회계이익과 과세소득의 차이와 부채조달비용 간의 관계에 관한 실증적 증거

This paper examines the association between book-tax difference (BTD) and the cost of debt financing. This study investigates whether debt investors use information for BTD in loan pricing. Specifically, this paper examines the relation between cost of debt (measured in different ways；borrowing’s yield spread and borrowing’s interest rates) and measures of firms’ BTDs. Especially, I analyze whether BTD has additional explanatory power in debt market pricing, after controlling discretionary accruals and bond rating, and firm specified effects. Earnings management distorts the quality of reported earnings, which can impact debtholders’ estimates of future cash flows. Recent research demonstrates that abnormal accruals (a measure of accounting quality or accrual-based earnings manage- ment) have a negative impact on the cost of debt (Bharath et al., 2008；Francis et al., 2005；Park et al., 2011). Prior research suggests that BTDs reflect information about a firm’s economic fundamentals and its earnings management and tax planning strategies that can impact the quality of the firm’s reported information. Because fundamental risk and opportunistic earnings management behavior reduce information precision and therefore lead to poor earnings quality. Since these studies focus on the impact of accrual-based earnings management on the interest cost of borrowing, there is little evidence on how investors in the debt market perceive BTDs. To fill this void, This study investigates whether potential debtholders perceive BTDs to be a credit risk increasing or decreasing factor. Stated another way, I analysis focuses on the hitherto unexplored question of whether debtholders require higher or lower risk premiums in response to BTDs. If debtholders perceive BTD as opportunistic behavior, I predict a positive association between BTD and cost of debt (managerial opportunism hypothesis). Similarly, if debtholders mistake BTD earnings management for operational efficiency, I predict a negative association between BTD and cost of debt (operational efficiency hypothesis). Using the sample from 2001 to 2010, I find that Increased book-tax differences result in more favorable response, consistent with operational efficiency hypothesis. Overall, these results imply that, in the debt market, debtholders do not see through BTSs reflect information about a firms’s earnings quality. Therefore, this study results indicate that the debt market does not perceive BTD as opportunistic behavior. It can be concluded that prior researches using bond yield spread as a proxy of cost of debts is limited and these findings will help for creditors and investors to understand the difference between BTDs and cost of debt fiancing. Also, accounting information plays an important role in the capital allocation process. Accordingly, understanding the debt market consequences of BTD earnings management is relevant and important. The findings of this study will be of interest to academicians, managers, credit agencies, accounting standard setters, and regulators alike.