Accounting for derivatives and risk management activities: The impact of product market competition

Author First name, Last name, Institution

Abiot Mindaye Tessema, Zayed University

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

International Journal of Accounting and Information Management

Publication Date

3-7-2016

Abstract

© Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose - The lessons and merits of changes in the recognition and disclosure of derivative instruments and hedging activities are still debated and are a major policy issue. Prior studies provide mixed evidences on the economic consequences of mandatory derivative instruments' recognition and disclosure. This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the impact of mandatory derivative instruments' recognition and disclosure on managers' risk-management behavior. More importantly, this paper aims to investigate the role of product market competition on the impact of mandatory derivative instruments' recognition and disclosure on managers' risk-management behavior. Design/methodology/approach - This paper tests the author's hypotheses using the fixed-effects estimation technique, where it includes firm dummies in all the regressions. This approach enables to control for unobserved firm effects (fixed effects) on firms' risk-management behavior that are assumed to be constant through time but vary across firms. Findings - The author finds that mandatory recognition and disclosure of derivative instruments and hedging activities, on average, decreases firms' market rate risk exposure. This finding suggests that after the implementation of the recognition and disclosure of derivative instruments and hedging activities required by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 (SFAS 133), firms engage in more prudent risk-management activities to mitigate the potential cost of earnings volatility imposed by the standard. However, the decrease in market rate risk exposure is lower when the level of product market competition is higher. This finding is consistent with the idea that the recognition and disclosure of derivative instruments and hedging activities required by SFAS 133 unintentionally forces firms in competitive industries to engage in significant risk-taking. The result suggests that more disclosure in risk management may change risk-management incentives in undesirable ways if firms face the threat of entry in their product markets. Practical/implications - The results provide a new understanding on the role of product market competition on the effectiveness of mandatory derivative instruments' recognition and disclosure. The findings imply that standard setters should take product market competition into consideration before making derivative instruments and hedging activities' recognition and disclosure mandatory for all firms. Originality/value - The paper contributes to the accounting literature by providing a new insight into the moderating role of product market competition in the accounting recognition and disclosure regulation and firms' reporting behavior relation. Moreover, the paper extends the current literature on the effects of SFAS 133 on risk-management activities and sheds light on the impact of accounting regulations on firms' real economic behavior.

ISSN

1834-7649

Publisher

Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.

Volume

24

Issue

1

First Page

82

Last Page

96

Disciplines

Business

Keywords

Competition Paper type Research paper, Derivatives, Disclosure, Hedging, Recognition, Risk management

Scopus ID

84960455760

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Share

COinS