JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING KNOWLEDGE
Year:2014 | Volume:1 | Issue:1|Papers Count:7

This article investigated the effect of disclosure quality on current and future stock return of listed firms at Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).disclosure quality measured, based on the points accrued to each firms by TSE have been utilized throughout “Disclosure quality and proper information” announcement. The sample consists 114 listed firms at TSE during 2003 to 2010. Finding demonstrates that disclosure quality has significant positive effect on current and future stock returns. Moreover, in all hypotheses relation among control variables such as firm size, book value to market price ratio, income to firm price ratio and stock returns were significant.

This study investigates the value relevance of earnings at Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The study is motivated by the recent value relevance litterateur in emerging markets. First, using a sample of listed firms in the TSE, we examined the value relevance of earnings based on a return model and panel data regressions during 2005 to 2009. Then, we addressed three questions on the value relevance of earnings. First, regarding the high levels of inflation in Iran, we examined its effect on the value relevance of earnings. Second, we investigated whether the firm size (measured by natural logarithm of market value) affected value relevance of earnings. Finally, using a ratio (operating income to pretax income), we examined the effect of earnings persistence on value relevance of earnings.Results show that the level of value relevance in Iran is higher than levels reported by studies conducted on more mature markets. The inflationary conditions during the period under study resulted in lower value relevance of earnings. While there is a significant relationship between accounting earnings and market returns in both small and large firms, investors place more weight on earnings in large firms. Finally, we found that investors in TSE didn’t distinguish companies that had more persistent earnings from those had less, and they only considered on the final number.

Accounting scholars have shown great interest to value relevance (Beaver, 2002). Since 1990, researchers in this field of study have examined what type of accounting information is considered relevant and if it has changed over time. Researchers seek answers to this question have reached different conclusions. Answering to the question of how value relevance of accounting information in Tehran Stock Exchange has changed over time is the basic issue of this study. To do this, under the prediction and the measurement view of value relevance, we examine value relevance of accounting information of 95 firms over 11 years using regression. The results show under none of this views we can’t reject the research hypothesis based on the reduction of accounting information over time and the use of alternative independent variables, under the two different approaches to value relevance of accounting information, has not any impact on this result.

This study examines the impact of environmental uncertainty in terms of how managers use discretionary accruals for listed companies in Tehran Stock Exchange during 1997 to 2008. The Results of this research shows that there is a positive and significant relation between environmental uncertainty and variability of unmanaged earnings. Moreover, Positive relationship between environmental uncertainties and the level of discretionary accruals as well as level of discretionary accruals and income smoothing were approved. Although according to result of this research, there isn't a positive relationship between environmental uncertainty and income smoothing, but more deeply relationship between discretionary accruals and income smoothing for firms which are operated under high uncertainty is approved.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of audit quality on audit fees of listed companies at Tehran Stock Exchange. Quality criteria for this research as the audit firm size, auditor industry specialization and auditor tenure have been selected. The hypotheses and data were formulated for 72 companies at Tehran Stock Exchange for the period between 2007 to 2011. To test the hypotheses, multiple regression techniques with panel data methods were used. Results showed that there was a significant negative relationship between audit firm expertise and audit fees. Furthermore, there is a significant positive relationship between auditor tenure and audit firm size with audit fees.

Conservatism in financial reporting is a major convention and shows the caution in identifying and measuring the level of revenue and expense (profit and loss), assets and liabilities. This research investigated existence of conservatism in accounting earnings and its influential factors. This study examines relationship between conservatism with firm size, the market-to-book ratio, the degree of financial leverage, the idiosyncratic volatility, investment cycle and firm age. Also, influence of behavior asymmetric conservatism in identifying good and bad news (profit and loss) on variables of operating accruals, non operating accruals and cash flows from operating activities, were studied. Statistical sample consists of 100 companies and 400 observations company-year during 2006 to 2009.The result showed that, accounting earnings was more sensitive than negative stock returns versus positive stock returns. Also, the relationship between conservatism with firm size was negative and significant. Moreover, the relation between conservatism with market-to-book ratio, the degree of financial leverage, the idiosyncratic volatility, investment cycle and firm age was positive and significant. On the other hand, because of the accounting earnings was affected from accruals, relationship between conservatism with operating accruals, non operating accruals and cash flows from operating activities were studied. The result showed that, the most asymmetric timeliness of accounting earning description with accruals, which were under management control.

This study investigated the effect of life cycle stages of listed firms in the Tehran stock exchange on their performance evaluation criteria. Based on analysis 685 firm-year data companies are classified into three groups including firms in growth, maturity and decline stages. After removing the firms which weren’t concern with life cycle model, 86 firms were selected to test two main hypotheses of the research. The results showed that the Tobin’s Q and ROA performance evaluation criteria were different in various life cycle stages. Moreover, examination by LSD test also revealed that Tobin’s Q performance evaluation criterion in growth stages was significantly different from those in decline stages because the acquisition of main assets in past time, their assets book value was low and respectively their Tobin’s Q was high. The same result was also true for ROA ratio.