Does financial statement comparability mitigate corporate frauds in an emerging market? Evidence from China

In this paper, we empirically examine whether financial statement comparability mitigates corporate fraud in China. Using the FSC measure proposed by De Franco, Kothari and Verdi (2011), we find that firms with greater comparability are less likely to commit frauds, either accounting – or non-accounting-related frauds. Further tests confirm that regulators can more quickly detect the fraudulent activities of accused firms if their financial statements are more comparable with those of their same-industry peers. Cross-sectional analyses show that the negative relationship between FSC and fraud incidence is more pronounced for firms with lower institutional ownership, and for those operating in regions with more developed markets. Overall, our study provides evidence for the benefits of peer comparisons in the fraud context, and has implications for investors, regulators, and standard setters.