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Purpose: This study aims to explore the audit quality supplied by the Big 4, large indigenous Chinese (LIC) and five largest second-tier international network (Tier 2) audit firms in China during the second phase of their audit market development. Design/methodology/approach: Ordinary least squares regression is used on an archival sample of firm-year observations. Endogeneity and self-selection bias are addressed by creating a propensity score matched sample and using two-stage regression with the inverse Mills' ratio. Findings: Strong evidence is found for higher levels of actual audit quality for the Big 4 relative to both LIC and Tier 2 audit firms. Weak evidence is found regarding the audit quality superiority of Tier 2 relative to LIC audit firms. Furthermore, the actual audit quality differential between the Big 4 relative to the LIC and Tier 2 firms widens after adopting International Financial Reporting Standards, which is contrary to the intention of Chinese regulators. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first known empirical study to trisect Big N and non-Big N audit firm proxies into the Big 4, LIC and Tier 2. Currently, only qualitative studies have fully appreciated the unique regulatory roles of these three firm structures in developing China's audit market, which reflect tensions between reliance on foreign expertise and self-determination. In addition, this study adds to the ongoing global dialogue on Tier 2 as an alternative to the Big 4 and the benefits of international accounting network membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and earnings opacity in China. Design/methodology/approach: Two corporate governance mechanisms form the basis of the analysis: 1) the board of directors and 2) the external audit function. OLS regression analysis is employed on a large sample from 2000 to 2014 with 20,235 firm-year observations. Findings: Corporate governance is found to be associated with reduced levels of earnings opacity for Chinese listed companies. Furthermore, the association between corporate governance and reduced levels of earnings opacity strengthened after the implementation of various key reforms. Practical implications: Chinese regulators are advised to proceed with caution as not all Western approaches to corporate governance are transferrable to the Chinese setting. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by analyzing broad latent constructs of corporate governance in addition to individual observable dimensions in order to reveal that various key reforms have been successful in strengthening the link between governance and reporting quality for Chinese listed companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine stock price crash risk (SPCR) as a function of meeting or missing three earnings thresholds – reporting a profit (earnings level), reporting an earnings increase (earnings change) and meeting analysts’ forecasts (earnings expectation).Design/methodology/approach The authors rely upon the research design of Herrmann et al. (2011) to identify the incremental impact of the earnings level and earnings change benchmarks on SPCR, after controlling for the effects of meeting or missing analysts’ expectations.Findings The authors find that meeting analysts’ expectations is negatively associated with SPCR, and this relationship strengthens with the magnitude of the unexpected earnings. However, the authors find little evidence of incremental threshold effects to suggest that earnings level and earnings change benchmarks are critical thresholds with respect to SPCR. Our results are robust after including a number of control variables.Originality/value This study contributes to the literature that investigates determinants of SPCR while simultaneously providing new evidence to conclusions that analysts’ earnings forecast is at the top of the earnings benchmark hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Prior literature has revealed three key earnings benchmarks: earnings level; earnings change; and analysts’ expectations. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the authors seek to establish which earnings benchmark induces the largest extent of earnings management. Second, the authors explore the implications of earnings management on firm future performance. Both of these purposes are investigated for Chinese listed companies during China’s IFRS/ISA reporting era.Design/methodology/approach The authors rely upon the unique regulations and incentives for Chinese listed companies in order to develop four testable hypotheses. Next, the authors employ both logistic and ordinary least squares regressions to test the hypotheses.Findings The results suggest that Chinese listed firms have the highest level of income increasing discretionary accruals around the earnings level benchmark, followed by the earnings change benchmark. The authors do not find any evidence of earnings management to beat analysts’ expectation. In addition, the authors find evidence that Chinese listed firms with relatively high level of earnings management and low earnings exhibit relatively weak future stock performance.Originality/value The findings are the first to document an earnings management benchmark hierarchy with respect to the extent of income increasing discretionary accruals, while simultaneously establishing a link between earnings management and firm future stock performance, for Chinese listed companies. The findings are valuable for regulators and investors by suggesting that management intervention in the reporting process during China’s IFRS/ISA reporting era may act to circumvent delisting regulations and cloud earnings signal for firms that beat certain earnings benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate two related questions on business research and development (R & D) simultaneously. First, does R & D create or resolve uncertainty? Second, does uncertainty encourage or discourage business R & D? Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses the three-stage least squares regression method and a system of simultaneous equations to examine the two research questions simultaneously. Instrumental variables overcome the econometric endogeneity problem. Findings – The results are consistent with the hypothesis that R & D creates rather than resolves uncertainty. Why then do risk-averse business managers undertake R & D? This paper argues that in creating uncertainty, R & D also creates “shadow options” for supplementary business investment not envisaged by business managers in the original objective for R & D. Rather, managers unexpectedly uncover shadow options in R & D’s inherent knowledge discovery process, which encourages business R & D in the first instance. Consistent with this real options interpretation, this paper reports evidence that volatility encourages R & D. Originality/value – This paper differs from the current literature in the sense that it investigates the two related R & D questions simultaneously rather than individually. The authors argue that the two related questions are inextricably interrelated, and investigating the two questions simultaneously would provide results that can possibly solve conflicting empirical results in the current literature. The results are also particularly useful for business managers who make decisions on whether to undertake R & D projects or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]