Loïc BELZE

This study offers a literature review of accounting lobbying with the aim of deepening our understanding of the multiform lobbying practices used in an accounting regulation context. Barley’s model (2010) is used as a framework to structure our literature review, which analyzes 93 articles published in 36 academic journals from 1940 to 2022. The content analysis applied to these articles focuses on criteria such as lobbying methods and the identities of stakeholders and regulators. This review reveals that: 1) preparers and auditors are more frequently studied than other stakeholders; 2) international private regulators are predominantly the focus of lobbying studies, with limited attention given to intermediaries or other regulators (non-Anglo-Saxon or public regulators); 3) the six lobbying methods in Barley’s model are not equally explored, with the “informing” channel (via comment letters) being the most commonly studied method. Avenues for future research are suggested. In particular, our findings suggest that the literature on accounting lobbying could be further enhanced by studies adopting a more qualitative and “behind-the-scenes” approach to lobbying activities., Cette étude présente une revue de la littérature consacrée au lobbying comptable dans le but d’améliorer notre compréhension des multiples pratiques de lobbying employées dans le contexte de la régulation comptable. Le modèle de Barley (2010) sert de cadre pour structurer cette revue de la littérature qui analyse 93 articles publiés dans 36 revues académiques entre 1940 et 2022. L’analyse de contenu appliquée à ces articles porte essentiellement sur des critères comme les méthodes de lobbying, la nature des parties prenantes et le type de régulateur. Ce travail dévoile plusieurs éléments : 1) les préparateurs et les auditeurs sont plus souvent étudiés que les autres parties prenantes ; 2) les régulateurs privés internationaux constituent l’objet principal des études sur le lobbying, tandis que peu d’attention est accordée aux acteurs intermédiaires ou aux autres régulateurs (régulateurs non anglo-saxons ou publics) ; 3) les six méthodes de lobbying du modèle de Barley ne suscitent pas toutes le même intérêt, puisque les flux d’information (par le biais des lettres de commentaires) représentent la méthode la plus fréquemment étudiée. Des perspectives de recherche sont proposées qui suggèrent notamment que la littérature sur le lobbying comptable pourrait être enrichie par des études adoptant une approche plus qualitative ainsi que par des recherches portant sur le lobbying « en coulisses ».

The European Commission (EC) conducted a major reform of statutory audit between 2010 and 2014, with the primary aim of improving competition in the market. The Big 4, who were targeted by this reform, were strongly opposed to it. The present study employs the typology of Oliver (1991) and the “presentation of self” theory developed by Goffman (1956) to identify the strategic responses employed, frontstage and backstage, by the regulator (EC) and the regulatees (Big 4) to influence the outcome of the reform. The results reveal that passive strategic responses tend to take place frontstage, while active and aggressive strategies generally take place backstage. This work also reveals the incursion of the neoliberal model into the European regulatory arena, and allows us to characterize the Big 4 as cynical actors defending a commercial logic.

This paper examines the reliability of option fair value estimates in the presence of transaction costs. The Black Scholes Merton (BSM) framework assumes zero transaction costs and thus might not provide a reasonable approximation in this context. We investigate the model adjustments companies make to their BSM models to deal with these transaction costs. We specifically examine Employee Stock Option (ESO) plans listed on the French stock exchange, as detailed disclosure on modeling is available for these ESOs. Our analysis questions the reliability of these model adjustments, especially their bias and the extent to which they provide a faithful representation of option fair values. Holding parameter values constant, we find that the model adjustments lead to a median understatement of 52% compared to the BSM model price, higher than the discount we observe for the opportunistic determination of model parameters (below 20%). The paper contributes to the fair value literature by highlighting model risk in the fair valuation of options. This model risk stems from assumptions made about the size of transaction costs and complements the notion of parameter risk analyzed in previous literature. As a result, the model itself might be a possible channel for fair value management.

The European Commission recently reformed the statutory audit market in order to improve its competitiveness. We employ resource dependence theory to understand the position of audit firms with regard to the policy options considered. By using content analysis to examine consultation responses, we show that, despite the existing market segmentation, all sizes of firm adopt similar positions, except on the topic of audit consortia. The differences in firms’ access to resources, particularly with respect to human capital, help to explain these positions, which perpetuate supply concentration in the market., La Commission européenne a récemment mené une réforme de l’audit légal afin d’améliorer la compétitivité du marché. Nous mobilisons la théorie de la dépendance vis-à-vis des ressources afin de comprendre la position des cabinets d’audit au regard des options politiques envisagées. A partir d’une analyse de contenu des réponses à une consultation, les résultats montrent qu’en dépit d’une segmentation de marché existante, toutes les tailles de cabinet adoptent des positions similaires, excepté sur les consortiums d’audit. Les différences d’accès aux ressources entre types de cabinet, notamment en capital humain, permettent de comprendre ces positions qui pérennisent la concentration de l’offre., La Comisión Europea a realizado recientemente una reforma en materia de auditoría legal con el fin de mejorar la competencia de este mercado. Movilizamos la teoría de dependencia de recursos con el fin de entender la posición de las firmas de auditoría en relación a las opciones políticas consideradas. A partir de un análisis de contenido de respuestas a una consulta, los resultados muestran que, a pesar de una segmentación de mercado existente, los distintos tamaños de firmas adoptan posiciones similares, con excepción de la auditoría de consorcio. Las diferencias de acceso a los recursos entre las diferentes firmas, sobre todo en capital humano, permiten de entender esas posiciones que sostienen la concentración de la oferta.