Professor Stephen Taylor
Core Member, Centre for Corporate Governance
PhD (UNSW), Doctor of Philosophy
Honorary Fellow, Finance & Treasury Association
Fellow, FINSIA - Financial Services Institute of Australasia
Fellow, CPA Australia
Email: Stephen.Taylor@uts.edu.au
Phone: +61 2 9514 3437
Fax: +61 2 9514 3513
Room: CM05B.05.06 (map)
Mailing address: PO Box 123,
Broadway NSW 2007,
Australia
Biography
Stephen Taylor is a Professor of Financial Accounting at UTS. Prior to joining UTS in June 2008, Stephen was a Professor of Accounting at the University of New South Wales (2003-08), where he also served as Acting Associate Dean (Research) in 2005 and 2006. He has previously been a Professor at the University of Sydney, where he served as Director of the Accounting Foundation. In 1999-2000, he was a Visiting Professor of Accounting at the Ross Business School at the University of Michigan, following an earlier appointment there in 1993-94. Stephen is also a Research Leader with the Capital Markets Co-operative Research Centre (CMCRC), where he leads a research program examining the measurement of accounting and audit quality.
The major thrust of Stephen’s research focuses on the intersection of financial economics and accounting. In particular, his work has examined how corporations manage their disclosure policies, the effect of accounting and non-accounting data on firms’ value, the economics of auditing, corporate governance issues and initial public offerings. Stephen’s research has been published in leading international journals, including the Journal of Accounting and Economics; Contemporary Accounting Research; Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis; Journal of Corporate Finance; Journal of Banking and Finance; Pacific Basin Finance Journal and Journal of Business Finance and Accounting. He has also published in leading Australian journals, namely Accounting and Finance; Abacus and Australian Journal of Management.
Stephen has received many large ARC Grants (Discovery and Linkage), most recently with Dr Andrew Ferguson (2006-2008). He has acted as an assessor for various ARC grant schemes, and is currently an assessor for the ARC on Discovery, International Linkage and Federation Fellowship applications.
Teaching areas
Financial statement analysis; intersection of corporate strategy; financial analysis; business valuation.
Research
Research interests
Financial reporting; economics of auditing; corporate governance.
Research supervision: Yes
Supervised Student(s)
Cheng Lai - PhD Student
Conservatism in financial reporting
Fei Leu - PhD Student
Accounting quality in asian economies
Roslinda Lim - PhD Student
Conservatism and corporate governance
Naibuka Saune - PhD Student
A re-examination of benchmark beating and earnings management
Leon Wong - PhD Student
Accounting quality and cost of capital
Projects
Selected Peer-Assessed Projects
Non-GAAP Reporting: Causes, Consequences and Lessons for Financial Reporting Regulators
Corporate Governance and the Market for Audit Services
Publications
Research books chapters
Lai, C., Stokes, D. & Taylor, S.L. 2006, 'Accounting & audit quality surveillance: a working solution for regulators & exchanges' in Skeete, H (eds), The Handbook of World Stock, Derivatives & Commodity Exchanges, Mondo Visione, Knebworth, UK, pp. 69-70.
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Friedrich, C., Stokes, D. & Taylor, S.L. 2004, 'Applications of corporate governance technology to accounting and audit quality surveillance.' in Skeete, H (eds), The Handbook of World Stock, Derivative and Commodity Exchanges., Mondo Visione, Datchworth, UK, pp. 127-131.
Refereed journal articles
Taylor, S.L. & Wong, L. 2012, 'Robust anomolies? A close look at accrual-based trading strategy returns', Accounting & Finance, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 573-603.
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The last 40 years have seen an extensive literature documenting so-called anomalies in major capital markets. Evidence of abnormal returns associated with trading strategies based on readily observable phenomena such as accounting-based data involves experimental design choices that can be expected to influence the results. We show how evidence of an accrual anomaly in Australia is sensitive to research design specifications such as the choice of proxy for total accruals; the definition of abnormal returns (i.e. the return generating model); the impact of data trimming as a response to exceptionally large returns; and the choice between value and equal weighting of returns. We show that research design choices do matter and help reconcile conflicting prior evidence of any accrual anomaly in Australia. More broadly, our results suggest the need for caution in drawing inferences from trading strategy tests which claim to identify anomalies.
Sek, J.T. & Taylor, S.L. 2011, 'Profit or prophet? A Case Study of the Reporting of Non-GAAP Earnings by Australian Banks', Australian Accounting Review, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 327-339.
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Australian firms increasingly highlight earnings results that do not conform to the definition of profit under generally accepted Australian accounting principles (GAAP). We compile a detailed description of the differences between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings for each of the four largest Australian trading banks for the years 2003 to 2008. Our evidence shows that each of the major banks has a history of reporting what are typically termed 'cash earnings' or 'underlying earnings~ However, the definition of these terms is not consistent between banks, nor does it appear to be consistently applied by individual banks over time. Interestingly, the switch to Australian International Financial Reporting Standards has a noticeable impact on the definition of non-GAAP earnings. The data we summarise raises questions about the role of GAAP earnings versus non-statutory definitions of financial performance voluntarily provided by firms themselves. More broadly, the ability of firms to 'self-define' outcomes presents a significant challenge to capital market regulators such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Taylor, S.L. 2009, 'Capital markets regulation: How can accounting research contribute ?', Australian Accounting Review, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 319-325.
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In examining the possible contribution that accounting research can play in ensuring effective and efficient regulation of securities markets, two principal opportunities stand out. First, the role of research in informing debate about proposed regulator
Chua, W. & Taylor, S.L. 2008, 'The rise and rise of IFRS: an examination of IFRS diffusion', Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 462-473.
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We seek to understand the ever-increasing push towards the international harmonization of accounting standards and particularly the inexorable rise of standards produced by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). While the primary justifications for the increasing recognition given to these standards (IFRS) are economic, we question whether the empirical evidence to date has yielded convincing support for these arguments. We therefore offer an alternative explanation for the origin and diffusion of IFRS that incorporates social and political factors. Outsourcing the manufacture of accounting standards to a single private agency appears to be a rational, lower cost option + lowering both economic and political costs for individual states as long as they continue to retain residual decision rights with respect to the adoption of IFRS. However, such outsourcing must also be perceived to be legitimate. IFRS confer institutionalized legitimacy because they possess three characteristics required of a technology for global governance. These are sponsorship by powerful interest groups/regulators, internationality and plasticity. We therefore conclude that the widespread diffusion today of IFRS can at best be only partially explained as an economically rational phenomenon. Rather, the demand for legitimate action in the face of tightly coupled and complex global markets is at least equally important in generating support for IFRS.
Lai, C. & Taylor, S.L. 2008, 'Estimating and validating a firm-year-specific measure of conservatism: Australian evidence', Accounting And Finance, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 673-695.
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We provide new evidence on the asymmetric timeliness with which economic gains and losses are recognized in Australian financial reporting (i.e. conservatism), as well as some of the factors associated with variation in conservatism. We first derive, and
Balkrishna, H., Coulton, J.J. & Taylor, S.L. 2007, 'Accounting losses and earnings conservatism: Evidence from Australian generally accepted accounting principles', Accounting and Finance, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 381-400.
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We provide evidence on three important aspects of Australian financial reporting; namely, the characteristics of losses, the extent to which Australian firms+ earnings are conditionally conservative (i.e. bad news is reflected in earnings more quickly than good news) and the extent to which losses reflect incrementally greater conditional conservatism. We find evidence that loss incidence in Australia is frequent, with around 40 per cent of the sample firm-years from 1993 to 2003 being losses. Losses are also surprisingly persistent, and the probability of loss reversal declines monotonically as the history of losses extends. Although conditional conservatism is also shown to be a pervasive aspect of Australian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, we demonstrate that it is more evident among loss observations. This result is robust across different methods of capturing conditional conservatism, and supports the conclusion that the relatively high frequency of losses is, at least in part, a reflection of conservative reporting.
Lee, P.J., Taylor, S.B. & Taylor, S.L. 2006, 'Auditor conservatism and audit quality: Evidence from IPO earnings forecasts', International Journal of Auditing, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 183-199.
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We investigate the relation between a proxy for differential audit quality and both the (ex post) accuracy and conservatism of audited earnings forecasts provided in Australian initial public offering (IPO) prospectuses. For the period we examine, most Australian IPO prospectuses include an earnings forecast (i.e., disclosure is not 'voluntary'), and the auditor must be satisfied prior to signing off on the prospectus. After controlling for other factors associated with forecast error, there is some evidence that forecasts audited by Big 6 auditors prove more accurate than those audited by a non-Big 6 auditor, although this result is not robust across alternative measures of forecast accuracy. In contrast, our finding of significantly less optimistic bias for forecasts associated with Big 6 auditors is robust to alternative measures of forecast bias. We interpret these results as being consistent with the argument that the economic demand for differential audit quality reflects the same factors that underlie the demand for conservative financial reporting
Ruddock, C., Taylor, S.B. & Taylor, S.L. 2006, 'Nonaudit services and earnings conservatism: Is auditor independence impaired?', Contemporary Accounting Research, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 701-746.
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We examine whether the provision of nonaudit services (NAS) by incumbent auditors is associated with a reduction in the extent to which earnings reflect bad news on a timely basis (that is, news-based conservatism). Reduced conservatism is expected to occur if relatively high levels of NAS result in reduced auditor independence and ultimately, lower-quality auditing. Because client-specific demand for NAS is expected to vary, our proxy for the auditor-client economic bond is the extent to which NAS purchases (relative to audit fees) are greater or less than expected. Using several different methods for identifying news-based conservatism, we consistently find that higher than expected levels of NAS are not associated with reduced conservatism. This result is robust to allowing for endogenous NAS demand, as well as several explicit factors that may be associated with differences in conservatism. Similar conclusions arise from tests that use alternative measures of the economic bond between auditors and their clients, as well as in tests confined to either The Big 6 or non-Big 6 audit firms. Our results are consistent with factors such as market-based incentives, the threat of litigation, and alternative governance mechanisms offsetting any expected benefits to the audit firm from reducing its independence. We therefore conclude that recent legislative intervention aimed at restricting the supply of NAS is unlikely to result in increased independence in fact, although independence in appearance may be improved
Coulton, J.J., Taylor, S.B. & Taylor, S.L. 2005, 'Is 'benchmark beating' by Australian firms evidence of earnings management?', Accounting and Finance, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 553-576.
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We investigate the extent to which Australian firms that report small profits and/or small increases in earnings (i.e. benchmark beaters) have done so by the upward manipulation of these earnings. Although evidence of an unusually large number of firms managing to just beat such earnings benchmarks has been interpreted as evidence of earnings management, this approach fails to identify those firms that are the manipulators from those where unbiased earnings fall naturally into the benchmark beating group. Our results suggest that caution is required in interpreting benchmark beating as an indicator of the extent of earnings management. Using several methods for estimating the unexpected accrual component of earnings, we show that although benchmark beaters have larger positive unexpected accruals than other firms, a similar result holds when firms with small losses or earnings declines (i.e. 'just miss' firms) are compared with other firms. Moreover, there is no statistically significant difference between unexpected accruals for the benchmark beating and just miss groups. At a minimum, we reject the joint hypothesis that unexpected accruals capture earnings management and that an unusual kink around zero in the distribution of earnings levels or earnings changes is caused by earnings management.
Balatbat, M., Taylor, S.L. & Walter, T.S. 2004, 'Corporate governance, insider ownership and operating performance of Australian initial public offerings', Accounting and Finance, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 299-328.
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We examine ownership structures and corporate governance attributes of 313 Australian initial public offerings (IPOs) between 1976 and 1993 and their relation with up to 5 years of post-listing operating performance, adjusted for similar (non-IPO) firms. Consistent with prior share price-based evidence, we find that the operating performance of Australian IPOs typically deteriorates over the first 4 post-listing years. Any evidence of a positive association between insider ownership and firm performance is confined to the fourth and fifth years after the IPO. Evidence of a positive relation between institutional ownership and performance is restricted to the latter part of our 5-year post-listing window. Board composition (i.e. outsider versus insider control) is not associated with operating performance, although there is some evidence that independent board leadership is associated with better operating performance.
Coulton, J.J. & Taylor, S.L. 2004, 'Directors duties and corporate governance: have we gone too far?', Australian Accounting Review, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 17-24.
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Recent policy initiatives in Australia, such as corporate governance reporting requirements and innovations in defining directors' roles and responsibilities, are reviewed. It is argued that such initiatives are often premised on overly simplistic models of the role played by directors. The role and effectiveness of directors vary according to the economic activity of the firm. Uniform guidelines for board composition, for example, are unlikely to be economically desirable. Likewise, statutory definitions of directors' duties are unlikely to be effective unless they allow for directors' roles to vary according to circumstance. Conversely, broad legal definitions will be problematic because of uncertainties in judicial interpretation.
Lee, M., Lee, P.J. & Taylor, S.L. 2003, 'Unit initial public offerings: stages equity or signaling mechanism?', Accounting and Finance, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 63-85.
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We investigate the use of unit (i.e., package) initial public offerings by Australian industrial firms and conclude that their use reflects their role as a signaling mechanism (Chemmanur and Fulghieri, 1997), as distinct from the agency+cost explanation offered by Schultz (1993). From a sample of 394 IPOs between 1976 and 1994, the 66 firms making unit offerings are typically riskier, use less prestigious underwriters and have a lower level of retained ownership than other IPO firms. While these results are also consistent with Schultz+s agency cost explanation, other results we report are not. We find no difference in underpricing etween unit IPOs and other IPO firms, nor are there any significant differences in the planned uses of proceeds reported in the prospectus, post+listing failure rates or secondary equity offerings of the type predicted by Schultz. We do however, report evidence consistent with a prediction unique to the signaling explanation. After controlling for the level of ownership retained by insiders, the proportion of firm value sold as warrants is increasing in IPO firms+ riskiness.
Lee, P.J., Stokes, D., Taylor, S.L. & Walter, T.S. 2003, 'The association between audit quality, accounting disclosures and firm-specific risk: evidence from initial public offerings', Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 377-400.
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Coulton, J.J. & Taylor, S.L. 2002, 'Accounting for executive stock options: a case study in avoiding tough decisions', Australian Accounting Review, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 3-10.
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The development of accounting requirements for executive stock options (ESO) is reviewed, and it is found that the standard-setting process has been susceptible to pressure groups, including the corporate sector, politicians, and even the accounting profession itself. The failure of Australian and overseas accounting regulators to take tough decisions may have created a systematic bias toward the use of ESOs, which can result in grossly inefficient compensation structures motivated by a desire to maximize reported profits rather than to create optimal managerial incentives. Most of the arguments against recognition of stock option expense can be dismissed as blatant self-interest at worst, or remarkably muddled thinking at best.
Coulton, J.J. & Taylor, S.L. 2002, 'Options awards for Australian CEOs: The who, what and why', Australian Accounting Review, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 25-35.
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The compensation structure for Australian CEOs, and especially the extent to which they receive executive stock options, is explored. Evidence suggests that the award of executive stock options is common in Australia, but not in as systematic a manner as has been documented for US CEOs. Where ESOs are awarded, they form a significant component of total compensation, even allowing for limitations in the way their value is approximated. Modeling the use of ESOs shows relatively few empirical regularities, other than a positive association between firm size and ESO use. This is consistent with a view that ESOs are a form of rent extraction by CEOs, but it may also reflect a bias toward their use created by accounting rules.
Culvenor, J.M., Stokes, D. & Taylor, S.L. 2002, 'A review of the proposals for reform of independence of Australian company auditors', Australian Accounting Review, vol. 12, no. 27, pp. 12-23.
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The Ramsay Report on the Independence of Australian Company Auditors, released in October 2001, contains a review of the current Australian requirements and proposals for reform of the rules and regulations governing auditor independence. In this paper we provide a critical examination of these proposals, in conjunction with any underlying rationale offered in the report. Assuming the onus of proof rests with the proponents of change, we argue that the justification for regulatory change is not well made. We pose a series of questions about the proposals and their potential economic consequences. Many of these questions are empirical and provide opportunities for further research.
Choon, H., Smith, M. & Taylor, S.L. 2000, 'What do Australian annual reports say about future earnings?', Australian Accounting Review, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 17-25.
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Among available 1990 and 1995 annual reports for the 150 largest ASX listed firms as at June 30, 1996, about 25% of firms provided some form of prospective earnings disclosure. However, these disclosures tended to be qualitative rather than quantitative, and any association between the direction of the implied change in earnings and the subsequent actual earnings change is not consistent between the 2 periods sampled. These results suggest that encouraging the provision of prospective earnings information as part of a report's management discussion and analysis may not produce benefits for investors, unless the resulting disclosures are of a higher quality than those which have been provided without any official encouragement to do so. The study provides evidence that forecasts and non-forecasters differ systematically in respect of likely product market competition, firm size, asset structure, ownership structure, audit quality and whether they are cross-listed on overseas stock exchanges. These results reinforce concerns that attempts to increase the extent of forward-looking earnings disclosures may not be beneficial for investors.
Brown, P.R., Taylor, S.L. & Walter, T.S. 1999, 'The impact of statutory sanctions on the level and information content of voluntary corporate disclosure', Abacus: a journal of accounting, finance and business studies, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 138-162.
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This article examines the effect of statutory civil and criminal sanctions on voluntary corporate disclosures by firms listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Apart from direct investigation of the quantity of voluntary disclosure, we also investigate several possible consequences of altered corporate disclosure policies, namely properties of analysts' forecasts, the degree to which share prices anticipate the information content of periodic earnings reports, and the relationship between volatility and corporate disclosures. Results suggest that, post-sanctions, any increase in voluntary disclosure is confined to smaller firms and those which performed relatively poorly. Moreover, analysts' earnings forecasts did not become more accurate or less diverse following the introduction of statutory sanctions, and there was no statistically significant increase in the weight placed on each disclosure's ability to explain return volatility. There is some evidence that share prices have anticipated earlier the value relevant components of annual periodic accounting data, although this result is again confined to smaller firms. Although the tests used are not independent and have a limited time period post-sanctions, the results cast doubt on the extent to which the imposition of substantive civil or criminal sanctions affects corporate disclosure policy.
Eddey, P. & Taylor, S.L. 1999, 'Directors' recommendations on takeover bids and the management of earnings: Evidence from Australian takeovers', Abacus: a journal of accounting, finance and business studies, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 29-45.
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This article investigates whether Australian companies manage their earnings during takeover bids in a manner consistent with the earnings-management hypothesis. This hypothesis predicts that directors who reject a bid use accrual accounting to increase current earnings, supporting their claim that the bid, relative to earnings, is inadequate. Likewise, directors who accept a bid are predicted to use accrual accounting to decrease current earnings. Overall, the results are not consistent with the earnings-management hypothesis. However, some components of unexpected accruals (our proxy for managed earnings) change in the direction predicted by the earnings-management hypothesis, although these changes are not statistically significant. Using industry adjusted performance measures the conclusion is that unexpected accruals are primarily a manifestation of poor financial performance of target firms in the period leading up to the takeover bid.
Lee, P.J., Taylor, S.L. & Walter, T.S. 1999, 'IPO underpricing explanations: Implications from investor application allocation schedules', Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 425-444.
Izan, H., Sidhu, B. & Taylor, S.L. 1998, 'Does CEO pay reflect performance? Some Australian evidence', Corporate Governance - An International Review, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 39-47.
Taylor, S.L. & Whittred, G. 1998, 'Security design and the allocation of voting rights: Evidence from the IPO market', Journal of Corporate Finance, vol. 4, pp. 107-131.
Craswell, A., Taylor, S.L. & Saywell, R. 1997, 'Insider ownership and corporate value: Australian evidence', Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, vol. 5, pp. 301-323.
Eddey, P., Lee, K. & Taylor, S.L. 1996, 'What motivates going private?: An analysis of Australian firms', Accounting and Finance, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 31-50.
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We investigate going private transactions in Australia between 1988 and 1991. Approximately ten percent of all takeovers during this period are instances of going private. In contrast to studies of similar transactions in the United States, we find no direct evidence to support a free cash flow explanation for going private, although going private is frequently preceded by the threat of a takeover offer. However, the free cash flow explanation for going private may not be applicable in Pacific Basin countries where exchange-traded investment activity is in relatively high growth sectors and foreign ownership accounts for a large part of those investment sectors where managerial abuse of free cash flow has been alleged.
Lee, P.J., Taylor, S.L. & Walter, T.S. 1996, 'Australian IPO pricing in the short and long run', Journal of Banking and Finance, vol. 20, pp. 1189-1210.
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We analyse both initial underpricing and post-listing returns for Australian IPOs. Our results are consistent with the view that unique institutional characteristics may have overwhelmed previous Australian tests of equilibrium models of IPO underpricing. The results also show that Australian IPOs significantly underperform market movements in the three-year period subsequent to listing. Further investigation of these anomalous post-listing returns lead us to reject various `speculative bubble+ explanations. Rather, the evidence suggests a curvilinear relationship between initial and subsequent returns, although the economic significance of the relationship is low.
Lee, P.J., Taylor, S.L. & Walter, T.S. 1996, 'Expected and realised returns of Singaporean IPOs: Initial and long run analysis', Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, vol. 4, pp. 153-180.
Craswell, A., Francis, J.R. & Taylor, S.L. 1995, 'Auditor brand name reputation and industry specialisations', Journal of Accounting & Economics, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 297-322.
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The development of both brand name reputation and industry specialization by Big 8 auditors is argued to be costly and therefore to increase audit fees. For a sample of 1484 Australian publicly listed companies we estimate audit fee premia for Big 8 auditors. On average, industry specialist Big 8 auditors earn a 34% premium over nonspecialist Big 8 auditors, and the Big 8 brand name premium over non-Big 8 auditors averages around 30%. These results support that industry expertise is a dimension of the demand for higher quality Big 8 audits and a basis for within Big 8 product differentiation.
Arthur, N., Garvey, G., Swan, P.L. & Taylor, S.L. 1993, 'Agency theory and 'management research': A comment', Australian Journal of Management, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 93-102.
Craswell, A. & Taylor, S.L. 1992, 'Discretionary disclosure of reserves by oil and gas companies: An economic analysis', Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 295-308.
Taylor, S.L. 1992, 'The role of time series analysis in studies of accounting policy choice: A comment', Accounting and Finance, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 51-56.
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The study by Anderson and Zimmer [1992] of goodwill accounting policies uses a pooled time series experimental design. This approach can add substantially to our understanding of accounting policy choices, but not in the manner used by Anderson and Zimmer. Where accounting policy choices are believed to be independent from one period to the next, then a time series approach can greatly enhance our ability to capture the influence on such policy choices of changing circumstances, more so than a simple cross-sectional test. Conversely, if accounting policy choices are not independent between periods, pooling over time can overstate significance levels of statistical tests. The nature of Anderson and Zimmer's data makes the impact indeterminate. However, even under an extreme assumption, pre-regulation evidence remains significant at conventional levels.
Taylor, S.L., Tress, R. & Johnson, L.W. 1990, 'Explaining intraperiod accounting choices: The reporting of currency translation gains and losses', Accounting and Finance, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 1-20.
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Prior to the introduction of an Australian Accounting Standard relating to the treatment of foreign currency items, we find agreement among firms on the method of translating foreign subsidiaries' assets and liabilities, but no such agreement on the method of reporting the resulting gain or loss. The reporting choice represents an intraperiod accounting decision. We show that this choice is a function of the demand for ex ante optimal risk sharing agreements between management and shareholders, although auditor identity and firm size are also found to influence the choice of reporting method. We model the policy choice as both a dichotomous and a more finely graded three-way problem, introducing to the accounting literature an experimental technique designed to test for the existence of any mutual dependence between alternatives.
Taylor, S.L. 1990, 'Put-call parity: Evidence from the Australian options market', Australian Journal of Management, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 203-216.
Taylor, S.L. 1987, 'International accounting standards: an alternative rational', Abacus: a journal of accounting, finance and business studies, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 157-171.
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International aspects of financial reporting have begun to receive an increasing amount of attention by a range of organizations. There is a need then, to appraise critically the performance and the underlying rationale of those agencies responsible for influencing international practices. Identification and appraisal of the rationale underlying the existence of those agencies is a necessary step in determining their potential for achieving the objectives which they have been set. This paper examines the rationale behind one of these agencies, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC, 1977). Unlike many others, the paper does not attempt to explain why we should have an organization such as the IASC and the standards it produces. Rather, it represents an attempt to explain why we do have an organization such as the IASC. To that end, an alternative rationale is suggested for the output of the IASC, based on theories of professional self-interest, agency, and property rights. It is argued that that rationale is likely to have significantly greater explanatory power in respect of the present output produced by the IASC than those traditionally presented.
Refereed conference papers
Li, Y., Stokes, D., Taylor, S.L. & Wong, L. 2009, 'Audit quality, earnings quality and the cost of equity capital', Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference, Adelaide, Australia, July 2009 in 2009 AFAANZ Conference, ed Faff, R, AFAANZ, Australia, pp. 1-31.
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We investigate the influence of audit quality on the relation between earnings quality and cost of equity capital. We utilize total accruals as a measure of earnings quality and auditor choice, auditor effort and auditor opinion based audit quality proxies used in the prior literature for audit quality dimensions to estimate a cost of equity model for a sample of firm years where auditing and audit quality is likely to be in higher demand. We find that higher audit quality is associated with significant mitigation of the positive relation between total accruals and the cost of equity capital and the presence of a qualified audit opinion issued by the auditor increases the extent to which lower quality accruals are associated with an increased cost of equity capital.
Shan, Y., Taylor, S.L., Walter, T.S. 2009, 'Errors in estimating unexpected accruals in the presence of large changes in net external financing', Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference, Adelaide, Australia, July 2009 in 2009 AFAANZ Conference, ed Faff, R, AFAANZ, Australia, pp. 1-54.
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We demonstrate that the articulation among accruals, cash flows and revenues which is typically assumed in tests of earnings management does not hold when large (positive or negative) external financing activities are present. Our study provides evidence that managers+ +normal+ operating decisions associated with net external financing activities are likely to lead to economically and statistically significant measurement errors in unexpected accruals. This is a serious concern given the frequency with which the partitioning variable used to identify instances of alleged earnings management is correlated with significant movements in net external financing. Simulation tests show that even at modest levels of net external financing changes, rejection frequencies for the null hypothesis of no earnings management rise dramatically

