Research On The Relationship Between Dividend Payout And Accounting Conservatism Of Listed Companies In China

Dividend policy is one of the most important research fields in financial management,Is also one of the important issues of concern to investors.However,the dividend distribution behavior of Listed Companies in China is not standardized:The phenomenon of non distribution dividend is serious;The dividend payout level of the company is low,and it appears to cater to the policy phenomenon;Listed companies in the choice of dividend distribution policy arbitrariness.Although the government has carried out a strong policy guidance to the dividend distribution behavior of listed companies,Such as the implementation of the semi-mandatory dividend policy since2001,in 2006 and in 2008,the continuous improvement of semi-mandatory dividend policy,the refinancing eligibility and dividend linked and the introduction of the difference in dividend policy in 2013,the dividend distribution of listed companies has improved significantly,the proportion of non listed companies is significantly reduced,and the level of dividend payment has increased,but also the emergence of false dividends and abnormal high dividend distribution.The phenomenon has aroused the attention of scholars on the basis of dividend distribution,that is,the quality of accounting earnings of listed companies.Accounting conservatism is one of the important principles of financial reporting,and it is also one of the important characteristics of accounting information,especially the accounting earnings quality.It requires that accounting recognition,measurement and reporting not overestimate assets and earnings,not underestimate liabilities and expenses,Through the symmetric reflection of gains and losses,to alleviate the information asymmetry and protect the interests of investors,therefore,some scholars believe that high quality accounting information should have a strong bias.On the one hand,prudent accounting will directly reduce the accounting surplus,Listed companies may choose radical accounting policies in order to obtain refinancing qualification or infringe the interests of small investors,at the expense of the quality of accounting information to achieve the purpose of dividend,the distribution of cash dividend will reduce the accounting conservatism to a certainextent;On the other hand,the distribution of cash dividend reduces the free cash flow of listed companies and reduces the agency costs between shareholders and management,the distribution of dividends also makes the listed companies change from internal financing to external financing,In the face of capital market regulation,the need for accounting conservatism is enhanced,improve the accounting conservatism of listed companies.Therefore,the dividend distribution affects the accounting conservatism and reflects the quality of accounting information.Studying the accounting conservatism from the perspective of dividend distribution,the empirical results show that:(1)The distribution of cash dividends of listed companies is stronger than the non companies;(2)Cash dividend payout ratio is negatively related to accounting conservatism,the bonus ratio and accounting conservatism negatively related,but not significant;(3)Short term loan rate can reduce the negative correlation between cash dividend payout ratio and accounting conservatism;(4)The proportion of the largest shareholder increases the negative correlation between cash dividend payout ratio and accounting conservatism;(5)The nature of property rights does not change the negative relationship between the cash dividend payout ratio and accounting conservatism,but state-owned enterprises to private enterprises,the negative correlation between cash dividend payout ratio and accounting conservatism is stronger.The empirical results show that:Semi-mandatory dividend policy reduces the proportion of listed companies that do not distribute dividends,and improve the accounting conservatism.The relevant departments of the government should focus on the form of cash dividend distribution,especially the listed companies with high cash dividend payment and the state-owned listed companies,whether there is any way to reduce the accounting conservatism by confirming the gains and delaying the recognition of losses.Through the appropriate liabilities and reduce the concentration of equity can ease the negative correlation between cash dividend payout ratio and accounting conservatism.