Tax Footnotes Readability and CEO Narcissism: Evidence from Indonesia

Authors

  • Arfian Erma Zudana Bina Nusantara University
  • Kiddy Novian Accounting Department, Faculty of Economics & Communication Bina Nusantara University Jakarta, Indonesia 11480
  • Rakha Pangestu Setiawan Bina Nusantara University
  • Sherlin Sherlin Bina Nusantara University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21512/becossjournal.v4i1.7786

Keywords:

CEO characteristics, CEO narcissism, Tax Footnotes, Readability

Abstract

CEO Narcissism has the potency to influence individual characteristics positively or negatively. We aim to examine the relationship between narcissism as CEO-level characteristics and tax footnotes readability. We measure narcissism using the CEOs’ photos on the firms’ annual reports. Using 799 firm-year Indonesia listed firms from 2015 through 2019, we find that higher CEO narcissism is related to a higher tax footnote readability. This result is robust for alternative measures of readability. By examining the relationship between CEO narcissism and tax footnotes readability, we provide an additional important factor to boards for consideration during the CEO selection. We also offer insight for shareholders or investors to consider CEO traits, namely narcissism, in assessing and interpreting tax footnotes readability.

Dimensions

Plum Analytics

Author Biographies

Arfian Erma Zudana, Bina Nusantara University

Accounting Department, Faculty of Economics & Communication

Rakha Pangestu Setiawan, Bina Nusantara University

Accounting Department, Faculty of Economics & Communication

Sherlin Sherlin, Bina Nusantara University

Accounting Department, Faculty of Economics & Communication

References

Adelberg, A. (1979). Narrative disclosures contained in financial reports: means of communication or manipulation?. Accounting and Business Research, 9, 179–189.

Ajina, A., Laouiti, M., & Msolli, B. (2016). Guiding through the Fog: Does Annual Report Readability Reveal Earnings Management?. Research in International Business and Finance, 38, 509-516.

Aktas, N., De Bodt, E., Bollaert, H., & and Roll, R. (2012). CEO Narcissism and the Takeover Process: From Private Initiation to Deal Completion, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1784322.

Ali, A., & Zhang, W. (2015). CEO tenure and earnings management. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 59 (1), 60 – 79.

Al-Shammari, M., Rasheed, A., & Al-Shammari, H. A. (2019). CEO narcissism and corporate social responsibility: Does CEO narcissism affect CSR focus?. Journal of Business Research, 104, 106 – 117.

Amernic, J. H., & Craig, R. J. (2010). Accounting as a Facilitator of Extreme Narcissism. Journal of Business Ethics, 96, 79 - 93.

Bloomfield, R.J. (2002). The ‘Incomplete Revelation Hpothesis’ and financial reporting. Accounting Horizons, 16, 233–243.

Bloomfield, R. J. (2008). Discussion of Annual report readability, current earnings, and earnings persistence. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 45, 248-252.

Botosan, C. (1997). Disclosure level and the cost of equity capital. The Accounting Review, 72, 323–349.

Campbell, W. K., Reeder, G. D., Sedikides, C., & Elliot, A. J. (2000). Narcissism and comparative self-enhancement strategies. Journal of Research in Personality, 34 (3), 329–347.

Capalbo, F., Frino, A., Lim, M. Y., Mollica, V., & Palumbo, R. (2018). The impact of CEO narcissism on earnings management. Abacus, 54 (2), 210 - 226.

Chatterjee, A., & Hambrick, D. C. (2007). It’s all about me: Narcissistic Chief Executive Officers and their effects on company strategy and performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52 (3), 351–386.

Courtis, J. K. (2004). Corporate report obfuscation: artefact or phenomenon?. British Accounting Review, 36 (3), 291–312.

Duchon, D., & Drake, B. (2009). Organizational Narcissism and Virtuous Behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 85 , 301 - 308.

Drake, K. (2015). Does Firm Life Cycle Explain the Relation between Book-Tax Differences and Earnings Persistence? Working paper, The University of Arizona.

Emmons, R., A. (1987). Narcissism: Theory and measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52 (1), 11 - 17.

Ertugrul, M., Lei, J., Qiu, J., & Wan, C. (2017). Annual report readability, tone ambiguity, and the cost of borrowing. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 52(2), 811-836.

Foster, J. D., & Campbell, W. K. (2007). Are there such things as “narcissists” in social psychology? A taxometric analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(6), 1321-1332.

Hales, J., Hobson, J. L., & Resutek, R. J. (2012). The Dark Side of Socially Mediated Rewards: How Narcissism and Social Status Affect Managerial Reporting. Available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id¼2021889

Ham, C., Seybert, N., & Wang, S. (2018). Narcissism is a bad sign: CEO signature size, investment, and performance. Review of Accounting Studies, 23(1), 234-264.

Hambrick, D. C. (2007). Upper echelons theory: An update. Academy of Management Review, 32 (2), 334–343.

Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A. (1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review, 9 (2), 193 – 206.

Hirshleifer, D., Low, A., Teoh, S. (2012). Are Overconfident CEOs better Innovators? Journal of Finance, 67, 1457–1498.

Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. (2005). What we know about leadership. Review of General Psychology, 9 (2), 169–180.

Huang, H. W., Rose-Green, E & Lee, C. C. (2012). Age and Financial Reporting Quality. Accounting Horizons, 26 (4), 725-740.

Inger, K. K., Meckfessel, M. D., Zhou, M., & Fan, W. (2018). An examination of the impact of tax avoidance on the readability of tax footnotes. The Journal of the American Taxation Association, 40(1), 1-29.

Kim, J. B., Wang, Z., & Zhang, L. (2016). CEO Overconfidence and Stock Price Crash Risk. Contemporary Accounting Research, 33 (4), 1720-1749.

Kets de Vries, M. F., & Miller, D. (1985). Narcissism and leadership: An object relations perspective. Human Relations, 38 (6), 583–601.

Kubick, T. R., & Lockhart, G. B. (2017). Overconfidence, CEO Awards, and Corporate Tax Aggressiveness. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 44 (5-6), 728-754.

Kontesa, M., Brahmana, R., & Tong, A. H. H. (2021). Narcissistic CEOs and their earnings management. Journal of Management and Governance. 25, 223–249.

Lawrence, A. (2013). Individual investors and financial disclosure. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 56, 130–147.

Lehavy, R., Li, F., & Merkley, K. (2011). The effect of annual report readability on analyst following and the properties of their earnings forecasts. The Accounting Review, 86, 1087–1115.

Li, F. (2008). Annual report readability, current earnings ,and persistence. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 45, 221–247.

Lim, E. K. Y., Chalmers, K., & Hanlon, D. (2018). The influence of business strategy on annual report readability. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 37(1), 65-81.

Lin, F., Lin, S. W., & Fang, W. C. (2019). How CEO narcissism affects earnings management Behaviors. North American Journal of Economics & Finance, 51, 101080.

Lo, K., Ramos, F., & Rogo, R. (2017). Earnings Management and Annual Report Readability. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 63, 1-25.

Maccoby, M. (2007). Narcissistic leaders: Who succeeds and who fails. Boston, MA: First Harvard Business School Press.

Malmendier, U., & Tate, G. (2005). CEO overconfidence and corporate investment. Journal of Finance, 60(6), 2661–2700.

Miller, B. P. (2010). The effects of reporting complexity on small and large investor trading. The Accounting Review, 85, 2107–2143.

Olsen, K. J., Dworkis, K. K., & Young, S. M. (2014). CEO narcissism and accounting: A picture of profits. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 26 (2), 243–267.

Olsen, K. J., & Stekelberg, J. (2016). CEO Narcissism and Corporate Tax Sheltering. The Journal of the American Taxation Association. 38 (1). 1 – 22.

O’Reilly, C. A., Doerr, B., Caldwell, D. F., & Chatman, J. A. (2013). Narcissistic CEOs and executive compensation. The Leadership Quarterly, 25 (2). 218 – 231.

Padilla, A., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R. B. (2007). The toxic triangle: Destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments. The Leadership Quarterly, 18 (3), 176–194.

Petrenko, O. V., Aime, F., Ridge, J., & Hill, A. (2016). Corporate Social Responsibility or CEO Narcissism? CSR Motivations and Organizational Performance. Strategic Management Journal, 37 (2), 262 – 279.

Raedy, J., Seidman, J. & Shackelford, D. (2011). Is There Information Content in the Tax Footnote? Working paper, The University of North Carolina and University of Virginia.

Razak, L. A., Ramly, & Badollahi, I. (2020). The Role of CEO Narcissism in Creating Firm Value (Study on BUMN Companies Listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange 2015-2019). International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 5 (11), 221 – 225.

Resick, C. J., Whitman, D. S., Weingarden, S. M., & Hiller, N. J. (2009). The bright-side and the dark-side of CEO personality: Examining core self-evaluations, narcissism, transformational leadership, and strategic influence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94 (6), 1365–1381.

Rispantyo. (2019). Narsisme CEO dan Kualitas Laba. Research Fair Unisri, 3 (1), 347 – 351.

Rudman, L. A., Dohn, M. C., & Fairchild, K. (2007). Implicit self-esteem compensation: Automatic threat defense. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(5), 798–813.

Rutherford, B. A. (2003). Obfuscation, textual complexity and the role of regulated narrative accounting disclosure in corporate governance. Journal of Management and Governance, 7, 187-210.

Sunder, J., Sunder, S. V., Zhang, J. (2017). Pilot CEOs and corporate innovation. Journal of Financial Economics, 123, 209–224.

Wallace, H. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2002). The performance of narcissists rises and falls with perceived opportunity for glory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82 (5), 819–834.

Downloads

Published

2022-02-01

Issue

Section

Articles
Abstract 451  .
PDF downloaded 362  .