재고자산 발생액의 증가시기에 따른 지속성 차이와 시장이상현상

This study identifies the timing of inventory accrual increases based on operating liabilities and examines whether the timing influences the persistence of inventory accruals and whether the market recognizes these differences. Non-financial firms listed on the KOSDAQ and KOSDAQ markets for the period from 2004 to 2020 are used as samples. When we test for differences in the persistence of accruals between the inventory increases made during the period and those at year-end, we find no significant differences. We posit that this is due to the full sample reflecting both positive and negative signals of inventory increases. In order to distinguish between these signals, we compare the persistence of inventory accruals between the firms with earnings management (avoidance of income decreases) incentives and the others. We find that the persistence of inventory increases at year-end is lower (higher) than that during the period for the firms with (without) earnings management incentives. The market, however, appears to overestimate the persistence of inventory increases made at year-end for the earnings management samples, consistent with prior studies. This study contributes to the literature by utilizing operating liabilities to partition inventory increases and showing differences in the persistence of inventory accruals between the firms with and without earnings management incentives