Debt covenants and accounting conservatism

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between debt covenants and accounting conservatism. The study uses the data of 180 non-financial listed companies on the Malaysian Stock Exchange during the period of 2008 to 2018. Our findings suggest that the increasing use of debt covenants automatically gears up the firm to focus on the timely recognition of loss in order to satisfy the debt market. Further, we also examine whether there is a relationship between those firms' that are more dependent on debt covenants and timely recognition of losses. This study finds that as the firm depends more on covenants their emphasis on the timely recognition of economic loss increases to avoid potential debt market issues. We also discuss the transfer of controls and power to the bondholders in a situation of financial distress and the auditor's responsibility to monitor the limitations of accounting conservatism.