Publications
Publications
- December 2009
- Journal of Accounting & Economics
Estimation and Empirical Properties of a Firm-Year Measure of Accounting Conservatism
By: Mozaffar N. Khan and Ross L. Watts
Abstract
We estimate a firm-year measure of accounting conservatism, examine its empirical properties as a metric, and illustrate applications by testing new hypotheses that shed further light on the nature and effects of conservatism. The results are consistent with the measure, C_Score, capturing variation in conservatism and also predicting asymmetric earnings timeliness at horizons of up to 3 years ahead. Cross-sectional hypothesis tests suggest firms with longer investment cycles, higher idiosyncratic uncertainty and higher information asymmetry have higher accounting conservatism. Event studies suggest increased conservatism is a response to increases in information asymmetry and idiosyncratic uncertainty.
Citation
Khan, Mozaffar N., and Ross L. Watts. "Estimation and Empirical Properties of a Firm-Year Measure of Accounting Conservatism." Journal of Accounting & Economics 48, nos. 2-3 (December 2009): 132–150.