자산처분을 통한 적자회피기업의 특성에 관한 연구

This study investigates the characteristics of firms that avoid losses through income from asset sales. First, loss avoidance through asset disposal is higher when firms scaled earnings are in the earnings management interval. Second, Family firms are more likely to avoid losses through asset disposal. Third, ownership of foreign investors is positively associated with the possibility of loss avoidance through disposition of fixed assets. Finally, firms with more accruals, higher credit risk, over 200% of debt ratio and small－sized are likely to inflate their reported earnings through asset disposal for the purpose of hiding their risks. The contributions of this study are from practical aspects and research aspects. First, in practical aspects, we identified characteristics of firms that employ asset disposal to avoid losses. This empirical evidence warns the various stakeholders such as regulators, auditors and investors about the possibility that asset disposal can be used for earnings management purposes. In addition, we suggest that further disclosure on asset sale such as the amount of the acquisition cost, the income from asset sales and detailed the purpose of asset disposal should be included. And the contributions in the research aspect are as follows. In the previous study which is about possibility of earnings management, the samples whose earnings are slightly higher than 0 were regarded as a firms that engages earnings management to avoid the net losses. However, it is certain that firms who avoid the losses through asset disposal managed earnings to avoid net losses. Therefore, a company that avoids deficits through asset disposal should be used as a measure of earnings management in a future research.