Financial Reporting Quality and Uncertainty about Credit Risk among Ratings Agencies

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study finds that better reporting quality is associated with less uncertainty about credit risk as captured by disagreement among the credit rating agencies. The results also show that reporting quality is more important in reducing uncertainty when debt market participants have less access to private information. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, I use the quasi-natural experiment induced by a change in accounting standards that improved reporting quality. Implementation of the standard led to less disagreement among the rating agencies. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on the impact of reporting quality on debt markets and intermediaries.