연구개발비에 대한 보수적인 회계처리가 기업가치에 미치는 영향

[Purpose]This study aims to investigate how conservative accounting treatments for R&D expenditures may distort a company's intrinsic value and lead to market inefficiencies. By analyzing an alternative accounting method that capitalizes R&D investments, we seek to provide investors with more useful information for assessing a company's true value. We also hope this analysis will serve as a foundational resource for future policy discussions on R&D accounting standards. [Methodology]To empirically analyze the effect of conservative R&D accounting on firm value, we followed these steps: Based on prior research, we separated total R&D expenditures into capitalized R&D and expensed R&D to measure the degree of conservatism. We created a dummy variable based on the median of this conservatism index, classifying firms as having either a high degree of conservatism (1) or a low degree of conservatism (0). We set Tobin's Q as the dependent variable to represent firm value. Using these variables, we tested the impact of conservative accounting treatments on firm value. [Findings]Our empirical analysis yielded the following results. Both capitalized R&D and total R&D expenditures were found to have a negative impact on firm value. This suggests that the capitalization of R&D may be perceived by market participants as overstating future uncertain profits, sending a negative signal to the market. Conversely, expensed R&D was found to have a positive impact on firm value. This can be interpreted as a signal of the company's financial transparency and cautious decision－making, earning market trust. Furthermore, as the proportion of conservative accounting treatment increased, the influence of capitalized, expensed, and total R&D on firm value changed in a statistically significant way. This indicates that conservative accounting treatment plays a crucial moderating role in how R&D investments are reflected in firm value. [Implications]This study empirically demonstrated the opposing impacts of capitalizing versus expensing R&D on firm value. The findings suggest that management should do more than just increase R&D investment; they must also strategically manage how these expenditures are accounted for. This means recognizing R&D as a core tool for value creation and carefully considering how accounting choices affect market perception. Ultimately, these insights can help managers make transparent and responsible decisions to enhance a company's long－term competitiveness and market value.