We investigate how the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by publicly listed firms in the European Union affects peer private firms. We find that private firms’ capital investment decreases significantly after the IFRS mandate, relative to public firms. Private firms also display decreased investment when benchmarked against firms relatively insulated from the impact of the IFRS mandate, but the magnitude of the effect is smaller in this case. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that mandatory IFRS reporting (combined with other reforms), while increasing public firms’ financing and investment, crowds out funding for private firms. The effect is more pronounced for larger private firms and in industries where public peers have greater external financing needs. Our evidence suggests that financial reporting regulations cause shifts in resource allocation in an economy.
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- BEng, Shanghai Jiaotong University
- MSc in Accounting, University of British Columbia
- PhD in Finance, University of British Columbia
Guochang Zhang is the Chung Hon-Dak Professor in Accounting at the University of Hong Kong. He previously held academic positions at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Waterloo, Canada. He received a Bachelor degree (Engineering) from Shanghai Jiaotong University, and an MSc (Accounting) and a PhD (Finance) from the University of British Columbia. He has published papers in top academic journals including Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies, and Management Science. His monograph “Accounting Information and Equity Valuation: Theory, Evidence, and Applications” has been used as teaching materials for doctoral and master programs and executive training. He previously served as an Associate Editor of European Accounting Review, a member of the Financial Reporting Standards Committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and an independent non-executive director of a listed company.
Professor Zhang teaches management accounting, equity valuation, accounting for business valuation and financial contracting, and doctoral seminars in accounting research.
Professor Zhang conducts theoretical and empirical research to explore how firms’ financial reporting information and voluntary disclosure affect the decisions of market investors and business managers, and how financial reporting standards should be designed to facilitate economic decision-making and resource allocation. His research interests include accounting-based valuation, economic consequences of corporate disclosure, earnings management, and design of financial reporting standards.
Professor Zhang has published papers in top journals in accounting and management, and authored a research monograph on equity valuation.
Monograph
Guochang Zhang. 2014. Accounting Information and Equity Valuation: Theory, Evidence, and Applications. Springer Series in Accounting Scholarship, Vol. 6, New York: Springer. (233 pages)
Journal articles
- Liu, Jiancheng (Duncan), Wei Shi, Cheng Zeng and Guochang Zhang. 2023. Does Public Firms’ Mandatory Ifrs Reporting Crowd Out Private Firms’ Capital Investment? Journal of Accounting Research, 61(4): 1263-1312.
- Hui, Kai Wai, Alfred Z. Liu, Richard Schneible Jr, and Guochang Zhang. 2022. Analysts’ book value forecasts: Initial evidence from the perspective of real-options-based valuation. Contemporary Accounting Research, 39(4), 2481-2516.
- Hong, Philip K, Tao Ma, and Guochang Zhang. 2019. Accruals quality and cost of capital: Evidence from the Chinese stock market. Journal of International Accounting Research 18(1): 71-95.
- Chen, Tai-Yuan, Guochang Zhang, and Yi Zhou. 2018. Enforceability of non-compete covenants, discretionary investments, and financial reporting practices: Evidence from a natural experiment. Journal of Accounting and Economics 65(1): 41-60.
- Li, Liuchuang, Baolei Qi, Gaoliang Tian, and Guochang Zhang. 2017. The contagion effect of low-quality audits at the level of individual auditors. The Accounting Review 92(1): 137-163.
- Hou, Qingchuan, Qinglu Jin, Rong Yang, Hongqi Yuan, and Guochang Zhang. 2015. Performance commitments of controlling shareholders and earnings management. Contemporary Accounting Research 32(3): 1099-1127.
- Hui, Kai Wai, Clive Lennox, and Guochang Zhang. 2014. The market’s valuation of fraudulently reported earnings. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting 41(5-6): 627-651.
- Zhang, Guochang. 2013. Accounting standards, cost of capital, resource allocation, and welfare in a large economy. The Accounting Review 88(4): 1459-1488.
- Huang, Yuan, and Guochang Zhang. 2012. An examination of the incremental usefulness of balance-sheet information beyond earnings in explaining stock returns. Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance 27(2): 267-293.
- Huang, Yuan, and Guochang Zhang. 2011. The informativeness of analyst forecast revisions and the valuation of R&D-intensive firms. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 30(1): 1-21.
- Hao, Shengquan, Qinglu Jin, and Guochang Zhang. 2011. Relative firm profitability and stock return sensitivity to industry-level news. The Accounting Review 86(4): 1321-1347.
- Hao, Shengquan, Qinglu Jin, and Guochang Zhang. 2011. Investment growth and the relation between equity value, earnings, and equity book value. The Accounting Review 86(2): 605-635.
- Chen, Peter, and Guochang Zhang. 2007. How do accounting variables explain stock price movements? Theory and evidence. Journal of Accounting and Economics 43(2-3): 219-244.
- Chen, Peter, and Guochang Zhang. 2007. Segment profitability, misvaluation, and corporate divestment. The Accounting Review 82(1): 1-26.
- Chen, Peter, and Guochang Zhang. 2003. Heterogeneous investment opportunities in multiple-segment firms and the incremental value relevance of segment accounting data. The Accounting Review 78(2): 397-428.
- Biddle, Gary, Peter Chen, and Guochang Zhang. 2001. When capital follows profitability: Non-linear residual income dynamics. Review of Accounting Studies 6(2-3): 229-265.
- Zhang, Guochang. 2001. Private information production, public disclosure, and the cost of capital: Theory and implications. Contemporary Accounting Research 18(2): 363-384.
- Zhang, Guochang. 2001. Regulated managerial insider trading as a mechanism to facilitate shareholder control. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting 28(1-2): 35-62.
- Zhang, Guochang. 2000. Accounting information, capital investment decisions, and equity valuation: Theory and empirical implications. Journal of Accounting Research 38(2): 271-295.
- Zhang, Guochang. 1998. Ownership concentration, risk aversion and the effect of financial structure on investment decisions. European Economic Review 42(9): 1751-1778.
- Zhang, Guochang. 1997. Moral hazard in corporate investment and the disciplinary role of voluntary capital rationing. Management Science 43(6): 737-750.
Professor Zhang serves on The Financial Reporting Review Panel of Financial Reporting Council of Hong Kong, and The Financial Reporting Standards Committee of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is a member of HKICPA’s Financial Reporting Valuations Panel and Conceptual Framework Panel. He is also an independent non-executive director of a listed company.
Professor Zhang has been an associate editor of European Accounting Review, and has served on the editorial board of Accounting & Finance.