Conclusion
I investigate the consequences of the state-contingent allocation of creditor control rights on financial reporting.
Financial contracting theory suggests that information acquisition is necessary and important after the transfer of control
rights. Creditors verify the state of nature of the firm in order to make informed decisions and mitigate agency conflicts.
Adopting a regression discontinuity design as an identification strategy, I empirically test the implications of financial
contracting theory using a comprehensive covenant violation data with all Compustat non-financial firms from fiscal year
1996 to 2007.
I find that firms’ financial reporting becomes more conservative immediately after covenant violations and the
effect persists for at least eight quarters. The impact is not only statistically significant, but also economically important.
A covenant violation moves a firm upwards in the within-firm distribution of conservatism score up to more than
40% of the distribution. The analysis further shows that the conservatism effect is stronger when creditors possess
greater bargaining power, when firms’ operations are more volatile, and when creditors put Chief Restructuring Officers
in place. My results are robust to multiple conservatism measures. Overall, these findings identify a specific channel –
covenant violations and the transfer of control rights – through which debt financing shapes corporate financial
reporting, and provide direct evidence supporting the debt contracting explanation for conservatism posited inWatts
(2003)