Asymmetric persistence and the market pricing of accruals and cash flows

Konstantinidi, Theodosia, Kraft, Arthur and Pope, Peter F. (2016) Asymmetric persistence and the market pricing of accruals and cash flows. Abacus, 52 (1). pp. 140-165. ISSN 0001-3072

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Abstract

We investigate whether stock prices reflect the asymmetric persistence of accruals and cash flows resulting from conditional conservatism. Using the Mishkin (1983) test (MT), we provide further evidence on the earnings fixation explanation for the accrual anomaly. We also apply panel estimation techniques that significantly affect market efficiency inferences. Our results suggest that over our sample period (1) investors seem to partially anticipate asymmetric persistence in accruals and cash flows; (2) the accrual anomaly originates in the mispricing of accruals in years of economic gains, even though the differential persistence between accruals and cash flows is greatest in years of economic losses; (3) investors respond differently to accrual and cash flow surprises and therefore they do not naively fixate on earnings surprises; and (4) after clustering standard errors in the MT by firm and year dimensions, there is no longer evidence of cash flow mispricing, while the statistical significance of accrual mispricing falls. All our findings contradict the earnings fixation explanation for the accrual anomaly. Our study has implications for understanding the accrual anomaly in relation to accrual dynamics, as well as for researchers interested in using the MT framework to test the rationality of investor expectations more generally.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(IS...
Additional Information:	© 2016 Accounting Foundation, The University of Sydney
Divisions:	Accounting
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5601 Accounting
JEL classification:	C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C3 - Econometric Methods: Multiple; Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables; Endogenous Regressors > C33 - Models with Panel Data G - Financial Economics > G1 - General Financial Markets > G14 - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies M - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting > M4 - Accounting and Auditing > M41 - Accounting
Date Deposited:	22 Feb 2016 11:36
Last Modified:	14 Sep 2024 07:03
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/65445

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