우리나라 회계학 연구 : 현황과 개선방안

송인만 ( Song Inman ) 한국회계학회 2018 회계저널 Vol.27 No.5

우리나라 회계학 연구는 연구 환경의 성숙으로 말미암아 더욱 활성화되고 있다. 본 연구는 회계학 연구의 경쟁력을 강화하기 위한 몇 가지 개선방안을 제안한다. 먼저 연구가 회계실무에 도움이 되도록 실무문제를 많이 다루기를 제안한다. 특히 회계투명성 개선방안으로 도입된 여러 제도의 효과성을 검증하고 우리나라 회계환경에 필요한 새로운 조치를 제시하는 연구를 수행할 수 있을 것이다. 연구결과의 수용성을 증진시키기 위해서 개념적 틀이 명확해야 한다. 필요하다면 이를 경제학이나 사회학 등의 다른 분야에서도 찾아보도록 노력해야 한다. 또한 대부분의 연구가 준실험연구임을 고려할 때 인과관계의 설정과 외생변수의 통제가 적절한지 검토해야 한다. 특히 연구자들이 그들의 연구에 사용하고 있는 통계기법을 충분히 이해해야 한다. 마지막으로 연구결과 이용자들과의 의사소통을 특별히 강조한다. 연구결과를 이용자들에게 이해하기 쉽도록 전달하고, 연구의 한계점을 명확히 제시해야 한다. 회계학 연구의 국제적 경쟁력을 강화하기 위해서는 외국의 연구자들이 우리나라 회계학 연구에 관심을 갖도록 하는 방안을 모색해야 한다. 앞으로 우리나라 회계학 연구가 국제적으로 널리 인정받고, 연구의 결과가 우리나라 고유의 회계문제 그리고 나아가서 국제적인 회계문제의 해결에 도움이 되는 시대가 열리기를 기대한다. Korean accounting researches have been boosted rapidly along with our matured accounting research circumstances. Nonetheless, this paper raises a few suggestions to revitalize the competitiveness of our accounting researches. First of all, this paper suggests that there should be more accounting researches dealing with accounting practical problems. Specifically, we have to evaluate the effectiveness of those procedures which have been introduced to improve Korean accounting transparency. Moreover, researchers have to seek more effective procedures which are suitable to our culture. Conceptual frameworks need be more clear to improve the acceptability of research results. If necessary, we have to seek these frameworks from other areas such as economics or sociologies. Since most of researches are quasi-experimental, concrete casual relationship and proper control on exogenous variables are necessary. Specifically, researchers need to fully understand the meaning and implication of statistical methods they are employing. Also, communication between researchers and users should be smoother. Researchers should deliver their research results in a simple and understandable manner and also clearly indicate the limitations of their researches. Lastly, this paper stresses that to establish an international reputation of Korean accounting researches, we have to find a way to attract foreign researchers‘ attention.

세무상 이월결손금이 이익조정과 이익조정방법 선택에 미치는 영향

박홍조 ( Hongjo Park ),송인만 ( Inman Song ) 한국회계학회 2008 회계학연구 Vol.33 No.4

본 연구는 세무상 이월결손금이 경영자의 이익조정에 미치는 영향을 검증하고, 세무상결손금의 이월공제기간 만료 이전에 절세효과를 누리기 위한 이익조정을 실시하는지 검증하는 것을 목적으로 하고 있다. 또한 세무상 이월결손금의 존재가 이익조정방법의 선택 및 세무조정에 미치는 영향도 함께 검증하였다. 1999년부터 2005년 사이 세무상 이월결손금 기초 잔액이 있는 352개 기업-연도를 대상으로 실증분석을 수행한 결과, 세무상 이월결손금이 큰 기업일수록 보고이익 상향조정을 더 많이 하는 것으로 나타났다. 특히 이월공제기간의 만료가 임박할수록 보고이익 상향조정을 더 많이 하는 것으로 나타나, 세무상 이월결손금이 경영자의 보고이익 상향조정 동기가 될 수 있음을 보여주고 있다. 또한 본 연구는 분식회계로 인해 감리지적 되었거나 분식회계를 자발적으로 정정 공시한 135개 기업-연도를 대상으로 분석을 수행하였다. 그 결과, 세무상 이월결손금이 없는 기업들은 보고이익을 상향조정할 때 조세비용을 줄이기 위해 과세소득이 함께 증가하지 않는 방법을 더 많이 이용하고 있으며, 세무상 이월결손금이 없음에도 불구하고 과세소득이 함께 증가하는 방법을 통해 보고이익을 상향조정한 기업들은 다른 기업들에 비해 더 많은 손금산입 세무조정이 나타난다는 결과를 얻었다. 본 연구는 세무상 이월결손금이 경영자의 재량적 이익조정행위의 직접적인 동기가 될 수 있음을 보여주는 실증적인 증거를 제시했다는 점에서 의의가 있다. 그리고 세무상 이월결손금이 보고이익을 상향조정한 기업의 세무조정에 미치는 영향을 검증했다는 점에서도 의미가 있다. 본 연구는 세무상 결손금의 이월공제기간 만료 이전에 절세효과를 누리고자 하는 기업의 이익조정 가능성을 줄이기 위해 법인세법상 결손금 소급공제 범위를 확대할 필요가 있다는 정책적 시사점을 제시하고 있다. 다만, 소급공제를 확대할 경우, 더 많은 소급공제를 받기 위한 big bath의 가능성을 방지하기 위한 방안은 추가적으로 필요할 것이다. 또한 세무상 이월결손금이 많거나 결손금 이월공제기간의 만료가 임박한 경우에는 보고이익 상향조정 가능성을 고려하여 보다 엄격한 외부감사 및 감리절차를 수행해야 할 것이다. Firms have incentive to adjust their reported incomes upward, but they have to consider increased tax costs associated with such an upward adjustment. However, firms with net operating loss carryforward (hereafter, NOLCF) will be more flexible in decisions to increase their reported income. It is because a firm`s tax costs may not increase proportionally to the upward income adjustment. We examine empirically the effect of NOLCF on a firm`s earnings management decisions as well as firms` income increasing strategies. We also investigate the tax consequences of earnings management and the effect of NOLCF on tax returns. We hypothesize that the more a firm has NOLCF available at the beginning of a year, the more will the firm manage their reported income upward. This relationship may be because that NOLCF would absorb the impact of upward earnings management on tax costs, and therefore a firm`s decisions for upward earnings management could be more flexible. Since NOLCF will be expired after a predetermined legal term(5 years in Korea), a firm which want to take advantage of the tax-saving benefits of NOLCF may have incentive to create sufficient taxable income before expiration of the legal term. That is, NOLCF would provide an incentive for upward earnings management within the allowed period. Therefore, we hypothesize additionally that the shorter the remaining expiration period of NOLCF, the greater is the firm`s incentive for upward reported income management in a specific year. A firm engaged in fraudulent earnings management have to worry about the possibility of being detected. Book-tax conforming earnings management to increase a firm`s reported income may have relatively low detection risk, but still has to bear higher tax costs. That is, book-tax confirming earning-increasing strategies have a positive side of low detection risk as well as a negative side of corresponding increase in tax costs. However, if a firm has NOLCF available at the beginning of the year, it could absorb the negative impact of upward earnings management on tax costs. Therefore, we hypothesize that a firm with NOLCF would choose booktax conforming earnings management strategies to avoid its risk of being detected. We have performed empirical tests using 352 firm-year sample firms with NOLCF from year 1999 to 2005. Our results show that firms with more NOLCF made more upward reported income managements and that firms with NOLCF expiring in a shorter period tend to increase their reported income intentionally. In summary, NOLCF can reduce firms` tax costs associated with upward income adjustment and therefore provide greater incentive to manage their reported income upward. This would not be desirable for a healthy financial reporting convention. We have also performed additional empirical tests using 135 sample firms that had been accused of overstating their reported earnings fraudulently. This is to investigate NOLCF`s effect on the choice of a firm`s earnings management strategies and tax returns. The empirical results show that firms with NOLCF choose booktax conforming earnings management strategies to avoid detection risk. Also, the results show that firms that do not have NOLCF but overstate its earnings through the book-tax conforming method tend to reduce its associated tax costs increase in a tax return through other available means such as aggressive loss inclusion. The results of our study imply that motivation to take advantage of the tax benefits of NOLCF before the NOLCF expiration date can impair the transparency and reliability of financial reporting. Therefore, policy makers should consider extending the NOLCF expiration period and/or widening a net operating loss carryback system. However, in the loss carryback system, a certain means is needed to prevent a firm`s big-bath practice to be exercised possibly for immediate tax benefits. Also, external auditors should perform their works more thoroughly for a firm with significant NOLCF and the firm with NOLCF expiring shortly. This study contributes to earnings management researches in that it provides empirical evidence that NOLCF can be direct incentive for upward reported earnings management. However, this study can not be generalized fully since it performs some of its tests using only those firms which are revealed to manipulate their reported earnings fraudulently. Further studies investigating the effect of NOLCF on a firm`s value will be interesting since NOLCF will provide tax benefits as well as opportunistic earnings management.

資産再評價의 動機와 再評價情報의 株價反應

宋寅萬,鄭영基 成均館大學校 韓國産業硏究所 1994 韓國經濟 Vol.20 No.2

This paper examines the motives of 46 Korean firms to revalue their assets and the effects of their asset revalution decision on stock prices for the period of 1987-1992. The results show that firms revalue their assets to improve financial position(measured by equity-to-total asset ratio) as well as to exapnd dividend pool by increasing owner's equity, which is permitted under the Asset Revalution Law in Korea. Upward stock price movement in the cumulative average residuals prior to the announcement date is observed, and the price movement is closely correlated with firms' current financial position as well as the size of their dividend pool. Fron the analysis it is concluded that the asset revalution system is utilized primarily to improve firms' financial position, which can not be the main purpose of the Asset Revalution Law.