해외종속기업의 특성과 재무분석가의 이익예측, 투자자의 의견차이 및 부채조달비용

The purpose of this study is to analyze the response of accounting information users to the consolidated financial statements from perspective of analysts' forecast, divergence of opinion among investors and cost of debt. Since the mandatory adoption of K-IFRS in 2011 which requires consolidated financial statements to be used as primary financial statements, the quality of the information provided by consolidated financial statements becomes more important. In addition, as the number of overseas subsidiaries included in the consolidated group and the proportion of overseas subsidiaries in the consolidated financial statements have increased, it can be said the financial statements of the individual overseas subsidiaries that reflect the different geographical and economic characteristics of various countries could reflect very significant information which can thus have a direct impact on reactions of accounting information users. In this background, analyzing the impact of foreign subsidiaries on the consolidated financial statements using the characteristics of the country where the subsidiaries are located and the response of accounting information users using them are very important in empirical study. This study analyzes whether the characteristics of overseas subsidiaries mitigate the negative effects of the portion of overseas subsidiaries in the consolidated group on analysts’ forecasts, divergence of opinion among investors and cost of debt from 2011 to 2017. The results of study are summarized as follows: First, the larger the portion of overseas subsidiaries in consolidated group is, the more negative analysts' forecast, divergence of opinion among investors and cost of debt are. Second, the negative impact of overseas subsidiaries on analysts' forecasts, divergence of opinion among investors and cost of debt are mitigated when overseas subsidiaries are located in countries with highly developed legal system or IFRS-adopted countries, or where accounting transparency is high. The contributions of this study are as follows. First, this study verifies interaction of overseas subsidiaries with the characteristics of overseas subsidiaries such as legal system, accounting standards, accounting transparency, and focus on consolidated financial statements. Second, this study finds that the characteristics of individual overseas subsidiaries mitigates the negative effect of the portion of overseas subsidiaries on analysts' forecast, divergence of opinion among investors and cost of debt. Third, in future, it needs to examine external environment factors such as business environment, cultural difference, volatility of related industry policies, and regulations, that may effect the quality of subsidiaries' financial statements. Fourth, this study supports the validity of the supervision policy recently implemented by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in order to strengthen the audit procedures for external auditors.