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Accounting for Oil and Gas Exploration Activities: A Triumph of Economics over Politics

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  • Misund, Bård

    (UiS)

Abstract

For more than 40 years oil and gas companies have been able to choose between two competing methods for accounting for exploration activities. The literature suggests that accounting method discretion can potentially signal managements' private information with the benefit of improving the relevance of accruals for forecasting future cash flows. However, if accounting method flexibility is used for financial window-dressing, accruals can lose their value-relevance and investors will resort to cash flows measures instead. In this study we compare the value-relevance of earnings versus cash flow for oil and gas companies from 1992 to 2013. Our results suggest that earnings are not significant, independent of accounting method choice, consistent with the view that accruals have limited value in the oil and gas industry. Rather, it seems that cash flow measures of both current and future profitability are significantly associated with oil company returns. These findings suggest that the financial markets lack confidence in oil company earnings, irrespective of accounting method choice.

Suggested Citation

  • Misund, Bård, 2015. "Accounting for Oil and Gas Exploration Activities: A Triumph of Economics over Politics," UiS Working Papers in Economics and Finance 2015/15, University of Stavanger.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:stavef:2015_015
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    Cited by:

    1. Misund, Bård, 2015. "Reserves Replacement and Oil and Gas Company Shareholder returns," UiS Working Papers in Economics and Finance 2015/11, University of Stavanger.
    2. Misund, Bård & Osmundsen, Petter, 2015. "The Value Relevance of Accounting Figures in the Oil & Gas Industry: Cash Flow or Accruals?," UiS Working Papers in Economics and Finance 2015/19, University of Stavanger.
    3. Bård Misund & Petter Osmundsen, 2017. "Valuation of proved vs. probable oil and gas reserves," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1385443-138, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Full cost versus successful efforts; oil and gas company valuation; petroleum accounting; value-relevance.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • Q33 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Resource Booms (Dutch Disease)

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