Does Company Reputation Matter for Financial Reporting Quality? Evidence from Restatements

55 Pages Posted: 17 Dec 2008 Last revised: 7 Jun 2011

See all articles by Ying Cao

Ying Cao

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) - School of Accountancy

Linda A. Myers

University of Tennessee, Haslam College of Business, Accounting and Information Management

Thomas C. Omer

University of Nebraska at Lincoln - School of Accountancy

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Date Written: July 2011

Abstract

In this study, we explore the association between company reputation and the likelihood of a financial statement restatement (i.e., a revealed misstatement). We focus on restatements because they are one of the most visible forms of impaired financial reporting quality, and we suggest that company reputation concerns will influence the reporting process and reduce financial statement misstatements (and ultimately restatements). We proxy for company reputation using measures based on Fortune’s America’s Most Admired Companies List. For a sample of 8,081 observations from 1995 through 2009, we find that companies with higher reputation scores are less likely to misstate their financial statements after controlling for CEO tenure, corporate governance, and audit fees (a proxy for audit effort). In addition, we find that companies with higher reputations have better accruals quality. We also find that company reputation is positively associated with audit fees even after controlling for corporate governance. These results are consistent with company reputation having an important effect on financial reporting quality and with the effect of reputation being distinct from that of corporate governance.

Keywords: corporate reputation, financial reporting quality, restatements, audit fees

JEL Classification: G34, D80, M41, M43, M49

Suggested Citation

Cao, Ying and Myers, Linda A. and Omer, Thomas C., Does Company Reputation Matter for Financial Reporting Quality? Evidence from Restatements (July 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1317343 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1317343

Ying Cao

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) - School of Accountancy ( email )

Shatin, N.T.
Hong Kong

Linda A. Myers (Contact Author)

University of Tennessee, Haslam College of Business, Accounting and Information Management ( email )

Knoxville, TN
United States

Thomas C. Omer

University of Nebraska at Lincoln - School of Accountancy ( email )

307 College of Business Administration
Lincoln, NE 68588-0488
United States

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