Reporting and Recording of Contingent Tax Liabilities

Posted: 27 Jun 2000

See all articles by Cristi A. Gleason

Cristi A. Gleason

University of Iowa - Department of Accounting

Lillian F. Mills

University of Texas at Austin - McCombs School of Business; The University of Texas at Austin

Date Written: May 1, 2000

Abstract

This paper studies the reliability of mandatory contingent liability disclosure. Contingent liabilities introduce substantial uncertainty about future earnings and the value of the firm, but little public data are available on the demands by external claimants. We use confidential audit adjustments from the Internal Revenue Service for the largest publicly-traded industrial firms to study the reliability of tax contingent liability disclosure. We find that although the content of footnotes disclosing tax contingencies is limited, disclosure is related to the magnitude of the external claim as well as the final settlement of the contingency. This suggests that contingent liability reporting is consistent with SFAS No. 5. Further, we find that firms record a provision for contingent liabilities related to proposed adjustments. This provision, which involves high information asymmetry between shareholders and managers, suggests future research regarding taxes and earnings management.

JEL Classification: M41, M43, M45, H25, H26

Suggested Citation

Gleason, Cristi A. and Mills, Lillian F. and Mills, Lillian F., Reporting and Recording of Contingent Tax Liabilities (May 1, 2000). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=224822

Cristi A. Gleason

University of Iowa - Department of Accounting ( email )

108 Pappajohn Business Building
Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
United States

Lillian F. Mills (Contact Author)

The University of Texas at Austin ( email )

McCombs School of Business
1 University Station B6400
Austin, TX 78712-0211

University of Texas at Austin - McCombs School of Business ( email )

Austin, TX 78712
United States

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