Accounting Reporting Complexity and Firm-Level Investment Efficiency

Abstract

This paper is the first to examine the relationship between accounting reporting complexity and real economic activity. In doing so, it answers the call in Leuz and Wysocki (2016) for a better understanding of the real effects of disclosure and reporting activities. The results presented in this paper indicate that accounting reporting complexity is associated with increased firm-level investment efficiency, and that this is driven by both lower over-investment and lower under-investment. These results are robust to alternative specifications and to the effects arising from operating and linguistic complexity. The results suggest that managers facing more complex accounting reporting may be actively seeking to reduce informational frictions with the capital markets. This study is particularly relevant to standard-setters and regulators who are increasingly concerned with the potential implications of accounting reporting complexity.