IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/advacc/v38y2017icp15-29.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are fair value options created equal? A study of SFAS 159 and earnings volatility

Author

Listed:
  • Couch, Robert
  • Thibodeau, Nicole
  • Wu, Wei

Abstract

The fair value option (FVO) embedded in both SFAS 159 and IAS 39 was introduced to allow firms to reduce earnings volatility induced from mixed-measurement accounting. Fiechter (2011) finds a reduction in earnings volatility among IAS 39 FVO adopters. In contrast, we find that earnings volatility increased among U.S. financial institutions following SFAS 159 FVO adoption in 2008. In further analysis, we find that this result is driven by firms reporting fair value assets without reporting fair value liabilities. Our study uses a two-stage Heckman regression to control for treatment effects, and our findings are robust to difference-in-differences regressions with control samples constructed by propensity score matching. These results have implications for current debates regarding fair value accounting, accounting choice, and earnings volatility of financial institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Couch, Robert & Thibodeau, Nicole & Wu, Wei, 2017. "Are fair value options created equal? A study of SFAS 159 and earnings volatility," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 15-29.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:advacc:v:38:y:2017:i:c:p:15-29
    DOI: 10.1016/j.adiac.2017.05.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882611015300286
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.adiac.2017.05.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mary E. Barth & Wayne R. Landsman & Mark H. Lang, 2008. "International Accounting Standards and Accounting Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 467-498, June.
    2. Ray Ball, 2006. "International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): pros and cons for investors," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(S1), pages 5-27.
    3. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 2000. "Forecasting Profitability and Earnings," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73(2), pages 161-175, April.
    4. Couch, Robert & Wu, Wei, 2016. "The fair value option for liabilities and stock returns during the financial crisis," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 83-98.
    5. Michel Magnan & Garen Markarian, 2011. "Accounting, Governance and the Crisis: Is Risk the Missing Link?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 215-231.
    6. Barth, ME & Elliott, JA & Finn, MW, 1999. "Market rewards associated with patterns of increasing earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 387-413.
    7. DeYoung, Robert & Roland, Karin P., 2001. "Product Mix and Earnings Volatility at Commercial Banks: Evidence from a Degree of Total Leverage Model," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 54-84, January.
    8. Barth, Mary E. & Landsman, Wayne R. & Wahlen, James M., 1995. "Fair value accounting: Effects on banks' earnings volatility, regulatory capital, and value of contractual cash flows," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(3-4), pages 577-605, June.
    9. Jo Danbolt & William Rees, 2008. "An Experiment in Fair Value Accounting: UK Investment Vehicles," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 271-303.
    10. Ahmed, Anwer S. & Takeda, Carolyn & Thomas, Shawn, 1999. "Bank loan loss provisions: a reexamination of capital management, earnings management and signaling effects," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-25, November.
    11. Konstantin Milbradt, 2012. "Level 3 Assets: Booking Profits and Concealing Losses," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(1), pages 55-95.
    12. Patricia M. Dechow & Weili Ge & Chad R. Larson & Richard G. Sloan, 2011. "Predicting Material Accounting Misstatements," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 17-82, March.
    13. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    14. McInnis, John & Collins, Daniel W., 2011. "The effect of cash flow forecasts on accrual quality and benchmark beating," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 219-239, April.
    15. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2014_001 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Lakshmi Balasubramanyan & James B. Thomson & Saeed Zaman, 2013. "Are banks forward-looking in their loan loss provisioning? Evidence from the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS)," Working Papers (Old Series) 1313, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    17. Freeman, Rn & Ohlson, Ja & Penman, Sh, 1982. "Book Rate-Of-Return And Prediction Of Earnings Changes - An Empirical-Investigation," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 639-653.
    18. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    19. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G., 2001. "Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 405-440, September.
    20. Pawan Madhogarhia & Ninon Sutton & Theodor Kohers, 2009. "Earnings management practices among growth and value firms," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(22), pages 1767-1778.
    21. David Aboody & Mary E. Barth & Ron Kasznik, 2004. "Firms' Voluntary Recognition of Stock‐Based Compensation Expense," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 123-150, May.
    22. Christian Laux & Christian Leuz, 2010. "Did Fair-Value Accounting Contribute to the Financial Crisis?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 93-118, Winter.
    23. Mary E. Barth & Javier Gomez-Biscarri & Ron Kasznik & Germán López-Espinosa, 2017. "Bank earnings and regulatory capital management using available for sale securities," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1761-1792, December.
    24. Levchenko, Andrei A. & Rancière, Romain & Thoenig, Mathias, 2009. "Growth and risk at the industry level: The real effects of financial liberalization," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2), pages 210-222, July.
    25. Rountree, Brian & Weston, James P. & Allayannis, George, 2008. "Do investors value smooth performance?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(3), pages 237-251, December.
    26. Lu, Hung-Yuan (Richard) & Mande, Vivek, 2014. "Does disaggregation of fair value information increase the value relevance of the fair value hierarchy?," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 90-97.
    27. repec:fip:fedcwp:13-13 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. De Bondt, Werner F M & Thaler, Richard H, 1987. "Further Evidence on Investor Overreaction and Stock Market Seasonalit y," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 557-581, July.
    29. Barbara Pirchegger, 2006. "Hedge accounting incentives for cash flow hedges of forecasted transactions," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 115-135.
    30. Wayne Landsman, 2006. "Fair value accounting for financial instruments: some implications for bank regulation," BIS Working Papers 209, Bank for International Settlements.
    31. Geoffrey Whittington, 2005. "The adoption of International Accounting Standards in the European Union," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 127-153.
    32. Wayne Landsman, 2007. "Is fair value accounting information relevant and reliable? Evidence from capital market research," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(S1), pages 19-30.
    33. Mary Barth & Wayne Landsman, 2010. "How did Financial Reporting Contribute to the Financial Crisis?," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 399-423.
    34. Duh, Rong-Ruey & Hsu, Audrey Wen-hsin & Alves, Paulo Alexandre Pimenta, 2012. "The impact of IAS 39 on the risk-relevance of earnings volatility: Evidence from foreign banks cross-listed in the USA," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 23-38.
    35. Joachim Gassen & Kristina Schwedler, 2010. "The Decision Usefulness of Financial Accounting Measurement Concepts: Evidence from an Online Survey of Professional Investors and their Advisors," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 495-509.
    36. Arnt Verriest & Ann Gaeremynck & Daniel B. Thornton, 2013. "The Impact of Corporate Governance on IFRS Adoption Choices," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 39-77, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tobias Witter & Thorsten Sellhorn & Jens Müller & Vicky Kiosse, 2022. "Balance sheet smoothing," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0006, Berlin School of Economics.
    2. Zamora-Ramírez, Constancio & Morales-Díaz, José, 2018. "The Use of Fair Value Measurement in Financial Reporting: A Literature Review/La Utilización del Valor Razonable en la Contabilidad: Revisión de la Literatura," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 36, pages 489-514, Mayo.
    3. Johannes Thesing & Patrick Velte, 2021. "Do fair value measurements affect accounting-based earnings quality? A literature review with a focus on corporate governance as moderator," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(7), pages 965-1004, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sung Gon Chung & Beng Wee Goh & Jeffrey Ng & Kevin Ow Yong, 2017. "Voluntary fair value disclosures beyond SFAS 157’s three-level estimates," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 430-468, March.
    2. Giuseppe Sannino & Gianluca Ginesti & Carlo Drago, 2014. "Impairment estimates for available-for-sale equity instruments under IFRS: evidence from italian Banks," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(2-3-4), pages 115-140.
    3. Lin Liao & Helen Kang & Richard D. Morris, 2021. "The value relevance of fair value and historical cost measurements during the financial crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 2069-2107, April.
    4. Johannes Thesing & Patrick Velte, 2021. "Do fair value measurements affect accounting-based earnings quality? A literature review with a focus on corporate governance as moderator," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(7), pages 965-1004, September.
    5. Mohammad Aladwan, 2018. "Accounting Measurement Revolution and Market Value," Modern Applied Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(11), pages 279-279, November.
    6. Marco Fasan & Carlo Marcon, 2014. "Accounting Tradition and other drivers of the Fair Value choice: An Opportunistic Management perspective," Working Papers 13, Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    7. Shahid Khan & Mark Anderson & Hussein Warsame & Michael Wright, 2015. "Do IFRS‐Based Earnings Announcements Have More Information Content than Canadian GAAP‐Based Earnings Announcements?," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 276-302, September.
    8. Manuela M. Dantas & Kenneth J. Merkley & Felipe B. G. Silva, 2023. "Government Guarantees and Banks’ Income Smoothing," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 63(2), pages 123-173, April.
    9. Nikola Petrovic & Stuart Manson & Jerry Coakley, 2009. "Does Volatility Improve UK Earnings Forecasts?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9‐10), pages 1148-1179, November.
    10. Andreas Charitou & Irene Karamanou & Anastasia Kopita, 2018. "The determinants and valuation effects of classification choice on the statement of cash flows," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(6), pages 613-650, September.
    11. Couch, Robert & Wu, Wei, 2016. "The fair value option for liabilities and stock returns during the financial crisis," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 83-98.
    12. Beatty, Anne & Liao, Scott, 2014. "Financial accounting in the banking industry: A review of the empirical literature," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 339-383.
    13. Anna Agapova & Jagadison K. Aier & Zhanel DeVides, 2022. "Earnings patterns and managerial guidance," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 1173-1213, October.
    14. Chinmoy Ghosh & Mingwei Liang & Milena T Petrova, 2020. "The Effect of Fair Value Method Adoption: Evidence from Real Estate Firms in the EU," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 205-237, February.
    15. Nicoleta Farcane & Delia Deliu & Maria Gheorghian, 2011. "Auditing Fair Values In A Sensitive Socio-Economical Context," Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, Faculty of Sciences, "1 Decembrie 1918" University, Alba Iulia, vol. 2(13), pages 1-19.
    16. Julien Clavier, 2011. "Transition aux normes comptables IAS/IFRS, discipline de marché et adéquation des fonds propres aux risques dans l'industrie bancaire européenne," Post-Print hal-00646838, HAL.
    17. Argilés bosch, Josep M.a & Aliberch, Anna Sabata & Blandón, Josep García, 2012. "A Comparative Study of Difficulties in Accounting Preparation and Judgement in Agriculture Using Fair Value and Historical Cost for Biological Assets Valuation," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 109-142.
    18. Alexander Merz, 2020. "Expensing performance-vested executive stock options: is there underreporting under IFRS 2?," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(3), pages 461-493, April.
    19. Sin-Hui Yen & Yun-Ting Lai & Hui-Ling Chen, 2016. "Influence of Fair Value on the Qualitative Characteristics and Decision Usefulness of Accounting Information," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 5(4), pages 179-179, November.
    20. Jannis Bischof & Ulf Brüggemann & Holger Daske, 2012. "Fair Value Reclassifications of Financial Assets during the Financial Crisis," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2012-010, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Earnings volatility; Financial institutions; Fair value option; Fair value accounting; Global accounting standards; Accounting choice; SFAS 159; IAS 39;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:advacc:v:38:y:2017:i:c:p:15-29. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/advances-in-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.