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Report on the Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics Symposium 2007 Penang, Malaysia 5-6 January 2007
Report on the Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics Symposium 2007 Penang, Malaysia 5-6 January 2007
The second Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics (JCAE) Symposium was held at the sun-kissed island of Penang in Malaysia on 5 and 6 January 2007. This two-day international event, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Universiti Utara Malaysia and the Universiti Sains Malaysia, attracted a number of world renowned academics, industry professionals, and over 130 participants from around the world. The symposium comprised two research forums, eight plenary paper sessions and ten concurrent paper sessions. The participants discussed a diverse range of topics ranging from auditing, financial reporting, corporate governance to social responsibility. It also featured a corporate governance forum on contemporary issues in the Asian region. The symposium commenced with welcoming remarks delivered by Dato’ Professor Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Vice-Chancellor of the Universiti Sains Malaysia, Dato’ Dr Nordin Kardi, Vice-Chancellor of the Universiti Utara Malaysia, Professor Judy Tsui, Dean of the Faculty of Business, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Professor Ferdinand A. Gul, Director of the Asia-Pacific Center for Corporate Governance Studies and Head and Chair Professor of the School of Accounting and Finance, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Additionally, Dato’ Professor Dzulkifli Abdul Razak read out the speech of the Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia and declared the symposium open. In the first research forum, Professor Ferdinand A. Gul spoke on “The Role of Political Economy in Financial Reporting and Finance”. Professor Gul argued that political economy does affect financial reporting and finance. He presented empirical evidence establishing that financial transparency is significantly lower in state-owned enterprises / banks as well as in firms with higher risk of expropriation by the state. He treated it as evident that a country’s legal regime, its electoral system and the state ownership of firms are key determinants of dividend policies of firms. He also argued that political connected firms in a polity reduce the benefits of global financing. Firms with political ties generally have access to preferential financing. They prefer private deals to external scrutiny and transparency. In the second research forum held on the second day of the Symposium, Professor Eli Bartov of New York University addressed the topic “Stock-based Compensation”. He explained the inter-relationship between private information, earnings manipulations and
executive stock option exercises. He also discussed issues connected with managerial discretion and the economic determinants of the disclosed volatility parameter for valuing executive stock options. There were a total of eight plenary paper sessions with five sessions held on the first day and on the second day, three. The particulars of the eight papers were as follows:
1. “Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Arab Equity Markets: Does Ownership Concentration Matter?” by Mohammed M. O m a n and Ayten Fatheldin 2. “Institutional Net Buying and Small-cap Outperformance - Evidence from Chinese IPO Market” by Peng Cheng 3. “Institutional Investors, Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Malaysia” by Effiezal A. Abdul Wahab, Janice C. Y. How and Peter Verhoeven 4. “Realisability of Deferred Tax Assets, Accruals Quality and Earnings Persistence” by Wonsun Paek 5. “Re-examination of Corporate Governance and Stock Returns: Any Role for Information Risk?’ by Liandong Zhang 6. “Choice of Valuation Model: Australian Evidence on the Valuation of PPE Pursuant to Regulatory Change” by Dianne English and Cecilia Lambert 7. “Bonding to the Improved Disclosure Environment in the United States: Firms’ Listing Choices and their Capital Market Consequences” by Ole-Kristian Hope, Tony Kang and Yoonseok Zang 8. “Quality of Board of Directors, Ownership Structure and Level of Voluntary Disclosure of Listed Companies in Thailand” by Jakkravudhi Chobpichien, Hasnah ,Haron and Daing Nasir Ibrahim All papers presented at the plenary paper sessions were eligible to be considered for the Best Paper Award. Professor Ole-Kristian Hope, Dr Tony Kang and Dr Yoonseok Zang won the award and took home a cash prize of US$2,000. The concurrent paper sessions, held in the afternoon on the second day, saw ten papers presented and discussed in small group settings. The papers presented were as follows:
1. Auditor Tenure, Auditor Specialization and Earnings Quality 2. Is There Information Content from Insider Trading Activities Preceding Earnings and Dividend Announcements in Hong Kong? 3. Accounting Conservatism, Earnings Persistence and Pricing Multiples on Earnings 4. Asian Financial Crisis and Value Relevance of Accounting Accruals 5. Does Firm Strategy Have Systematic Effects in Predicting Future Cash Flows? 6. The Existence of, and Earnings Quality Explanations for, the Private Company Discount 7. Graphical Information Disclosure Index (GIDI):An Application of Measuring Voluntary Disclosures in Annual Reports of Indonesian Public Companies 8. A Content Analysis on the Auditor’s Report for Going Concern Recipients 9. Can Compensation Effectively Prevent Underinvestment in R&D? Some Australian Evidence 10. The Chilean Corporate Governance System: The Effect of Non-Bank Financial Intermediaries and Auditors on Earnings Quality and Disclosure Levels
The corporate governance forum was held after the concurrent paper sessions. The theme was “Corporate Governance Issues in the Asian Region”. This was chaired by Professor Ross Watts of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The four panelists at the forum were Dr Ainun Na’im of Universitas Gadjah Mada, Professor Katherine Schipper of Duke University, Dr R. Thillainathan of Genting Berhad, and Professor Judy Tsui. This one and a half hour event saw the panelists speak on a variety of corporate governance issues and developments in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia. The symposium was concluded with the Symposium Dinner hosted by the Universiti Sains Malaysia at the Paradise Sandy Beach Resort in Penang. The Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics is especially grateful to the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and CPA Australia for sponsoring the symposium.
The second Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics (JCAE) Symposium was held at the sun-kissed island of Penang in Malaysia on 5 and 6 January 2007. This two-day international event, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Universiti Utara Malaysia and the Universiti Sains Malaysia, attracted a number of world renowned academics, industry professionals, and over 130 participants from around the world. The symposium comprised two research forums, eight plenary paper sessions and ten concurrent paper sessions. The participants discussed a diverse range of topics ranging from auditing, financial reporting, corporate governance to social responsibility. It also featured a corporate governance forum on contemporary issues in the Asian region. The symposium commenced with welcoming remarks delivered by Dato’ Professor Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Vice-Chancellor of the Universiti Sains Malaysia, Dato’ Dr Nordin Kardi, Vice-Chancellor of the Universiti Utara Malaysia, Professor Judy Tsui, Dean of the Faculty of Business, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Professor Ferdinand A. Gul, Director of the Asia-Pacific Center for Corporate Governance Studies and Head and Chair Professor of the School of Accounting and Finance, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Additionally, Dato’ Professor Dzulkifli Abdul Razak read out the speech of the Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia and declared the symposium open. In the first research forum, Professor Ferdinand A. Gul spoke on “The Role of Political Economy in Financial Reporting and Finance”. Professor Gul argued that political economy does affect financial reporting and finance. He presented empirical evidence establishing that financial transparency is significantly lower in state-owned enterprises / banks as well as in firms with higher risk of expropriation by the state. He treated it as evident that a country’s legal regime, its electoral system and the state ownership of firms are key determinants of dividend policies of firms. He also argued that political connected firms in a polity reduce the benefits of global financing. Firms with political ties generally have access to preferential financing. They prefer private deals to external scrutiny and transparency. In the second research forum held on the second day of the Symposium, Professor Eli Bartov of New York University addressed the topic “Stock-based Compensation”. He explained the inter-relationship between private information, earnings manipulations and
executive stock option exercises. He also discussed issues connected with managerial discretion and the economic determinants of the disclosed volatility parameter for valuing executive stock options. There were a total of eight plenary paper sessions with five sessions held on the first day and on the second day, three. The particulars of the eight papers were as follows:
1. “Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Arab Equity Markets: Does Ownership Concentration Matter?” by Mohammed M. O m a n and Ayten Fatheldin 2. “Institutional Net Buying and Small-cap Outperformance - Evidence from Chinese IPO Market” by Peng Cheng 3. “Institutional Investors, Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Malaysia” by Effiezal A. Abdul Wahab, Janice C. Y. How and Peter Verhoeven 4. “Realisability of Deferred Tax Assets, Accruals Quality and Earnings Persistence” by Wonsun Paek 5. “Re-examination of Corporate Governance and Stock Returns: Any Role for Information Risk?’ by Liandong Zhang 6. “Choice of Valuation Model: Australian Evidence on the Valuation of PPE Pursuant to Regulatory Change” by Dianne English and Cecilia Lambert 7. “Bonding to the Improved Disclosure Environment in the United States: Firms’ Listing Choices and their Capital Market Consequences” by Ole-Kristian Hope, Tony Kang and Yoonseok Zang 8. “Quality of Board of Directors, Ownership Structure and Level of Voluntary Disclosure of Listed Companies in Thailand” by Jakkravudhi Chobpichien, Hasnah ,Haron and Daing Nasir Ibrahim All papers presented at the plenary paper sessions were eligible to be considered for the Best Paper Award. Professor Ole-Kristian Hope, Dr Tony Kang and Dr Yoonseok Zang won the award and took home a cash prize of US$2,000. The concurrent paper sessions, held in the afternoon on the second day, saw ten papers presented and discussed in small group settings. The papers presented were as follows:
1. Auditor Tenure, Auditor Specialization and Earnings Quality 2. Is There Information Content from Insider Trading Activities Preceding Earnings and Dividend Announcements in Hong Kong? 3. Accounting Conservatism, Earnings Persistence and Pricing Multiples on Earnings 4. Asian Financial Crisis and Value Relevance of Accounting Accruals 5. Does Firm Strategy Have Systematic Effects in Predicting Future Cash Flows? 6. The Existence of, and Earnings Quality Explanations for, the Private Company Discount 7. Graphical Information Disclosure Index (GIDI):An Application of Measuring Voluntary Disclosures in Annual Reports of Indonesian Public Companies 8. A Content Analysis on the Auditor’s Report for Going Concern Recipients 9. Can Compensation Effectively Prevent Underinvestment in R&D? Some Australian Evidence 10. The Chilean Corporate Governance System: The Effect of Non-Bank Financial Intermediaries and Auditors on Earnings Quality and Disclosure Levels
The corporate governance forum was held after the concurrent paper sessions. The theme was “Corporate Governance Issues in the Asian Region”. This was chaired by Professor Ross Watts of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The four panelists at the forum were Dr Ainun Na’im of Universitas Gadjah Mada, Professor Katherine Schipper of Duke University, Dr R. Thillainathan of Genting Berhad, and Professor Judy Tsui. This one and a half hour event saw the panelists speak on a variety of corporate governance issues and developments in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia. The symposium was concluded with the Symposium Dinner hosted by the Universiti Sains Malaysia at the Paradise Sandy Beach Resort in Penang. The Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics is especially grateful to the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and CPA Australia for sponsoring the symposium.