主题：GAAP Restrictions and the Debt-Contracting Value of Accounting Information

主讲人：程林，亚利桑那大学副教授

时间：11月5日（周二）上午9点30分

地点：A204

主办单位：武汉大学经济与管理学院会计系，武汉大学财务与会计研究所

主讲人简介：

程林，亚利桑那大学（University of Arizona）埃勒管理学院会计学副教授，2012年获得俄亥俄州立大学会计与管理信息系统博士学位。研究兴趣包括公司披露、债务合同、劳动经济学、审计和文本分析等。其研究成果发表于Journal of Accounting and Economics, The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research和Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance等期刊，其中2010年获CAPANA会议最佳论文奖。程林副教授是TAR, CAR, MS, JIAR, JAPP和JBFA的外审专家。

讲座主要内容：

We examine how restrictions in accounting standards affect the debt-contracting value of accounting information. We find that under more restrictive standards, lenders make more adjustments to GAAP-based performance measures by excluding certain items when designing debt covenants, suggesting that GAAP restrictions reduce the debt-contracting value of accounting information. Consistent with this, we find that restrictive standards are also positively associated with loan spreads (but significantly less so when lenders adjust GAAP numbers in loan contracts). We perform two additional analyses to enhance identification. First, we examine the relation between the exclusion of specific non-recurring items from contractual definitions of earnings and the number of restrictions in the GAAP standards that apply to each specific item. Second, in difference-in-differences analyses around standard changes, we examine whether the propensity to exclude items varies with changes in restrictions of the relatedstandards. We find consistent evidence in both of these analyses. Overall, by focusing on lenders as important users of financial statements, this study improves our understanding of the impact of GAAP restrictions on the usefulness of accounting information.

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