본 연구는 경영자가 특수관계자와의 거래를 이용하여 이익조정을 실시하고 있는지 분석하고 투자자들은 자본시장에서 이를 어떻게 평가하는지 분석하였다. 이를 위해 2000년부터 2005년까지의 6년간의 상장기업을 대상으로 특수관계자와의 거래가 이익조정 및 이익반응계수에 미치는 영향을 살펴보았다. 연구결과 첫째, 특수관계자와의 거래금액이 클수록 재량적 발생액이 증가하는 것을 발견했다. 이는 특수관계자와의 거래가 많을수록 이익조정이 증가하는 것을 뜻한다. 둘째, 30대 대기업집단에 소속된 기업일수록 특수관계자와의 거래와 재량적 발생액 및 재량적 발생액의 절대값간의 민감도가 더 큰 것으로 나타났는데, 이는 30대 대기업집단에 소속된 기업일수록 특수관계자와의 거래를 통해 이익의 상향조정을 더 많이 시도한다는 것을 의미한다. 이러한 실증분석 결과는 공정위에서 시행하고 있는 30대 대기업집단의 부당내부거래규제 장치가 유효하게 작동하고 있는지에 대한 의문을 제시하는 것이다. 셋째, 외국인지분율에 대해서는 외국인지분율이 높은 경우 특수관계자와의 거래규모가 증가함에 따라 이익의 질이 낮아지는 것을 발견했다. 이는 백원선과 조현우(2006)의 연구결과와 일치하게, 외국인투자자들이 경영자의 재량적인 이익조정을 적절하게 고려하고 있지 못한다는 증거로 해석할 수 있다. 넷째, 최대주주 및 특수관계자 지분율은 특수관계자와의 거래와 이익조정간의 관계에 유의적인 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 다섯째, 투자자들이 특수관계자와의 거래에 대해 어떻게 평가하는지 검증한 결과, 특수관계자와의 거래가 많을수록 이익반응계수가 작아지는 현상을 발견했다. 이는 투자자들이 특수관계자와의 거래에 대해 부정적인 평가를 하고 있다는 것으로 해석할 수 있다. 추가적으로 투자자들은 기업이 30대 대기업집단에 속하지 않은 경우, 최대주주 및 특수관계자 지분율이 작을수록, 외국인투자자 지분율이 작을수록 특수관계자와의 거래에 대해 부정적으로 평가하고 있는 것으로 나타났다.
This study examines the relationship between the transactions to the related-party and earnings management, also analyzes the effect of the transactions to the related-party on earnings response coefficient. It is easy to adjust transaction condition in the transactions to the related-party, so the transactions to the related-party will be used as a way of earnings management. If the transactions to the related-party are used as a way of earnings management, investors will estimate the transactions to the related-party negatively. The purpose of this study are analyzing whether management of company manages earnings using the transactions to the related-party discretionarily, investors recognize that the transactions to the related-party are used as a way of earnings management. This study will suggest that it is necessary to adjust the regulation of disclosure about the transactions to the related-party and to complement punishment for unfair transactions to the related-party. Moreover, this study investigates the effect of whether a company is in the 30 large enterprise groups or not, the largest stockholders ownership and the foreign stockholders ownership on the relationship between the transactions to the related-party and earnings management, market response. According to the previous studies on the relationship between the largest stockholders ownership, the foreign stockholders ownership and earnings management, the level of earnings management would be various by the largest stockholders ownership and the foreign stockholders ownership. Therefore, the largest stockholders ownership and the foreign stockholders ownership would have an effect on the relationship between the transactions to the related-party and earnings management. Because a company in the 30 large enterprise groups has more related-parties than others, this company has more chance to earnings management using the transactions to the related-party. So, earnings management using the transactions to the related-party would be more often in the 30 large enterprise groups than others. If whether a company is in the 30 large enterprise groups or not, the largest stockholders ownership and the foreign stockholders ownership have an effect on the relationship between the transactions to the related-party and earnings management, investors would consider the transactions to the related-party as a factor of impairing earnings quality and estimate the transactions to the related- party negatively. The sample is composed of firm years with the transactions to the related-party from 2000 to 2005. The sample firm is composed of non-financial companies which are listed in the Korea Exchange and whose fiscal year-end is December 31. Firms that are under surveillance sanction by stock exchanges or those experiencing negative stockholders equity are eliminated. All financial and stock return data are obtained via TS2000 and FN-Guide database. Finally, we eliminate those extreme observations whose values are greater than three standards deviations from the menas of all variables. The final sample consists of 1,680 firm-years. Empirical findings are as follows. First, the transactions to the related-party are significantly positively associated with discretionary accruals. This result means that the transactions to the related-party are used as a way of earnings management. Second, there is a significant positive relationship between the transactions to the related-party and the absolute value of discretionary accruals in 30 large enterprise groups. The transactions to the related-party are also significantly positively associated with discretionary accruals in 30 large enterprise groups. The relationship between the transactions to the related-party and discretionary accruals is stronger in 30 large enterprise groups than in other companies. These results mean that the companies in 30 large enterprise group manage earnings more than others using the transactions to the related-party. These results would be due to which there are many chance for the transactions to the related-party in 30 large enterprise group because companies in 30 large enterprise group have many related-parties. These results call the validity of unfair inside transaction regulation in question. Third, the transactions to the related-party are significantly positively associated with the absolute value of discretionary accruals in the high foreign stockholders ownership. Consistent with Paek and Cho(2006), this result suggests that foreign stockholders are not concerned about earnings management. Forth, the largest stockholders ownership doesn’t have an effect on the relationship between the transactions to the related-party and earnings management. Fifth, earnings response coefficient is low when the transactions to the related-party are large. This result means that investors estimate the transactions to the related-party negatively. Further, this study investigates the effect of whether a company belongs to the 30 large enterprise group or not, the largest stockholders ownership and the foreign stockholders ownership on the relationship between the trnasactions to the related-party and earnings response coefficient. The empirical results are that investors estimate the transactions to the related- party more negatively as not belonging to the 30 large enterprise group, the smaller the largest stockholders ownership, the smaller the foreign stockholders ownership.
