Discretion in Revenue Recognition and Financial Statement Comparability

Abstract

An objective of financial reporting regulation is to encourage the production of decision-useful information. This paper examines the association between the level of discretion allowed in accounting standards and comparability, a key characteristic of decision-useful reporting. To study this link, I investigate changes in comparability around regulation SOP 97-2, which decreased discretion in the timing of revenue recognition on software-related transactions. Using a difference-in-differences research design, I find a positive association between discretion and comparability for affected firms, relative to control firms. This result is attenuated for firms with low reporting quality prior to the rule change and those that experienced a larger direct impact on their revenue recognition practices. This paper furthers understanding of the linkage between reporting discretion and the decision-usefulness of accounting outputs. Additionally, the results highlight the complex interactions between various financial reporting attributes.

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