IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jocaae/v9y2013i2p123-135.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changes in the value relevance of accounting information over time: Evidence from the emerging market of China

Author

Listed:
  • Lam, Kevin C.K.
  • Sami, Heibatollah
  • Zhou, Haiyan

Abstract

We investigate the changes in the value relevance of accounting information among Chinese firms over the past two decades, during which accounting reforms are launched to provide decision makers with increased disclosure and higher quality financial information. We also investigate the factors that differentiate firms showing significant value relevance improvement from firms showing little improvement. We find increases in the value relevance of some financial variables and decreases in others, which suggests that accounting numbers help to explain the pricing process of stock shares although at different levels. In addition, we find that value relevance improvements are more pronounced for smaller firms, firms with lower growth rates, and those with greater asset tangibility. We also document that value relevance improvements are generally lower in an exuberant stock market. These results have implications for a variety of information users and policy makers in emerging countries which are reforming their accounting systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Lam, Kevin C.K. & Sami, Heibatollah & Zhou, Haiyan, 2013. "Changes in the value relevance of accounting information over time: Evidence from the emerging market of China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 123-135.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jocaae:v:9:y:2013:i:2:p:123-135
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcae.2013.06.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1815566913000155
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcae.2013.06.001?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. Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello, 2007. "Financial Constraints, Asset Tangibility, and Corporate Investment," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(5), pages 1429-1460, 2007 12.
    2. Xiao, Zezhong, 1999. "Corporate disclosures made by Chinese listed companies," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 349-373, August.
    3. Simon Yu Kit Fung & Lixin (Nancy) Su & Xindong (Kevin) Zhu, 2010. "Price Divergence from Fundamental Value and the Value Relevance of Accounting Information," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 829-854, September.
    4. Collins, Daniel W. & Maydew, Edward L. & Weiss, Ira S., 1997. "Changes in the value-relevance of earnings and book values over the past forty years," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 39-67, December.
    5. Alford, A & Jones, J & Leftwich, R & Zmijewski, M, 1993. "The Relative Informativeness Of Accounting Disclosures In Different Countries," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31, pages 183-223.
    6. Brown, Stephen & Lo, Kin & Lys, Thomas, 1999. "Use of R2 in accounting research: measuring changes in value relevance over the last four decades," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 83-115, December.
    7. David Aboody & John Hughes & Jing Liu, 2002. "Measuring Value Relevance in a (Possibly) Inefficient Market," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 965-986, September.
    8. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    9. Core, John E. & Guay, Wayne R. & Buskirk, Andrew Van, 2003. "Market valuations in the New Economy: an investigation of what has changed," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1-3), pages 43-67, January.
    10. Ou, Jane A. & Penman, Stephen H., 1989. "Financial statement analysis and the prediction of stock returns," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 295-329, November.
    11. Wayne R. Landsman & Edward L. Maydew, 2002. "Has the Information Content of Quarterly Earnings Announcements Declined in the Past Three Decades?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 797-808, June.
    12. DeAngelo, Linda Elizabeth, 1981. "Auditor size and audit quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 183-199, December.
    13. Francis, J & Schipper, K, 1999. "Have financial statements lost their relevance?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 319-352.
    14. In†Mu Haw & Daqing Qi & Donghui Wu & Woody Wu, 2005. "Market Consequences of Earnings Management in Response to Security Regulations in China," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(1), pages 95-140, March.
    15. Zhou, Haiyan, 2007. "Auditing standards, increased accounting disclosure, and information asymmetry: Evidence from an emerging market," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 584-620.
    16. Lev, B, 1989. "On The Usefulness Of Earnings And Earnings Research - Lessons And Directions From 2 Decades Of Empirical-Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27, pages 153-192.
    17. Pfeiffer, RJ & Elgers, PT, 1999. "Controlling for lagged stock price responses in pricing regressions: An application to the pricing of cash flows and accruals," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 239-247.
    18. Sami, Heibatollah & Zhou, Haiyan, 2004. "A comparison of value relevance of accounting information in different segments of the Chinese stock market," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 403-427.
    19. Lev, B & Zarowin, P, 1999. "The boundaries of financial reporting and how to extend them," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 353-385.
    20. Trueman, B & Wong, MHF & Zhang, XJ, 2000. "The eyeballs have it: Searching for the value in internet stocks," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38, pages 137-162.
    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. Shuxia Zhang & Xiangyang Yin & Liping Xu & Ziyu Li & Deyue Kong, 2022. "Effect of Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance on Corporate Financialization: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Huang, Haijie & Lee, Edward & Lyu, Changjiang & Zhu, Zhenmei, 2016. "The effect of accounting academics in the boardroom on the value relevance of financial reporting information," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 18-30.
    3. Maigoshi, Zaharaddeen Salisu & Latif, Rohaida Abdul & Kamardin, Hasnah, 2018. "Change in value-relevance of disclosed RPT across accounting regimes: Evidence from Malaysia," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 422-433.
    4. Kim, Oksana, 2016. "The IFRS Adoption Reform through the Lens of Neoinstitutionalism: The Case of the Russian Federation," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 345-362.
    5. Abdulrahman Alomair & Alan Farley & Helen Hong Yang, 2022. "The impact of IFRS adoption on the value relevance of accounting information in Saudi Arabia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2839-2878, June.

    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. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    2. Schaberl, Philipp D., 2016. "Beyond accounting and back: An empirical examination of the relative relevance of earnings and “other” information," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 98-113.
    3. Shuai Shao & Robert Stoumbos & X. Frank Zhang, 2021. "The power of firm fundamental information in explaining stock returns," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 1249-1289, December.
    4. Shan, Yuan George, 2015. "Value relevance, earnings management and corporate governance in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 186-207.
    5. Mark Brimble & Allan Hodgson, 2007. "On the intertemporal value relevance of conventional financial accounting in Australia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 47(4), pages 599-622, December.
    6. Oliveira, Lídia & Rodrigues, Lúcia Lima & Craig, Russell, 2010. "Intangible assets and value relevance: Evidence from the Portuguese stock exchange," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 241-252.
    7. Tswei, Keshin, 2013. "Is transaction price more value relevant compared to accounting information? An investigation of a time-series approach," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1062-1078.
    8. Morris, John J. & Alam, Pervaiz, 2012. "Value relevance and the dot-com bubble of the 1990s," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 243-255.
    9. Vinay Goyal & Subrata K. Mitra, 2022. "Is the asymmetric impact of aggregate revenue and aggregate earnings on the stock index in accordance with the prospect theory?," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 22(1), pages 200-222, March.
    10. 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.
    11. Adam Ritter & Peter Wells, 2006. "Identifiable intangible asset disclosures, stock prices and future earnings," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 46(5), pages 843-863, December.
    12. Ilanit Gavious & Dafna Schwartz, 2009. "The Valuation Implications of Sales Growth in Start-up Ventures," Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, Fall.
    13. Zéghal, Daniel & Maaloul, Anis, 2011. "The accounting treatment of intangibles – A critical review of the literature," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 262-274.
    14. Douglas Skinner, 2008. "Accounting for intangibles – a critical review of policy recommendations," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(3), pages 191-204.
    15. Rajgopal, Shiva & Venkatachalam, Mohan, 2011. "Financial reporting quality and idiosyncratic return volatility," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 1-20.
    16. Rajgopal, Shiva & Venkatachalam, Mohan, 2011. "Financial reporting quality and idiosyncratic return volatility," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 1-20, February.
    17. Tahat, Yasean A. & Alhadab, Mohammad, 2017. "Have accounting numbers lost their value relevance during the recent financial credit crisis?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 182-191.
    18. Aabo, Tom & Pantzalis, Christos & Park, Jung Chul, 2017. "Idiosyncratic volatility: An indicator of noise trading?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 136-151.
    19. Samudhram, Ananda & Stewart, Errol & Wickramanayake, Jayasinghe & Sinnakkannu, Jothee, 2014. "Value relevance of human capital based disclosures: Moderating effects of labor productivity, investor sentiment, analyst coverage and audit quality," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 338-353.
    20. Aharon, David Y. & Gavious, Ilanit & Yosef, Rami, 2010. "Stock market bubble effects on mergers and acquisitions," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 456-470, November.

    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:jocaae:v:9:y:2013:i:2:p:123-135. 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/journal-of-contemporary-accounting-and-economics .

    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.