成本僵固性與盈餘品質之關聯性

Cost Stickiness and it’s Impacts on the Earnings Quality

根據Noreen and Soderstorm（1997）、Coopers and Kaplan（1998）、以及Anderson et al.（2003）等相關學者的研究，在相同條件不變之下，成本動因上升時，成本及費用隨之而增加之幅度，會大於成本與費用隨成本動因下降而減少之幅度。此一現象，稱之為成本僵固性（Cost stickiness）。本研究主要探討臺灣上市、櫃企業費用是否存在成本僵固性之現象，並且衡量影響其僵固程度之因素為何，以及檢驗具產業特性之企業在發生成本僵固性時，企業是否會依據產業特性作費用之調整，以改變成本僵固之程度。並進一步探討成本僵固性的存在，是否會影響企業的盈餘品質。研究結果顯示（1）臺灣上市、櫃企業，在2008年至2015年之樣本期間中，營業費用及銷管費用確實存在成本僵固性之現象；（2）當企業發生成本僵固性，高研發強度及高資產強度之企業，其僵固程度將擴大；（3）當企業發生成本僵固性時，會調整研發支出與不動產及廠房，以改變僵固程度；（4）小額正盈餘之企業，存在成本僵固性時，較容易產生有盈餘管理的動機，改變僵固程度，使其盈餘品質會下降。

The objectives of this paper are, first, to investigate whether cost stickiness exists in Taiwanese publicly traded corporations. Second, facing with sales variation what kind of costs/expenditures are to be adjusted, here in this paper, operating expenses (OE) and selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) stickiness are to be examined. Third, while cost stickiness exists is a common phenomena in Taiwan, we are also intended to identify the main industry characteristics, to examine whether the firm will adjust committed cost based on industry characteristics for the purpose of reducing the degree of stickiness. Our empirical results of this study are summarized as follows: (1) cost stickiness exists both in operating expenses (OE) and selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) of publicly traded corporations in Taiwan. Operating expenses (OE) and selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) increase on average at a rate of 0.648% and 0.657% per 1% increase in sales but decrease only 0.082% and 0.104% per 1% decrease in sales (2)As cost stickiness exists in the company, that belong industry of the high degree of research and development expenditure, it will increase the degree of stickiness (3) As cost stickiness exists in the company, the management will likely to adjustment their research and development expenditure for the purpose of influencing the degree of stickiness (4)As cost stickiness exists in firm, this will provide suspects that the management for their own compensation interests to manipulate the earnings report, and, it will result in a reduction of the firm’s earnings quality.