Person: Trombetta, Marco
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Marco
Last Name
Trombetta
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IE University
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IE Business School
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Accounting and Management Control
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Publication The dynamic of financial crises and its non-monotonic effects on earnings quality(Elsevier, 2014-05-01) Imperatore, Claudia; Trombetta, Marco; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75Despite the wealth of research examining earnings quality and earnings management, we still have much to learn about the effects of macroeconomic factors on accounting discretion’s decisions; the recent financial crises may be one of such factors. Nevertheless, the extant literature is inconclusive about the direction of the relationship between earnings quality and economic downturn. In this study, we focus on the extent to which organizational survival may be an objective of earnings management. In this manner, we add to research considering earnings target as an objective of earnings manipulation. Furthermore, our results suggest that these objectives likely change as crisis becomes worse. Consequently, we argue that the relationship between financial crises and earnings management is non-monotonic. Earnings management decreases when the intensity of the crisis is low, while it increases when the crisis is acute.Publication When do governments "go dark"? Evidence on governments' disclosure choices in periods of uncertainty(Taylor & Francis, 2022-10-20) Columbano, Claudio; Trombetta, Marco; Agencia Estatal de Investigación; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75We examine the effect of uncertainty shocks on the level of fiscal guidance – the guidance issued by governments on the expected evolution of the fiscal and economic outlook. Because uncertainty makes governments’ expectations less precise but potentially more valuable to users, we hypothesize that a disclosure dilemma leads governments to balance a higher demand for guidance with a higher probability of issuing inaccurate forecasts. Using natural disasters to randomize uncertainty shocks in our sample, we find that on average, governments issue less guidance in periods of uncertainty. The effect is driven by a reduction in the number of forecasts on the future evolution of balance sheet items, but only when governments have low refinancing needs and face a relatively quiet bond market. Instead, governments that maintain a stable level of guidance in periods of uncertainty appear to cater to coercive isomorphic pressures stemming from creditors. We further document that the relative ‘transparency’ of governments in periods of uncertainty is negatively related to indicators of fiscal reporting quality. Collectively, the evidence indicates that in the public sector, uncertainty leads to a trade-off between disclosure quantity and quality.Publication Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation and Audit Quality(Taylor & Francis, 2014-06-02) Sissons, Amanda; Trombetta, Marco; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75In a setting where mandatory audit firm rotation has been effective for more than 20 years (i.e., Italy), we analyse changes in audit quality during the auditor engagement period. In our research setting, auditors are appointed for a three-year period and their term can be renewed twice up to a maximum of nine years. Since the auditor has incentives to be reappointed at the end of the first and the second three-year periods, we expect audit quality to be lower in the first two three-year periods compared to the third (i.e. the last) term. Assuming that a better audit quality is associated with a higher level of accounting conservatism, and using abnormal working capital accruals (AWCA) as a proxy for the latter, we find that the auditor becomes more conservative in the last three-year period, i.e. the one preceding the mandatory rotation. These results are confirmed using Basu’s (1997) timely loss recognition model. In an additional analysis, we use earnings response coefficients as a proxy for investor perception of audit quality, and we observe results consistent with an increase in audit quality perception in the last engagement period.Publication Financial reporting and macroeconomics(Taylor & Francis, 2021-02-02) Trombetta, Marco; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75Financial Reporting (FR) is a fundamental source of information for the correct functioning of markets. Traditionally, FR is associated with the communication activity done by firms to inform stakeholders and the general public about their financial performance. In the first and second part of this essay I revisit some of the channels through which firm-level FR affects and is affected by the macroeconomic environment. However, companies are not the only economic actors that engage in a FR activity. Local and national governments produce financial reports as well. In the third part of this essay, I review how we can use the theoretical framework developed for firm-level FR to study government-level FR. I conclude by highlighting the importance of incentives as the fundamental mediator of the relationship between FR and Macroeconomics. I remark how they shape different FR environments during crisis and non-crisis periods and the importance of taking these differences into account while regulating and supervising markets.Publication The Effects of Auditor Social and Human Capital on Auditor Compensation: Evidence from the Italian Small Audit Firm Market(Taylor & Francis, 2019-07-29) Pietro A., Bianchi; Trombetta, Marco; Carrera, Nieves; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75This study examines whether social and human capital influence the compensation of individual auditors in the small audit firm market. We employ a sample of Italian auditors and use measures from the network and auditing literatures to capture their professional connections, representing social capital, and their industry expertise, representing human capital. Our findings show a positive and economically meaningful association between these individual attributes and auditor compensation. We run several tests to address potential endogeneity issues in our research design. Our results suggest that, in the small audit market, clients perceive as valuable those auditors with higher social and human capital, and as a result, are willing to pay a premium for these specific auditor attributes.Publication Small is big! The role of 'small' audits for studying the audit market(FEA, 2018) Trombetta, Marco; Carrera, Nieves; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75[No abstract available]Publication Mechanisms of Accountability and Governance: Audit, Assurance, and Internal Control(Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023-09-12) Trombetta, Marco; Carrera, Nieves; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75We adopt a historical perspective to understand the current landscape of accountability and governance mechanisms. In adopting assurance as the umbrella concept for audit and internal control, we explore how the notion of accountability ("accountability for what") and the beneficiaries of corporate accountability ("accountability to whom") have changed over time, leading to the re-definition of "old" mechanisms of accountability and governance and the development of new mechanisms ("accountability through"). We then provide an overview of recent studies examining how these mechanisms contribute to accountability and governance. We show that the recent trend of combining traditional financial reporting with other reporting activities in an integrated report is questioning the traditional boundaries among the three mechanisms, challenging the attempts to compartmentalize them ("combined assurance"). The chapter concludes by proposing a taxonomy as a tool to help conceptually organize the recent debates on assurance, audit, and internal control practices.Publication Accounting and Finance Literacy and Entrepreneurship: an Exploratory Study(Elsevier, 2023) Trombetta, Marco; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75The aim of this study is to investigate whether the level of financial literacy differs significantly among entrepreneurs in three European countries: Italy, Spain, and the UK. Moreover, I analyze whether financial literacy fosters or hinders entrepreneurial resilience and success. I find that the level of basic financial literacy is significantly lower among entrepreneurs in the UK. I provide an explanation based on job opportunities arguing that basic financial literacy increases the chances of survival of a business, whereas advanced financial literacy decreases it. I propose a taxonomy linking levels of financial literacy with different approaches to financial management. I conclude that a “conservative” approach to financial management (cash based, debt-averse and diversified) is more likely to guarantee survival even if it is not necessarily the best way to maximize firm value.