期刊名称：Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy
印刷版ISSN：1689-765X
电子版ISSN：2353-3293
出版年度：2022
卷号：17
期号：2
页码：415-434
DOI：10.24136/eq.2022.014
语种：English
出版社：Institute of Economic Research
摘要：Research background: A company?s earnings are one of the main determinants of investment decisions on the stock market. Thus, the reliability of disclosed financial information is crucial for the efficient allocation of capital. Unfortunately, reported earnings are an economic category susceptible to manipulation. This problem grows especially in the case of an initial public offering (IPO), as there is significant information asymmetry. Purpose of the article: The main aim of the paper is to assess the persistence of earnings reported by companies in the IPO process and to empirically identify financial characteristics associated with persistence of earnings. The usefulness of financial information is directly related to the issue of earnings quality. Therefore, this paper contributes to the stream of study on the quality of financial reporting of new stock companies. Methods: I employ a simple single-factor regression model to recognize the earnings persistence in new stock companies. Pre-IPO earnings are the explanatory variable. Then, I use multiple regression analysis to identify factors that influence this metric of reported earnings quality. Findings & value added: Using a sample of companies from stock exchange markets in Central and Eastern Europe (i.e., the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the Belgrade Stock Exchange, the Prague Stock Exchange) that went public between 2010 and 2018, I find that, generally, pre-IPO earnings hold higher persistence compared to earnings reported in the year of the IPO. Profitability seems to be a factor that significantly influences this feature. Thus, the results contribute to corporate theory and practice facing insufficient empirical evidence on the issue of sustaining pre-IPO profitability in the long term, additionally putting these concerns in the context of the economic environment of European emerging stock markets.
关键词：earnings quality;financial reporting;earnings management;initial public offering;profitability
