Additional Bonding Mechanisms Impacting Financial Reporting Quality
Presumably the greatest motivation underlying an emerging-market firm’s desire to secure a rating from S&P is the ability to access international debt markets.
We have suggested that ratings can provide a certification effect that attests to the quality of financial reporting for these firms, thereby reducing the discomfort that international lenders feel toward them.
However, scrutiny by a rating agency is not the only way in which a firm can signal a commitment to high-quality financial disclosure.
In this section, we examine whether our results are contaminated by firms making other choices that are also likely to influence their financial reporting practices.
It is possible, for instance, that these same firms voluntarily choose to provide financial reports in compliance with international accounting standards (IFRS) or US GAAP as an alternative way to aid in reducing the liability of foreignness.
The move toward more conservative accounting practices could then be driven by a
change in standards followed, rather than by securing a bond rating.