大陸投資限制與盈餘認列即時性之不對稱

Political Restrictions on Investments in China and Asymmetric Timeliness of Earnings

本文主要探討公司盈餘認列壞消息即時性是否會隨著公司投資大陸之金額增加而提升。會計保守原則主要是指會計資訊一般反映市場之壞消息比市場之好消息快，此特質可以做為防止一般經理人操控盈餘的動機以及減緩經理人與股東之間的代理成本。台灣政府針對投資中國大陸金額依照淨值之比率所設定的上限，將使得投資大陸金額重大之公司法令敏感度以及監理成本增加。隨著投資大陸金額之增加，主管機關對於其財務報導將要求更穩健。本文發現大陸投資金額與盈餘認列時效呈現正向關係，支持Watts（2003）穩健原則可幫忙降低公司與主管機關間政治監理之敏感度。

The study investigates whether asymmetric timeliness of earnings will increase with the amount of investments in China. The government in Taiwan has attempted to brake the rapid expansion of commercial ties by placing some restrictions on investments in China. The government restricts cumulative investments in China to 20-40% of a firm's shareholder equity, depending on the firm's size. Following Basu (1997), accounting conservatism would impose stronger verification requirements for the recognition of economic gains than for the recognition of economic losses, leading to accounting earnings that reflect bad news more quickly than good news. Watts (2003) argues that conservatism can reduce the political costs imposed on standard setters and regulators. The results show that asymmetric timeliness increases as the investments in China increase, supporting Watts (2003).