The Effect of the Responsibilities and the Professional Competence of Directors and Supervisors on Analysts’ Earnings Forecasts

• Main Author: 賴殷珮
• Other Authors: 陳光政
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/85842556968054210824

碩士 === 逢甲大學 === 會計學系 === 103 === Financial statement information is relevant to analysts to form expectations about the prospects of the firm. Prior research finds that characteristics of board of directors are associated with the firms’ information quality that is proxed by analyst forecast accuracy and dispersion. This study extends this literature by examining the association of responsibility and professional competence of board members (i.e., directors and supervisors) with analysts’ ability to anticipate future earnings. Using sample data of Taiwanese listed firms from 2007 to 2013, this study finds a significant association between frequent turnover of board members and analyst earnings forecasts that are less accurate and more dispersed. This study also find that higher proportion of attending board meetings is associated with higher analyst forecast accuracy, and higher proportion of members with accounting, financial, or law expertise is associated with lower analyst forecast dispersion. However, this study does not find a significant association between level of continuing professional education and forecast accuracy or forecast dispersion. These findings contribute to our understanding of the importance of responsibility and expertise of board members by documenting that board members with active participation in board meetings, lower turnover, and possess sufficient expertise in accounting, finance, or law are associated with improvements in analyst earnings forecasts.