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The Accounting Review Vol. 87 No. 4 2012

Rules-Based Accounting Standards and Litigation

Dain C. Donelson1; John M. McInnis1; RICHARD MERGENTHALER2

1 The University of Texas at Austin · 2 The University of Iowa

Abstract

Some claim that rules-based accounting standards shield firms from litigation, while others argue that violations of detailed rules give plaintiffs a “roadmap” to successful litigation. We inform this debate by investigating whether rules-based standards are associated with the incidence and outcome of securities class action litigation. Overall, our results suggest that rules-based standards are associated with a lower incidence of litigation but are not associated with litigation outcomes. These results are of interest in the debate regarding the switch from a more rules-based U.S. GAAP to a more principles-based IFRS.

DOI
10.2308/accr-10274
Volume
87
Issue
4
Pages
1247-1279
Language
en
Sources
openalex bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref

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