked to accounting income, there will exist an automatic safeguard against manipulation of earnings within the analysed framework. Separating taxable income from accounting income will remove this self-controlled mechanism, and accordingly create a need for separate countermeasures to prevent earnings manipulation.

How Increased Regulatory Oversight of Nonaudit Services Affects Investors' Perceptions of Earnings Quality

In 2003, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (FSA) disclosed that audit firms had violated the legal restrictions for providing non-audit services (NAS). In response, the FSA tightened the NAS regulations. This study examines how regulatory oversight affects the relation between the provision of NAS and earnings response coefficients (ERC). For small, non-industry specialized audit firms, the disclosure of violations in 2003 negatively affected the relationship between NAS and ERC, but the effect was more pronounced in the disclosure year 2003 than in the new regulation period 2004-2008. For Big 5 audit firms, these negative effects are moderated, indicating higher audit quality. Contrary to our expectations, the results of this study suggest that investors perceive audit firm industry specialization as a threat to independence in 2003.

Earnings announcements and the variability of stock returns

This article is concerned with the dissemination process of firm-specific annual earnings information in the Norwegian capital market. We find a significant reduction in stock price volatility in the post-announcement period relative to the pre-announcement period for companies traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange in the period 1990-1995. Potential explanations for this phenomenon are tested by relating the observed return volatility to changes in the volatility of the underlying business, the speed at which information is incorporated into stock prices, and the amount of noise in the price process. The empirical analyses reveal no significant changes in either the underlying business variance or the price adjustment coefficients. However, we find a significant decline in the noise term for the largest companies after the earnings release date, supporting the hypothesis that earnings announcements reduce informational asymmetries among investors.

Have IFRS changed how stock prices are associated with earnings and book values? Evidence from Norway

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the mandatory shift from Norwegian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (NGAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Norway affected the valuation weights of earnings and book values, with the aim of gaining insights that are relevant for standard setters, investors and other users of accounting information. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors extend the IFRS literature on structural shifts between the pre- and post-adoption periods by comprehensively controlling for factors that vary between the IFRS sample and the domestic Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) sample. Moreover, the tests are designed to reveal the underlying accounting causes of the observed differences in value relevance. Findings - – IFRS are balance sheet-oriented and emphasize measurement at fair value. By contrast, NGAAP are earnings-oriented and focus on historical cost. IFRS also differ from NGAAP by recognizing more intangible assets. Overall, IFRS are thus less conservative than NGAAP. It was found that expanded fair value accounting increases the value relevance of book values and decreases the value relevance of earnings. However, the improved matching of intangible asset expenditures with the future economic benefits of such intangible assets increases the persistence and value relevance of earnings relative to book values. Originality/value - – This paper introduces a test methodology that is designed to identify the effects that specific accounting differences between the IFRS sample and the domestic GAAP sample have on value relevance. Consequently, this paper not only identifies the overall effects on value relevance but also contributes to the literature by identifying specific accounting differences between IFRS and GAAP that cause these overall effects, and thus obtain insights that are valuable for standard setters and other users of accounting information.

Evidence on Competitive Advantage and Superior Stock Market Performance

This article analyzes the value-relevance of industry-based and resource-based competitive advantage in a large sample of firms listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. We measure competitive advantage by a single variable and perform a new decomposition into its underlying sources. In 1986-2005, the industry-based and the resource-based competitive advantage explain more than 20% of abnormal stock market returns, accumulated over five years. The resource-based advantage is almost four times more important than the industry-based advantage. Differences in both the return and the risk capability of firms’ net assets relative to their industry peers are significant parts of the resource-based advantage, estimated at 60% and 40%, respectively.

Have IFRS changed how stock prices are associated with earnings and book values

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the mandatory shift from Norwegian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (NGAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Norway affected the valuation weights of earnings and book values, with the aim of gaining insights that are relevant for standard setters, investors and other users of accounting information. Design/methodology/approach – The authors extend the IFRS literature on structural shifts between the pre- and post-adoption periods by comprehensively controlling for factors that vary between the IFRS sample and the domestic Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) sample. Moreover, the tests are designed to reveal the underlying accounting causes of the observed differences in value relevance. Findings – IFRS are balance sheet-oriented and emphasize measurement at fair value. By contrast, NGAAP are earnings-oriented and focus on historical cost. IFRS also differ from NGAAP by recognizing more intangible assets. Ove...