Do defaulting CEOs and directors increasethe likelihood of financial distress of the firm?

Abstract We hypothesize that the information on a CEO’s and directors’ (board members) past personal payment default entries in public credit data files significantly increases the predictive power of Altman’s (in J Fin 23(4):589–609, 1968) and Ohlson’s (In J Acc Res 18(1):109–131, 1980) distress prediction models. We base our hypothesis on the literature showing that (1) managerial traits such as overconfidence, over-optimism, and the illusion of control affect corporate decisions and that (2) these same personal traits explain personal over-indebtedness and credit defaults. Our results of analyzing the credit data files of more than 100,000 CEOs and directors of the Finnish private limited liability companies support this hypothesis. Our results remain materially unchanged when using the bootstrapping method to assess their significance and when excluding small firms (firm size below the sample median). Collectively, our results imply that creditors should recognize the increased distress risk of firms appointing defaulting CEOs and directors

Do an insider’s wealth and income matter in the decision to engage in insider trading?

Abstract We explore why insiders engage in informed trading, given the surprisingly small average insider returns reported in the literature and the potential costs involved. We begin by proposing a model of an insider’s decision to engage in insider trading. We then empirically test the model’s predictions using archival data of corporate insiders in Sweden. Consistent with the model, we find that less wealthy insiders are more likely to time their insider selling, and to sell in greater magnitudes, prior to abnormal price declines than wealthy insiders. We also find that less wealthy insiders with lower risk aversion as measured by their criminal behavior are particularly prone to timing their selling to avoid price declines

IQ and audit quality:do smarter auditors deliver better audits?

Abstract This study examines the role of an individual auditor’s cognitive ability in delivering high-quality audits. Our results from analyzing archival data from Sweden show that audit partners’ IQ scores obtained from psychological tests are positively associated with going-concern audit reporting accuracy and audit fee premiums. We also find some, albeit weak, evidence that audit partners’ IQ scores are negatively associated with the income-increasing abnormal accruals of the client. These results suggest that, although audit services are standardized through various control mechanisms and audits are conducted by teams rather than by individual auditors, the cognitive ability of audit partners responsible for an audit remains important in delivering high-quality audit services

Western management accounting and controls in Russian firms:an analysis of the extent of the use and its influences

Abstract Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in Russia has undergone fundamental political and structural changes. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which Russian firms use Western management accounting and control systems (MACS) at two different points of time to see the possible diffusion of Western MACS. In contrast to focusing on the diffusion of specific MACS techniques (e.g. Innes and Mitchell 1995, Malmi 1999), Russia as a European market economy with enormous potential provides a unique setting for studying the diffusion of the whole range of Western MACS in transitional circumstances. In addition, our study contributes to very limited or even non-existent literature on management accounting in Russia. Our results are based on two questionnaires to samples of 100 Russian firms conducted at the interval of two years. The results show that the use of MACS is not as widespread in Russia as it is in other Western countries, but that especially the use of formal controls such as standard costing and development of production techniques may be gaining importance as the business environment is getting more stable

Earnings performance measures and CEO turnover:street versus GAAP earnings

Abstract Prior research reports that analysts focus on street earnings, which are measures that typically exceed GAAP earnings. Using a sample of CEO turnovers from 1993 to 2016 we show that the likelihood and speed of forced CEO turnover — but not voluntary turnover — are higher when analysts exclude income-decreasing items. The association between exclusions and forced turnovers is particularly pronounced for high magnitude exclusions. We also show that greater street exclusion of income-decreasing items, the lower CEO bonus payouts. We find that boards use audited and more conservative GAAP earnings in evaluating and dismissing CEOs, except in the recent period of 2010–2016

Criminal convictions and risk taking

Abstract An analysis of a proprietary dataset reveals that non-trivial proportions of directors, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Financial Officers in Swedish listed companies have been convicted or suspected of crimes. Based on prior literature, we argue that directors and senior executives who have been convicted or suspected of crimes are more prone to take risk. Consistent with this argument, we find that firms with more criminally convicted/suspected directors and CEOs report more volatile earnings, engage more in goodwill writeoffs due to more unsuccessful acquisitions, and recognize bad news in earnings in a less timely manner. We also find that these firms are, on average, smaller and less profitable. These findings highlight the role personal characteristics of directors and senior management play in managerial decisions

The association between individual audit partners’ risk preferences and the composition of their client portfolios

Abstract We explore whether audit partners’ attitude towards risk, as measured by their personal criminal convictions, are reflected in the composition of their client portfolios. Analyzing a unique dataset of Swedish audit partners’ criminal convictions, we find that the clients of audit partners with criminal convictions are characterized by greater financial, governance, and reporting risk than those of audit partners without criminal convictions. Also, clients of audit partners with criminal convictions pay larger audit fees, on average, than those of auditors without criminal convictions

Tax noncompliance and insider trading

Abstract This paper explores whether insiders who have shown noncompliance with the tax law (‘noncompliant insiders’) are more prone to exploit their information advantage in insider trading, compared to other insiders (‘compliant insiders’). Our empirical results from analyzing archival data of all insider trades in Sweden show that noncompliant insiders use more of their information advantage to trade their insider stocks shortly before significant stock price changes, compared to compliant insiders. These results remain similar after controlling for various insider- and firm-specific determinants of insider returns, including firm and year fixed effects. We believe that our results are of interest for academics and regulatory authorities monitoring and screening insider trading activity

Executives’ personal tax behavior and corporate tax avoidance consistency

Abstract We analyze executives’ (CEOs, CFOs, and Board Chairpersons) personal tax returns to investigate whether and how their personal tax behavior is associated with the tax avoidance of their firms. We develop various measures of executives’ personal tax behavior that are related to their personal risk propensity, ethics, financial incentives, and awareness of tax planning opportunities and risks. Our empirical results show that CEOs’ and CFOs’ personal tax behavior is related both to nonconforming and conforming corporate tax avoidance. We find no such results for Board Chairpersons