Characteristics of Accounting Standards and SEC Review Comments

被引：30

作者：

Boone, Jeff P. ^{[1
]}

Linthicum, Cheryl L. ^{[1
]}

Poe, April ^{[2
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Texas San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249 USA

[2] Univ Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX USA

来源：

ACCOUNTING HORIZONS | 2013年 / 27卷 / 04期

关键词：

Securities and Exchange Commission; comment letter; Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; principles-based; rules-based; MANAGERS;

D O I：

10.2308/acch-50551

中图分类号：

F8 [财政、金融];

学科分类号：

0202 ;

摘要：

As mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley, the SEC reviews the financial reports of public companies and challenges the appropriateness of accounting that seems questionable or unclear. We investigate whether the likelihood of an SEC comment (challenge), and the time needed to resolve such comments, depends upon either of two characteristics of the underlying accounting standard-rules and accounting estimates. We find that the probability of an SEC comment increases with the rules-based characteristics in the standard, but find little evidence that time to resolution is related to such characteristics. We also find that the extent of estimates required to implement the standard is positively associated with both the probability of an SEC comment and the time to resolve the comment. Our findings should help inform the debate over the appropriate level of rules and estimates in GAAP, and are especially timely in light of the potential convergence between more rules-based U.S. GAAP and more principles-based IFRS GAAP.

引用

页码：711 / 736

页数：26

共 33 条

[1] Principles-Based versus Rules-Based Accounting Standards: The Influence of Standard Precision and Audit Committee Strength on Financial Reporting Decisions [J].