Persistence, value relevance, and accruals quality in extreme earnings and cash flow situations

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the impact of extreme earnings and cash flows on the persistence, value relevance, and accruals quality of Brazilian public firms. Originality/gap/relevance/implications: The present study contributes to the literature by analyzing extreme earnings and cash flows. Because they change the results of the period in which they occur in an unusual manner, this study suggests that studying their behaviors and impacts on the quality of the information disclosed by companies tends to contribute to optimal decision making in the capital market. Key methodological aspects: The analyzed sample comprised non-financial public companies traded on the BM&FBovespa stock exchange from 2005 to 2014, with estimates made using quantile regression. Summary of key results: The main results indicate that cash flows are more persistent than earnings because the accruals component of the latter makes them less persistent. Extreme values of both earnings and cash flows affect the persistence of these variables, with a strong and negative effect on cash flows. Finally, extreme values of accruals negatively affect accruals quality because, compared to moderate quantiles, they significantly alter the standard deviation of extreme quantiles. Key considerations/conclusions: The presence of extreme values in this study's focus variables negatively influenced market information quality, reducing its predictive power and, consequently, its relevance. Furthermore, controlling for extreme values, it was possible to observe the incremental information content of these two metrics.