债券评级机构的甄别能力差异——基于企业盈余管理视角

Differences in the Screening Ability of Bond Rating Agencies:Perspective Based on the Corporate Earnings Management

在信用债市场,很多企业难以获得AA级以上信用评级,无法顺利进行债券融资。这些处于发行条件边缘的企业有较强的粉饰报表的动机。本文以2010~2020年发行的公司债企业为研究样本,研究了债券发行前的公司盈利质量,以及评级机构对于盈利质量的甄别能力。实证研究发现:处于发行边缘的AA级发行人相比其他企业有更高的盈余管理水平;相比发行人付费评级,独立评级机构能够更有效地识别企业发行前的盈利质量;独立评级显著低于发行人付费评级,且评级差异越大,债券的信用利差越高。本文的研究结果表明,应当关注企业债务发行前的会计报表粉饰行为,降低信用风险,同时鼓励独立信用评级机构的发展。

In the credit bond market,it is difficult for many enterprises to obtain the credit rating above AA,so they cannot successfully conduct bond financing.These enterprises on the edge of issuing conditions therefore implement more earnings management.This paper takes the corporate bonds issued from 2010 to 2020 as the research samples to study the earnings management phenomenon before bond issuance and the ability of rating agencies to identify earnings quality.The empirical study finds that:(1)The issuer with AA rating has a higher level of earnings management than other enterprises;(2)Compared with the rating paid by issuers,independent rating agencies can identify the earnings management behavior of enterprises before issuance more effectively;(3)Independent rating is significantly lower than rating paid by issuers,and the greater the difference,the higher the credit spread of the bond.The results of this paper show that we should pay attention to earnings management behavior before bond issuance,reduce credit risk,and encourage the development of independent rating agencies.