Leif Atle Beisland

A Review of the Value Relevance Literature

Value relevance research empirically investigates the usefulness of accounting information to stock investors. Accounting information is denoted as value relevant if there is a statistical association between the accounting numbers and market values of equity. This review provides a comprehensive study of the value relevance literature. The review fo- cuses mainly on high-quality value relevance research from the last two decades, but it also covers seminal studies from the late 1960s. The primary focus is on research on U.S. financial data, but some international evidence is also presented. The articles are generally selected from top accounting journals. The review offers an introduction to the methodology employed within this research tradition and presents the main results from studies regarding the value relevance of the two summary measures used in financial reports, namely, earnings and book equity. Furthermore, the review describes studies on the development in value relevance over time and shows how value relevance from different accounting methods can be compared. Overall, the review provides in-depth information on the value relevance literature to readers who wish to familiarise themselves with this line of empirical accounting research.

An Analysis of the Drivers of Microfinance Rating Assessments

Rating assessments of microfinance institutions (MFIs) are claimed to measure a combination of creditworthiness, trustworthiness, and excellence in microfinance. Using a global data set covering reports from 304 microfinance institutions, this study suggests that these ratings are mainly driven by size, profitability, and risk. The overall results suggest that microfinance ratings convey information similar to that communicated by traditional credit ratings. All results are remarkably consistent across rating agencies. The determinants of the rating grades are found to be the same in all subsamples.

Equity valuation in practice: The influence of net financial expenses

Highlights • I analyse how net financial expenses associate with market prices of stocks.• The empirical study finds that financial items are not value relevant under IFRS.• The study concludes that equity values are driven by operating items.• The residual operating income model is appropriate for equity valuation. Abstract This study investigates the relevance of net financial expenses with respect to equity valuation in an IFRS accounting regime. According to the residual earnings valuation model, income related to balance sheet items that are recorded at fair value is not applicable for valuation purposes. There are no residual earnings associated with these items because the balance sheet provides ‘perfect’ value estimates for the items in question. In accordance with the contention that under IFRS, aggregate net financial liabilities are recorded at a book value that is close to fair value, this study demonstrates that net financial expenses are not associated with the market prices of stocks. The investigation discusses the empirical findings in light of the enduring controversies regarding the use of fair value accounting.

Audit Quality and Corporate Governance: Evidence from the Microfinance Industry

This study uses a unique, hand-collected sample of microfinance institutions from 73 countries that typically are not investigated in accounting research to analyze the relationships between audit quality and governance mechanisms. We examine two measures of audit quality, namely, the use of Big Four auditors and the presence of internal auditors who report to the boards of these institutions. The empirical analysis of this study reveals that these two quality metrics are highly related, although we also demonstrate that these metrics capture distinctive aspects of audit quality. In particular, the presence of internal auditors is related to other indicators of stricter governance, whereas the use of Big Four auditors is generally unrelated to other control mechanisms. This study illustrates that there is no single association between audit quality and governance; instead, the relationships between these two characteristics are dependent on the specific mechanism that is investigated. However, for situations in which a significant relationship between audit quality and governance does exist, the sign of this relationship is always positive. Thus, our data support the complementarity view of these two traits that is espoused by prior research. We find no support for the contention that these control mechanisms function as substitutes.

Earnings Quality in Nonprofit Versus For-Profit Organizations: Evidence From the Microfinance Industry

This study uses data from the microfinance industry to analyze differences in earnings quality between for-profit and nonprofit organizations. The two sets of organizations differ with respect to both governance mechanisms and managerial incentives, and little research has been conducted to investigate how such differences affect the quality of financial reporting. Overall, we find little evidence of differences in earnings quality between our two samples in the aggregate. We do, however, observe significant differences among the types of nonprofit organizations; this finding suggests that the concept of a “nonprofit level of earnings quality” is ill defined.

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.

Barriers to microcredit for disabled persons: Evidence from economically active persons in Uganda

Prior research has identified five barriers hindering disabled persons’ access to microcredit: exclusion by staff; exclusion by non-disabled members of credit groups; self-exclusion; exclusion by credit design; and exclusion by the disability itself. This study applies survey data to examine which barriers disabled persons themselves consider to be the most important in Uganda. The survey covers disabled persons with some kind of existing economic activity and is thus not representative of all disabled persons in the country. The data show that exclusion by credit design is the most relevant obstacle from the perspective of the disabled person. The study suggests that microfinance institutions (MFIs) should revise their credit products and make them more disability-friendly to reach out to more disabled customers. These disability-friendly products may also help the MFI to reach other poor and discriminated groups.

Earnings Quality in the Microfinance Industry

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) supply financial services to micro-enterprises and low-income families. MFIs pursue the double bottom lines of social development and financial returns, and their funding is supplied by a range of sources from donations to commercial investments. Microfinance is thus an arena in which donors meet professional investors, and it has quickly developed into a large industry. Currently, more than 3000 MFIs report their numbers to www.microfinancesummit.org and serve altogether more than 150 million people with microcredit. More than 100 international funds invest in MFIs, and microfinance is about to become an important asset class for investors, particularly those pursuing both financial and social returns (www.mixmarket.org).

Audit Quality and Corporate Governance: Evidence from the Microfinance Industry: Audit Quality and Corporate Governance: Evidence from the Microfinance Industry

This study uses a unique hand�?collected sample of for�?profit and nonprofit microfinance institutions from 70 developing countries to analyse the relationships between audit quality and governance mechanisms. We examine two measures of audit quality, namely, the use of Big Four auditors and the presence of internal auditors. The empirical analysis of this study reveals that these two quality metrics are highly related, although we also demonstrate that these metrics capture distinctive aspects of audit quality. In particular, the presence of internal auditors is related to other indicators of stricter governance, whereas the use of Big Four auditors is generally unrelated to other governance mechanisms. For situations in which a significant relationship between audit quality and governance does exist, the sign of this relationship is always positive. Thus, our data support the complementarity view of these two traits that is espoused by prior research.

Hedge Effectiveness Testing as a Screening Mechanism for Hedge Accounting Does It Work

Accounting for financial instruments has been subject to much controversy, particularly accounting practices related to derivatives held for hedging purposes. For cash flow hedges, poor matching may result when fair-value accounting is prescribed for the hedging instrument and historical cost is prescribed for the assets that generate the “highly probable forecast transaction” to be hedged. Fair-value accounting may therefore induce excess variations in earnings, which could make a firm appear to be more risky than it actually is. The alternative to fair-value accounting offered by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to firms with hedging programs, hedge accounting, is allowed only if the designated hedge passes a test for prospective hedge effectiveness. We develop a model for the prospective hedge effectiveness of cash flow hedges and find that the “highly effective” criterion of the FASB and IASB fails to recognize the scope of variation of the hedge effectiveness of pure hedges for different types of risk exposures. Prospective hedge effectiveness is not a reliable signal of a speculative component in a derivative portfolio and, consequently, the current “highly effective” screening mechanism cannot effectively separate pure hedges from derivative portfolios that are partly or fully influenced by speculation. We link these and other findings to the current efforts of the FASB and IASB to reform accounting for financial instruments.