信用評等及經理人異動：SOX之後的重編證據

本文主要換討SOX之後宣告重編公司之經濟後果。探討如下議題:(1)信用評等是否/如何反應公司的重編資訊;(2)重編內涵與經理人異動之關聯性;(3)經理人異動、信用評等改變以及重編嚴重性三者之關聯性。

Following the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), the increasing occurrence of accounting restatements has drawn considerable attention concerning the financial statement quality and adverse consequences of accounting restatements from investors, regulators, auditors and business communities. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate the economic consequences of accounting restatements announced after SOX based on their relations with credit ratings and management turnover. To examine the following research issues of (1) whether and how the credit rating reacts to companies’ restatements, (2) whether restatement characteristics are associated with management turnover, and (3) what the association among management turnover, credit ratings, and restatement severity is, I gather data on 1,838 companies that restated financial statements between 1997 and 2005. In the first part of the study, my results provide empirical evidence consistent with the conjecture that higher severity restatements are more likely to be followed by subsequent unfavorable ratings. Furthermore, rating agencies using accounting-based measures to predict the probability of bankruptcy perform better in assessing ratings in the post-SOX period. Moreover, rating agencies give auditor changes a “fresh-look” after SOX. In the second part of the study, the likelihood of CEO/CFO turnover significantly increases for companies with higher restatements of severity, and a CEO is more likely to be terminated if the company credit rating following restatements is downgraded. The results show that there is no “cop a plea” effect and when restatements are prompted by companies, management turnover appears to be more concerned with the dollar amount of overstatement on income and/or restatements affecting core earnings. In addition, when executives window-dress earnings to portray a more favorable earnings picture, they are more likely to be terminated following subsequent financial restatements. Moreover, results also indicate that after SOX companies seem more likely to blame their auditors for restatements of higher severity and dismiss their auditors afterwards to maybe avoid the replacements of management.