IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ausman/v50y2025i4p1359-1384.html

Asset impairments surrounding chief financial officer turnover

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Bugeja
  • Michelle Spiller
  • Helen Spiropoulos
  • Peter Wells

Abstract

We examine the effect of chief financial officer (CFO) turnover on the likelihood and size of asset impairments. Using Australian data, we find evidence consistent with incoming CFOs recording larger asset impairments, particularly when they are external hires with prior listed experience, or receive equity-based compensation. Our results also indicate that outgoing CFOs report higher profits in the year prior to their departure by reporting fewer and smaller asset impairments. This effect is larger when outgoing CFOs move to another listed firm or receive equity-based compensation, consistent with reputational and compensation incentives to maximise earnings. Overall, our results provide evidence of the independent influence CFOs have on financial reporting. JEL Classification: M41, G34, M40

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Bugeja & Michelle Spiller & Helen Spiropoulos & Peter Wells, 2025. "Asset impairments surrounding chief financial officer turnover," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 50(4), pages 1359-1384, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:50:y:2025:i:4:p:1359-1384
    DOI: 10.1177/03128962241270757
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03128962241270757
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/03128962241270757?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jean C. Bedard & Rani Hoitash & Udi Hoitash, 2014. "Chief Financial Officers as Inside Directors," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 787-817, September.
    2. Francis, Jennifer & LaFond, Ryan & Olsson, Per & Schipper, Katherine, 2005. "The market pricing of accruals quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 295-327, June.
    3. Feng, Mei & Ge, Weili & Luo, Shuqing & Shevlin, Terry, 2011. "Why do CFOs become involved in material accounting manipulations?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 21-36.
    4. Xue Wang, 2010. "Increased Disclosure Requirements and Corporate Governance Decisions: Evidence from Chief Financial Officers in the Pre‐ and Post–Sarbanes‐Oxley Periods," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 48(4), pages 885-920, September.
    5. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    6. Steven Cahan & David Bond & Brett Govendir & Peter Wells & Steven Cahan, 2016. "An evaluation of asset impairments by Australian firms and whether they were impacted by AASB 136," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 56(1), pages 259-288, March.
    7. Douglas Dejong & Zhejia Ling, 2013. "Managers: Their Effects on Accruals and Firm Policies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1-2), pages 82-114, January.
    8. Kim, Jeong-Bon & Li, Yinghua & Zhang, Liandong, 2011. "CFOs versus CEOs: Equity incentives and crashes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 713-730, September.
    9. Ayse Karaevli, 2007. "Performance consequences of new CEO ‘Outsiderness’: Moderating effects of pre‐ and post‐succession contexts," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 681-706, July.
    10. Brickley, James A. & Linck, James S. & Coles, Jeffrey L., 1999. "What happens to CEOs after they retire? New evidence on career concerns, horizon problems, and CEO incentives," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 341-377, June.
    11. Moore, Ml, 1973. "Management Changes And Discretionary Accounting Decisions," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(1), pages 100-107.
    12. (Xuefeng) Jiang, John & Petroni, Kathy R. & Yanyan Wang, Isabel, 2010. "CFOs and CEOs: Who have the most influence on earnings management?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 513-526, June.
    13. Peter Wells, 2002. "Earnings management surrounding CEO changes," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 42(2), pages 169-193, June.
    14. Pourciau, Susan, 1993. "Earnings management and nonroutine executive changes," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1-3), pages 317-336, April.
    15. Fee, C. Edward & Hadlock, Charles J., 2004. "Management turnover across the corporate hierarchy," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 3-38, February.
    16. Wang, Weimin & Shin, Yong-Chul & Francis, Bill B., 2012. "Are CFOs’ Trades More Informative Than CEOs’ Trades?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(4), pages 743-762, August.
    17. Jones, Jj, 1991. "Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 193-228.
    18. Haislip, Jacob Z. & Masli, Adi & Richardson, Vernon J. & Watson, Marcia Weidenmier, 2015. "External reputational penalties for CEOs and CFOs following information technology material weaknesses," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 1-15.
    19. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    20. Weili GE & Dawn Matsumoto & Jenny Li Zhang, 2011. "Do CFOs Have Style? An Empirical Investigation of the Effect of Individual CFOs on Accounting Practices," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(4), pages 1141-1179, December.
    21. Strong, John S & Meyer, John R, 1987. "Asset Writedowns: Managerial Incentives and Security Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 643-661, July.
    22. Murphy, Kevin J. & Zimmerman, Jerold L., 1993. "Financial performance surrounding CEO turnover," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1-3), pages 273-315, April.
    23. Meiting Lu & Naibuka Saune & Yaowen Shan, 2013. "The Choice of Fiscal Year-end in Australia," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 23(3), pages 244-251, September.
    24. Francois Brochet & Lucile Faurel & Sarah Mcvay, 2011. "Manager‐Specific Effects on Earnings Guidance: An Analysis of Top Executive Turnovers," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 49(5), pages 1123-1162, December.
    25. Vafeas, Nikos & Vlittis, Adamos, 2015. "Board influence on the selection of external accounting executives," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 46-65.
    26. Zining Li & Pervin K. Shroff & Ramgopal Venkataraman & Ivy Xiying Zhang, 2011. "Causes and consequences of goodwill impairment losses," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 745-778, December.
    27. DeFond, Mark L. & Jiambalvo, James, 1994. "Debt covenant violation and manipulation of accruals," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1-2), pages 145-176, January.
    28. Park, Jong-Hun & Kim, Changsu & Sung, Yun-Dal, 2014. "Whom to dismiss? CEO celebrity and management dismissal," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2346-2355.
    29. Fama, Eugene F, 1980. "Agency Problems and the Theory of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(2), pages 288-307, April.
    30. Healy, Paul M., 1985. "The effect of bonus schemes on accounting decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1-3), pages 85-107, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Florackis, Chris & Sainani, Sushil, 2021. "Can CFOs resist undue pressure from CEOs to manage earnings?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. Caglio, Ariela & Dossi, Andrea & Van der Stede, Wim A., 2018. "CFO role and CFO compensation: an empirical analysis of their implications," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 88296, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Frerich Buchholz & Kerstin Lopatta & Karen Maas, 2020. "The Deliberate Engagement of Narcissistic CEOs in Earnings Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(4), pages 663-686, December.
    4. Godsell, David & Huang, Kelly & Lao, Brent, 2023. "Managers’ rank & file employee coordination costs and real activities manipulation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    5. Peng, Qiyuan & Yin, Sirui, 2021. "Does the executive labor market discipline? Labor market incentives and earnings management," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 62-86.
    6. Santanu Mitra & Hakjoon Song & Sang Mook Lee & Shin Hyoung Kwon, 2020. "CEO tenure and audit pricing," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 427-459, August.
    7. Ali, Ashiq & Zhang, Weining, 2015. "CEO tenure and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 60-79.
    8. 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.
    9. Duong, Lien & Evans, John, 2015. "CFO compensation: Evidence from Australia," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 425-443.
    10. Gounopoulos, Dimitrios & Loukopoulos, Georgios & Loukopoulos, Panagiotis & Zhang, Yu, 2024. "Do CFO career concerns matter? Evidence from IPO financial reporting outcomes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    11. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Guay, Wayne R. & Weber, Joseph P., 2010. "The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance and debt contracting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 179-234, December.
    12. Jun Hyeok Choi & Saerona Kim & Ayoung Lee, 2019. "CEO Tenure, Corporate Social Performance, and Corporate Governance: A Korean Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, December.
    13. Dauth, Tobias & Pronobis, Paul & Schmid, Stefan, 2017. "Exploring the link between internationalization of top management and accounting quality: The CFO’s international experience matters," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 71-88.
    14. Lyu, Meng & Christine Sun, Xiaojie & Wang, Bing, 2022. "Does CFO vertical duality affect financial outcomes? Evidence from the CFO acting as the head of accounting," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    15. Mark Wilson & Liang Wui Wang, 2010. "Earnings management following chief executive officer changes: the effect of contemporaneous chairperson and chief financial officer appointments," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(2), pages 447-480, June.
    16. Dhouha Bouaziz, 2025. "Does External Audit Quality Moderate the Relationship Between CEO Entrenchment and Financial Communication Quality? Evidence from French Companies," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 15(3), pages 101-129.
    17. Jing He, 2022. "Executive Network Centrality and Corporate Reporting," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(2), pages 1512-1536, February.
    18. Ioannis Dokas & Christos Leontidis & Nicolaos Eriotis & Konstantinos Hazakis, 2021. "Earnings Management. An overview of the relative literature," Bulletin of Applied Economics, Risk Market Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 25-55.
    19. Norman Saleh & Kamran Ahmed, 2005. "Earnings management of distressed firms during debt renegotiation," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 69-86.
    20. Justin J. Hopkins & Edward L. Maydew & Mohan Venkatachalam, 2015. "Corporate General Counsel and Financial Reporting Quality," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(1), pages 129-145, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General

    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:sae:ausman:v:50:y:2025:i:4:p:1359-1384. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.agsm.edu.au .

    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.