演讲题目：Hedging, Hedge Accounting, and Earnings Predictability

演讲者：Tharindra Ranasinghe助理教授

演讲时间：2019年12月20日（周五）上午10：00-11：30

演讲地点：嘉庚二203

主持人：江芷倩 助理教授

参加者：对会计、财务研究有兴趣的师生

摘 要：Due to the stringent hedge accounting requirements under prevailing accounting standards, many economic hedges do not qualify for hedge accounting and therefore deemed “ineffective” for financial reporting purposes. Hence, the income volatility impact of hedging derivatives is unclear and subject to debate. We investigate the impact of hedging on earnings predictability by analyzing hand-collected hedging data from two industries that extensively use derivatives to manage price risks: the oil and gas exploration and production industry and the airline industry. We find that overall, hedging derivatives improve income predictability and increase (decrease) analysts’ forecast accuracy (dispersion). However, by empirically quantifying accounting hedge ineffectiveness, we show that holding large amounts of ineffective hedges significantly impairs the aforementioned improvement in earnings predictability, at times making earnings even less predictable than if there were no hedges in the first place. Our findings lend support to criticism leveled by corporate managers and industry experts against stringent hedge accounting requirements and offer policy implications.

报告人介绍

Tharindra Ranasinghe于休斯顿大学获得会计学博士学位，2012年至2016年就职于新加坡管理大学，现为马里兰大学商学院助理教授。研究兴趣为高管薪酬、对冲和金融衍生品、自愿披露等， 已在 The Accounting Review、 Journal of Accounting and Public Policy等国际期刊发表多篇论文。