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Journal of Accounting and Economics Vol. 67 No. 1 2019

Complexity of financial reporting standards and accounting expertise

Roman Chychyla1; Andrew J. Leone2; Miguel Minutti-Meza

1 University of Miami · 2 Northwestern University

Abstract

This study tests whether firms seek to mitigate the adverse effects of Financial Reporting Complexity (FRC) by investing in accounting expertise. We develop a measure of FRC based on the complexity of accounting standards that govern annual disclosures. We find that FRC is positively related to the accounting expertise on a firm’s board of directors and audit committee. We also find that accounting expertise mitigates the relation between FRC and negative reporting outcomes. Collectively, this study increases our understanding of the actions firms take to mitigate the negative consequences of FRC, and the role of accounting expertise in this setting.

DOI
10.1016/j.jacceco.2018.09.005
Volume
67
Issue
1
Pages
226-253
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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