Firm Structure, Corporate Preferences, and Expectations in Accounting and Taxation: Evidence from Firm Surveys

Bischof, Dörrenberg, and Voget study accounting-related decision processes within firms. They build on the rich survey data provided by the German Business Panel (C01) and study how managers form expectations and preferences for, for example, cost structures, pass-through of taxes, and the internal generation of earnings data. In addition, they analyze how managers form preferences for earnings management and explore the role of tax uncertainty for expectations and investment decisions. The new PI, Dörrenberg, strengthens A11 with his experience in implementing randomized studies out-side of surveys.

Research Question

How do manager preferences and firm structure affect discretionary accounting and taxation choices?
Research Motivation

We investigate how firms’ reactions depend on the type of information these firms receive and how it affects the way firms process legislative and regulatory actions. Thereby, our research improves our understanding of how transparency requirements in accounting and tax regulation affect businesses.
Research Program

In particular, we aim to shed light on processes within firms to improve our understanding of why and how firms make decisions. In this context, we for example study managerial decisions with regard to cost structures, the pass-through of taxes, and the internal generation of earnings data. Second, we study how managers form expectations and preferences. In this project, we aim to overcome some of the limitations of archival data in addressing the research questions at hand.
Research Contribution

In this project, we aim to overcome some of the limitations of archival data in addressing the research questions at hand. We implement customized surveys to measure variables that are difficult to observe in archival data and to run randomized survey experiments to generate random variation in variables for which (quasi-)random variation is not observed in the field.

Project Information

Principal Investigators

Jannis Bischof University of Mannheim

Jannis Bischof is Professor of Accounting at University of Mannheim. His research addresses the role of disclosure and transparency in the financial sector and other settings, the regulation of financial institutions, and managerial discretion in reporting decisions. His research is published in journals such as Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Business, Finance & Accounting, or Schmalenbach Business Review. He is Research Associate at the Leibniz Institute für Financial Research (SAFE) and is member of the EFRAG’s Financial Instruments Working Group. He is member of the Editorial Board of several international journals (Accounting and Business Research, Business Research, European Accounting Review, Journal of Business Economics).

Philipp Dörrenberg University of Mannheim

Johannes Voget University of Mannheim

Johannes Voget holds the Chair of Taxation & Finance at the University of Mannheim. His research interests cover international taxation, corporate finance and public finance. Prior to joining the University of Mannheim, Johannes Voget held a position as Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation, with which he is still affiliated as a Research Associate.

Research Staff

Svea Holtmann University of Mannheim

Thomas Simon University of Mannheim

Richard Winter University of Mannheim

Research Question

Research Motivation

Research Program

Research Contribution

Participating Institutions