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Journal of Accounting and Economics Vol. 69 No. 1 2020

A theoretical analysis connecting conservative accounting to the cost of capital

Stephen H. Penman1; Xiao‐Jun Zhang2

1 Columbia University · 2 University of California, Berkeley

Abstract

We connect conservative accounting to the cost of capital by developing an accounting model within an asset pricing framework. The model has three distinctive features: (1) transaction-cycle-conformity, where the book value equals the value of cash at the beginning and the end of a cash-to-cash transaction cycle; (2) a revenue recognition principle, where uncertainty affects the amount of revenues recognized; (3) a matching principle, where expenses are matched with revenue with a conservative bias due to uncertainty. We demonstrate how the growth rate of expected earnings, the accruals-to-cash ratio, and the expected earnings yield relate to the expected stock return.

DOI
10.1016/j.jacceco.2019.101236
Volume
69
Issue
1
Pages
101236
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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