分析師跟隨對GAAP盈餘可比較性、Non-GAAP盈餘可比較性之影響

Abstract

隨著非一般公認會計原則（Non-GAAP）衡量的應用越來越廣泛，為防止企業利用會計手段揭露不正確的Non-GAAP盈餘數字進而誤導投資者、使財務報表減少可比較性，美國證券交易委員會（SEC）已開始對其進行嚴格審查。與此同時，近年來許多文獻對分析師進行研究，認為分析師能扮演監督公司揭露Non-GAAP資訊行為之角色，故本研究旨在探討分析師跟隨對於Non-GAAP盈餘可比較性的影響。而考量到Non-GAAP盈餘係由GAAP盈餘數字調整而來，因此本研究亦會探究分析師跟隨對於GAAP盈餘可比較性的影響，透過逐層的揭示，了解分析師跟隨、GAAP盈餘可比較性及Non-GAAP盈餘可比較性之間的關係。本文選取2003年到2020年之美國公司作為樣本，依據 De Franco et al.(2011) 所提出的方法衡量公司可比較性。結果發現，當公司分析師之跟隨增加時，公司之GAAP及Non-GAAP盈餘可比較性皆會提升，並且分析師跟隨對Non-GAAP盈餘可比較性之正向影響力並非僅係透過其對GAAP盈餘可比較性的影響而致。此說明了分析師除了能使公司更遵循GAAP準則編製財報之外，即使Non-GAAP盈餘資訊並無公認標準，分析師亦能監督公司揭露Non-GAAP資訊之行為，為投資人使用Non-GAAP盈餘資訊衡量公司營運表現時多一層保障。

As the use of Non-GAAP reporting becomes more widespread, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun to scrutinize them more closely to prevent companies from disclosing misleading Non-GAAP earnings and thus reducing the comparability of financial statements. Meanwhile, recent literatures have examined the role of analysts in supervising managers' Non-GAAP reporting. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of analyst coverage on Non-GAAP earnings comparability. In addition, given the fact that Non-GAAP earnings are adjusted from GAAP earnings, this study also explores the effect of analyst coverage on GAAP earnings comparability, thus providing a more comprehensive understanding of the interrelationships between analyst coverage, GAAP earnings comparability, and Non-GAAP earnings comparability. Using a sample of US companies from 2003 to 2020 and calculating comparability based on the method proposed by De Franco et al.(2011), the results show that higher analyst coverage is associated with higher GAAP and Non-GAAP earnings comparability. Furthermore, this positive impact of analyst coverage on Non-GAAP earnings comparability is not solely attributable to its impact on GAAP earnings comparability. Overall, the evidence suggests that analysts can play a crucial role in making companies comply with GAAP standards and properly disclose Non-GAAP information, enhancing the quality of both GAAP and Non-GAAP earnings.