The Effect of Strong Corporate Culture and Sudden CEO Turnovers on the Financial Statement Comparability in Listed Companies in Tehran Stock Exchange.

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Accounting, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

2 Isfahan University

Abstract

Abstract

The strong corporate culture can positively affect the comparability of financial statements through two separate channels. First, strong corporate culture introduces clarity about corporate goals and practices. When firms face unexpected events, such clarity about goals and practices can reduce uncertainties. This aspect of a strong corporate culture is particularly relevant for financial statements since accountants and managers frequently face unexpected events and have to make choices that affect accounting numbers. When firms have a strong corporate culture, it enables them to make those decisions with greater uniformity under the same set of unexpected economic events. This can enhance inter-firm comparability of financial statements. Second, strong corporate culture can enhance comparability by reducing incentives to engage in dishonest financial reporting. In strong culture firms, corporate executives are unlikely to act in opportunistic ways that entail a greater risk of breaching organizational trust or collapse of corporate norms. In firms where such agency conflicts are absent, corporate executives make homogenous financial reporting decisions when faced with similar economic events. Such homogenous decision-making under similar economic events can result in greater financial statement comparability. On the other hand, the comparability of financial statements can have an impact from the Sudden CEO Turnovers. It be expected firms with sudden CEO Turnovers to exhibit greater comparability of financial statements when such a change moves the firm towards a stronger corporate culture.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Accounting Standards Development Committee (2009). Accounting standards, Tehran, Audit Organization. (in Persian).
Afzali, M. (2023(. Corporate Culture and Financial Statement Comparability. Advances in Accounting, 60, 100640.
Audit Organization (2012). Accounting Standards Publication, 160, Tehran: Audit Organization Publications. (in Persian).
Bhandari, A., B., Mammadov, M., Thevenot, H., Vakilzadeh. (2022). Corporate Culture and Financial Reporting Quality. Accounting Horizons, 36(1), 1–24.
Biggerstaff, L., D.C., Cicero, A., Puckett, (2015). Suspect CEOs, Unethical Culture, and Corporate Misbehavior. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(1), 98–121.
Cameron Kim S, E., Quinn Robert, (2006). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture. Addison Wesley. Reading, MA.
Chen, C. W., Collins, D. W., Kravet, T. D., & Mergenthaler, R. D. (2018). Financial Statement Comparability and the Efficiency of Acquisition Decisions. Contemporary Accounting Research, 35(1), 164–202.
Chen, H., Francis, B. B., Hasan, T., & Wu, Q. (2022). Does corporate culture impact audit pricing? Evidence from textual analysis. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 49(5–6), 778–806.
Choi, J, S, Choi, L, Myers, D, Ziebert, (2018). Financial Statement Comparability and the IN formativeness of Stock Prices about Future Earnings. Contemporary Accounting Research, Forthcoming, 36(1), 389-417.
Davidson, R., A., Dey, A, Smith. (2015). Executives’ off-the-Job Behavior, Corporate Culture, and Financial Reporting Risk. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(1), 5–28.
De Franco, G., S., Kothari, R, Verdi. (2011). The Benefits of Financial Statement Comparability. Journal of Accounting Research, 49(4), 895–931.
Droodi, H. & Kangari, S. (2014). Explaining the Relationship of Organizational Culture in the Growth of Human Resources. Quantitative Studies in Management, 5(1), 120-130. (in Persian)
Francis, J. R., M. L., Pinnuck, O, Watanabe. (2014). Auditor Style and Financial Statement Comparability. The Accounting Review, 89(2), 605–633.
Foroughi, D. & Qasimzad, P. (2014). The Effect of Comparability of Financial Statements on the Reaction Coefficient of Future Earnings. Accounting and Auditing Review, 22(4), 479-500. (in Persian)
Guggenmos, R. D., & Van der Stede, W. A. (2020). The Effects of Creative Culture on Real Earnings Management. Contemporary Accounting Research, 37(4), 2319–2356.
Guiso, L., P., Sapienza, L, Zingales. (2015). The Value of Corporate Culture. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(1), 60–76.
Graham, J. R., Grennan, J., Harvey, C. R., & Rajgopal, S. (2022). Corporate Culture: Evidence from the Field. Journal of Financial Economics, 146(2), 552–593.
Gujarati, D. (2008). Fundamentals of Econometrics, Volume 2, Translated by Hamid Abrishmi, Tehran: Tehran University Publications. (in Persian).
Hashemi Dehchi, M; Izadinia, N & Amiri, H (2019). The Effect of Comparability of Financial Statements on the Relevance of Accounting Information with Emphasis on the Role of Expert Investors and Information Asymmetry. Journal of Accounting and Auditing Review, 27(3), 473-494. (in Persian) 
Hassas Yeganeh, Y; Mazloumi, N. & Kurdestani, N.  (2012). The Role of Institutional Investment in the Performance of (private) Insurance Companies in Iran. Insurance Research Journal, 2(28), 1-24. (in Persian)
Hossein Abdullah, M. A; Maharti, Y; Malekzadeh, Gh & Khorakian, A. R (2022). Investigating the Effect of Corporate Culture on the Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Companies in Iran and Iraq, Considering the Mediating Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Moderating Role of National Culture. Transformation Management Journal, 14(1), 122-58. (in Persian)
Kim, S., Kraft, P., & Ryan, S. G. (2013). Financial Statement Comparability and Credit Risk.
Review of Accounting Studies, 18(3), 783–823.
Li, K., F., Mai, R., Shen, X, Yan. (2021). Measuring Corporate Culture Using Machine learning. Review of Financial Studies, 34(7), 3265–3315.
McGuire, S. T., Omer, T. C., & Sharp, N. Y. (2012). The Impact of Religion on Financial Reporting Irregularities. The Accounting Review, 87(2), 645–673.
Moradi, M. & Jodaki, R. (2023). The Effect of Organizational Culture, Corporate Governance and Audit Quality on Auditors' Performance. Professional Auditing Research, 23(10), 73-95. (in Persian)
O’Reilly, C. A., J. A, Chatman. (1996). Culture as Social Control, Corporations, Cults, and Commitment. Research in Organizational Behavior, 18, 157–200.
Pan, Y., Siegel, S., & Wang, T. Y. (2017). Corporate Risk Culture. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 52(6), 2327–2367.
Robert, K., Sangwan, K., & Prianka, M. (2018). When Does Comparability Better Enhance Relevance? Policy Implications from Empirical Evidence. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 37(5), 436-457.
Sørensen, J. B. (2002). The Strength of Corporate Culture and the Reliability of Firm Performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(1), 70–91.
Weber, Y., Shenkar, O., & Raveh, A. (1996). National and Corporate Cultural Fit in Mergers/Acquisitions: An Exploratory Study. Management Science, 42(8), 1215–1227.
Zingales, L. (2015). The Cultural Revolution in Finance. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(1), 1–4.